Like many other people, I have never been a fan of research. The word research produces a picture in my head of an individual reading an endless amount of books. For this reason, I did not know what to expect from this class. I was anxious, scared, excited, yet clueless about what type of research I was going to be exposed to.
During week one, action research was introduced yet the process was vaguely explained. This made me even more nervous! Once I got the opportunity to brainstorm what issues I wanted to tackle, the process of action research started to sound appealing. It was refreshing to read the countless discussions on the discussion boards. Discussion boards stimulated my thought process and several comments encouraged me to work harder.
What I liked most about this class were the web conferences. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend one but I always watched them once the link was provided for us. So much useful information was discussed via web conference plus numerous unanswered questions were explained. Also, web conferences were a great tool to make the course feel more personal and interactive. This is my first Lamar graduate course in the past two years. My first two courses did not offer web conferences and I must admit it was extremely considerate of our professor to take the time to meet with us. I know that if this would have been done in my other Lamar courses, my experience would have been more pleasant.
Another feature that I did not encounter two years ago when I started my journey with Lamar were the weekly overviews. Each overview gave me a better understanding of what was expected of me each week. It was also a great way to be exposed to what needed to be done (i.e. blog information, TK20 notice). I am glad to see that Lamar is continuously finding ways to improve.
I still remember walking into my husband’s office and shouting out, “You know what, I can be more than an administrator, I can and will be!” Sure this might have scared a random stranger, but my husband knows how I act when I get motivated. What led me to this random act of adrenaline was the viewing of the assigned videos during week two. Watching these interviews made it clear for me that in order to make favorable changes, action-research must be implemented. I realized the importance of this class and how the concept of research is essential in order to maximize student success. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new and I’m certain that by continuing my action research plan journey I will be able to grow as a leader.
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