A Very Sexton Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you had a blessed day full of good food, good friends and good fun. Ours was. Here is a copy of what our kids put together (with the help of a very creative elf/babysitter - Thanks Hannah!) for our Christmas present. I hope you enjoy this Very Sexton Christmas as much as we did!

Brian

Inspirational Post - ISTE Conference Kickoff: Explorers and Excellence

I found this on a colleagues blog site and was so inspired by it, I added it to mine. Thanks to Holly B!

What is Action Research?

Action research, or administrative inquiry, is a lot like teacher inquiry, only focused on a leadership type situation. For teachers, it allows them to analyze their classroom practices. For administrators, it allows them to understand why they do the things they do, and hopefully by reflecting, analyzing and reading relative material, empower administrators to make better choices regarding their actions and planning. The text, Leading With Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Fichtman Dana, defines administrator inquiry as “the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of inquiry.” (Dana, 2009, pg.2) It is a crucial professional development component in the principal’s continual development as an educational leader.

It is different from traditional forms of research, which are strictly top down delivery of information. Much like the old instructional model of teacher lecture – student listen. Action research is more responsive to the individual needs of the campus and is of a collaborative nature.

Since action research is a collaborative effort, it allows leaders to collect the information pertinent to their situation, and develop expertise in this area. Then they can move toward becoming an expert that the campus staff will recognize and look to for continued inspired leadership.



Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

Educational Leaders And Blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs for a number of different things. Using a blog is a simple way for simple information to be passed along to a large number of people easily, that can easily be updated and referred to. It is however, limited to the number of people who “follow” your blog. It cannot be used as an exclusive source of information, but it is a great tool to have in the toolbox. Your administrative team can also interact using a blog, utilizing their mobile phones for relatively instant feedback on action items. Site security could be issue, so they would have to be careful what is being discussed.

Another great use of a blog is to host a virtual club. A Book Club comes to mind, where each week the facilitator assigns a section of the book to read, and members of the club post reflections, observations and questions that arise regarding the selection for the week. Teachers could even use it as a reading guide for assignments, to complement their classroom delivery of the material.

Teachers can also use blogs to post homework assignments and provide feedback to student questions that come up away from school during weekends or holidays.