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.