Parts of my Reflective Essay

During this course, I learned about how to effectively conduct Action Research on my campus. During the first week, I will admit that I was very confused on what would be required of me in this course of study. When I heard research, I thought paper, but as I read the material it did not present itself as writing a paper. After watching the first couple video lectures, I began to get a clearer picture of what I would be working on and these videos were very helpful. As a coach and Math teacher, I teach with lots of hands on to reach my visual/tactile learners and this is how I tend to learn best, as well. The videos gave me the visual learning aspect that I needed to fully engage and tied together the readings for me. Along with the readings and videos, I found the discussion boards and weekly overviews very helpful in understanding what was expected in each assignment. The final piece that helped with this course was the ability for my wife and I to discuss the course and figure things out together. We are working toward our Masters degree together and this has proven to be very valuable because what I don’t understand she usual does and vice versa. 

This inquiry further emerged from a need seen on our joint Junior High and High School Campuses. This is a problem that needs to be addressed because we have adopted a new CSCOPE curriculum that involves teaching the students via engaging hands on activities. Their being out of class means that they will miss these valuable lessons. The student’s lack of in class participation has led to decreased scores on benchmark exams, as well as daily assignments and class work. Sending assignments out to In School Suspension does not provide the students with adequate information and when they come out they are behind. The pace of the curriculum does not allow much time for back tracking or re-teaching. 

One thing I am going to have to watch for is my personal biases. I am going to have to be careful to not let the actions of a few detract from the learning of the group. I could see that my concern for the whole group could affect the results that I collect. Those are the two big things that I will have to watch. I will have to watch for biases passed on by hearsay about students from other coworkers. I can’t let their opinion affect my thoughts regarding the student. I learned through this course of study that I will have to do a lot of self reflection to ensure that I am not allowing my biases to push my study one way or the other. This will also help me to learn more about myself and help to illustrate the relevance of my study upon completion. 

Besides bias and teacher buy in, I am concerned about finding time to complete my internship hours, coursework, and research inquiry. As mentioned previously, I am a coach, as well as a teacher. This means that during football and softball season, I work over sixty hours a week. I will have to be very diligent with my time management to ensure that everything gets done and I will have to be certain to get as many internship activities completed in my off season and summer vacation, as possible. I have considered asking if I could take a leave of absence from coaching for a year, but with budget cuts as they are, we are very short on coaches and this is quite unlikely. As much, as I would like to be able to just teach and focus on my Masters, I will most likely not have that as an option in the school district where we currently work. As I like to say, it is what it is. I will do my best to keep ahead of the game so hopefully this will not become an issue.

As my other favorite saying goes and the title of my blog suggests, I will continue to work to keep it real. Learning all that I can. Teaching students and athletes what they need to know to succeed in life and at the end of the day, I will hope that I have made a difference that will last. 

References

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher.

             California: Corwin.

Dewey, C., Gregory, A., Fan, X. & Sheras P. (2009). Practical Findings From the Virginia High School Safety Study: How are suspension rates related to dropout rates?. University of Virginia School of Education. Retrieved from http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/high_school_safety/pdf/vhss-one-pager-issue-7.pdf

Harris S, Edmonson, S. Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do To Improve Our

             Schools: 8 Steps From Analysis to Action. New York: Eye On Education.

Jeffrey, J. (2009). Race, Gender, School Discipline, and Human Capital Effects. Allbusiness.com. Retrieved from http://allbusiness.com/education-training/teaching-teachers-primary/12786638.1.html