Links from Slide 11:
- NViro 10 ~ NVivo enables you to collect, organize and analyze content from interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, audio, social media, videos and webpages.
- Ethnograph 6
- HyperRESEARCH™ enables you to code and retrieve, build theories, and conduct analyses of your data.
Tonight's 6/3 Discussion:
Virgin Islands Report
Blog Check & Assignment Adjustments
Scholarly Article Critiques Check
APA Tip ~ Reference List Basics
Reflections on Session 5
Survey Options Goggle Drive (Forms) Survey Monkey, Zoomerang
Galvan Model Lit Review C (p135) Q's on p81
Review Mills 5 & 6 ~ Data Analysis
Dr. Gay Selby ~ 702
Guest Researcher Dr. Don Francis ~ Action Research PLC
Homework Due 6/5:
Do a quick review of Dr. Bissonnette's abstract and Chapter 1 from his dissertation. From that reading, bring to class (1) two concepts or terms unfamiliar to you from the reading, and (2) two questions you have.
Read Galvan Model Literature Review D (p. 139)
Read Mills 7
Reread Mills 89-91 on Interviews
Article Critique #2
Post a Reflection on this post & Comment on someone's post
Next Class 6/5:
Guest Researcher Dr. Dan Bissonnette ~ Interviews
Future Due Dates:
6/5 ~Article Critique #2
6/12 ~ Annotated Bibliography
6/19 ~ Lit Review
Sounds like the 702 looks a little scarier than it really is. Studying up on the key ideas and research for each class will be enough to pass! Good luck everyone that is taking it next summer!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm thinking it will be a beefed-up in-basket, those of you who have taken Yeoman's class! :)
DeleteSo far, the "real" work we did in this year's four classes have prepared us to do well on the 702. However, any number that is a proper noun does sound a little foreboding. (I'm down with the 253!) I like that for the Annotated Bib we can incorporate what we have already researched and read; including that which didn't necessarily prove what I had intended.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in Dr. Francis's PLC Action Research. We are having the exact same issues. Our leadership team has been brainstorming where to start. We decided we all need training on PLC's in general. They have changed a lot since implementing them back in 2007 and now we are back in our "old ways." This really got me thinking about how I can help lead my team. Wheels turning.... I mean look, thing, act! :o)
ReplyDeleteI TOTALLY agree! I feel like we all need a refresher on how to work together in PLCs and what good work looks like.
DeleteI am loving it too. I love PLC's if they're functional. They can do some powerful things for students and teachers.
DeleteIt was a first introduction into PLCs for me. I enjoyed learning about the concept. I think that it was really valuable for me, especially since I am now transitioning to public education.
DeleteBig take-away from tonight: Purposeful action through the "Look, Think, and Act" from Stringer!
ReplyDeleteMine was..."Action research is an avenue for experimentation" from Don.
DeleteI agree! I think the Think part is the hardest!
DeleteAction Research in process.....think, look and act....simple things make my life better!
DeleteAnother great night, another great guest speaker. Dr. Francis was fantastic. I really appreciate reading about action research then hearing about how it was (is) actually being applied to improve teaching, learning, and collaboration. I would imagine that Dr. Francis's PLC focused action research project lead to a major culture shift at this former school.
ReplyDeleteJim- I'm sure this work did lead to major cultural shift. I'm not feeling like at this point I have the "power" to make those kinds of changes. Maybe this comes when you are closer to admin internship.
DeleteGlen your description of the schooling in the Virgin Islands sounds similar to the rural school I interned at in Fiji. They were in great need of professional development. They asked us to conduct training on current pedagogy and assessment. The students there all wore uniforms and the school was in dire need of current curriculum.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to hear Don's perspective on action research and PLCs. I attend two PLCs because I am a combo teacher and one is not effective at all and the other is kind of effective. It would be nice for teachers to get trained on how to have effective PLCs.
Really interesting concept about video taping our own lessons and sharing them with our PLCs. It would be very beneficial to have input from other teachers, but yes, it would make you very vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteIt would be tough to watch, but I think you can learn a lot from a taped lesson whether it is your own or someone else's. There are so many great teachers that do great things. We should be seeing that more often!
DeleteI agree, but how wondeful would it be to break down those barriers and have an open discussion of your practice!
DeleteVulnerability has been liked to successful leadership. It could be a way to connect and show authenticity in leadership towards the people we lead.
DeleteI think its also really powerful to observe teachers. They could be the same academic discipline or not. My last few years at Spanaway Lake HS we incorporated "Learning Walks". Teachers would coordinate times to "drop in" on willing participants and see how they open/closed class, made transitions etc. It led to some great dialogue.
DeleteI was really thankful to hear from Dr Selby about what the end of this process is going to look like. It's scary but it's nice to know the big picture and what we should be thinking about and preparing for.
ReplyDeleteFrom Dr. Don Francis:
Professional Learning Community: Defining the PLC as a learning community that is focused on data and teaching is a huge problem in schools that I've been in. Follow through on training and support from administration seems to be a source of these issues. It also seems very difficult to get teacher buy in. I appreciated the discussion about what kinds of data and discussions that should be a part of PLC's as I think this is pivotal in the success and power of this type of collaboration. I love data but it has to be meaningful and relevant to the work and goals of the classroom/grade level/school.
I feel like successful PLC's are mini action research teams. It would be great to see more of this in schools.
Agree Alyssa, PLCs can function as a mini action research teams that can have a math or literacy focus. I think that if all the PLCs members have some understanding of action research and the impact that it can have on student learning, teachers would be more willing to work on a problem of practice.
DeleteI feel better about the 702 exam and it was nice to hear from Dr. Selby. The Annotated Bibliography looks better as well after Dr. Malone went through the rubric. I really enjoy having rubrics to follow. Dr. Francis did a great job presenting his topic. PLC's do not really work well at my school. There are only 2 groups that are high functioning with the rest not doing so well. It was nice to hear the process of his research on PLC's. Good luck on your second article critiques!
ReplyDeleteGet over yourself and find common goals = Functionality in a PLC
ReplyDeleteGreat teaching happens when teachers open up their doors to other teachers!
This is great!
DeletePersonally I have had mixed results with PLC's (as a teacher and dept head) so I was very excited to hear about action research in that area. It is a goal of mine to collaborate with staff and begin the PLC process with my 11 staff at PCSC. What is really amazing to me is the time commitment it takes to do some of this research.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wonderful class! I really enjoyed learning about how the implementation of an action research project can impact a school. Dr. Don was amazing I would love to hear more about how his passion for this project has translated to his work in Qatar.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I would like to know more about teaching in Qatar in general. Are there differences in the typical teaching styles in the US and Qatar? What other differences are there at the schools? etc. I think it is important to look at and learn from other countries education systems to see how we can improve our own.
DeleteIt was great to have gotten an overview of the 702 class from Dr. Selby and Molly. I love the fact that you can select the 4 focus areas questions from the ed. leadership classes. Deciding which one to choose would be a different story, yay I don't have to decide at this moment!! The review of the annotated bibliography assignment was helpful. The discussion with Dr. Francis gave me a good picture of the results of action research in action. More time to hear more about his research would have been nice. The discussion about the findings about PLC was helpful. I am beginning to understand more and more the research process, I guess that I connected the dots little by little..looking, thinking, and acting-simple but a powerful concept.
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ReplyDeleteI really connected with Dr. Francis' study. I have experienced dysfunction in my own school. We have PLCs but because my position runs partly after school, I was not a part of one this year. When I transition to a classroom teaching job I would love to be apart of a PLC. It is crazy to me that we are in a class that is streamed across the state and are able to Skype with someone in Qatar!
ReplyDeleteMy hometown is about 45 minutes away from the school Dr. Francis did his study at. I can imagine the struggles he would encounter as an outsider to the community. I believe things have gotten better over the years but small towns do seem to still trust locals more, no matter their experience.
Dysfunctional, so called PLCs, yikes!
DeleteI thought that Dr. Francis' presentation was superb. I enjoyed hearing about his research. The problem that he described I think endemic to many schools, my own included. Thinking through these problems with Action Research was very well illustrated. I thought that he demonstrated the process very clearly. I have been finding it very interesting to hear the conversations taking place around action research and its use between administrators. The process is the same but the concerns are very different. I have really enjoyed listening to all of you talk about the contexts in which you teach and how the research process applies to different practices in different contexts.
ReplyDeleteMy big take away from our last class is not to worry about 702 no matter what format is takes. We have excellent professors and administrators who are going to guide us towards a successful graduate program.
ReplyDelete