What I have recently learned about action research is that is doesn't have to be scary, stressful, or down-right ridiculous work.  It is something that can be engaging and fun, and enrich my growth as an educator in a variety of facets.  Action research is there to stimulate my thought processed, and allow for improvement.  It is not limited to a teacher or an administrator.  It is there to work collaboratively among those that have a vested interest in the betterment of a campus, classroom, and most of all a student.  Education is a life-long ongoing process, and action research is just another way to enrich that process.

Action research is a process, and that process is defined in an article published in the AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice as such:  1.  Define an issue to study, 2.  Review of Professional Literature,
3.  Take Action, 4.  Use and Share Results (Ringler, 2007) .  Action research is not something you can do alone without input from other sources if you want to deliver accurate results.  You do not need to make time for action research, it should be ongoing.  One way to help ease the tension of time is to make inquiry a part of your daily practice rather than a separate part of it (Dana, 2009).  Another suggestion I read in the book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge:  The Principal as an Action Researcher is to make it a part of your normal administrative practice and formulate a study based on something you must do anyway (Dana, 2009).

I intend to make action research a part of my classroom.  Some inquiries may be more extensive and involved than others, but I know I can be more effective if I am drawing from my experience and challenging myself to dig a little deeper.