Chapters 1-3 in Sagor provide an overview of the whys and hows of teacher inquiry/research.
We will be working through the processes he describes, so don't worry if they are not clear to you right now. The first step is "finding a focus" (p. 12). Without overthinking, what are some issues/problems that you could see researching? These could be big picture issues about pedagogy, such as grading, for example, or they could be one kid or a small group of kids who are having specific issues in your class, either academically or behaviorally.
Why are these issues important to you? When did they arise?
Chris, you can even think about what it means to be an effective substitute.
There are 2 issues that bother me. One is grading students using the current report card. I do not feel that the report card is adequate for my ELL's. We do not have an ELL curriculum and I struggle with grading every quarter. The other issue I have is with my students that struggle academically and need to go through the RTI process. This process takes a long time and by the time the data is collected, testing is completed, and meetings are held, months have gone by. Finally, if a plan is put into place the year is almost over. There has to be a better way.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, these are both huge, as they impact the well-being and learning of your students. I'm not sure what the "report card" is, but maybe a project could be designing (or finding, in case it's already been done) a similar diagnostic specifically for your ELLs.
DeleteI agree with Brenda on the issue of grading. The report card is set up for mainstream students, whom have attended school for the same amount of time and are all learning the same grade level curricula.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I am most often facing right now is also with RTI, but differs from Brenda's stance. The problem is that the tests being used to qualify the students for RTI are not tests designed for ELLs. Many of the math tests have word problems, which causes a student who is approaching or on level (based on my observation and classroom work) to score an intervention grade. If I am taking the time to do the paper work, sit in on meetings, student is being pulled from class for small group interventions, and calling in parents to alert them to their child's struggle. It is important to me that I am identifying the correct children and that the tests are appropriate.
Ahh, this sounds similar to Brenda. Right now, you don't have the right materials to support your ELLs. Perhaps researching what others do and finding ways to appropriately measure what they can do is the key. Or maybe you develop your own, based on your own considerable knowledge!
DeleteI taught 5th grade for two years in Auburn, MA. I was disappointed to see how few books our library had and how much the kids disliked reading. I talked to the kids a lot about what was going on with their lack of reading and seemingly hatred towards books. They said they liked to read but there are no good books. Alternatively, they wanted to like to read but they just did not. I dedicated the entire year to helping my students become readers and for the most part, it worked. I mostly relied on the Book Whisper by Donalyn Miller. I was finishing my MA in Literacy at the time and decided I need to keep learning and keep working towards finding a better solution for my students so I started to apply to PhD programs.
ReplyDeleteFollowing this I switched schools to Doran School in Fall River, MA to a 3rd grade position for the purpose of moving back to RI and being close by begin the program. I missed my old school terribly, and I was suffocated by the constraints I had to follow using Reading Street. I no longer felt like a teacher, but a robot using a script. The reading specialist acted much more like a reading program police than a reading support. I missed books. I missed good teaching of reading. I started to apply to jobs by the end of the year.
Presently, I am the reading specialist at the Middle School in Middletown, RI for grade 5-8. I see over 120 students. I have a lot of freedom to make decisions about how I will support my students in their reading. I am very happy to be a part of the school and to continue to learn about students' reading habits, interests, thoughts, feelings, etc. This is a place where I feel teacher research could be effective for both me and for students. At this point, I would identify my research interest as students’ identities as readers.
Kristin, if kids have similar reading identities to those you found in MA, what's the way to change their identities to members of the "literacy club"? Maybe some possible questions could be along the lines of: What texts appeal to students who don't identify as readers? Why, and in what ways, do they resist reading? What motivates strong readers, and can those motivations appeal to students who resist reading?
DeleteTo be an effective substitute you have to be prompt, flexible to changes, communicative to students, other staff, parents and administrators, have backup plans, and a positive mental attitude. Substitute teaching comes with it's own set of problems and issues from everything to human resources, schools and administrators changing your assignments, to misbehaving students, to teachers not leaving lesson plans (adequate or enough), to not getting respect from school personnel and students, to having lower pay and little to no benefits, to not being in one classroom throughout the year. These are some of the downfalls of being a substitute, but on the flip side working with students from different levels and different school keeps in new and refreshing. Also, you get to see what different schools are doing and meet more people, absorbing good ideas along the way as well as getting yourself know to other school staff, which can be beneficial when applying for an open position that may come up in the future. There can be a lot of restrictions to being a substitute, but there are a lot of freedoms to do creative things with the students as a teacher that many regular teachers may not have the permission to do with their classes. I usually take the good with the bad and perform my duties as a substitute as if I were their teacher and for the most part if I can get the students to have a successful day doing their work then for now that is satisfying enough for me. I also like to share with other newer substitutes that I run into and give them tips on the life of a substitute, since I've been doing this for three years now!
ReplyDeleteGreat, Chris! You've obviously picked up a lot during your years. If you wanted to actualize this into research, you would start collecting data, starting with a teacher research journal that we will talk about tonight.
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