Reflection
You will find a lot of reflection sprinkled within my educational significance and hurdles. It is hard to separate my reflection from these two parts of my conclusion, especially my hurdles because this is where I found my greatest growth.
At the Heart of The Issue
If I had not worked through action research it may have been a while before I faced something that challenged who I am at the core. Typically you think of things that make someone evaluate who they are as life altering or emotionally shocking. Yet for me it was looking back at this experience and realizing that I was not true to myself. Until phase two I was in a rush, looking for data and answers and struggling to get anywhere. As phase two hit I tried to get back to the root of why I originally wanted my students to set goals and things finally started to go the way I had planned.
I asked my original question, “What happens when I work with students to set individual goals?” for specific reasons. I wanted to help encourage my students to love learning. I wanted to find a way to get rid of the typical behavior system of different behavior levels or colors. I wanted to work collaboratively as a class and help students self monitor. I wanted our class to grow as a community and learn together. And they did this!
I asked my original question, “What happens when I work with students to set individual goals?” for specific reasons. I wanted to help encourage my students to love learning. I wanted to find a way to get rid of the typical behavior system of different behavior levels or colors. I wanted to work collaboratively as a class and help students self monitor. I wanted our class to grow as a community and learn together. And they did this!
Staying True to Myself
Action Research should be a part of every teacher’s practice, at least informally. With my future students I want to make it a goal to continually reflecting on my teaching. I want to focus on what is working and what is not working. I will always be thinking about new ideas and changes I can make to better my teaching, my students' learning and my classroom as a whole. The hardest part of this is not letting my fear get the better of me.
I reached this odd juxtaposition in my research where who I am as a person was challenged by my fear. I am bold, a hands on learner and teacher, I like to try new thing, always volunteer ideas, constantly seek knowledge, and I see struggles as something that makes me stronger. My theory is- even if I am wrong or don’t succeed- at least I’m learning and I made an effort.
However sometimes I do not want to rock the boat or I worry about making large mistakes. I do not mind if a lesson or activity goes wrong or needs to be stopped and changed in the middle. But I am sometimes afraid to try big changes in my classroom because I do not want it to go so wrong that I fail my students. I need to be confident enough as a teacher to be okay with large mistakes. Are remember that with each lack of intended success comes great learning. Hence this entire action research project.
During my action research I lost sight of who I am through the blur of expectations, fear, and stress all of which I placed on myself. Looking back I am shocked at how I let my fear block my bold nature. However, this served as a formal reminded to never let fear get in my way. I need to stay true to myself and be bold enough to experiment with new teaching methods and to try to encourage students in new ways. From my work with goal setting I have realized that if you are passionate and enthusiastic about something, your students usually pick up on and express similar emotions.
I reached this odd juxtaposition in my research where who I am as a person was challenged by my fear. I am bold, a hands on learner and teacher, I like to try new thing, always volunteer ideas, constantly seek knowledge, and I see struggles as something that makes me stronger. My theory is- even if I am wrong or don’t succeed- at least I’m learning and I made an effort.
However sometimes I do not want to rock the boat or I worry about making large mistakes. I do not mind if a lesson or activity goes wrong or needs to be stopped and changed in the middle. But I am sometimes afraid to try big changes in my classroom because I do not want it to go so wrong that I fail my students. I need to be confident enough as a teacher to be okay with large mistakes. Are remember that with each lack of intended success comes great learning. Hence this entire action research project.
During my action research I lost sight of who I am through the blur of expectations, fear, and stress all of which I placed on myself. Looking back I am shocked at how I let my fear block my bold nature. However, this served as a formal reminded to never let fear get in my way. I need to stay true to myself and be bold enough to experiment with new teaching methods and to try to encourage students in new ways. From my work with goal setting I have realized that if you are passionate and enthusiastic about something, your students usually pick up on and express similar emotions.
New Ideas into Action
I learned to really think outside and inside the box (what my students' abilities are) when working with students. I cannot just rush into activities or lessons when I have them planned on the surface. If I am going to implement a change as big as incorporating a new activity into my daily classroom, I should have thought about it even more than I did. I needed to scale the thought down in my head and think of the basics. I went in with the goal of making a difference and personally learning something remarkable or having an educational epiphany when I had not even picked how long I wanted to spend on it each day. These two goals happened most of the time as a tertiary reaction to a smaller plan.
I was able to implement my new view of working with students and action research immediately. I was given an assignment to conduct a miniature action research project with one student for my cognition and learning class. After working through the difficulties of this AR I'm happy to say that I am excited and relaxed about working on my new mini AR project. I understand now that it is more about the student and our work together than getting data.
I originally wanted to work with my student to become more motivated. After our initial meeting and my discussions with my professor, it was clear that she is not ready for working on motivation, because she is unaware of her lack of motivation. My professor and I decided I should just work on creating a personal connection with her instead. So instead of making big changes to get her motivated, the second phase of my miniature action research with her is about spending time and making her feel valued. We will be playing games together and having fun. I want her to feel important. Without my AR and all of my struggles I do not think I would have been able to come to this conclusion.
I was able to implement my new view of working with students and action research immediately. I was given an assignment to conduct a miniature action research project with one student for my cognition and learning class. After working through the difficulties of this AR I'm happy to say that I am excited and relaxed about working on my new mini AR project. I understand now that it is more about the student and our work together than getting data.
I originally wanted to work with my student to become more motivated. After our initial meeting and my discussions with my professor, it was clear that she is not ready for working on motivation, because she is unaware of her lack of motivation. My professor and I decided I should just work on creating a personal connection with her instead. So instead of making big changes to get her motivated, the second phase of my miniature action research with her is about spending time and making her feel valued. We will be playing games together and having fun. I want her to feel important. Without my AR and all of my struggles I do not think I would have been able to come to this conclusion.
In the End
My project may not have come together as I had originally hoped it would but I can say that I accomplished most of my original intentions of asking “What happens when I work with students to set individual goals.” My students became self aware and we grew as class community.