BTAR Ch. 4

Ch. 4 BTAR  Questions

Content Questions
1. The analogy of curriculum design can be used for action research in most cases. Creating the basic frame work of where you want to go with your lesson, why it is important, and how you will get there, maps on to both a curriculum plan and an action research project.

2. Having a critical question is the foundation of action research. The action research plan is a guide for how to get the best possible answer to your question. This is an area where I have been struggling. I am starting to see that the more refined and directed my action research question becomes, the easier it is to see a path to answering that question.

Process Questions
1. I think I will be able to find a balance with my particular question because I will be immersed in the environment and working with the instructional assistants that I am studying and questioning. My position in the study will be very beneficial because I am an instructional assistant and I want to learn how to better work with, direct and lead instructional assistant under my supervision in the near future.

2. My action research project is to understand special education instructional assistants in self contained classes. I want to know how they view their roll within the class, how they view the teachers roll, and how they best work within that self contained class as a team to best serve their students.  - - After talking to a classmate, I know that I need to get more specific about what I want to know. In general I want to make the job of an IA more fulfilling, more enjoyable, and more cohesive with the teacher/supervisor. I want to find out HOW to do that by interviewing and studying IAs and  teachers. Now I am seeing that I have more work to do in refining my question.

Chapter 3 Content Questions:

1. Triangulation means to use 3 measurements to locate a point in a space or region. This metaphor fits action research well. A more complete action research project will look at a question from different viewpoints (or coordinates). Looking from 3 points of view will allow the researcher to more accurately locate their question and its implications.
2. Action research is based on the idea of asking a specific question about your work in education. As we dig into this question we need to use research methodology tools to sift for our specific question.
1. Will the research methods help us return to the critical question? If yes, then the methods are purposeful.  
2. The focus of our research methods need to shine a light directly onto our critical question in order to be considered focused.
3. More data does not make it more trustworthy. Data that relies on research from distant colleagues and draws from multiple perspectives will be the most trustworthy.
3. “Open, honest, and above all do no harm” - my slogan acknowledges the idea of informing the students that you are researching about what you are in fact looking for. It also tells us that we should be transparent with staff, administrators and parents. Finally, our research should not take away from the educational experiences of our students. We are embedded in classes already and doing our jobs, our research should be designed to fit this context but never take away from what we are doing in the classroom.

Chapter 3 Process Questions

1. Time is always a limiting factor. Time is needed to design, implement and analyze collected data. The size and scope of your research is also a limiting factor due to how we are positioned in our jobs within the school we may not be able to get a solid cross section of students. Acknowledging these limitations and designing your research to look at your specific question in your specific context will make the process easier on ourselves.
2. The context is essential to my action research design. Because I am able to observe and survey students and teachers in general ed core content classrooms, my research design will be tailored to that context. I want to capitalize on the resources and access that I have in my current position by designing my research to fit where I am now.
3. For the students that I have a good connection with they are often surprised and excited to know that I am “in school just like they are.” I hope that these conversations will lead to students working with me with an open mind on my research question.
4. I anticipate my survey being difficult for students to assign a number value to how they see themselves as note takers. I will try to set up my questions to make them clear and I want my students to feel comfortable enough to give open and honest answers. To accomplish this I will try to survey students I have a good relationship with and possibly offer a small reward for their purposeful participation.

They Say, I Say Ch. 3

I immediately appreciated the authors focus on finding the correct balance of quotations in our research writing. Personally, I struggle with finding a proper balance in my own writing.  Some time has passed between my undergraduate course work and finding myself here in the Pacific University special education masters program. Writing some of these papers has been a challenge for me. The authors are speaking directly to me when they warn of quoting with anchoring the quote to the context of what I am trying to say. To solve this issue the “quotation sandwich” is suggested. I like this framework and will try to use it more. Again, as I have previously stated in other blogs on this book, I appreciate the sentence frames. They are like training wheels to get beginning writers, like myself, up and moving.