Assignment # 4: Action Research Blog Post

What are the benefits of action research? What experiences do you have conducting research that could help you in this process?  What questions do you have?

In early the early 2000s, I experienced a  huge fundamental shift in education  in regards to the  belief  that if curriculum is tightly aligned to state standards, student achievement of those standards is likely to follow.  The task was overwhelming for classroom teachers who have taught a certain way (giving worksheets and lecturing for example) for years.  Many of whom have left the profession in droves.  When I came into the profession at this time, it was in the middle of this "pendulum swing" of reinventing education.  I was for the most part, an observer of change and a learner of new way of teaching I did not learn in college.  The standards implementation planning model was the mechanism for practical standards-based planning, imbedded in that model was reflection.  The driving question was how one can improve one's teaching or make more effective.  This is the focus of action research..  It is intended to improve and strengthen student achievement and reiterte the idea of edcucation as a research-based profession.  
My experiences with conducting research comes through PD courses I have taken on the process that emphasized the suggesion of research-tested practices to increase student learning.  I learned strategies that were derived from research-substantiated practices.  
My biggest question is what I could focus in on for this assignment while authenticating the practices I have in place for my EES (Educator Evaluator System).  I hope to "feed two birds with one seed" with this.  Our schools' focus last year was on argumentative wrtiting, this year it is building academic conversations. These foci are in alignment to our school's vision of developing college and career ready individuals.  In developing my plan for my SLOs as part of the EES, I and my social studies colleagues have decided that literacy is what will focus in on.  As part of my Action Research, I hope to evaluate the efficacy of online resources in improving literacy.  My colleague and I have been working closely with each other on developing strategies to improve literacy.  One of the components of this plan for improvement involves implementing the online program of ACHIEVE 3000.  I would like to see how using such technology in my 9th grade classes (of World History) could improve Lexile levels that reflect college readiness.