What I've learned about action research...

The focus on my EDLD 5301 class at Lamar University is administrative inquiry, or action research. Action research is a process in which a problem is recognized, a strategy or plan to resolve the problem is developed, that strategy is acted on, and then analyzed. Adjustments are made following that analysis and the process continues.

http://valenciacollege.edu/faculty/development/programs/tla/actionResearch/actionResearch2012/

     Action research is a tool principals can use to take charge of their own learning. It allows them to engage in a systematic study of their own practice and take action for change based on what they learn as a result of the inquiry.  Administrative inquiry provides the opportunity to search out best practices and then use them.
Action research takes time, but it’s much like finding the time to exercise. The time invested is worth the outcome. Action research is an important ingredient for the overall professional health of an educator (Copland, 2003).

     I fall into that category of people who have ‘inquiring minds who want to know’ and I tend to look at everything I’m involved at in depth. I spend a lot of time researching things; I spend a lot of time adjusting my thoughts (and actions when needed) based on my inquiries. Therefore, I’m happy to know more about action research. As far as how I would be able to use action research on my campus, I’ve just started the process. I’m the instructional specialist on my campus and guide my teachers in RtI. I regularly meet with teachers regarding student concerns and one thing has come up over and over again. My campus tends to struggle with what to use to monitor progress. We struggle with knowing what to use to identify reading levels. I’ve been given the ZONE of Proximal Development from the Star Reading test that places students in the Accelerated Reading level on more than one occasion. That’s not a reading LEVEL (it’s a range) and it’s not a measure I would solely use to determine reading level. I have great teachers on my campus, but my teachers are unsure of the measures to use to identify things like reading levels and to really look at the data they collect. They don't have any resources at their fingertips; they've never been trained on it. Doing an inquiry on that and being able to give them guidance would benefit everyone.