Of Wonderings, Passions, and Picking a Topic: Week 2 Reflections

This week we read about nine areas or "wonderings" that school leaders deal with day-to-day. Never have I imagined becoming a school principal, (although I have recently decided to be an administrator, but one in charge of technology) and this week's readings only highlight the complexities this job entails. Sure, things sound more complicated when you read about them in print with hifalutin terms, but in reality, it is much more complicated. The nine "wonderings" are staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice or equity issues. After reading about all of the above I got to "wondering," how can principals still afford to sleep at night. Or do they?

Another thing we did this week was to pick a topic for our action research. Three topics I have considered include the following: educating students with special needs in inclusive classrooms as opposed to self-contained or Resource classrooms, reasons why Technology Applications TEKS is not addressed in GISD elementary schools, and the effectiveness of “Schools of Choice” versus traditional school zones.

After conferring with my site supervisor, we have both concluded that it will be beneficial for me, my students, and my colleagues if I conduct my action research on the effectiveness of educating special needs students in inclusion classrooms in comparison with self-contained or Resource classrooms. We arrived at this conclusion after two meetings, and we both agreed that my educational and career background both lead me to this topic as well as it directly addressing a pressing need.

Education is moving toward inclusion of special needs students in the regular education classroom. This means special needs students spend the majority of their educational experience with their regular education peers being exposed to general education curriculum, extracurricular activities, and general education instructors with accommodations and modifications.

Another reason for choosing this topic is that it is relevant to current trends in education. These trends are driven by federal and state legislation determined to ensure that all students are receiving a quality education and being taught by highly qualified personnel. Does collaboration between special education teachers and the general education teacher ensure that the needs of special education students are being met through differentiated instruction and support in the general education classroom?

As a special education teacher, it is incumbent upon me to determine the best and/or ideal placement for each of my students and discover avenues to best assist all of them so they will achieve their educational goals in a mainstream environment, as well as any. Understanding the components, merits, and effectiveness of inclusion will allow me to make sound decisions, monitor student progress, improve methods of teaching and learning in the classroom, and effective use of resources (including personnel). Concentrated focus on this topic will also allow me to develop Individualized Educational Plans (IEP's) and curriculum that will target the education of special needs students in the general education setting.

Blog? Why Bother?

Educational leaders can use blogs for a variety of purposes. Chief among them to communicate with community members and other stakeholders. Other reasons include interaction and collaboration with other educational leaders and district employees, sharing ideas, asking for feedback, and expressing oneself.

Action Research and How I Might Be Able to Use It

Action research is research applied in practice, or in a more literal sense, taking action after doing research. In some aspects, action research is akin to problem-solving in that after a problem (or area of improvement) is identified, research on how to solve or address this is initiated and the findings applied in practice. This is different from traditional educational research in that the practitioners themselves – and not other researchers – are involved in all the steps of the action research process. Furthermore, action research is more focused on learning about one's own practices to be able to make the necessary changes and improvements.

One application I am considering is in deciding placements for my students in Special Education, and more specifically the effectiveness of educating special needs students in inclusion classrooms as opposed to self-contained resource classrooms. The general trend in education is moving toward the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular education classroom with the obligatory accommodations and modifications. This is highly admirable in a perfect world, wherein all students learn at the same pace at the same level and given the same tools and curriculum. That is simply not the case. Federal and state legislation determined to ensure that all students are receiving a quality education and being taught by highly qualified personnel is just one piece of this highly complex puzzle, and many questions and issues arise every single day. One of them being, "Does collaboration between special education teachers and the general education teacher ensure that the needs of special education students are being met through differentiated instruction and support in the general education classroom?" As a special education teacher, it is incumbent upon me to continuously strive for the best that all students deserve to achieve their educational goals in a mainstream environment, as well as any. Understanding the components and effectiveness of inclusion will allow me to make decisions regarding my students' needs, as well as monitor student progress and improve methods of teaching and learning in the classroom.

Simply put, action research is an ideal way to address this quandary in a systematic and thorough manner.