My View of Research, Before and After

As the course EDLD 5301 ends, I find that I have a brand new view of (and a huge burst of enthusiasm for) educational research.  I really had no idea what to expect our of this class.  However, I found that the lectures, assignments, and discussions, along with the blog posts and reviews, have brought me to a much more refined and expanded view of an educational leader's role with regard to leading research.  The word "action" is key here.  I've been exposed to lots of projects and plans that suggested action would occur...but knowing what I know now, I can see that they weren't adequately designed and developed around reasonable expectations for actual change.  With tools like reflection, data gathering skills, force field analysis, and more, I leave this class much better equipped to design and execute action research plans at my institution.

Remembering to Reflect

One of the things I came to understand this week, in reviewing the action research plans of other students in my LU program, is that reflection should be both an impetus and a recurring feature of an AR plan.

It will be important to reflect upon each stage.  Did it go as intended or expected?  In what new directions do any new discoveries - or new challenges - take the plan?

As I contemplate revising my plan toward the end of this introduction to this type of research, I will be looking for places to insert reflection and to gather the reflections of other resource people involved in my project.

My action research plan, in table form...

School Vision: A Tech-Savvy College, Including an Enhanced Array of Useful Online Student Services

Action Planning Template
Goal: Implementation of Enhanced Online Student Service Functions
Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
(1)    Determine student preferences	Registrar (B. Griffith); Director of Advising and Counseling (R. Coffman; Programmer/Developer (T. Oehler)	January-mid February, 2013	Random embedded survey (pops up after use of online system by students)	Registrar and Director will meet to go over survey results and tabulate
(2)    Assess technical capabilities and approaches of other schools using same student info system	Registrar (B. Griffith); Programmer/Developer (T. Oehler); Exec. Dir of Technology (C. Lightfoot)	Late February, 2013	PeopleBooks (software resources); other student info system student portal examples (Houston Community College, Lone Star College)	Compare what other schools using our software are doing with online services; determine what is feasible for us
(3)    Decide on priority services to add	Registrar (B. Griffith); VP of Student Services (D. Suchon); Success Lab Manager (Y. Pulido)	Late February, 2013	Results from steps 1 & 2  plus review of grant and funding programs to determine how services will aid in compliance	We will decide on 3-5 key services that are desired and are feasible, and rank them (prioritize)
(4)    Development of new services	Registrar (B. Griffith); Programmer/Developer (T. Oehler)	March-April 2013	We will establish weekly setup/testing goals and a 1 hour block of time weekly to work side by side in a computer lab on campus	At end of March we will evaluate progress made; do we need additional time or an adjustment in number of services to implement?
(5)    Implementation of new services	Registrar (B. Griffith)	May 2013 and ongoing, as development continues	Email blasts to students; messages in college newsletter and on campus plasma screens; training of all open lab managers so they can train their staff	Surveys of staff and students to get feedback and tweak enhancements as deemed appropriate
(6)    Completion of project	Registrar, VP of Student Services, Director of Advising and Counseling	August-October 2013	Look at usage of new services; feedback from students and staff	Determine what services to further enhance, and start planning for another phase of project if successful

Learning more about action research

This week's assignment, lectures, and readings have given me a better understanding of action research.  I'm struck by the need to take the time to make sure that adequate reflection is done before starting an action research project.  As one of the video contributors, Dr. Kirk Lewis, said, it's too easy to just put together a "dazzling" project with data that looks good on paper but isn't practical or even "do-able."  As I refine my project and put reasonable limits and expectation to it, I'll be taking care to keep one thing in mind: "what's in this for students?  How will it help them to achieve their educational goals?"

How can educational leaders use blogs?

One way a leader can use a blog is to solicit comments and insight outside of meetings and "regular business hours."  Time for meetings is always limited within an educational setting.  By offering a blog option, a leader can allow members of a team to contribute when they have time, whether on campus or off.  Since the blogger and followers making comments will be identified (and non-participants will be easy to determine), this can provide motivation for making contributions.  Requiring comments does not have to be oppressive (comments are required, for instance, within the online classroom!).  To make the blog a valuable tool, a few "rules" should be posted and observed by the leader and/or followers:

1. Ground rules: don't attack (be polite and constructive in making comments).
2. Don't avoid conflict; vetting opposing views and ideas could be helpful.  Let the team know it is OK to oppose the idea, but not the person posting the idea!
3. Cite articles, documentaries, and other resources, and link them to the blog.  Encourage comment on the material.  This would be a great way to "embed" professional development into the school calendar.
3. Mention what was learned during the blogging process, both the comments that were affirming, and those that were challenging.  In other words, acknowledge the team who was asked to follow and comment..
4. Keep a time limit on a topic/concept in the blog.  Move on to new topics fairly frequently, to keep the conversation fresh.

Getting Acquainted with Action Research

As an experienced college administrator, I've seen many approaches to research and planning over the years.  What appeals to me about the action research concept is the word "action."  Many college administrators look at "problems," and come up with "solutions" without engaging those who work daily in the process they are studying.  The "solutions" can thus have merit on paper, but little practicality for application.  By learning this form of research process in my graduate studies, I hope to be able to bring back some new research strategies to my campus, which may result in a higher rate of actual improvement at the conclusion of the process.  This could attract others to use these type of collaborative, carefully considered strategies.  In particular, I like the idea of wonderings.  Too often, I see research and planning that start only with a problem and then "back up" to determine causes (often with insufficient study) and lots of attention to trying a number of solutions to "please everyone."  Instead, by using some of the tenets of action research, I can see where we can follow a blueprint to get more consistent results by defining the issue to be addressed, reviewing available literature (published research others have done on similar issues), taking action, and using and sharing our results.  Use of these steps, provided in the article Action Research: An Effective Instructional Leadership Skill for Future Public School Leaders, (AASA Journal, Spring 2007) could start to build more of a foundation for research for decision making, especially with regard to the student-affairs processes at my college.