What I have learned about action research...

What I have learned about action research is that my district has been requiring this process as an appraisal tool for the last 10-12 years of my teaching career.  The district I work in has 2 forms of appraisal: 1) PDAS and 2) ABC (Appraisal by Collaboration).  The former is the state mandated appraisal system required of all teachers.  The latter is an alternative choice to PDAS that involves action research.  The process of action research or "administrator inquiry" as described in Nancy Dana's book "Leading With Passion And Knowledge" states,
         Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or
         "wonderings", collecting data to gain insight into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with
         reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed
         during inquiry, and sharing findings with others. (p. 2-3)
 The ABC process in our district requires us to be a part of an ABC collaborative group.  We are required to pose a "Banner Question" (this would be the same as a wondering) related to student achievement and throughout the year we collect data, collect artifacts, read relevant literature, and meet at certain checkpoints to reflect on our findings and processes with our collaborative team.  At the end of the year, our summative conference (appraisal) involves presenting our final product to our team and then meeting with our principal to discuss our ABC banner question and findings.  We are expected to explain not just what we found out throughout the inquiry process, but what changes we made based on the data, and how student achievement was impacted based on the changes we made.   Ever since this process was started in my district I have been a staunch supporter of it.  I truly believe that this process has made me a better educator and highlights the fact that I am a professional who is always wanting to grow and learn in my craft.  One of the struggles highlighted in the Dana text was time to conduct administrative inquiry.  Time is always an issue for anyone involved in education, but our district's ABC process was allotted time because our district believes in the inherent value of the inquiry process.  Unfortunately, not all teachers agree that this process is worthwhile and the district has decided to allow teachers/campuses to choose between PDAS and ABC.   As an aspiring principal I acknowledge that I have benefited greatly from action research as a teacher and I intend to make action research a part of my campus culture in the future.  The most important thing that I learned from the Dana text about action research is the need for a principal to be the "head learner" (p.2) in their school.  As a principal you must be willing to engage in action research if you expect your teachers to do the same. 

Dana, Nancy Fichtman. (2009). Leading With Passion And Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. California: Corwin.