conversational blog 3

Data collection is going well since we spoke last. I plan on spending the next couple of weeks putting sense to my findings from my data collection process. Once that is done, I can complete then next piece of my project. It's slow going, but I am close to finishing the data collection phase.

I have been swamped more in my personal life than I have at work, but my project I guess is going as well as it can at this point.

I was wondering how you would like our paper organized because I know I did it wrong in the past. That would be helpful.

Thanks Steve.

conversational blog 2

I have been having a hard time managing both research and the TIP. I have gathered some information, but it's slow going.

I am having difficulty focusing on the right questions to ask both the students and staff. I have administered student surveys but they didn't give me much to work with so I  didn't know if I had asked the right questions. The students don't give as detailed answers like adults do so I didn't know if I should repeat the survey and read it to them instead, as well as offer prompts and record the responses myself.

I am more concerned about how to go about gathering the data, as in how I should administer the data collection tools.

conversational blog 1

My research hasn't started yet, but I am hoping to get it off the ground soon. I plan on pulling data from last year and comparing at the end of this 6 week grading period. I am still having trouble coming up with questions to ask students and staff in their respective interviews. If there was anything I had questions on, it would be that. How do you gauge a students involvement and the perception of a teacher? I may have more questions before we meet so I will keep you updated.

good action research response

During my journey to my TIP involving action research, I've had a hard time wrapping my head around the purpose of action research. I get that it was supposed to be a tool that allows a teacher to change up their classroom for their students, but the dynamic nature of the research made very little sense to me. After perusing this article however, I think I finally get action research. One line that seems to sum up most of what we have learned throughout our studies these past two years regarding action research can be seen in this excerpt from the article: "It operates in partnership with practitioners and we need to discuss and shape our research question and design with the practitioners." This line has only made me more confident with my choice of action research for my TIP. Furthermore, there needs to be a desire to practice action research and there must also be relevance in what you’re researching. By working with practitioners directly, these goals can be easier to attain. The text supports this claim as well by simply stating  "Working in partnership with practitioners pretty much ensures the practical aims will be met". I very much appreciate this article. 

50ish questions

Write down questions about your students, context, school, self, your practice, etc. Anything about what you do on a daily basis. Enter in your blog. Due next class.

What other methods can I use to get to know my students?

Are there any good classroom games?

Are there easy ways to transfer a technology based lesson when technology itself is not working?

What can a teacher do to hold students accountable?

How can teacher foster students holding themselves accountable?

How often should technology be used in the classroom?

How can technology (e.g. chromebooks) affect a student’s academic performance?

What about technology affecting a student’s attentiveness/participation?

Can working for technology be counterproductive to a students participation?

How often will I miss meetings because of IEP meetings?

How will my absence affect my relationship with other staff?

What can I do to reach kids on my caseload I hardly ever see?

What can a teacher do to motivate their students to be on time to class?

If they are late due to the business of the halls, going from one end of the school to the other, should I mark a student tardy?

How do I set up my class details on Synergy?

How should I set up my filing cabinet?

Should it have a file of each of my students?

If I am outside the school in an external classroom, what can I do to let my students know where I am?

How much should I DR for other staff meetings?

Who should I ask to DR for my meetings?

What if I can’t get anyone other than a handful of people to come to an IEP meeting?

Should the meeting still be held despite the fact that people are coming in and out of the meeting?

What can I do to keep myself level headed during the day?

What are some efficient ways to get students attention during class?

How can I involve students who are reluctant to participate?

Where should I post my expectations for the classroom?

How much humor should you use with your students?

How much time should I give for doing work in class?

In regards to students blurting out, what can a teacher do to discourage this behavior?

What is a more efficient way to design your classroom as far as desk arrangements?

When creating a schedule on the board, what should the labels and sections be other than the day and date?

What is an efficient way of sharing assignments from other classes so that students in mine can work on them?

How do you determine a books reading level?

What can be used to help students retain information from a given text?

What kind of activities could I use in tandem with a whole-class read-aloud?

What are some good books for teens?

Should I focus on texts that are uncommon to their curriculum, or stick with the tried-and-true method?

Regarding synergy, what is the best way to gather the schedules of the students on your caseload?

Where should I look to find the students medical needs/supports/accommodations/modifications?

How can students and parents view the students profile and grades?

When trying to gather information for an IEP meeting, who are other staff I should speak to?

How can I best communicate with parents?

How often should I contact parents?

How do I deal with angry parents on the phone?

When is it kosher to give a kid a referral?

What are some other ways to enforce the classroom expectations?

What can I do to pace myself?

Where can I get more classroom supplies?

How much is my budget?

Where can I spend it? Office max? Book store for in-class reading? Goodwill for games?

BTAR chapter 8

Right of the get go in this chapter, I thought about the possible steps following a research study. I was uncertain of where I could go after this upcoming action research this Fall, but then I wondered how I could delve deeper into the subject at hand. How could I build on what I will learn? What could I do to triangulate an even more specific aspect of a students ability to learn? These were questions that I had. I followed the process of this chapter pretty well since it made sense for the most part. It helps to have the text recapped at the end so to make the text and process seem easier to tackle.

What will be the hardest for me to do is reflect on my research after all is said and done, only because at the time, I will be performing the process the best way I know how. As I write this, I know that when the time comes to reflect on my research, it will be helpful to have another set of eyes to take a look. This is where collaboration will help me directly and give me the opportunity to review my own faults and successes as a researcher with a new perspective.

 "To think and act critically is to live and practice action research on a daily basis" is one line in the text that I found interesting. I can appreciate the sentiment of proactivity especially concerning students. That being said, there are times when a teacher just needs to take a break from being a researcher and simply be a teacher. I know that when the time comes to take over my own classroom, it will be difficult for me to focus on research all the time. I understand that action research is a little thing that should be done in tandem with teaching, but there are limits to how many little things a person can take in their day. At that point it will be a balancing act unlike any I have ever done.

BTAR chapter 7

I often think of academic research as dry, overly complicated, and indigestible. With only a few exceptions, it is. As I read this chapter, I begin to understand why people try and add a voice to their research, to give it a personality, or to make it more attractive to the naked eye. They want people to be invested in what they are invested in. In the end, a zebra can't change it's stripes. Academic research is going to be what it is. The trick is, when you get to the end of the research bit and begin presenting your work, everything needs to be simpler in order to be had by your average person. This is the challenge with any research though. Making it easily accessible to the masses. As I read further in the chapter, I realized how great it would be to read an article with attributes like the ones that are presented; moments of joys and mistakes, personal struggles, etc. Many of the authors whose articles I have read could benefit from this text. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they did. This chapter paints a pretty picture of what academic research would be given that we abandon what we think and how we present data.

Despite my disdain for academic work, I can appreciate the effort to be presentable and professional. It takes a certain person in a certain field of study to appreciate a piece on research. Sometimes, it's not about reaching everyone, but it's all about reaching the right people.  The text goes on describing developing a voice and style that you design yourself so to be taken seriously in the academic circles, and nothing is more important than how you look and feel when trying to portray your work. This does not mean that if you look good, you'll sound good. It's important to make your findings just as attractive. If you take a look at page 193 of the text, the authors present a table for your reading convenience so to show how a well organized research presentation can look. What I like most about it is that it simplifies. Not much can be done to change the facts and what they are, but by using an organizer such as the one on page 193, an author can simplify their work into a more digestible form.

BTAR chap. 6

This chapter begins simply by helping the reader define "interpretation". Reading the following passages, I thought more about my insecurities regarding action research. Through the process of learning about how to be a consistent and reliable researcher, I have learned more about how the data we collect can influence our own perspectives regarding our research. Near the beginning of the chapter the text cites the words of Tilden who said that "information, as such, is not interpretation." I get the feeling that a great deal of researchers have fallen prey to this aspect of research and attempted to make meaning from the information alone. I agree with the authors who discuss how interpreting data can be a daunting task to even the most seasoned of researchers. I have no doubt that I will have a hard time with this aspect of data interpretation. It almost seems wrong making a judgment about a population based on my observations. Who's to say that my data collection was flawed or skewed in any way? I think that is what will worry me the most when I perform my action research in the fall. Even later in the chapter the authors discuss the voice in your head that says that you don't know enough. What put my mind slightly at ease was reading about the steps of data collection. I figure if I successfully perform the steps, I should have enough information to make a basic inference.  

Chapter 5 BTAR

I know that during my action research, I am going to have a great deal of issues when finally looking at my data and working out what it is telling me. I think that might be why the questions posed regarding the analysis and reconstruction of my data on pages 118 and 119 are going to help me considerably when taking a look at my own data. It is important for a researcher to be able to communicate and understand their study's data so to make it more accessible to a common reader. The questions in the following pages up until 122 will also help me realize what my own limitation are the limitations of my data. Late in the chapter, the text discusses the importance of ongoing analysis and taking reflective pauses during research. This would help a researcher by forcing them the constantly rethink about their research process and the implications the data makes, rather than waiting until the very end when all the data has been collected and seems so distant and disconnected. This will have to be something that I focus on as well just so I don't lose sight of early data collections and what they imply. A lot can be lost in a matter of weeks when distracted by other happenings in research.

Gersten article reflection

It's important to consistently look at how we teach and how different methods are implemented in the classroom. This article was hard to digest and overly descriptive to suit anyone who isn't in the field of research, education, or involved in both. Despite it's value to your average bystander, it's the thought that counts. Things became much clearer in the section titled Measuring the Independent Variable when the author discusses the difference between observing the implementation or the lack thereof. I think it became clearer because Gersten used a contextual example. I appreciate how the article stresses the importance of using a lesson model consistently so to better obtain an idea of how effective that model actually is. I enjoyed one of the following sections titled Implementation Fidelity because, right at the beginning, Gersten maps out what should be observed while judging the effectiveness of a lesson model. Gersten talks about aspects such as level of training provided , length of lessons, etc. Though there is a checklist that helps define what should be looked for in any implementation, I appreciate the fact that the author admits that there are aspects that can be difficult to quantify during an observation. The article brings more points to light, but overall, it reminds me that it's important to observe my own teaching and planning. That way I can consistently better my teaching methods.