There were many highlights in
my EDLD 5301 Research class. Although I
was a bit scared when I first entered the class, I came to find out that it was
not going to be as bad as I thought! The class was broken up into multiple
different areas and once I figured the method to conquer these tasks, it wasn't too bad. These areas were: Lectures, Readings, Searches,
Assignments/Activities, Discussion Board and Blogs.
The first of these topics I will reflect on was the lectures that we had
at the beginning of each week. The
lectures that stood out the most were the ones in which they interview prior
Lamar doctorate students. These were
very informative because I felt like I was receiving information from my
peers. The one comment that I remember
the most was from Dr.
Kirk Lewis, Superintendent, Pasadena ISD.
He said, “Change the way we deliver instruction.” (Lewis) He was
referring to how the district is forced to change the way they teach to meet
the current needs of students. This is a pivotal idea for schools to follow.
The second area that I am reflecting on is the readings. These 2 books that were required for this
course I found to be very helpful.
Throughout this entire course, I was dependent on the readings to help
me with the information needed to complete this course. The book that I used the most and was
constantly diving back into was Leading
with Passion and Knowledge by Nancy Fichtman Dana. This book is one that I don’t plan on selling
back because I want it to be a resource throughout my career. One part of the book that caught my attention
was when Dana stated, “Just as hikers gather information and prepare themselves
mentally for a hike or climb—What territory do I want to explore? What do I
hope to find?—as a principal-inquirer, you, too, will need some mental preparation before you embark on
your first inquiry journey.” (Dana, 2009) This quote hit me as I was preparing
my action research plan that I needed to be prepared. Almost like I have to
create a map to follow!
The next area that I am reflecting on is with the electronic searches that
I conducted during the class. When I was
looking into topics, I hit a stale mate.
I struggled to find a topic and started to meet on a more regular basis
with my site supervisor. I then found a website from the Madison Metropolitan
School District.
This website is: http://oldweb.madison.k12.wi.us/sod/car/search.cgi In this website, they had a search engine
that allowed for you to type in a topic and search for Action Research
Plans. In Madison Metropolitan School
District, they require all their teachers to complete a plan which makes for a
huge site full of samples. In all the
searches that I did, this was the winner of them all.
Another area
that was a success in this class was with the assignments and activities. I did
very well on the activities and assignments but at first, I was pretty
frustrated. The assignments instructions
seemed to be all over the place. We were
instructed to follow the web conference, the lectures, and the weekly overview
on Google, the assignment in blackboard and in the rubric. This is a lot of
areas to refer to but then to find that some of the areas were outdated seemed
to cause some frustration. I made an
attempt to seek out the finite resource to follow and stuck to the rubric. This
proved to be a success. I also was
connected to the Facebook group that was created for this course and seemed to
be able to put out some fires. Overall,
I am very happy with my results and how this class turned out. Through the assignments, I learned a ton of
information.
In this
class, we also had a chance to reflect on certain questions on the discussion
board. The questions were not overly
complicated and gave us all a chance to reflect on our material. It was also good to get valuable feedback
from my colleagues. I had a couple of
good responses that I was able to take and adjusting my thinking to make some
valuable improvements. One of these
comments was, “If you can utilize multiple forms
of communication it might just be an incredible multi-tiered inquiry that
results in an avalanche of data.” (D.Hutchins) Getting great results like this
helped me get through the class.
The last part of my class just happened to be my favorite. I love the blog idea and plan on using this
for a long time. It is a great tool to post
ideas, topics and questions plus many people can comment on your blog. This is a great tool for not just this class,
but in my school as well. I have even
looked at incorporating these into our school this year. Blog will also allow for me to post my action
research findings. Once I get it set as
I think it should be, I can share it with more than just my school and
district. I can share it with anyone!!
My overall experiences in this class were positive. I enjoyed the learning, the research and the
interaction with my colleagues and professors.
I learned how to attend web conferences, which I will hopefully be
conducting for our staff soon, and the importance of action research. I will work hard on my plan and hope to get
some great results!!
Bibliography
Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with Passion and
Knowledge. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Publishing.
Lewis, D. K. (n.d.).
Superintendent. (L. University, Interviewer)
