Research? EEK! That sounds awful!

As an educator who teaches research and the ever-dreaded research paper to high school students, when I learned that my next grad school class was all about research my reaction was not one of enthusiasm. I saw myself spending hours in the library and on the computers pouring through volumes of literature that someone else, somewhere else, created, desperately searching for anything that could remotely benefit my chosen topic. I envisioned that moment when, in sheer frustration, I began looking for the information that would fit what I had already decided rather than approaching research with an open mind and the willingness to change my point of view. Let's face it, every researcher has been there -- the place where research becomes the spitting out of an assigned product rather than the intended broadening of mind and perspective.

Alas, my fears quickly subsided when I learned that action research isn't just reading incessant amounts of someone else's studies and searching for nuggets of gold.  In fact, action research (dare I say it) puts academia in its place. In her book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, Nancy Fichtman Dana describes the action research process this way:  

"...the practioner inquiry movement focuses on the concerns of practitioners (not outside researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around their question" (p. 5).

Sounds pretty awesome, right? Think of the possibilities!  As an educator, I evaluate data to find problems or areas of concern, and then I collect input not only from academic experts who are far removed but also from real-world circumstances in my classroom, at my school. When I have a question, I ask people for their ideas and solutions. After all, many times the experts on a situation are the people actually in the situation. Then I take all of that data and knowledge and input and create a plan for some type of improvement.

I guess I can finally admit it.  I am excited about this course. I'm excited about conducting research and using the incredible knowledge of my colleagues both in my district and in the faraway, mystical land of Academic Pursuits.

Then, as an icing on the cake, I learned that I had to create a blog for this class. It was like the heavens opened and the angels sang! I consider myself an avid blogger, so this part of the assignment seemed just plain easy.

Easy and useful. I can log my thoughts regarding any number of research topics and actually be able to find them later since they'll be right here on my handy blog. I can ask for and receive feedback from peers not only locally but across the globe. In my dream-blog world, I can foster a community of candid discussion and idea sharing that will allow educators everywhere to be innovative, collaborative, lifelong learners.

Action research? Blogging? I should be paying them to take this class!

Oh, wait....