Entry 9

After completing and submitting our article critique I can understand how the assignment will be helpful to us in the long run. Reading over an article and looking for ways that it could have better should help us not make those errors in our own reports. One major issue that i found with the traditional report was the fact that the report did not give details on how the research was conducted. This does not allow others to do the research for themselves to see if the data is true for their area. I feel that this is the major difference between traditional and action research. The traditional research is better suited if you are interested in the numbers more than the actual results. With the action research you can bend it to help your needs. Although I felt that the assignment was tough, I did appreciate the purpose behind it.

Creating Surveys

I found that creating surveys was very interesting. The tutorials were helpful, but I had to think directly about my students to form the best survey. Making a survey about reading was a little easier than I had thought. I just made sure that I included two choices for both a postive and negative response. I also had to remember to word the parent survey in a manner that anyone could respond. We have to remember that although we are directly a document to an adult, they may not be able to read certain material. I hope that with the surveys that I created that I will be able to get a honest and well-rounded response.

Traditional Research (7)

I am starting to think more about my article critique. While finding articles, I actually had a hard time finding traditional resources. I only found one traditional article. This seemed odd to me, since before this class I didn't know that Action Research existed. Therefore, I will have to plan another trip to the library :) I think finding the negatives in another article may help me to not include similar errors in my own work, which would imporve my own study. I feel that this assisnment will be benefitual to our overall progress with our Action Research project.

Ch 3 & 4 ( Entry 6)

Narrowing your topic is one of the most important parts of Action Research. I think I have mine. However, as I proceed I may need to narrow the tpoic down more. Chapter 3 outlines the inital steps in a Action Research.1-Narrowing the topic.2-Gathering preliminary information.3-Literture Reveiw on the topic. The activity at the end of the chapter is also helpful in thinking through the process.Chapter 4 was more in-depth than Chapter 3. I am glad that the focus was explaining qualitative research. After the explanation in the chapter I understand more about how to question and gather information. I feel that this process is becoming clearing with the help of our text.

Researching ( Entry 5)

I decided to start my research by a trip to the library. I met with Michael last week during the snow days :) He was able to show me some searching methods that I was unaware of. I also taught him about action research :) After I had my refresher course I felt better about doing the actual looking for articles to use. I found four articles that I feel will be helpful to me throughout this process. It was harder for me to find a traditional article. Maybe I am tunneling on Action Research Now. I realized that the issue that I am focusing on is more common than I thought. There was an abundance of articles that were action research on reading motivation. I feel more confident about doing the action research after finding articles on the subject. These articles allowed me to view this issue as a problem that many teachers have, instead of just my problem. I look forward to designing my actual research and finding answers that will help my students.

Journals ( Entry 4)

In our reading of chapter 2, the Author discussed Field Notes. I felt that this would help me keep up with what was going on during the Action Research Plan. After reading the article on Journals , I have learned more information on journaling. Our blog is a type of journal where we are keeping our thoughts, feelings, and our understandings. I did not view scrapbooks, blogging, or even portfolios as types of journals. I learned that the type of journal that I would be keeping would be called a learning journal. The learning journal focuses on my feelings and opinions about what is occurring during the Action Research that I would be conducting. I also would not think about the ethical aspects of keeping an journal, so I will have to keep that in mind. Reading this article helped me better understand that portion of my project.

Ch 2 ( Entry 3)

At this point limiting the topic has been the hardest part for me. After completing the staging plan I felt better about my actually topic choice. Getting to write out what your concerns are helps a lot. Reading Chapter 2 was very eye opening ,once again. One part that I thought was insightful is the fact that you need to reflect after each stage and not wait until you are over with something. Another section that helped me clear up some of my questions was Step 5. Knowing what exactly is considered data collection helps me feel that this is something that I can do. One data collection method that I had not thought about on my own was the field notes. I think that it will be helpful for me to have a journal to find details about what actually numerical data can not find.Action Research is a never-ending process, but something that you can continually build on. This speaks the same as for the art of teaching. Many teachers get comfortable with a set of lesson plans and ideas. They want to teach the same thing, the same way. The Action Research methods reminds us that we must continually grow our understandings, methods, and information. To ensure that we are teaching our students to the best of our abilities we must never settle for the easy route. We must strive to learn for ourselves, so that our students will achieve. One area that I am still confused about is the developing stage. I thought you created a plan to try and that was what you collected data on. I will need more clarification with that from my professor, or classmate. Referring to question 2, on page 41, I feel that Action Research would be more feasible to conduct in small groups. If a group of teachers meet together and tried to correct an issue together I think would be more beneficial. More ideas could be brainstormed to find a solution. More people's inputs could find an answer soon and more efficiently. Overall, I feel that Action Research is a wonderful tool for in-service teachers to professionally grow.