Convergence

I am happy to say that there seems to be a nice convergence between the research on autism related teaching skills and on staff development for self contained special education classrooms. The research on working with students with autism is as vast and varied as the spectrum itself but ultimately the ideas of communication challenges, social challenges and rigid and repetitive behaviors or interests tie everything together. The literature also seems to indicate that instructional support staff are generally under prepared to work with students with autism.

My challenge and my research question is to find a way to bring these two areas of research together. This is essentially my education plan; to find ways for my to staff get the education and training they need to better serve our students with autism.

I am also, finally, seeing a convergence between my TIP and my actual job. This project is starting to make sense to me and I am seeing how this way of thinking, observing and then acting will benefit me in the future.

My feelings on data about feelings

I decided to scrap my initial Instructional Assistant survey. I feel better as I scan over the initial returns from my survey. I am looking for patterns in the data but I am wondering if I am imposing what I want to find on what is actually there? This is clearly potential for flaws in validity of the data. I am wondering how I avoid this. Even in my interviews I feel like I am leading my interlocutor with my questions. My critical question is important, I believe in it, but I am just worrying that I am shaping the results a little to prove something. 

The third data source, observation of staff interactions with students, feels the best to me. When I am observing my staff work with students, I find positive and negative interactions. I am finding that staff are trying to use strategies with students. They only need a little refinement in some cases. More than anything, I am seeing that the staff has goals of their own that they are trying to accomplish with students (finish a project or assignment, get out to job sites on time, etc.) that do not allow the students to learn from the experiences. In this, I see where action research can lead to more action research. 

Narrowing My Focus

Sifting Through Data

The process of finding my TIP critical question has slowly refined and narrowed my focus. I find myself wondering what my staff needs to best serve students with autism. I am observing the staff working with our students with autism (my first point of data) and I notice areas where they can improve. I notice skills that work but are rarely shared from staff to staff. When looking at the staff as a whole, I see an overall inconsistency in the way we approach "Student A." For a person with autism, these inconsistencies can cause confusion which could lead to behaviors. 

I am also interviewing colleagues who also manage a large staff (my second point of data). The interviews are revealing that I am not alone in my area of inquiry. I am finding that my colleagues also want to help their staff grow and learn new skills for working with those students impacted by autism. 

Finally, I am surveying a large number of instructional assistant staff members from around the district (my third data point). I have not looked at the trends or themes here yet. I do think this data point will be very interesting. Getting input directly from the source of my study should be the most accurate and valuable. However, there is the Dunning-Kruger Effect which states that people often over asses their ability levels. This could be a possible bias in my study. 

Sifting through this information and trying to find a common thread is my next step. 

Teacher Inquiry - A Conversation

In an attempt to better fit my context and to better serve my needs for this year I am going to slightly alter and narrow the focus of my teacher inquiry project. The class and context that I work in requires a large support staff. Our instructional assistants take students out into the community daily to job sites, community activities, fact finding lessons , bus training and a variety of other activities designed to help our students grow toward independence. Our students have been diagnosed with a variety of disabilities and their only common thread lays in their behavioral needs. Each students disability manifests in a variety of behaviors that impact their ability to learn at the same rate as their peers.

This conversational blog could be a place to take reader suggestions on how to craft surveys, interviews and observations of my instructional assistant staff. Ultimately, I want to find out how IAs feel about their level of training to work with students with behavioral needs. My goal is to survey IAs in behavioral needs classrooms from around the district, observe and take data on the interactions my IAs have with our students and to interview selected IAs about their experiences and ideas on the topic of professional training.

Your thoughts are welcomed.

What is good action research? 

The author talks about the emancipatory aim of action research. This idea, or at least my version of it, is pointing in he same direction as many of my questions, thoughts and inquiries. I want to work with my staff to better understand what they need in order to feel more valued, appreciated, 'heard', and ultimately discover how they can better serve the students we work with. 

Example #3 was useful to help me begin to pair down my big idea into something smaller, more narrow, that I can better study and understand. I often get caught in the trap of thinking that I have to do a comprehensive study and understand every aspect of the work life of an Instructional Assistant. Narrowing my focus seems like cheating in a way but I am starting to realize that the point is to just learn something, maybe just one idea, that will help me in my setting. 

The idea of partnership and participation that the author talks about also resonates with me. This is essentially what I am trying to do. I want to better work with my staff and in order to discover how to do this, I need to actively work with and listen to my staff. The partnership and participation can also take the form of talking to and working with other lead teachers who manage large staff. Surveying, interviewing and talking to these colleagues could allow me to see different points of view. 

As for publishing... I don't know... but I hope to discover something of value to pass on to my colleagues that will improve their practice. 

50 Questions

50 Questions

L: Why does the school district try to force so many people into the "diploma" or "modified diploma" model?

49: Why do we value wrote skills over social and behavior skills?

48: Who would want their child to be great at integral calculus at the expense of social and emotional skills? 

47: If society wants people with special needs to be independent, productive and engaged members of society, why are so few resources spent in this area? 

46: Did you know that a new Senate bill passed that will now limit the services that students with special needs who graduate with a modified diploma can receive after high school?

45: The above bill will apply to three of my students, I wonder if they will be grandfathered in or if they will not be able to return to the program once this bill goes into action?

44: I wonder if I overestimate my students sometimes? I find myself challenging and pushing them which is generally good but at times I might be causing some behaviors...

43: What additional training do instructional assistants need?

42: What additional training do instructional assistants want? 

41: Do instructional assistants feel prepared to do their jobs?

40: Do IAs feel like they can voice their concerns and needs to their coworkers, the teacher they work with and their supervisor?

39: Where do IAs find the most value or meaning in their jobs?

38: How important is monetary compensation to IAs? 

37: Special education takes up vast amounts of resources for the school district, How much more expensive is it to provide an education to a student receiving special educational services as apposed to a student on a general education track? 

36: How is the money distributed? (I assume mostly toward support staff)

35: Is the money being used in the most effective way for the benefits of the students? 

34: How do I get staff to let students be more independent? 

33: How do I get my message/philosophy across to staff in a consumable way? 

32: Can you teach old dogs new tricks, so to speak?

31: How do I push students toward a growth mindset?

30: How many students come through our CTP programs and leave with an actual part time job? 

29: How can I better connect my students to the service providers that can help them once they leave our program?

28: What service providers are available? 

27: How do students qualify for various services? 

26: Which services are most crucial for student continued success?

25: My program is part of a district pilot program to assist with a "seamless transition" from high school and CTPs to the services providers and to employment. How do I get some of  our students to buy into the value of work beyond our program?

24: Am I setting a good example for staff?

23: How do I handle crisis moments with behaviors? 

22: How do my various staff handle crisis? 

21: Should I expect them all to do as I do? 

20: Can we handle these moments with a variety of roles, responsibilities and skill levels? 

19: What are the best ways to debrief with staff after an incident involving students?

18: What are a few good strategies for negotiating conflict between staff?

17: How do I best place staff in areas of their interest and strength while maintaining what is best for the overall program?

16: Am I delegating enough to my staff or is it too much? 

15: How would I know the answer to #16?

14: What is the best way to check in with staff about their job, responsibilities, satisfaction etc? 

13: How often should I check in? 

12: Will some staff require more check ins? Less check ins? 

11: What is the best way to continue to do my job and meet my responsibilities while trying to meet the needs of my staff? 

10: Am I over thinking the needs of my staff? 

9: Are some staff happy to show up, do what their told, get paid and go home? 

8: Is that (#9) necessarily a bad thing? 

7: How many staff meetings do I need to have per week? 

6: Is morning better than afternoon for meetings? 

5: Would a meeting agenda help staff be better prepared for the meeting? 

4: Could I create a place for staff concerns to be listed and then added to the meeting agenda? 

3: Would this increase staffs sense of ownership in the program? 

2: How can I gauge staff satisfaction and feelings of team? 

1: Are we all working toward the same goal as a team? 

BTAR Ch. 8

BTAR Ch. 8
Living Action Research as a Professional Teacher

I have spent many years as an instructional assistant learning and honing the tools and methods that I use to motivate, inspire and teach students with special needs. The process of becoming a master teacher, winning coach or a martial artist is a never ending process and cycle. What works today may not work in the future. We must discard or modify old techniques to adjust to our ever changing environment and context. I have noticed that this mind set can be difficult to attain for some people. Certainly in some areas of my life I am less flexible, less open to change, less open to self analysis, but in many and in fact most areas of my life, I am open to belief revision. I want to be the kind of person and teacher who is able to change with the times, who will admit when I am wrong, and change with the evidence. I think that this mindset is the essence of action research.

In a previous blog , the first blog I wrote about Action Research, I compared this process to my experience coaching high level basketball teams. This comparison is even stronger for me today as I am reaching the end of the BTAR book and nearing the actual action research project that I will embark on. While I know that I will have many questions and sticking points during my first “real” action research project, I also know that I have the right mindset to carry out this task.

BTAR Ch. 7

BTAR Ch. 7

Telling the Story of Your Action Research

When I think about presenting my research or as the book puts it, “going public,” I try to imagine it as something that is useful and possibly inspiring to other teachers that work in a similar area of special education. I want to find the best way of showing how this project is personal to me but at the same time I do not want to come across as if I am ranting, complaining, or preaching. The authors try to tear down the myth of the “academic” voice and I appreciate their efforts. When I read academic papers, most of them have a similar voice. My goal is to avoid this academic voice and to find my own.

Traditionally, academic language is valued and thus papers written in this way will be better received. This however leads to the very dry writing style that we have come to stereotype academic writing as. I want to make a point, I want to show objective data, I want to clearly lay out my thoughts and ideas so that it can be understood by virtually anyone. This is the tension between the professional and the personal that they talk about.

I appreciate the many tips given to guide the “going public” process. Understanding and clearly communicating the purpose of the research and understand the audience that will be reading it is very important to me. I feel like I know where I want to go in these areas. I am just not exactly sure how to get there. As I experiment with different ideas and data collection tools, I am beginning to see why the authors are constantly telling us that we need to let our critical question change and evolve.

Finally, this chapter lays out a very clear road map to developing the action research paper. This will be very useful to me as it conforms to the way that I like to put a paper together; section by section, linked by interlocking ideas and concepts. I think that I might even start an outline of my paper rather soon and build in the information and content as it comes to me. Later next year as I am conducting my research and gathering new ideas and data I can incorporate into this project.

BTAR Ch. 6

BTAR Ch. 6

Final Data Interpretation

The chapter begins by challenging us to define interpret. My definition would be; to reconstruct a message in a more understandable form. The authors draw a line between interpretation as instruction and as provocation. This is a difficult concept for me. I want to ANSWER my critical question at times. I want to do an experiment and solve the mystery. The authors suggest that we never truly solve these types of problems and that we never find “truth.” I agree with this concept when it comes to many claims, even many scientific claims.

This book can be frustrating. At times it is describing technical means of data collection and analysis and then quickly turns to “personal meaning making.” These shifts from hard scientific techniques and processes to the “touchy-feely” makes for confusion.

I like the clarity of the general steps to data collection. The tip of taking time with the data, revisiting it, and analyzing it over many sittings makes sense to me. I am familiar with a few data analyzing tools, such as excel pivot tables and slicers, and I know I will use that tool. The other ideas, including, mind mapping, color coding, and charting the “thought-know-want to know” of the data will be helpful and make logical sense to me for my research. However, I will not know until I attempt these processes and use these tools.

Finding colleagues and mentors to bounce ideas off of has always been helpful to me. With my research question in particular I will need to hear from multiple self contained classroom teachers in order to get a feel for what works best for building a strong staff work environment. The book suggests seeking out different perspectives as one of the many layers of data interpretation.

Finally we are given the criteria for trustworthy teacher action research. The idea that jumped out at me the most was “thick data.” This means using multiple perspectives, consulting with mentors and distant colleagues, and illustrating the themes of the research and your recommendations in a way that shows you are on a thorough and unique journey toward improving yourself as a teacher.

BTAR Ch. 5

Ongoing Data Analysis

I am immediately struck by the distinction between data analysis during the research project and final data interpretation after the study is completed. This is a distinction that I have not considered before and I generally assumed that while you might "peek" at your data as you gathered it, analyzing it would not be beneficial until you completed the length of your study. The chapter goes on to outline important terms and techniques for research data.

Analysis : Breaking down data into smaller pieces. A dissection to look at each part.
Synthesis: Putting all of the parts together to observe the data as a whole. Looking for what the big picture is telling us from our data.
Deconstruction: Taking apart our methods and looking to see where we might be influencing data or making assumptions about the data.
Contextualization: This is a meta process of viewing how we view data. Understanding who we are as observers. Understanding the culture, location, historical influences, social influences, etc. that may be skewing our view of the data.

We have been given the task to start an observation protocol and I am finding it difficult to perfectly locate my targets, however chapter 5 suggests being open to ongoing data analysis that changes, adapts, and evolves as the study progresses. I know that I will need to do this with my critical question. Ultimately, chapter 5 is urging us to be mindful of the data that is coming in, journal our thoughts, make notes on what is working and what is not, be open to the possibility that our focus could shift as the data reveals new information, and to deeply analyze where we could be missing something or making mistakes based on our contextual views.

Designing Research

Moving from the conceptual to the execution of a study, specifically my unique study area of teambuilding among instructional assistants, is a deep concern of mine. Infact I have been weighing the idea of making a dramatic shift in my research focus to better allow me to approach this project from a slightly more traditional direction. Similar thoughts begin to arise when I consider the implementation of my strategies. At the moment I am considering team building, staff meeting, and group involvement strategies to “test” on the staff that will be under my supervision. My goal is to build better communication and sense of “team” within the staff that will ultimately have positive effects on the students in our class. I can already imagine implementation fidelity issues with my current plan.

I do not think that having a comparison group will apply to my current research question. However I could see using interviews and narrative reports from staff on their previous experiences in self contained classes as a form of comparison to the interventions that I would like to implement.

The design experiment, described in the article is interesting and I think it might be more applicable to my study. I have a goal (staff feeling appreciated/part of a team) and I want to try various tools to increase this feeling among the people I work with. Perhaps this is a direction I should go…

In general I would say that this article is scaring me off my current area of interest, which is too bad because i am passionate about the importance of building and maintaining a cohesive team for self contained classrooms. As I read through the measurements section, I found myself wondering “how will i get multiple measures of the ‘feeling’ of being appreciated and part of a team?” This is just another of the many concerns that are bubbling up for me.

*Steve, if you think that I am way off base with my general idea of studying IA staff as it relates to their perceived levels of appreciation and “team,” please tell me.

They Say, I Say Ch 4

Ch 4

“Yes / No / Okay,But”

Three Ways to Respond

The chapter immediately addresses a thinking problem that I often encounter. “I am not smart enough to disagree with the experts.” The chapter lays out three ways to respond to researchers ideas, agreeing, disagreeing, or a combination. I appreciate the simplified approach to get the writer started. I often struggle with how to get into the conversation with the researcher/author, but just simply stating my agreements and disagreements is simple and makes sense.

The disagreement templates are useful and looking at simple examples triggers many memories of reading similar sentences frames in the research paper that I am currently looking at.I also found the agreeing with a difference or addition to be thought provoking. Saying, “I agree that X benefits Y but I can also see it adding to Z…” This is a method that I will use in my upcoming action research paper. The “yes but …” statements are also clearly outlined but I find them to lack the strength of argument that I would want to convey in my writing.

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.

Journal Drop #5

Oct. 25,

Last week I was contacted by one of the special education directors asking if would be interested in taking a new job this year.  My new position would be in the Career Transition Program. This program is for students 18-21 to learn job skills and independent living skills. All of the students come from special education programs in the district. My questions are not an action research questions, but I have found myself at an interesting crossroads. Where will I go with my career? Will I stay with what I know? or do I want to try something new that is both interesting to me and a new challenge? Stepping out of my comfort zone and into a new challenge is appealing but this will also be my first year as a case manager and teacher of record.

Oct. 28

As I move towards the completion of the action research project I am noticing related questions rising up in my mind. We are looking at partially filled notes for SPED students but I could see research in this area being interesting for general ed students as well. I am also wondering how students will behave in the classroom when they are able to follow along, stay engaged and learn the material. I suspect that behavior will improve. Most behavioral researchers will say that behaviors have one of two functions, to get something or get away from something. Since I have taken on this mindset I have begun to look for the function of the behaviors  that I see. My suspicion is that if a student can access the information and engage that their behaviors will decrease. This is an action research question that interests me.

They Say, I Say Ch 1 & 2

They Say, I Say Ch 1 & 2

Chapter 1 highlights the importance of stating a clear thesis. Again the authors urge us to start with their basic framework and master it before departing from it. I feel like this is good advice and follows the way that I generally learn new skills. Specifically the goal outlined in this chapter is to start a conversation that will be clear to the reader what has been said on a given topic and then introduce what we think, see or have researched on the same or similar topic. Recently I heard about an argumentative tactic called “steel manning” which is the reverse of the common fallacy of “Straw manning” someone's argument. To Steel Man, one restates the strongest points of another person's position on an issue and then attacks it at its strongest. I understand that in research we are not always disagreeing with other researchers but I do see how using the strongest and clearest positions will improve the introduction of my own paper.  

The sentence framework examples given will be very helpful to forming a conversation in my papers. I appreciate the variety given by the authors. I am however having a little bit of trouble understanding the concept of the return sentences. On the face of it I can see why it is important to link back to past research and the thoughts of others on the topic in introducing the ideas. The authors urge us to make a genuine response to others views (this makes sense) but I feel like we are trying to find our own viewpoints, or own research, for our context…. Perhaps I am reading too much into this last portion of the chapter…

Chapter 2 urges an economy of words when summarizing the arguments that others have made. This summary should still be true and accurate to the original author while at the same time highlighting where their research meets our own. I really appreciate the idea of “temporary suspension of disbelief” when summarizing the arguments of others. This is a difficult yet important skill when getting into any conversation whether it be on education research, politics or religion, temporarily taking the other side and inhabiting their way of thinking is as the book suggests, “the hallmark of good actors.”

The authors urge us to find a balance between giving an accurate yet concise portrayal of the others work while at the same time “spinning” their arguments or work in the direction of our own. I initially found the “spin” suggestion and the satirical summary to be slightly disingenuous ways of “conversing” but I think I get the author's points here. I do not see myself using these tactics in any kind of formal research paper however. Finally, as someone who does not consider himself to be a good writer, I really appreciate all of the example sentence frames and word banks given throughout this book. I know I will refer back to them often.

Journal Drop #4

10-10-16

Classroom Management

I am currently working on a Functional Behavior Assessment assignment for one of my SPED classes. This project makes  me wonder about how we can teach students with such a variety of behaviors in the same room and in the same way. I am lucky enough to work with a variety of teachers and I get to observe their strategies for addressing students with difficult behaviors. Often I wonder how I will manage my classroom. Seeing the “tricks of the trade” employed by my coworkers is highly informative. I wonder about research in the area of classroom management? What works best? How do we know? In what context? Regular Ed vs. Self Contained vs. Inclusion? This is an area that I have a variety practical experience in however I do not know what expert teachers do.

10-12-16

Common Core Alignment

In the push for inclusion I feel like we are forcing common core goals and standards onto our special education students who may not be ready for grade level work. This makes for particularly difficult situations that can result in students shutting down, refusing to work, getting frustrated, sad and or acting out with undesirable behaviors. General ed teachers are attempting to do their jobs and they are teaching to the majority in the classroom but in inclusion classes there can be as many as 10 or 12 students who are significantly below grade level. How do we expect students to complete 7th grade level math when they have 4th grade abilities? How do we expect them to sit and not become frustrated, confused or upset when nearly everything they are being told and asked to do is over their heads?

BTAR Chapter 2 Questions & They Say, I Say

BTAR Chapter 2 Questions

1. “We research our own issues, meaningful in our current life and practice. We pursue critical questions that resonate with our professional community and have potential to improve teaching, learning, and Life.” Rewrite this sentence demonstrating the concept and your personal meaning-making of it.
1. How can I positively affect the lives of my students in the near future and further into their lives? What do I see as important tools to give to my students? How will these tools help the individual? How will I know?  
2. What does it mean to “problematize” and why is this important to action research?
1. To problematize is to understand (in the educational context) the goals of all involved in the education process. What does the student want? What does the teacher want? And to look for barriers to achieving these goals. What biases do those involved have, what problems pop up, what is the source of these problems etc. And how do individuals view their own biases and problems?
3. How and why does context matter when conducting action research?
1. Understanding the context of where we are conducting research is crucial to gathering accurate and meaningful data. Conducting research on students with special needs in inclusion classes would not be very effective in a school that did not have an inclusion model or did not have student with special needs. The social, political, and philosophical context of the school and its teachers needs to be understood. Getting a sense of how teachers feel about the inclusion model and their role in supporting students with special needs is critical.  
4. What are characteristics of workable critical question? Why do critical questions change during action research?
1. Critical question needs to be rooted in an understanding of the school setting, classrooms setting, the students needs and who the teacher-researcher is themselves. Understanding these spheres of influence help to refine and focus a critical question over time.

Process Questions

1. What do you know about your school community where you will be conducting your action research project? How does context matter to your action research study?
1. I have full access to demographic data of our school. I am mostly concerned with students who receive IEP services and who are in inclusion classes. Understanding how many of our students fit this profile is vital to conducting accurate research. I also want to understand teacher thoughts and philosophy on the nw inclusion model. This information will have to be gathered in order to get a feel for the context in which our students work from period to period.
2. What have you discovered about your research topic from distant colleagues? How will their expertise guide your study? In what areas do you still need to find more information? Where will you look for this information?
1. Thus far I have discovered that just mere inclusion of Sped and regular ed students does not seem to show any improvement on individuals classroom behavior as many had thought it might in the past. My action research is now focusing in on making the lessons more understandable and note taking more accessible to students in the hope that this access to learning will improve both academic and behavioral outcomes. I am using a variety of web based resources and search engines to find more information in this specific area.
3. What does your choice of topic, draft question, and choice of distant colleagues say about your own values and beliefs about teaching?
1. I think that my current choices and focus of my action research shows that I am deeply concerned with the possible flaws in the inclusion model. I am looking to find and test academic strategies to allow students with learning disabilities, executive function disorders and behavior management issues to access the same or similar levels of education as their peers.

Introduction to They Say, I Say

Immediately the book's introduction creates an analogy that I can understand. As a basketball coach I often forget that not everyone knows that standard “moves” and I assume they will be able to figure them out. The reverse is also true for me and writing. I THINK that I will be able to just figure it (academic writing) out but deep down I know this isn't the case and I will need guidance.

For a long time I have enjoyed debating people about sports, politics and especially religion. Those debates usually do not go anywhere. However conversations that involve give and take can often lead to better understanding. The Socratic strategy of restating your opponent's position is very important to having a meaningful and clear conversation, the same appears to be true of quality academic writing.

Returning to the basketball analogy, I appreciate the authors responding to the concern that writers will become robots. Often basketball players can feel the same way when initially learning the “moves” but once the basics and mastered they eventually develop their own style for each move.

Journal Drop #3

10-3-16

Making an Impact

Where can I make the most impact in special education? Where will I feel fulfilled, challenged, and at the same time avoid the burnout that I have seen in many special education case managers? This last point has been on my mind lately. In conversation with other members of the Pacific Cohort, many of us have noticed that sped teachers (especially those in self contained classrooms) take on a tremendous amount of stress which often leads to burnout. I have seen it many times myself with teachers that I have worked with.

How will I avoid the stress and feelings of burnout?

• Staying Organized
• Using my staff efficiently to assist me in data collection, behavior tracking, etc.
• Using district resources to assist my needs (Autism and behavior specialists, program assistants, etc. )
• Leaving my work at work
• Making time for myself

This semester I am taking a class on Transition Services. I am enjoying the class very much and could see myself working with older students. Helping these students transition into adult life and teaching them job skills, life skills and to be independent members of society has me really inspired right now.

10-4-16

Special Education and Action Research

There are so many interesting areas of action research that are coming to me as I reflect on my current classroom (Learning Resource Center) and my former classrooms (Life Skills). Self contained classrooms seem to lend themselves to the action research philosophy. By having a small group of students who you work with nearly every period, every day, you basically have a laboratory and a study group. Data collection duties can be divided among instructional assistants. Specific behaviors or academic skills can be zeroed in on and explored. I am primarily interested in problem behaviors, how to identify them, how to identify why they occur, and how to teach replacement behaviors, all in the goal of helping students to better access their education. Since I began working in the district I have been interested in behavior. Special educators have a variety of forms that they fill out to address behavior but these plans do not seem to have any ability to change behaviors. These BSPs (Behavior support plans) and FBAs (Functional Behavior Assessment) have become legal documents that only serve to meet the requirements of IEP legality. Often they serve little to no functional support. These students need real instruction and practice at using replacement behaviors.

Journal Drop #2

9-26-16

Frustrations in Education

One of my many roles in our school is to support a mainstream teacher with our IEP students and any other students in need. I feel frustrated watching this particular class being taught. The teacher I work with is a friend and we have a good relationship, but the class does not run smoothly and by my estimations, learning is not occurring. When I get the chance to work with students after lecture time I find that I can help individuals but I can not help everyone.

Now I am envisioning myself as a special education case manager. In that role I will have to suggest to teachers different teaching styles and modifications to better support our IEP students. This could be difficult. I do think I have an easy going personal manner but few teachers want to be told how to teach. I am wondering how I will walk this tricky and important line. Today I did approach my coworker and make a few suggestions. He runs a very strict class where he wants everyone doing the same thing but we did agree to try modifying and supplementing the note taking process for a few of our students. I have seen this approach used before to great success for students who worked slower than others or who were often off task. While supporting this particular class I want to try to continue to have conversations with the lead teacher in an effort to better serve the needs of our struggling students. My hope is that this class will serve as experimental grounds for working with not just students but also making recommendations (an important part of my future position) to teachers in my school.

9-28-16

Checking for Understanding

Every teacher (should) check for understanding daily. I have observed many techniques:

1. “Thumbs up, in the middle, or down” based on level
2. “Show me how you are feeling about this with 1-5 fingers”
3. Sticky notes for answering an exit slip question

And many more

Today I began wondering how effective these brief surveys of knowledge are? How do I know if I am getting honest answers? How can I encourage students to be honest about what they know AND what they DO NOT know?

I have also noticed that these methods of checking for understanding are often used initially and quickly fall off.  I wonder how a more disciplined and differentiated use of checking for understanding could benefit the teacher and students learning. This is an area of inquiry that could be interesting for action research.