Topics They are A-changin'

After much deliberation and consideration, I've decided I hate my topic and I'm going to change it. I've never been super excited about it but I couldn't think of another one. However, now that I'm learning more about what will need to be in our reports, I've come up with a better, much more interesting topic that will benefit my campus. We have a ZAP (zeros aren't permitted) program. Each campus is required to have one in our district and they all take different forms. Ours is a lunch detention. I'm going to look at the effectiveness of the program on our campus: how much is it utilized, does it improve grades, etc.

Stay tuned for the results!

My Action Research Topic

I've been going back and forth on my final topic and have talked to many colleagues to get ideas. I've finally settled on one concerning collaborative grouping, specifically "Does grouping by gender make a difference in student performance?".

MIddle school is such a crazy time, with kids often focusing more on the social and impressing the cute boy or girl in class, than on academics. Will putting them in single gender groups help them keep their mind on their assignment and off of their social life? I guess I'll find out.

What I've Learned This Week

Just a short post to sum up what I've learned from my readings this week. These are things I will try to keep front of mind while creating my action research plan.

• Don't reinvent the wheel. Whatever issue or concern you are having, chances are, someone else has had the same problem. Do a little research to see what they found out and then see if you can apply their findings to your situation. 

• Make your research practical for you. If it's on a topic you can actually use, you be more focused, more interested and you and your students will benefit.

How Can Educational Leaders Use Blogs?

Blogging can be a way to disseminate information quickly. It's also a relatively easy way to gather public opinion on an issue. Using blogs is a way to give your audience a voice.

What is this "action research" you speak of?

If you've been in education for any length of time, you are always on the alert for the new buzzwords and trends. We've all heard them: collaborative grouping, open concept, differentiated instruction, whole language, and lately, PLCs and data-driven instruction. As such, you have a tendency to become cynical very quickly, knowing that any new initiatives will surely be replaced by the next idea that's going to save us all, just as soon as someone from the administration building gets back from whatever conference they have gone to this year.

But, sometimes, in tuning out you miss out on what is actually just plain 'ol good teaching practice, freshened up. 

I've begun studying action research as part of my graduate coursework. What I've learned so far is that action research is just taking what we as educators (should) do naturally and making it a little more formal. It's a way of finding a solution to a problem, with a little data to back it up. If I do "X" will it improve "Y"? If it doesn't, can how can I change "X" so that it does? 

I've also learned that the operative word in that phrase is "action". It's not about reading something in a book written by someone who hasn't set foot in a K-12 classroom since they were a student in one; it's about evaluating the needs of your students and/or campus and addressing those needs with solutions that will work in the real world. Collect all the data you want but, until you reflect on it and change your practice as a result, all you've done is a "fun activity" or two.

Action research is also a way to take control of your own professional growth. We've all spent hours of our lives that we'll never get back in meaningless staff development sessions that we take nothing away from but a pile of dead trees. Addressing concerns that are personal to you will motivate you to implement changes in your classroom or school.

I haven't fully decided how I'm going to implement action research in my own classroom. One area I'm looking at is student motivation, always a challenge with middle schoolers and an even bigger one it seems this year.

For now, I'm keeping an open mind and a muzzle on my inner cynic.