EDLD 5301 End of Course Reflections

I felt like there were many great moments of discovery throughout this course. I had several “aha” moments occur during my reading. I got a different perspective on the point of action research when I read “Essentially research is nothing but a state of mind, … a friendly, welcoming attitude toward change, … going out to look for change instead of waiting for it to come” (Kettering (in Boyd), cited in Dana, 2009, p. 30). Another such moment for me occurred when Dana explained that qualitative data was equally as informative as quantitative data for the purpose of action research (Dana, 2009, p. 71). I was at the time beginning to wonder what kind of data I could use to do my project, and was enlightened by the prospect of using surveys, interviews, and my own reflections in a journal or weblog as a method of obtaining data.
When I first considered the action research project I am conducting, I was unsure what kind of literature might exist on the subject. To me, the idea of a correlation between substitutes in the classroom and reduced student achievement seemed like a given, but I had no idea how one would actually determine if that were the case. And while I knew something should be done to make better use of substitute teachers in the absence of the teacher, I did not know if anyone had thought about it and proposed any suggestions. My literature study was very helpful in this area. Even in the few documents I came across in the matter of a few hours’ of time, I found numerous studies others had done which linked teacher absence to student performance. That helped me determine that the way to study the impact of the substitute is to compare teacher absentee rates to TAKs data for each teacher. If those with higher absentee rates have lower TAKs scores, it would indicate that the substitute teachers have had a negative impact on student achievement. I also discovered through my literature review that several states are trying various methods to improve the quality of learning that takes place in the teachers’ absence.
The comments from other students through the discussion boards, on my blog, and especially during the weekly conferences were very helpful to me both as I learned more about action research and as I began developing my own plan. I received a lot of encouragement about the importance and viability of my topic, which I really needed given the feelings of inadequacy I was dealing with. Added to that were many helpful suggestions relating to ways to approach my topic, obtain the data I needed, and determine the actions that might need to be taken. Although I did not incorporate every suggestion I received into my plan, each one was beneficial because it opened me up to new ways of thinking and looking at my topic.
I feel I have grown quite a bit during this course and I am confident that action research will be a regular part of my career as a teacher now that I have gotten my feet wet and experienced the process first-hand. I am eager to see the progress of my fellow students as they move forward on this journey with me, and I am equally eager to share my own progress.

References

Dana, Nancy Fitchman (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge.

My project has generated some interest!

I am very happy to announce that today when I finally got an opportunity to contact school principals and district superintendents about my action research project, the initial response has been very positive and I will be meeting with at least one principal one district and the superintendent of another. I am feeling much more confident now as a result of these initial responses.

Week 4 Reflections for Action Research Course

I have sort of completed Week 4 of my course. I have been unable to meet with my site mentor this week; in fact the week was over before he even responded to my email requesting that we meet. He is attending TCEA (lucky!) and is out of touch right now, so my internship plan is going to have to be reviewed via email. Sigh.

I am not concerned that my mentor will not like my plan. I expect he will have some helpful criticism for me, but my concern still lies in getting some principals to agree, and thanks to all these stupid snow days every time I have a day off when I could make some phone calls and set up appointments to meet with the principals, there is no school. Maybe this week, I hope. At least the forecast looks clear!

I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have learned about action research up to this point. I know a lot more about data gathering and self-reflection and sharing my research and developing ideas to take action upon than I did a few weeks ago. I am feeling more confident in my own ability to perform action research. I guess it is one more thing that frustrates me while waiting for my full-time teaching job. I would love to begin doing this sort of thing as a part of my job, and I can't wait for someone to hire me and give me that opportunity. If anyone out there knows about a job opening in the Texarkana area, please let me know!

This last week should be fun as we wrap everything up and look toward methods of sustaining improvement. I am a little unclear as to the new paperwork requirements at the tail end of the class, since they appear to be focused on Administration majors rather than Technology majors, but I've got a message into the IA and I'm sure it will all be sorted out and make sense in the end.

New Online Resource for Teachers and Administrators

I have just signed up for a new web service: eBackpack.com. This great resource provides teachers and administrators with secure cloud storage and file sharing in an environment especially designed for them. The website allows you to create sub-accounts under your own for your students, add classes and assign students to classes, upload files (handouts, notes, assignments) to share with students, provide a drop-box for students to submit work online, return graded submissions to students, create an online ePortfolio of student work, and more. This looks like it is going to be a great site with many possible uses. Be sure and check out the site and sign up for your free account today, and let me know what you think!