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Action Research and Development
What is Action Research and Development? AR&D is a co-operative structure for school improvement that grows from respect for the knowledge and experience of local educators. Working together, teachers and administrators gather useful information on current practices, then develop and implement plans for professional development and school improvement based on the results. With AR&D, educators learn to identify the strengths and weaknesses of local programs, engage in on-going formal inquiry and discussion about avenues for improvement, and adjust their activities in light of feedback obtained. Rather than relying on the abstract theories of outside experts, teachers and administrators work cooperatively to craft solutions that will work in their own environment. The assumption behind AR&D? That local educators, not outside experts, are professionals: they know best about where and how to improve their schools.
How does AR&D fit with Understanding by Design (UbD)? UbD provides the model for the "development" component AR&D. We begin with a view toward the desired results (what do we want to accomplish?), establish benchmarks for discerning achievement of these results (what will the evidence of our success look like?), then create an action plan for implementing that plan (how will we achieve the goals that we have identified?). Like UbD, AR&D focuses on results, rather than intentions.
Why should you make a long-term commitment to AR&D? Action Research and Development empowers faculties to identify problems and shape solutions. Externally-imposed reforms often fail to respect the local context, bypassing the valuable contributions that teachers and administrators can offer and relying, instead, on "one size fits all" solutions. By placing teachers and administrators at the center of all efforts, this fatal flaw is eliminated. Instead of re-design becoming "yet another" add-on obligation for everyone, AR&D becomes an energizing, goal-focusing, and team-oriented approach to school improvement based on individual perceptions and shared vision. On-going AR&D leads to an improved ability to identify and clarify local needs, a culture of collaborative problem-solving, and the creation of an ever-growing bank of solutions and ideas.
How can Authentic Education help? Authentic Education can help you to:
- ask (and keep alive) the important questions
- begin and nurture thoughtful dialogue among colleagues
- structure those questions in ways that will enable you to draw useful conclusions
- analyze the data you collect
- structure a plan for improvement, based on the data you collect
- assist you in revising your plan, in light of the feedback you receive
- connect you with the experiences of other schools that have undertaken similar projects
- maintain your emphasis on desired results, rather than on inputs
- evaluate your success in reaching the desired goals
- redirect your energies, if improvement is slow in coming
Click here for examples of AR&D in action.
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