Every teacher must know that every method invented is only a step, on which he must stand in order to go farther. . . as the business of teaching is an art, completeness and perfection are not obtainable, while development and improvement are endless. - Leo Tolstoy
Not only does action research foster opportunities for teachers to make important evidence-based changes in their practice, but it also serves as validation of practices that work. Having invested a great deal of time and energy into your project, reflect on how action research has impacted your thinking in regards to the importance of action research for teachers.
The case study that I developed for my Masters action research project did create an incredible opportunity for me, as an educator, to change my own practices in a positive way. With all of the time that I work with my student individually on his behavior, this study has really showed me that there are different ways to decide whether a strategy works or not. I am incredibly proud of the way that my study turned out, and I would love to continue my study with self-monitoring for my student! Not only did did the results in data show that my intervention that I implemented did have a positive effect on my student's behavior, but I also believe that the action research process had a positive effect on my own teaching.
I have learned so much from the process of reviewing literature, developing an intervention, implementing it, and then collecting data. It was just so rewarding to see it all come together and find that following my plan proved to be successful, which confirmed that my thought process and understanding of the literature and previous research supported it as well. Research has impacted my thinking in many ways, especially in the sense that I can take the guess work out of implementing specific strategies and interventions by researching them and letting the data tell me whether or not they proved to be successful.
I believe that action research is extremely important process for all teachers to be able to develop and implement. By completing my case study, I feel confident that I could either continue my research, or continue my study with future research. Any teacher can and will benefit from running his or her own study. Not only will an action research project be relevant to their own teaching but can also prove to help colleagues and other teachers as well.
Teaching is a process of becoming that continues throughout life, never completely achieved, never completely denied. This is the challenge and fun of being a teacher - there is no ultimate end to the process. - Frances Mayforth
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Wrapping It Up
"If a seed of a lettuce will not grow, we do not blame the lettuce. Instead, the fault lies with us for not having nourished the seed properly." - Buddhist proverb
The end is finally in sight! The last two years that I have spent in the Education Graduate Program at WSCU are coming to an end. I am currently working on the last leg of my action research paper, and trying to make sense of everything that I have experienced during the last ten months. I printed out my first rough draft two days ago, and it has been glued to my hands ever since. It is funny what changes I have made since seeing it in print. It turns out, the computer may distort my view of my writing; once I see it on paper, I can actually edit and make necessary adjustments. Not only have I spent countless times editing and improving the words that I have written down, but I have spent a lot of time on EXCEL! For the past two weeks I have poured over my paper developing my discussion, then doing some deleting, re-developing my graphs, then making changes. Every graph that I have to display the portrayal of my data, undergoes this process. I think I finally have what I am looking for.
So, It has been 27 weeks since I began this process and honestly, I have learned more in the past few weeks than I have learned in the past few months. Today, I made a chart that did not involve a graph at all.....it was wonderful. I found out that 80% of the days he had a serious behavior incident there were more than 5 changes to his regular daily routine. 86% of the days he had a serious behavior incident he reported a negative feeling during his self-reflection time. 80% of the days that he had a serious behavior incident he did not meet all of his points goals. 83% of the days that he met all three of his points goals he reported feeling happy during the morning.
Week 1
|
1/14
|
1/15
|
1/16
|
1/17
|
1/18
|
Morning
|
Mad
|
Happy
|
Frustrated
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Afternoon
|
Happy
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Behavior
Improvement Form
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
||
# Of
Changes to Daily Routine
|
13
|
6
|
10
|
5
|
3
|
Goals
Met
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
Week 2
|
1/22
|
1/23
|
1/24
|
1/25
|
|
Morning
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Confused
|
|
Afternoon
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Mad
|
Tired
|
|
Behavior
Improvement Form
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|||
# Of
Changes to Daily Routine
|
5
|
7
|
8
|
7
|
|
Goals
Met
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
3
|
Week 3
|
1/28
|
1/29
|
1/30
|
1/31
|
|
Morning
|
Tired
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Tired
|
|
Afternoon
|
Mad
|
Happy
|
Tired
|
Happy
|
|
Behavior
Improvement Form
|
Yes
|
||||
# Of
Changes to Daily Routine
|
6
|
6
|
4
|
4
|
|
Goals
Met
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
Week 4
|
2/4
|
2/5
|
2/6
|
2/7
|
2/8
|
Morning
|
Cranky
|
Cranky
|
Mad
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Afternoon
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Happy
|
Behavior
Improvement Form
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
||
# Of
Changes to Daily Routine
|
7
|
8
|
4
|
6
|
3
|
Goals
Met
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
Week 5
|
2/11
|
2/12
|
2/13
|
2/14
|
2/15
|
Morning
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Sad
|
Happy
|
Afternoon
|
Sad
|
Tired
|
Tired
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Behavior
Improvement Form
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
||
# Of
Changes to Daily Routine
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
6
|
Goals
Met
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
Week 6
|
2/25
|
2/26
|
2/27
|
2/28
|
3/1
|
Morning
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Afternoon
|
Happy
|
Happy
|
Mad
|
Happy
|
Tired
|
Behavior
Improvement Form
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|||
# Of
Changes to Daily Routine
|
11
|
3
|
5
|
2
|
7
|
Goals
Met
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
Rosie
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Delving Into Data
"I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is a step forward." - Thomas Edison
Well, I have reached the point in the research process involving data analysis and how to display my data. I have spent most of the last week trying to make sense of all of the data that I have collected over the past 10 weeks, and I am starting to think that this is by far the hardest part of this project. I have been asking myself so many questions pertaining to my data analysis, and am hoping that as I continue to play with different ideas and ways to display my results I will figure it out. Not only am I confused as to how I will compile and summarize my data, but even after reading our APA manual, I am struggling with how to display it in my paper. Initially I entered all of my data from the teacher surveys into an excel file and converted it into a bar graph. My problem now is that I am not sure what the bar graph is actually showing me. My thought is that I have to display this data in a way that shows if my student made growth or not according to his teachers. In order for this data to be meaningful to my project I believe that I have to separate the questions stated positively and those stated negatively. For example, one question on the survey is "The student generally displays positive behavior in my class" while another is "The student frequently disrupts my class." Maybe I will give each answer from strongly agree to strongly disagree a numeric value and go from there.
Another idea I have is to use pie graphs for each question highlighting which areas were effected by the intervention. I could then compare the baseline survey results with the survey given after the intervention. Although this seems to me like an easier way to see the data, I think it is too much. Luckily I have figured out a better way to compile my other data I have collected including my student's daily logs, points system, and feelings charts. My goal to to show any trends or relationships between his behavior and the intervention that I put into place. Even though I believe that my intervention was worth while and helped my student to control his own behavior through self-reflection, I can not wait to see what my data will tell me. My hope is that the data will back up what I believe to be true, but even if the results are not what I expect, I have learned so much during this process. Stay tuned for my data analysis and how I decided to display my data!
"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." - Jane Addams
Another idea I have is to use pie graphs for each question highlighting which areas were effected by the intervention. I could then compare the baseline survey results with the survey given after the intervention. Although this seems to me like an easier way to see the data, I think it is too much. Luckily I have figured out a better way to compile my other data I have collected including my student's daily logs, points system, and feelings charts. My goal to to show any trends or relationships between his behavior and the intervention that I put into place. Even though I believe that my intervention was worth while and helped my student to control his own behavior through self-reflection, I can not wait to see what my data will tell me. My hope is that the data will back up what I believe to be true, but even if the results are not what I expect, I have learned so much during this process. Stay tuned for my data analysis and how I decided to display my data!
"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." - Jane Addams
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