Week 2--Action Research

Week 2 of this class has created mixed feelings. Action Research helps find solutions to problems by looking at data and working to bring about a change. I have used this process for many years, though my data has much more sophistication now. I believe that any teacher worth his or her grain of salt examines data and what is working in the classroom, along with what is not. Each lesson is tweaked to make it more effective. Some are left out, and new ones are found.

In the last five or six years, I believe there are many schools that have taken this old knowledge and idea of not "reinventing the wheel" and simply improved it with technology and the availability of databases that provide numerous kinds of charts, graphs, and profiles on students. It is much easier with this type of program to isolate individual units, ideas, thoughts, skills and concepts that create difficulty with a student or a group of students. By taking the data and developing ideas that will improve learning, we are involved in the process of action research.

I know it's a lot of work, and I don't know if we will fully realize the ramifications or successes of the data-driven school for another ten to twenty years.

The goal is to help our students succeed in life--and we must wait until they are grown to do this.