chapter 2 and they say I say

Andrew Hatzenbihler

10-5-16

1. We choose to focus on issues that are meaningful to our current context, whether that be in our classroom, home, or social life. The questions we ask are ones that are relevant to our work and the community that surrounds that work. We do these things because they can help us become better educators who have the ability to adapt to most any situation in the classroom.
2. Problematize means to create a question that has been crafted finely enough from our thoughts and ideas so that it can be investigated. Action research depends on this because we need to have the adaptability of our contexts and the ability to focus that context and our ideas into an “equation”.
3. Context matters to action research because our questions we ask depend on the current context, which determines what we are thinking, which then helps us “problematize” our ideas and thoughts.
4. Characteristics of Workable critical question include that it is important to you, contains a good idea, focused, supports mission, informs your work, and is authentic among other qualities. Critical questions change with the action research because the action research can change with the context.

1. The classroom I will be conducting my action research in is a Developmental Learning Center that revolves around low cognitive and high behavior students. Social behavior is a priority in the classroom and our schedule and curriculum greatly depend on it. My context affects my action research because I would like to base it around the connection between social connections and a students academic success.
2. After speaking with my colleagues, I learned that many of the students feed off each other. They rely on the social and communal connections with their peers so as to be motivated in the classroom. I still need to find out the specific connections and to what degree each individual student is reliant on them. I will gather this through observations.
3. My choice in this subject reflects my own beliefs of community and how important a community is. A kid needs connections much like adults do when applying for jobs, but kids need them to survive education. They need friends as much as mentors. Sometimes, those people are one and the same.
   
   

They Say I Say intro

It seems that, as a whole, the author of They say I say puts an emphasis on focusing first on what others say in regards to a point you are trying to make or an argument that your are trying to support. I shows that you have regard for others thoughts and it creates a context for your audience. While reading this chapter, I couldn't help but think about a friend of mine that likes to insert himself into a conversation by stating something that steers the conversation in a different way. It feels awkward. I know that sometimes people don't understand social cues, but it is important to recognize others thoughts before asserting your own. I thought about this as a teaching tool as well and it makes so much sense to present to students this way. I like how this book seems to be laying out simple and easy-to-use techniques. It's kind of like going back to 7^th and 8^th grade where we learned how to incorporate devices like these but didn't see the relevance. I can finally appreciate that.