The first five weeks of this semester have been a big adjustment for me. It's been three years since I've taken graduate courses, and I forgot how much work it would be! I feel lucky, though, that I've done action research before because I have some prior knowledge to guide me through the process. There is plenty of work to be done, but I know some of what to expect, which makes things a little more manageable.
I chose a topic for my action research project that I new there was limited research available on. Spelling has been an area of interest for me for a while, because there hasn't ever been a 'correct' way to teach it. Until I started researching, though, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find information. My initial search wasn't that bad, and I was able to find my minimum 12 sources. When I started organizing my information, though, I realized that many of my sources were papers that summarized others' research, and that very few (2) were actually empirically based papers. This sent me back to researching. I searched more, and became better at becoming more specific about the key words I was using. I had to clearly define what I was actually looking for as I was researching. I also became more particular when evaluating the articles I found, to determine whether they met my actual needs or not. I now have another long list of articles to read, in the hopes that they meet my criteria and can give me some data to support my action research project.
I am really looking forward to beginning my project. As I work with my students on spelling, I am noticing that what I am currently doing is not working well. My students are not learning how to spell the words they're practicing. I'm excited by the research I am finding, and hope that I can implement my action research and see results. After my project is done I plan to implement some other strategies that I've read about to see if they are beneficial as well.
In addition to the action research portion of the course, I have really enjoyed watching the TED videos. My husband is a teacher as well, and while he hasn't watched them with me yet, I think we are going to begin watching them together. The videos have already sparked many discussions between the two of us about the state of education, how we do things similarly and differently in our classrooms, and what needs to be done across education to help students. I enjoy having the videos to use to spur thought provoking discussions at home.
I also enjoy learning about new technologies that I can use in or for my classroom. I appreciate that we have to try them out, and have to think about how we can use them with our instruction. I always like to learn more about technology, but often don't have or make the time. The weekly resources are allowing me to become familiar with new tools that I can immediately try it out in my classroom.
As I continue through the semester, my personal goal is to continue to manage my time well, and to try to work in some more personal time. While I feel I am managing a full time job along with two graduate classes, I also feel like I have little down time. I would like to find a way to get ahead a little so that I have some breathing room, and can a little time to myself, while continuing to progress through my courses.
I chose a topic for my action research project that I new there was limited research available on. Spelling has been an area of interest for me for a while, because there hasn't ever been a 'correct' way to teach it. Until I started researching, though, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find information. My initial search wasn't that bad, and I was able to find my minimum 12 sources. When I started organizing my information, though, I realized that many of my sources were papers that summarized others' research, and that very few (2) were actually empirically based papers. This sent me back to researching. I searched more, and became better at becoming more specific about the key words I was using. I had to clearly define what I was actually looking for as I was researching. I also became more particular when evaluating the articles I found, to determine whether they met my actual needs or not. I now have another long list of articles to read, in the hopes that they meet my criteria and can give me some data to support my action research project.
I am really looking forward to beginning my project. As I work with my students on spelling, I am noticing that what I am currently doing is not working well. My students are not learning how to spell the words they're practicing. I'm excited by the research I am finding, and hope that I can implement my action research and see results. After my project is done I plan to implement some other strategies that I've read about to see if they are beneficial as well.
In addition to the action research portion of the course, I have really enjoyed watching the TED videos. My husband is a teacher as well, and while he hasn't watched them with me yet, I think we are going to begin watching them together. The videos have already sparked many discussions between the two of us about the state of education, how we do things similarly and differently in our classrooms, and what needs to be done across education to help students. I enjoy having the videos to use to spur thought provoking discussions at home.
I also enjoy learning about new technologies that I can use in or for my classroom. I appreciate that we have to try them out, and have to think about how we can use them with our instruction. I always like to learn more about technology, but often don't have or make the time. The weekly resources are allowing me to become familiar with new tools that I can immediately try it out in my classroom.
As I continue through the semester, my personal goal is to continue to manage my time well, and to try to work in some more personal time. While I feel I am managing a full time job along with two graduate classes, I also feel like I have little down time. I would like to find a way to get ahead a little so that I have some breathing room, and can a little time to myself, while continuing to progress through my courses.
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