Parent-Teacher Conferences with a Twist

I have decided to conduct an action research project on Parent-Teacher Conferences Led By Students.  I think this will be a fun and beneficial way to have students become more involved in their progress of academic success for the rest of the school year.  I am excited to develop a plan where students will set goals and be able to track their progress for the remainder of the year.  I hope to continue my research into next year and be able to start in the beginning of the year and include a beginning, middle, and end of the year conference. 

Conducting action research is done by educational professionals and what I have learned is that everyone's main goal is student success.  But finding many ways to achieve that success is what action research is all about.  I have also learned that no one is expecting you to start from scratch.  Use resources all around you and apply them to  your situation.  It is also acceptable to compare your campus to a campus with similar needs and demographics.

How Educational Leaders Use Blogs

           Using blogs is an easy way to have information reach many people short amount of time.  Blogs are easy to read and locate online.  They are a great way to start an interactive discussion with many other bloggers.  Using a blog allows you to receive opinions from other bloggers anywhere in the world and at any time during the day. 

            A couple ideas for educational leaders to use blogs for are; online book study discussions, reflections from colleagues on recent educational laws passed, and ideas for staff developments that have worked for other districts/campuses.

What I Have Learned About Action Research.....

Action Research is the new and improved way of conducting traditional research.  Although action research may be time consuming it has proved to be more beneficial for students.  Professionals work collaboratively and develop a plan to improve student learning and success.  As this plan is implemented there is constant reflection about if professionals are seeing growth among the students or if the plan needs to be modified to meet students’ needs.  When conducting action research there are four main steps to guide you.  First, define an issue to study; second, review professional literature; third, take action; and fourth, use and share results (Ringler, M. 2007. p 30).  When conducting action research you find an issue with students and many professionals work as a team to help improve student learning.  With action research you are involved with the whole process and continually learning and adapting to what works best for the students.  Working collaboratively helps all angles of the issue to be seen and lets discussion occur and lead to new solutions that would not normally happen if the research was done individually.  I believe action research is a positive direction for professionals to take when looking at issue that their campus is focusing on.  It will help bring professionals together instead of feeling alone and overwhelmed.  Action research is time consuming but the end result of success outweighs the planning time.