What I Have Learned About Action Research

            Action research is a way that I as an educator or administrator can become more comfortable with the day to day task that might arise in the school or educational setting.  Not only can I learn from reading or viewing research done by someone else on a particular topic, I can draw on my own experiences or past actions to take actions or make decisions.  Action research uses reflection that can help the mental health of an educator in many ways.  It allows one to relax at some point during the crazy life that is the daily schedule of an administrator.  Reflection also give you the chance to sit back and think about your actions or the situation at hand.  By doing this, you can clearly look at things with out being clouded by the activities surrounding the situation.  Things may seem less complicated this way.  If a issue requires more thought, the one can look beyond their own experiences and learn from someone who has had a similar experience and make parallels or correlations that may help in their unique situation.  Action research also takes the control and gives it back to the administrator.  I can make policy changes or routine adaptations with my situation in mind.  This is in opposition to the traditional model in which ideas were generated by scholarly research by someone who has never been in my school, met me, or my staff.