Ethics!

Ethics is a very difficult aspect to determine.  Are you completing your research in an ethical manner?  Are you staying true to your research? These are difficult questions to answer while attempting to complete research.  Ethics have become an essential portion in the view of research.  From watching the two videos on MyEducationLab, you see two very different points of view in the importance of ethics in research.  I believe that Doug had the correct idea on how to stay ethically sound when completing his research.  He not only got permission from the parents but he also gained permission from the students that he would be researching.  This allowed for the students and the parents to be knowledgeable about both the research and any data results that will be found because of it.  This tells me that Doug was conscience about any ethical considerations concerning his research.  Jeanette on the other hand seemed to be more concerned about keeping her research a secret then allowing the principal to gain information about the research.  If you are going to complete action research on a set of students, gaining permission is essential to completing the research.  You not only allow the administration, parents and students to understand what your research is about but you might be able to gain insight into your research that you might not have considered yet.  Jeanette did not want to disclose any information regarding her research to the principal or her fellow colleagues.  This gave the wrong impression of her research.  It lead others to believe that she was attacking them and their materials, when she was only attempting to gain insight into the materials available to the students.  If she would have gained permission from the principal regarding her research the feelings toward her research would have been more positive. 

Curtis Elementary

I enjoyed the cased study regarding Curtis Elementary, I felt that there was not only excitment about completing the research project there was also support from the staff. In regards to completing the criteria for Evaulating Action Research my analysis is as follows:

Area of focus: I believe that there was an area of focus related to teaching and learning.  The teacher attempted to create an "altered curriculum" relating to the improving test scores through understanding of material.  The case study did not go into detail  on how "understanding" was accomplished but it seems that the teacher learned quite a bit from the action research.

Research Question:  The teacher does provide one research question regarding the action research but it is nondeterminate of the teacher's ability, but more in line with the curriculum.

Locus of Control:  This was done very well, he only attempted to study his classroom and not include information from the rest of the school.

Data Collection:  This was also done well, the data was varied but also able to be discussed and anaylzed.  The data include one aspec that I liked, and it was the retelling of a story about the Bermuda Triangle.  This allowed the students to explore the story on their own but it also allowed the teacher to provide a unique analysis of the story and demonstrate the abilities of each child based on the same story.

Ethics:  I did not see any ethical problems that arised from this research.

Reflective Stance: The teacher did reference a reflective section in his case study. He stated several finding on the development of the students understanding and the impact of the "literal word" on understanding. This reflection seemed appropriate to the teacher and his conclusions of his teaching style.

Action: The teacher has taken his data results and applied significant changes to his classroom curriculum and has already set up several intervention strategies that will be applied to his classroom.

Action-data connection: These intervention strategies are based on the data provided by the research.  It seems that his "altered curriculum" has had a significant effect on the students understanding of specific materials. He does understand how he needs to "construct meaning" of how his students in turn construct meaning of literature.

Research Bias

Research bias is a major issue relating to any particular research plan.  In relation to an action research plan, I feel that the researcher should have a complete idea of all issues and sides pertaining to the issue at hand.  In middle grade sciences, you learn early to always have in mind a hypothesis relating to your experiment.  Although as I have gotten older I have come to realize my lack of creating that particular hypothesis in relation to any kind of research.  When I began my research into the issue of self-esteem improvement, I was unclear as to where the data would lead me.  During the literature review, I was able to consolidate my vision into one question:

Does exercise have a indirect or direct influence on the improvement of self-esteem?

After reading about research biases I have looked further into the idea, and realized, through data collection, the biases related to this subject. Through my research I have developed two proposition statements related to this question.

1. Exercise does have a indirect effect on the improvement of self-esteem in students.
2. Exercise will have a greater effect on the self-esteem of males over females.

I feel that in order to complete a well-rounded research action study, the researcher needs to explore all sides of the issue at state. In my research study I will consider information from both sides of the effects of exercise on the improvement of self-esteem, but I hope to find my hypothesis to be correct.

Literature Review

During my literature review, I was conflicted as to how I wanted to approach the issue of females and self-esteem level. As I was completing my collection of sources I came across several articles relating to exercise and self-esteem levels.  I became very interested in this idea, because it not only allowed me to see the difference in self-esteem levels between the genders it also allowed me to see how self-esteem grows based on a physical activity.  This was interesting because it can demonstrate how self-esteem can be influenced by a force that someone can do his/herself, and not just because of other people.

Does exercise have a direct or indirect effect on levels of self-esteem?

In order to correctly collect data on on this research question I would need to observe students in a gym class and be able to interview and evaluate the student's self-esteem levels. I would observe two groups, one control and one dependent, these two having varying physical levels. The literature was varied on the effects of physical activity on self-esteem which I think gives a better outlook on the research because it allows for different viewpoints, including the effects of competition on self-esteem levels.

Proper Images of Women

One of the main aspects about my self-reflection that I felt most adminent about, was my need to be a proper role model for young women.  I feel that the older I get, the more atune I am to the public images of women that are bombarded at young women. I feel that this is a huge issue for the development of confident young women.  I eel that those young women who lack self-confidence are more at risk of developing bad habits (smoking, drug use, underage drinking, and teen pregnancy).  If young women are shown what real women are, they can begin to distinguish between a real, confident woman and the hollywood image of a woman.

What makes a good teacher......

What makes a good teacher.......

That's a great question, to me, a good teacher is someone who is human. Someone who doesn't try to be anything they are not.  By this they are a good role model to their students. They should have a love and energy for the subject and teaching. They should have a good foundation for their thoughts and ideas. They should admit their mistakes. Someone who has a good understanding of what it is to be a teacher and what this profession's effect is on students. A good teacher is someone who understands, or at least attempts to understand their students and their environments.

That's what I think a good teacher is. Enjoy!

Self-Reflection

As I look back at my life so far, I will honeslty say that I never expected to want to be a teacher.  All throughout high school I participated in the school's newspaper, working my way up to Editor-in-Chief.  So I always imagined myself to be a world-renowned journalist.  I loved the fast-paced atmosphere and craved the upcoming deadlines.  I finished my Bachelor's degree at Florida State in Professional Communications, and then the economy died, and I was unable to find that "perfect job".  After a few years, I finally decided to pursue a teaching license.  I was orginally going to do the lateral entry option, once I saw the amount of classes, I decided to find an alternate route and found NC State's Master's Program.  I decided to pursue Special Education and began working at a local preschool that taught children with special needs. I feel in love with working with children with special needs.

The top five reasons I decided to become a teacher:

1. To make a difference in someone's life.
2. To find a career that made me feel appreciated.
3. To have a career that I can look back on and feel like I made a difference.
4. To educate children.
5. To find a career that will allow me to always learn.

I come from a Middle-class background. I was raised by an equal set of parents, my Dad taught me to be strong and outspoken, and my Mom taught me to be loving and confident.  They always told me to respect and trust my teachers, and to always try to learn as much as I could.

I come from an Irish-Catholic family and my family has always been a huge part of my life.  They taught me to have a good head on my shoulders, to always be there for my family, and that women can be just as strong if not stronger then a man. In my family, there was always an equal partnership between the husband and the wife. I think that has a had a great impact on my life and it is one of those ideas that I want to make sure to teach to my students. I think it is important to establish good professional and personal relationships with other teachers of both genders.

Five critical moments of my education that have influenced my image of a teacher:
1. First grade, Mrs. Chappell, she was very unapproachable and untrustworthy of her students, of course we were first graders but it still brought the idea that my teachers didn't trust me.
2. Sixth through Eighth grade, Ms. Pope (yes, I am still friends with her on Facebook), one of my favorite teachers, she was young, energetic, and always made class fun.
3. High School, Mrs. White, first Drama then English, she was always approachable, and such as wonderful person to be around, I learned more then English or Drama. I learned about life.
4. Mr. McWhorter, the biology teacher, although I was never good at science, he had such a sense of energy about the subject, even though I didn't like it, I loved going to class.
5. Dr. Halvorson, one of my professors from college, although she was crazy (just like me, that's why we got along) she was always a good listener and was always there for me, and trusted me with anything.

I believe that reasearch can be a helpful tool in providing a stable classroom environment. It allows a teacher to not only evaulate their effectiveness but to also gain a more conclusive outlook of their students.  I believe that it is benefical to their classroom environment, and will be ethical as long as it stays confidental.

I want to become a teacher because I want to make a difference, I know that sounds typical but that's my reasoning.