Lectures
One
of the genuine pleasures of taking EDLD 5301 is knowing that the course
designers, professor, and my field supervisor all seem truly concerned with my
success in the course. The weekly
lectures delivered in interview format between Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins
provided a succinct and clear explanation of the new learning each week. Their scripted discussions eliminated any
danger to ramble unnecessarily. I
especially enjoyed week five as they challenged us to remain focused on growth
as we step into the mantle of leadership.
The web conferences with Dr. Abshire were equally assuring as she walked
us through each step of putting together our action research project. She graciously answer every question, often
numerous times, yet challenged us to seek out the answers in course documents
already provided. Her weekly discussions
always put my apprehensions in check.
The web conference with Mr. Bain, my field supervisor, was also a
calming experience. He was encouraging
and supportive of our wonderings and made connections with his current or past
experiences. Overall, the connections created
between Lamar and student through the lectures and web conferences make this
online experience personal and manageable.
Readings
Both
texts assigned for this course have proven to be extremely practical. The Dana text (2009) lays the philosophical
foundation of action research and is filled with easily relatable examples and
clear explanations. The Harris text
(2010) provides a step-by-step guide for walking through the action research
process. Both work well together to
create a thorough and manageable introduction to action research. If I had to select only one resource for this
course, I would select the Dana text, as it provided a wealth of information on
both the philosophical and practice levels.
Searches, like electronic searches of topics and
questions
I
spent a great deal of time searching for possible ways to attack our low EOC
Writing scores. I found many strategies
that are currently making an impact in classrooms around the country. Project based learning, flipped learning,
blogs and wikis, and community writing activities have all been successful, but
I didn’t feel that my knowledge base and our technology infrastructure would
enable me to move forward in any of these areas in such a short time span. Then I stumbled upon Joseph M. Shosh’s work
(2004) in which he transformed his students’ critical thinking skills and
writing skills through the use of a dialogic discourse diary. This led me to further examine his published
work available online. After sharing
this article with a couple of my teachers, I was encouraged at their desire to
develop a similar plan on our campus.
Assignments and activities
By
far, the best assignment of this course fell in week 3 – writing the action
research project plan. Of course, it was
also the most stressful week as well, but I found that once I centered upon a
strategy, I was also to create a manageable and focused plan to encompass the
entire school year. Knowing that I am
the “big picture” type of person, it was helpful to identify the specific steps
along the way so that I didn’t get lost in the “idea” but would actually carry
out the plan in a sequential and thoughtful way. Even the assignments in weeks 4 and 5 to
revise and evaluate the plan have brought even more clarity to the overall
project. It has been an extremely
beneficial process to tackle.
Discussion Board
The
discussion boards were my least favorite part of this course. Because the primary focus of the course was
to create the action research project, I felt that much of what I was writing
was repetitive from week to week.
Furthermore, since the discussion board is the precursor to the blog, I
felt that much of what I was writing was repetitive from blog to
discussion. I generally enjoy learning
from my cohorts’ observations through their posts, but the questions failed to
generate much excitement or uniqueness.
I would love to see these questions be transformed in a way that creates
that spark of discussion.
Blogs
I enjoyed making a blog and
posting my comments on it, but I was discouraged by the haphazard way of
garnishing feedback from my cohorts.
Unless someone forms a team or posts in Facebook, the chances of getting
feedback is rare due to the large numbers of students taking this course at any
given time. Ultimately, though, I feel
the process of creating and maintaining a blog is good practice for future
leadership opportunities. I went so far
as to create a private blog to journal my experiences as I travel through the
program at Lamar. Hopefully, this will
create a habit that I can’t do without.
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading
with passion and knowledge: The principal as action
researcher. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American
Association of School Administrators.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., &
Combs, J.P. (2010). Examining what we do
to improve our
schools: 8 steps from
analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
Shosh, J.M. (2004). Making meaning in a dialogic discourse
diary. English Journal,
94(1), 53-58.
