Reflections on choosing an Action Research Topic

I was very interested in the subject of Chapter 2 in Leading With Passion and Knowledge. Chapter 2 covered "Passions That Drive Your Journey," and discussed how you could find topics with which you could begin your action research. I found that all nine of the suggested areas could as easily apply to a teacher's research as they could to an administrator's, although the examples given were largely more applicable to administration (Dana, 2009, pp. 65-66).

Dana's caution about making sure that my wonderings did not focus on changing other people was good advice (p. 64). The only person I can change is me. I may wonder about what I can do to make homework more relevant for my students, but I cannot wonder how I can make my students do their homework and turn it in.

I also appreciated the advice concerning choosing a question which was open-ended. I found myself drafting my original wonderings in the form of yes/no questions (p. 67). That sort of question cannot lead to a great research project because there is only one right answer to a question like that.

The third piece of advice Dana gives that hit home with me was the advice to be sure that my topic would have an impact on learning activities (p. 67). Since this is the most important issue faced by schools today, projects centered around student achievement are going to get the most attention and the most support. Projects which focus on teacher learning are the second most important issue since teachers need to constantly learn and improve to be effective in educating students.

I really felt like I learned a lot from this week's activities. I feel better prepared to choose and begin my research project after the activities this week, and more confident that my topic will gain the interest and support of the districts where I work.