Week 5 Reflection

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)