Action Research Wondering

Week two of ELDL 5301 (Research) has come and gone. This week we had the opportunity to listen to three different interviews from doctorial graduates from Lamar University. The gentlemen represented three different levels of school leaders. They each gave examples of action research projects that they have participated in at their districts and the purpose for conducting the research. We then examined nine passions from Nancy Fichtman Dana’s book, Leading With Passion and Knowledge. There are nine areas that are described as major passions of school leaders. The nine passions are: staff development, curriculum development, individual teacher(s), individual student(s), school community/culture, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice. We then refined out wondering question for our own action research.

Working through these exercises, I have learned that developing an action research wondering is not a simple matter. You must look for a passion that you have and then find something you wish to improve or have a question about it. Developing the correct wording and narrowing down the topic takes time and patience. Literature reviews on your subject matter and taking with others with experience are suggested tools to use when developing your wondering.

In developing my first wondering I have learned that the economically disadvantage students of my district are the ones that are lagging behind, either from lack of background experience or from lack of parental support. My desire is to find through my action research ways that we can use the current technology that we have to bridge the educational gap between the economic groups of our district. All students, no matter their families’ income status, deserve to be serviced in ways to ensure that they are equally prepared to academically equal in the future.