EDLD+5301

= EDLD 5301 Research = = Reflections﻿ =

I surprised myself in the selection of this course as one of my favorites; but understanding educational research is vital to make informed decisions that impact student achievement and lead to school improvement. This course gave me a deep appreciation for principals and I applied that learning to my role as a technology leader in our district. The course gave me knowledge and skills in action research that I can use in personal lifelong learning and professional development. School improvement is a shared responsibility no matter what leadership role you are in. The learning I received will be an immense benefit to me as we strive to make district improvements that lead to effective and efficient change not just in technology, but in all areas of the school community. School leaders looking to improve schools should focus on work continually on a // basis of discovery //. “Discovery is rarely about creating something new, but is most likely about seeing what was already there with a new understanding” (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010, p. xiv). Some of the benefits I gained from this course came from the book by Nancy Dana, // Leading with Passion and Knowledge //. I learned how to perform professional inquiry with reflections, wonderings, questions, and collection of data. The course reinforced the importance of becoming a head learner that inspires others to participate in their own practitioner inquiry, which enhances professional growth. We developed a blog in this course that was used in a professional learning community (PLC). We posted our action plan and progress each week and made comments on other colleagues’ blogs. The experience was fun and reiterated the importance of communication in the professional community for student achievement and school improvement.