Looking at Research Through a New Lens- Standard 3

Looking at Research Through a New Lens

Standard 3
Teacher leaders will improve teaching and learning through the use of education research at the classroom, and school levels.

Standard Aligned Courses

EDU6980 - Applying Research in School Settings

EDU6979 - Action Research in School Settings

Reflection

Before beginning this program, I had many gaps in knowledge when it came to research in education.  I was unaware that the majority of articles we read in our department chair meetings facilitated by the district office were secondary source articles.  Since the articles were provided by the math facilitators at the district office, I did not think twice about taking them as truth.  I now know how important it is to check the primary sources to make sure the research is being used properly.  I didn't realize I should not always take secondary source articles at their word.  If I am going to use a secondary source article to help explain a stance on a topic, I should look into the sources they use more carefully to make sure they are using the research correctly.

My district believes in having teachers who are aligned in what they believe.  They have created learning communities for us to achieve this.  "A learning community is a group of individuals who share a similar vision of educational values (e.g., honesty, respect, trust, courage, and compassion) and beliefs (e.g., all children can learn)" (Zepeda, 2012, p. 83). In the district department chair meetings, on of my learning communities, we consistently use secondary source articles to drive our conversations.  Most articles we read come from NCTM, Education Week or Ed Leadership.  After completing my Article Critique in EDU6980- Applying Research in School Settings, I had a significantly better understanding of what it meant to use a primary source article.  I also had a new idea of what research meant.  According to Ravid, "research is defined as a systematic inquiry that includes data collection and analysis" (Ravid, 2015, p.4).  I enjoyed learning what to look for in a primary source article including the data collection and analysis tools.  We focused on the statistics that should be included, specifically the tests that should be performed before statistical analysis can be done.  When reading a research article, they should mention their tests proving that their data is approximately normal, they should include r-values to show that their questions are well correlated, and they should make sure to address any biases that may have been a part of their study.  As a math teacher, this was the most interesting part of learning about research.  

In my Second Article Critique, I was able to take the knowledge I had gained and apply it to an article of my choosing.  In the secondary source I chose, they referenced the primary source, but when reading the primary source, they did not accurately represent what was found in the study.  It was interesting to see first hand that secondary source articles do not always accurately portray what was found in the study they are referencing.  This is going to make me double check the articles I choose for my department when we are learning about new research.  Since, "learning is at the core of professional development" (Zepeda, 2012, p. 275), I need to make sure the information I am presenting to my department is reliable and accurate.  If I am only looking at secondary source articles, I will not know the level of validity that is in what I am presenting.

Now that I have learned what types of statistics should be in a quality research project, I think I could go back to my Action Research Project and look at the data I collected more closely.  According to Sagor (2011) the four stages of action research are as follows:

1. Clarifying vision and targets
2. Articulating theory
3. Implementing action and collecting data
4. Reflecting on data and planning informed action

Based off of what I learned in the Applying Research class, my data has a long way to go before it would accepted into a journal.  I did not know how to properly look at my data in terms of statistics.  When reflecting on my data like step four from Sagor above, I did this in a superficial way.  I looked at the raw data but did not perform any statistical tests on my data to see if there was a significant difference in performance after I completed my action research project.

In this project, I was looking at how well a parallel classroom would work with upper level students.  I had one class of students but half of the students were AP Calculus students and half of the students were IB Standard Level students.  Since the class had both levels of students I split the class into halves and alternated my teaching between the two groups.  I was looking for a way to help increase the achievement of my students.  According to Wiliam, "the vast majority of teachers are tying everything they can to increase their students' achievement" (Wiliam, 2011, p. 19).  This is a category I would put myself into.  I am constantly looking for ways to help students improve and be successful with math and my action research project taught me how I could do that in a data driven way.  With my new knowledge of the statistics necessary to prove or disprove something, I would need to go back and update my action research project with a more accurate assessment of student performance.  Through this project, I determined it is not recommended to run a parallel classroom on your own but now I could statistically prove that with one teacher a parallel classroom does not help or hinder students.  It seemed to be better for the students but they did not perform any better on their IB or AP exams in May.  This project taught me a lot about action research and how to conduct action research in my own classroom.  

Hattie (2012) said, " [w]e must consider ourselves positive change agents for the students who come to us" (Hattie, 2012, p. 25).  I am applying what I learned in the action research class to my first period Algebra 1-2 class this year.  My first period has many students who have felt continually unsuccessful at math along with a large group of students who are English Language Learners.  I am trying different strategies to try and increase the performance of my students who are specifically identified as English Language Learners.  So far, students are beginning to articulate their mathematical thinking correctly more often.  I still have a long way to go with my students but the principles of action research are driving my teaching.

Sources

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. London: Routledge.

Ravid, R. (2015). Practical statistics for educators. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Sagor, R. (2011). The action research guidebook: A four-step process for educators and school teams. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Wiliam, D. (2011). Embedded formative assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Zepeda, S. J. (2012). Professional development: What works.