What I have learned thus far?

Action research is a concept that is very familiar to me. I just never knew it had an official name! In some way or another, I have been using the different phases of action research in my work practices since I began teaching over 20 years ago. Reflecting on the different phases of action research as presented in the readings, I decided that I most often start the action research project but do not follow a systematic process. To become better at the process, I will have to concentrate on following a pattern or linear map when I choose to investigate an issue or problem.

Action research seems to me to be a wonderful tool for moving forward in new processes. There are both a sense of movement (action) and a sense of careful consideration given as the progress is made. Where, in the past, I have always made a presentation of the information that I found during a research project, the information was not used for any further work. The presentation was an ends to the means. Action research is not a mere presentation. The information found during the process is used -- used to make changes in the current situation. This is a positive outcome that I am sure I will use as part of my work in the future.

My initial idea is to use this action research pattern as my collegue and I create a professional advisory group within our district. The group will be formed to discuss several pertinent and imminent changes with CPR training and certification in public schools. Using the action research model, the group can work together to find the best solutions for the upcoming difficulties.