Reflections of an Aspiring Educator

This week we learned about different types of research. Here are some things I want to remember for the research project I am doing in this class as well as my master's research project:  ~Transcribing things yourself is really good and can help you delve that much deeper into the data. If you have lots and lots of data it can spare you a lot of time to have someone else help you transcribe. ~In our master's project we will probably use several different methods of research and use triangulation to validate our data ~In observations as well as interviews it's important to record things that might create an additional bias--like if the person you're interviewing is having a particularly bad day that is leading them to feel more negative towards the topic, etc. ~In observations, lots and lots of detail is really important. Describing the classroom set-up, how people are dressed, etc. is important Here are some things that are just good things to remember about rese...

This week we created our qualitative research proposal. Reading about how to plan a research project is one thing, and thinking through your research project and planning it is definitely another thing! I was placed in a group of three amazing classmates and together we created a research proposal and presented it. Here are some things things that stood out to me! Be specific!! This is probably the biggest thing that stood out to me. One of my teammates did the literature review while the other teammate and I created the methods section. The two of us who worked on the methods section worked very carefully and tried to include as much detail in our plan as possible. I was pretty comfortable with what we had done. As part of our research proposal, we were also asked to look at the proposals of our classmates. This was incredibly eye-opening on a bunch of levels. First of all, I realized that although we had been pretty specific in our "context", "positionality",...

This week we talked about designing a qualitative research study. We talked about the steps involved in creating a study, and we also talked heavily about our positionality/reflexivity and how this influences our research. In class we did an activity where we had a google document with 5 columns. As a heading for the first column we put some aspect of our identity (I put single female). In the next column we put some immediate causes from our identity (things that people expect are true because of who I am, like people might expect me to have a certain career, dress a certain way, want to get married or have a certain type of dating life, etc. as a single female). The third column we labeled immediate effects (how these views of other people effect me (I feel like I am of lesser worth if I don't act/dress a certain way, I feel like I have to have a boyfriend, etc.). The fourth column was labeled "prior causes" and we filled this column with a list of things we felt caus...

Inductive reasoning. Experience. Context. Relativism. Paradigm. Bias. Descriptive.   These are all words associated with Qualitative research. As a math major in college, I quickly became aware of the inductive and deductive types of reasoning reasoning. We used deductive reasoning. I don't know if I was taught this (but if not, it was definitely inferred), but I went through my whole undergraduate experience believing that inductive reasoning was a much weaker form of reasoning with no real use. I also was very aware of relativism , realism , quantitative research and qualitative research . I was an avid believer in realism, and thought quantitative research was the only way to go. This week I've learned some things that have changed my outlook on qualitative research. In this video I share some different types and characteristics of qualitative research, as well as how it has it has helped change my perspective.  NOTE: The first 2 minutes I must have had my micr...

Mind maps: This week we learned about finding and reading research. To help me remember what I learned I've created some "mind maps".  This mind map was created from a short document called "Hacks for Grad School" written by  Dr. Tara Ivie and Dr. Doug Gardner. This mind map was created from a short document called "Hacks for Grad School" written by  Dr. Tara Ivie and Dr. Doug Gardner, "A Literature Review on Disciplinary Literacy: How do Secondary Teachers Apprentice Students Into Mathematical Literacy" by Ann Marie Hillman, and Literature Review: Conducting and Writing ( https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215199&p=1420520 )

A new class this summer, and a new class means new posts! This summer I'm taking a research methodology class, and I'm super excited for it! The class is focused on qualitative research. We will learn about how to find and read research, understand the validity and importance of qualitative research, designing research, methods, data analysis, and action research. The latter is exactly what we'll be introducing today. What is Action Research: Action research is a form of research done by educators that provides a bridge between formal research and real-life in classrooms. Action research helps teachers apply theories and research to their classroom in a meaningful way. There are many different models for action research, but here are nine specific step as outlined by Mertler (2017): 1. Identifying and limiting the topic 2. Gathering information 3. Reviewing the related literature 4. Developing a research plan 5. Implementing and collecting data 6. Analyzing data ...