Research Week 9

This past week was spent writing Chapter 3- Methods and Procedures. I spent about 3 hours constructing my methods and procedures, as well as the project timeline. Writing this chapter helped me nail down exactly what needs to be done and when each task needs to happen. The project timeline is a helpful tool for making sure the project is on track throughout the time "off" between semesters. It is very clear what needs to happen before we start the second part of the Capstone!

I also took about 30 minutes to reflect on my needs analysis findings. I added a paragraph to this section about why my intervention is necessary and how it will improve student learning.

Now I wait for feedback and then I can start putting it all together! The end (of the semester) is near!

Research Weeks 7 and 8

Wow, the semester is flying by! The 8 days I spent in Puerto Rico definitely helped speed it along, though!

The Cliffs at Cabo Rojo

My last post addressed all of the assignments due before the November break- including the goals and objectives part of the proposal. I worked on that section for about an hour before sending it off to Amy for approval.

After I returned from the break, I got to work on Chapter 4- Evaluation tools. I spent about 5 hours working on my tools. I found it helpful to print a copy of my goals and objectives and take the time to address how I planned to evaluate each one. I came up with three tools: another student survey, the second attempt at the S.G.O., and an observation of note taking which will be scored using a rubric. Once I nailed these tools down, writing the chapter was much easier. I submitted the paper on Wednesday evening and then left for the overnight Washington D.C. trip bright (4 am is not exactly "bright") and early on Thursday morning.

Now I'm working on Chapter 3 and starting to get all the pieces together for my final proposal!

Research Week 6

Boy, have I been busy! 

I spent this past week working on revising my literature review. Luckily Amy only gave me minor suggestions for improving my paper. I nailed down (I hope) the way I'm going to refer to the index cards throughout my Capstone (web-based index cards). I added some performance statistics to some of the sections as well. As much as I wish my first copy was perfect, I really appreciate the feedback Amy gives us on each assignment. I feel like my research project is going to be great once I'm done with it, because of her help.

From there I moved on to my learner and context analysis. I spent about an hour putting the information about my students into writing. It really made me think about my classes that I'll be using in this study. I looked into the male to female ratio, the test scores, and teacher recommendations of my students. I also spent some time really thinking about the context that the index cards would be created in. I discussed the wireless accessibility of the classroom. 

Today, I spent a lot time finishing up my "Needs Analysis Findings." I performed each of the items earlier in the month, and each time I received results, I filed them away in a nice safe place (without looking at them much). This past weekend I started analyzing the actual responses/scores, so that I would be able to report them today. I really enjoyed this part of the paper. Reading my students responses to the survey was most interesting. I knew I had one student without internet at home, but I never thought to ask the other students just how they were getting online. Some use laptops/desktops, some use cell phones, some use tablets, etc. I spent about 4 hours today writing the analysis before submitting the draft.

Now, I'm onto my goals and objectives. I'd really like to finish these up today. I've got some packing to do- my husband and I (and 6 of our friends) are off to Puerto Rico on Friday night! 

Oh and did I mention...

That's right, I've joined the ranks of the Wrights and the Eikers- My husband and I are expecting in May! :)

  

Research Week 5

So this week has been entirely about the Lit Review. I spent about two hours each day last week researching each of the topics I mentioned in my blog post last week.

Then I looked at the requirements again, and noticed that I was completely ignoring the part about "learning theory." The dreaded learning theory. So I spent another two hours Saturday researching "Cognitive Constructivism" (vs. social constructivism). This actually made things a lot easier. It did a great job of explaining the "cumulative learning" theory Gagne discussed in the paper from the 60's that I had been using. More recent sources, jackpot!

I also spent an hour on Saturday creating an outline for my literature review and getting the heading in place, copying my reference list over and getting things set up for Sunday

All day Sunday was dedicated to organizing my information and writing about each topic. I started out by writing my introduction. That took a lot more time than expected. It was tough putting all of my ideas together into one main thought. I also changed some of the titles of the topics I mentioned last week. Instead of "ePortfolios," I talked about "digital note taking." I found through my research that digital note taking and digital curation were much more appropriate names for what my students would be doing.

I also included a section on "mobile devices in the classroom," or "BYOD."

I'm not quite finished my literature review, I still need to write up the section on "self-regulation of studying in middle school math." That will be my job tonight.

Boy is research tough!

Research Week 4

My goal this week was to start getting down to business on the research for the lit review. I downloaded Amy's "Problem Sheet 3" to start organizing my ideas for the lit review. This helped me break my research into three categories:

1. Retention of math for cumulative learning- basically the importance of retaining math concepts through out the year in order to build on that knowledge.
2. Self regulation of studying for math- I'm looking into research done on how students study for math assessments, as well as how they do (or don't ) regulate their studying time and habits.
3. ePortfolios in middle school mathematics- how have they been used in the past, as well as what research has been done to confirm the value of portfolios for studying and retaining math.

So far, these are the search terms I've been using in Ed Research Complete. I've spent a few hours locating resources and journal articles and plan to start building my lit review piece by piece this week.

Research Week 3

I have spent this past week working on a variety on things for my Capstone.

First, I worked on getting my topic paper and needs analysis papers finalized. Who knew you needed a period after a level three heading?!

After this was complete, I spent Monday and Tuesday nights working on creating my needs analysis tools. I created a survey for my students about their accessibility to the internet and other technology tools. I also asked them to provide any experience that they have had in the past using web-based study tools and applications. The students were also asked how they usually study for a math quiz or test, and whether they felt like they would be likely to use a web based study tool. I actually assigned the survey to my students over the weekend, so I will be able to start looking over the data this week.

I also made a rubric for observing my student's note-taking skills. This way I have a concrete way to collect data on my student's current note-taking strategies.

I also spent some time looking into what Southern requires for parent consent for research involving our students. I talked to Dr. Brahn about what was required or what forms may be available at Southern. She said that when she did her research, she created her own permission form that she sent home to parents. She said she'd look into it further for me, but I also plan on talking to my supervisor about it today.

The last research based item I worked on this week was my research article critique. I found two articles that I wanted to look at deeper. I started critiquing the articles, and have narrowed it down to one of them. So my goal for this afternoon is to write up the critique and submit it a few days early.

Research Week 2

This week proved to be a challenging one for me. When I received Amy's feedback on my topic paper, I was overwhelmed at the number of times she asked "source?" I found this difficult to approach because my sources were... me!

So I sat down 3 separate times last week during literacy (40 minutes each) to look for "sources." I searched for topics like "self-regulation," "e-portfolios in math," and "middle school math retention," all without much luck. I wasn't finding any sources that would back me up. On Friday I had a better idea: I would look at my topic paper comments differently. This time, I went through and made a note of what was being said in the paper when Amy wrote "source?" Wouldn't you know, I wasn't talking about "self-regulation," "e-portfolios in math," and "middle school math retention!" I needed to be looking for sources that supported my discussion on math building on itself.

So, I spent all day Saturday and Sunday looking for sources on math building on itself. I had trouble finding the right phrases. I tried "importance of prior knowledge," "scaffolding in mathematics," and "mathematics builds on itself," but I wasn't finding the sources that I needed. I started bouncing ideas off of my mom about keywords I could search for, and the word "cumulative" came up in our conversation. So I started searching for "math +cumulative discipline," and started getting a little more than before. But I still wasn't getting exactly what I needed. I took a long shot and jumped over to google to look for another phrase, by searching "math is cumulative." Well wouldn't you know, one of the first results I got was our dear friend Gagne! 

Apparently, way back in 1968, Gagne proposed his idea of "cumulative learning." He said that cumulative learning takes place in many subjects, and that if you don't have the appropriate lower level concepts, you will be unable to complete a higher level task that incorporates the lower level one. You would have thought that I had won the lottery. I suddenly had a source, and a pretty strong one at that. 

From there, things were looking up! I spent another hour or so, perfecting my topic paper and adding in-text citations and references. 

I can't tell you how motivating it was to finally have a good grasp on my topic. I decided to take another hour or so to do the same work for my needs analysis revision. I added an introduction paragraph to it, which called for more sources (but at this point I was on a research roll). 

I feel like this week was important for me. Not only did I get my work completed, but I finally feel like my capstone idea is really starting to come together! 

And so it begins...

This week, I officially started my capstone research. This brought on a few emotions. I am excited to finally reach the culmination of the MAIT program, and to implement my plan for improving an aspect of my teaching. It also brought on the stress of knowing that the next two semesters will be quite a bit of work.

I started by putting my topic idea into words last week. Doing so made things seem much more serious. But like I said, I'm excited to get to work on my research!

What took a bit more time was getting to work on my topic paper. I've always struggled to elaborate in my writing; but I do find that when I am given an outline to follow it makes things much easier to undertake. (Thanks Amy!) Stating the gap and proposed solution has me excited to start researching topics such as e-portfolios and self regulation in education (which is what I plan to do more of this week).