Adding to the Knowledge of Action Research

Dr. Timothy Chargois shared in the video this week that he had teachers that were asking to do research in his district.  I find it rather refreshing to know that there are school districts that expect and encourage teachers to continue to explore new teaching strategies by using an action research model.  I do not see that happening in the school district that I am teaching in.  I feel like that we are all just trying to stay afloat each week and make it to Friday.  We are always researching, but it seems that the research is always based on getting the school performance goals met.  It feels like we are operating in a "fix it" mode instead of being able to do research that will lead us to build better teaching skills that would benefit our students.  Ultimately our goal is for the students to be successful, not just the school. And I feel that some of our "fix it" strategies are temporary band aids to get our students to the next grade level instead of a strategy that will give our students an understanding of how to conquer what we are trying to fix with confidence.