Reflection
Importance of Identifying Student Needs
One takeaway I have from the action research process, is the importance of identifying my students needs and creating curriculum based on those needs. Based on my initial observations, I wanted to focus my research on collaboration and technology. I learned through action research to conduct student feedback form that would address a specific area of my students needs. This is a strategy I will use in my future classrooms because I was able to get student feedback and develop a learning strategy based on that feedback. Receiving student feedback is another effective teaching strategy I learned by conducting teacher-research. Throughout the semester, I gave my students feedback forms in order to monitor their attitudes, levels of engagement, and also ask ways they felt I could help them learn better. These feedback forms were able to tell me a great deal about my students as participants in our classroom. Using feedback forms is another strategy I plan on using in my classrooms in order to get an idea of how my students are feeling about the activities we do in class.
Flexibility in Teaching
As a teacher, I learned that I am much more flexible than I originally thought and can adapt well to changing circumstances. When I began the teacher-research process I had overall questions I wanted to address based on my students needs. What I did not realize is that these questions would need to be changed as the research process began. For example, one of my primary questions was investigating the effects of using internet resources on student learning. During the initial stages of phase one, I realized that using internet resources was going to change the classroom environment on to large a scale and was unsure what to do. I spoke with a colleague and came to the conclusion that during the research process it is acceptable, in fact, more than likely that your research will have to evolve based on the needs of your students. I decided to continue with a focus on technology just without the use of the internet. From this moment on, throughout the research process, I was able to adapt to many situations that altered the course of my research. One of the biggest hurdles that affected my research was switching the curriculum from algebra to statistics. However, I was able to use this to my advantage because the unit on statistics provided numerous opportunity for peer support. Experiences like these during action research showed me that I can be flexible and can adjust my own attitudes based on the ever changing environment in the classroom.
Students as Participants in the Learning Process
I believe my action research was valuable for my students because they were able to use twenty-first century skills, e.g. collaboration and technology, that are necessary for a competitive global society. My action research was focused around providing students with an opportunity to collaborate with peers and use technology to assist them in learning mathematics. I believe that this opportunity will help them be successful in future environments where collaboration in particular is a key component of adult life. In addition, my students were able to openly express their opinions about their experience during this research process; for most of them this was the first time a teacher had asked their opinions about how a class. I believe that giving my students a platform to speak about how they felt while learning mathematics gave them a venue for which to speak their likes and dislikes about their learning environment.
Final Thoughts
I was very tentative when I heard I would be doing action research in my second semester of student teaching; primarily, because I do not like to write. I pictured myself with a stack of books burning the midnight oil as I toiled in front of my computer writing about research. I have come to realize that although writing is a part of action research, it is a very small part. For me, action research has been about Identifying my students needs and developing an in-depth plan to address those needs; a valuable tool for any educator. It has also been about putting your students first and adjusting instruction to fit their needs. Action research has taught me how to be flexible which has been a very difficult task for a linear minded math instructor. It has taught me that I can learn a great deal through failure, a skill that I will definitely continue to teach my students. Overall, action research has taught me a lot about myself both as a learner and an educator, and about my students as learners.
Importance of Identifying Student Needs
One takeaway I have from the action research process, is the importance of identifying my students needs and creating curriculum based on those needs. Based on my initial observations, I wanted to focus my research on collaboration and technology. I learned through action research to conduct student feedback form that would address a specific area of my students needs. This is a strategy I will use in my future classrooms because I was able to get student feedback and develop a learning strategy based on that feedback. Receiving student feedback is another effective teaching strategy I learned by conducting teacher-research. Throughout the semester, I gave my students feedback forms in order to monitor their attitudes, levels of engagement, and also ask ways they felt I could help them learn better. These feedback forms were able to tell me a great deal about my students as participants in our classroom. Using feedback forms is another strategy I plan on using in my classrooms in order to get an idea of how my students are feeling about the activities we do in class.
Flexibility in Teaching
As a teacher, I learned that I am much more flexible than I originally thought and can adapt well to changing circumstances. When I began the teacher-research process I had overall questions I wanted to address based on my students needs. What I did not realize is that these questions would need to be changed as the research process began. For example, one of my primary questions was investigating the effects of using internet resources on student learning. During the initial stages of phase one, I realized that using internet resources was going to change the classroom environment on to large a scale and was unsure what to do. I spoke with a colleague and came to the conclusion that during the research process it is acceptable, in fact, more than likely that your research will have to evolve based on the needs of your students. I decided to continue with a focus on technology just without the use of the internet. From this moment on, throughout the research process, I was able to adapt to many situations that altered the course of my research. One of the biggest hurdles that affected my research was switching the curriculum from algebra to statistics. However, I was able to use this to my advantage because the unit on statistics provided numerous opportunity for peer support. Experiences like these during action research showed me that I can be flexible and can adjust my own attitudes based on the ever changing environment in the classroom.
Students as Participants in the Learning Process
I believe my action research was valuable for my students because they were able to use twenty-first century skills, e.g. collaboration and technology, that are necessary for a competitive global society. My action research was focused around providing students with an opportunity to collaborate with peers and use technology to assist them in learning mathematics. I believe that this opportunity will help them be successful in future environments where collaboration in particular is a key component of adult life. In addition, my students were able to openly express their opinions about their experience during this research process; for most of them this was the first time a teacher had asked their opinions about how a class. I believe that giving my students a platform to speak about how they felt while learning mathematics gave them a venue for which to speak their likes and dislikes about their learning environment.
Final Thoughts
I was very tentative when I heard I would be doing action research in my second semester of student teaching; primarily, because I do not like to write. I pictured myself with a stack of books burning the midnight oil as I toiled in front of my computer writing about research. I have come to realize that although writing is a part of action research, it is a very small part. For me, action research has been about Identifying my students needs and developing an in-depth plan to address those needs; a valuable tool for any educator. It has also been about putting your students first and adjusting instruction to fit their needs. Action research has taught me how to be flexible which has been a very difficult task for a linear minded math instructor. It has taught me that I can learn a great deal through failure, a skill that I will definitely continue to teach my students. Overall, action research has taught me a lot about myself both as a learner and an educator, and about my students as learners.