Action research or inquiry supports my philosophy on how educational practice should be facilitated to honor the educated professionals we are and focus on what is important – the success of our particular community of students.
First, inquiry acknowledges the skills and knowledge base of education professionals, who participate in this protocol of a professional learning community. This collaborative protocol provides teachers the opportunity to contribute and belong to the success of a group. It provides authentic professional development that note only hones the skills and knowledge of the teacher, but specifically focuses on the needs of specific students. This practice is not the generic brand band-aid solution that has plagued our profession. As noted by Nancy Dana, in Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher (2009), inquiry is not your “sit-and-get” sessions that usually have very little impact on teaching skills. Inquiry helps teachers and principals develop and, more importantly, implement best practices.
Furthermore, these best practices are focused on the whole reason behind our profession – students successfully learning. Again, this style of research or professional development is nurtured by the needs and data from our students. Consequently, it is relevant. It is powerful. It is not the latest packaged program that is going to be the silver bullet. As educators know each year is different because each student is different. Forcing our students to learn by shoving them through a square system or program when they come as rounded individuals with their own unique shapes and sizes is why we are still in an educational crisis. Following the eights steps from Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, from their Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools (2010), moves educators from making data-driven decisions to action to continuous assessment for continuous improvement. These simple eight steps is a protocol to keep teachers fresh and effective in meeting the needs of their students.
Consequently, this protocol is an essential tool in my repertoire as an educational leader. My role as an educational leader is to facilitate and advocate for the success of my school community. This protocol will help nurture a professional learning community that focused on our only goal – the success of our students. This protocol will take out personal agendas and unnecessary practices that bog down our educational system. This protocol will give support for our campus-based decisions under the microscope of accountability.

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action
researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S, Edmonson, S, & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve
our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on
Education.