I chose to create a digital photo story about my inspiration in becoming a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing. My inspiration is Dr. Buisson. He encouraged and supported those in the deaf education program while forcing out of our comfort zones.

I struggled with this project due to a lack of pictures. Most of my career utilized sign language and does not lend itself to pictures. When I read the interview questions from this week's readings, I felt called to honor Dr. B for all the work he put into teaching me. I could probably spend hours describing individual times when Dr. B encouraged or challenged me. It was hard to try to summarize my thoughts while ensuring that the narration flowed with the pictures.

I did enjoy using PhotoStory3. I found the program very easy to use and fun to play with. I think that for a free download, it edited the photos, transistions, and movement very well. I did run into some issues with trying to record, but was able to figure it out by accident.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience of doing this project!

Updated Action Research Plan

I have made a small change to the plan. The site now reflects that change. You can click the link in the previous post to see the Action Research Plan with changes in red.

Action Research Plan

My action research plan can be found at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1rD8HezBMbZwEBtSGeCqmQTnEZH-5Bva_a3fJEaqFGdc


The posted plan is a draft. It will be updated as plans are reviewed and finalized with my site supervisor.

Action Research week 2

This week's readings have focused on the 9 different areas that action research could take place. I was drawn to the areas of individual teacher and student. I work in the Special Education field and am typically focused on small populations of students. I like to know how programs and interventions affect those students and ways that I could make improvements. I have also moved several times within my 6 years of teaching. I have been able to participate in several different new teacher supports. I am always looking for ways to support other new teachers and bring new, innovative ideas to those teaching around me.

Action research needs to have a clear purpose and stated significance. The overall goal of any research is to improve student performance. Dana suggests that your question be "clear, concise, and specific; one whose answer you do not already know; free of judgmental language; phrased as an open-ended rather than dichotomous question; and "doable"."

Several quotes really seemed to strike me this week from Nancy Fichtman Dana's book Leading with Passion and Knowledge. See below:


"Principals who keep teachers invigorated keep learning vibrant and alive for students each school day."

"It is people, not programs, that determine the quality of a school. (Whitaker, 2003)"

"Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart" from The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner

"...the most productive administrator inquiries focus in some way on the adult and/or student learning occurring in your building."

"...allow your wondering to change and evolve over time as you engage in inquiry."

Reference:
Dana, N. (2009) Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Corwin. Thousand Oaks, California.

Action Research

Action research is a systematic and intentional study of one's own practices. You begin with a "wondering" or problem. Next, you collect data and read relevant literature. This will allow you to gain new insights to the problem. You can make changes based on new understanding and share the results with others. This process is reminds me of try, try again. As a leader, you implement a strategy to find the solution for the problem or question. If that first strategy does not work, then you try again using the new data and research you have done to guide the use of a new strategy.

As a teacher, I have used this process unknowingly. I constantly watched my students while presenting a lesson. I watched for the "lightbulb" moment. If it came, I knew I had succeeded in passing knowledge to my students. If I did not see the lightbulb, I would try a new strategy. This is a very simplistic way of looking at action research. I did not use a systematic approach at the time. Now I would keep data (formal or informal) about what strategies work to relay the knowledge to students as well as how many times did I need to present the information. I would also take note of educational research concerning presentation of material and best practices for the classroom. I would use this new information to improve my teaching practices.

As a leader in the building (teacher leader, principal, or technology leader) I would focus on the same process. The "problems" might seem bigger and more complicated, but the process would be the same. I would use the current data available to implement a strategy. I would begin collecting new data, researching literature, and discussing with peers (reflection) the information/results. The new information would be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the first strategy and guide improvements.


Ways to Use a Blog:
One way for the principal to reach out to other professionals or community members would be through a blog. Principals could choose to blog about thoughts during the day and share this with a closed group of colleagues. Another form of the blog could be a more formal address to community stakeholders that also requests comments. Teachers can use the blog to reach students, parents, other community members, and colleagues. It can be used to showcase student work or teacher/school accomplishments. Schools can benefit from the more informal setting of a blog to reach a wider number of people. Professionals can use the blog to reach other colleagues around the world. This can be a place for reflection, questioning, and encouragment. Leaders can share projects and research while gaining feedback from others. The possibilities are only limited by the person writing the blog.

Beginning Again & UDL Lesson Building

I had created a previous blog, but cannot get into it. So - I have started a new blog!

UDL Lesson Building:
I enjoyed the lesson building. I struggled with writing a detailed lesson plan since I do not have to do this in my current position. I also began the UDL self check application. I also found it hard to answer those questions since this was the first lesson plan I had written in close to 4 years. I did notice that I was answering for what I typically see in other teachers. I serve Auditory Impaired students and work with a variety of teachers. Very few at the middle school level ensure that my students understand the lesson goals, have choices in the presentation of understanding, or receive instructions in varied formats. My students' IEP goals include accommodations for the instructions to be given both orally and visually. This is seldom done. Unfortunately, I can't make an accommmodation for my students to present work in whichever way they feel the most comfortable. Oh, how I wish I could! I feel that all students would show more interest in school if they could learn in their own unique style.

When designing a lesson for our group project, I focused on the Events Leading to the Constitution. All students must learn to research a topic and present information. I decided that the students in our scenario would use a variety of resources for reseaching - videos, books, and websites. I feel this would cover most information sources and would allow students to use a medium they feel comfortable with. The next big thing that includes choice is the presentation. UDL methods could include: PowerPoint, another multimedia presentation, skit, written report, oral presentation, poster, pictures, etc. I chose 4 main options for students to choose from. I tried to choose 4 that would encompass most students' interests. The gifted students in the scenario can take any option and add onto it or go above and beyond the requirements. The blind and hearing impaired students can modify any of the presentation methods to fit their specific needs. The "other" students can find a method that fits them the best. While choosing methods/options for the lesson, I tried to keep in mind that each option needed to fit individual student needs. I know that if I tried to write a UDL lesson for every subject everyday, I would find myself in a rut when listing presentation methods. I think I need a lot more practice to actively think outside the box.