Never Stop Learning

     Whew!  This week has almost been an overload on learning, but I have survived and am all the better for it.  Everything I have learned this week has been advantageous in helping me with my action research.  While happy with my action research topic, I was having some anxiety about getting started.  I knew what my action research would be about, but was not clear which direction to take.  I was relieved when I read in the Dana text that getting started was considered to commonly be the difficult part of action inquiry.  Examples provided in the Dana text and interview videos have been very helpful in my understanding of how to approach action research.
     The nine passions for action research topics were quite interesting to me.  It was neat to read the examples and be able to relate the inquiries to my campus.  I was happy to gain ideas developed through action research by principals and think about ways their experiences could benefit my school.  I found Principal Donnan Stoicovy's contribution of All-School Gatherings on her campus dynamic.  My school has the family feeling, but I never thought about improving our school community with an inquiry into how it can grow into a neighborhood environment.  In addition, an All-School Gathering sounds like so much fun.  Their gatherings include singing and recognizing students for their accomplishments.
     Most importantly, Dr. Arterbury's interview with  Dr. Jenkins helped me decide the direction to take with my action research.  I realized part of my problem was that my inquiry was too broad.  I was trying to address too many grade levels and look at too many areas of information.  Learning about the four elements of an effective purpose for a research project gave me a clearer picture of how to state my action research purpose, which was a road block for me in getting started.  Watching this interview also taught me that I needed to focus on what I wanted to learn from my research that would benefit my school the most.  This led to my inquiry, “What impact does Read 180 have on fourth grade reading STAAR scores?"  By making my action research more specific and focused I am feeling much better about getting started.  Thanks to Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins for the introduction of week 2 video!