AR Project Update

My action research project seems to be progressing well.  I’ve conducted my interviews and am almost finished compiling my data.  Once I’ve compiled the data, the important work begins in analyzing it and making the all-important determination of whether or not it supports my thesis and answers the questions I set forth in the inquiry process.  From what I’ve got so far, I think that I’m in good shape, but I’ll really have to dig into it to see how everything is going to shake out.  My interviews were very interesting and insightful.  I found that those who understand the vision and purpose behind collaborative planning have really fallen in love with it.  The overwhelming sentiment I’ve gotten from those people is that they wonder why they hadn’t been doing it all along.  For years many teachers worked in isolation, feeling like they were all alone on an island.  One teacher at my school told me that during her first year of teaching (which was only 3 years ago), she was handed a textbook and told to just go and teach.  No standards, no accountability, and no real help.  She said that the collaborative planning system in place at this school and in this district, has helped her immensely and has made her a better teacher.  I honestly do believe that my data and my interviews will support my belief that true collaborative planning does make a big difference in the achievement of learning goals by students and translates into higher scores on district and state assessments.