Month: June 2021

Collaborative Discussion on Topic Research

Week 4’s discussion post was to create a small annotative review of at least five of our scholarly articles that we are going to use in our literature reviews. We were tasked with reading our peers’ annotative reviews and compare them with ours to see if we could possibly collaborate with them since our topics were similar. I found one peer’s post that was similar to mine and I replied to hers. We were able to collaborate a bit on our topics, which helps tremendously. The best part of this post was being able to read a brief summary of our peers’ articles and see if any of those articles could possibly help us with our own research.

Collaboration seems to be what is keeping me a float in this class. I feel that this is Lamar’s way in showing us the value of collaboration so that we can give our students the chance to do the same.

Asking the Right Questions

In our week three discussion post we dove deeper into our action research topics and were tasked to discuss with our peers the importance of asking the right questions. We were tasked with watching two videos over the seven essential skills needed for the future and to answer some questions. Below is what I found.

  • If you wanted to know if someone got the most important point of this video, what question or questions would you ask them?

If I wanted to know if someone got the most important points of these videos, I would ask them to compare Dr. Wagner’s and Ms. Galinsky’s seven skills that they both talked about and have them make a list of the traits that they notice the students are already doing in their classroom.  Then I may ask them to think about what would they do to help students learn the skills that the students are lacking to be better prepare them for life after high school and why they believe skills to be important.

  • Compare and contrast Wagner’s 7 Skills and Galinsky’s 7 Life skills.

When comparing the skills, they both list critical thinking and communication as skills needed.  I feel that although they used different names, Wagner’s accessing/analyzing information is the same as Galinsky’s self-directed engaged learning, and Wagner’s Curiosity/imagination is the same as Galinsky’s taking on challenges.

I feel that the major difference is that Wagner’s skills are more macro related and Galinksky’s skills are more micro related.  What I mean by this is that Wagner’s skills are more on a wider spectrum while Galinsky’s are more focused and to the point.

  • Consider the role of asking questions or the right questions in these videos and also in your work on your action research plan.

 A person can gain so much knowledge by asking questions.  I know, because I am one of these people.  If I do not understand, I ask.  I feel like asking the right questions can also have a huge impact on the research, as well.  You want people to talk in depth about the topic you are inquiring about.  You cannot get these responses by asking yes/no type questions.  When trying to find the right type of questions to ask, focus on asking open-ended type questions and use follow-up questions to help the person know that you are searching for more information.

  • Why are we asking you to consider these fundamental learning issues in the midst of a course dealing with measuring innovation strategies?

You are asking for us to consider these fundamental learning issues, because we are getting ready to dive into our action research project and we will be talking to people to gather qualitative data.  We will need to know how to ask the right questions so that we can get the information needed.  Also, a lot of our topics are about one or even several of these seven skills that Dr. Wagner and Ms. Galinsky are talking about that people are lacking.  It is showing us that we are already seeing the lack of these skills in our classrooms and it is not just us noticing it.

Clarifying the Problem

In week two’s discussion post we were working on trying to narrow down our action research topic. We were given various tools to help us work on finding what topic we would like to research and how to focus in on adopting our question for our action research plan. Below is my discussion post.

I currently do not have an innovation plan because I have not yet taken that class, but I have come up with a topic, Inquiry-based learning and its effectiveness in an honors math classroom.  I choose this topic because I am an honors math teacher and I have been teaching for fourteen years.  Over the years I have noticed a push for more inquiry- based learning.  I have been intrigued by this style of learning because it allows the students to think on a much deeper level and puts the power of learning in their hands, but I find myself scared to take the leap.  Which leads me to my fundamental research question, “How effective is inquire-based learning in a high school math classroom in developing higher-order thinking skills?”

After reviewing over Table 4.1 Should I use a Qualitative or a Quantitative Approach, I found that the best method for me is to utilize the triangulation mixed-methods design.  I will need both qualitative and quantitative research to help me answer my question.  I will have three Honors Algebra 2 classes this coming up school year and I am planning to take two of those classes and perform the inquiry-based learning in those two classes and I am thinking to teach the third class just like I have over the past nine years.  On the qualitative side, I will plan to use the constant comparative method, where I will be collecting data from all three classes, where I will compare the behavior of the students and even survey them to see how they are doing.  For the quantitative research, I am planning to compare their test scores.  The three classes will have learned the exact same material, just in different ways and I will be able to compare test scores to see who has performed at a higher level.

I am hoping I am on the right track with my action research plan and I would be ecstatic if any of you can make any recommendations for me.

I received from very good feedback from my peers on my topic that has helped me to even further develop my plan. Collaborating with my peers has proven to be a great tool for this class.

Recognizing the Misperceptions

After reading over the required reading and getting a better understanding of action research, I personally feel that the acting stage will be one of the most difficult parts in this process at this time due to the fact that we are currently out for the summer.  I will not be around anyone to be able to collect the data that I will need to help address my question, on which learning strategy is better for students, inquiry-based learning, or traditional-based learning?  I am really wanting to gather input from the students on this once I have had the chance to practice each of these with my students.

I will be leaning heavily on my previous classes to help me with my action research in this class.  I feel that EDLD 5339, The Principalship, is the class that has helped me the most with identifying problems and creating an action plan to resolve the issues that were presented to us.  I believe that this will be utilized a lot in this course.

Professional reflection makes someone a better educator by allowing the educator time to reflect on their own practices in their classroom and giving the educator time access and adjust.  This process is also cyclical, meaning it never ends.  We as teachers, have always done this.  We do a lesson in our room and then either after a period or at the end of the day we reflect and make changes for the future.  Even a veteran like myself, I do not believe that I have ever taught a lesson the same way, even after my fourteen years of teaching.  I am constantly seeking ways to improve what I do to better serve my students and their needs.