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.
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