Did you know that you can now post to your blog in Hindi? Amazing, simply amazing! And just to keep with the theme of things (and to keep everyone's vocabulary the same) I'm certain that you can post in Hindi while eating peanut butter and chocolate or one or the other or neither. Will miracles never cease?
Pirette McKamey's article "Building on Success: Changing Our Practice to Better Serve African American Students" provided me much to think about. I know I'm supposed to be reading like a researcher, but I keep reading as a reflective teacher and not so much a t-r. I'm still struggling to settle into this new t-r me, so bear with my long post/ramble. I promise, at least I'll try to promise, to get to something that will spark a discussion --eventually? ;0
First, I found the location and demographics of McKamey's school amazing (I also kept wondering what Hilary would do in the situation...) since northern Colorado is somewhat (lol!)lacking in diversity. Yet, however different the racial dynamics of Thurgood Marshall High School are in comparison to Eaton High School, I feel that the challenges academically are one in the same.
"If hard work, good intentions, subject-matter preparedness, dynamism, and administrative support are not adequate tools for increasing teachers' effectiveness in educating African American [insert Hispanic, Native American, low income, lacking supportive parents, etc.] students, what are?"(McKamey 44). Wow! What a questions she opted to tackle. I was impressed not only with the expansiveness of it but that she also had three years with the same students. (I'm glad when they leave after 180 days!)
The challenges within the English Department and (versus?) the rest of the school didn't shock me. Was anyone? It seemed as if they (the department and McKamey) attempted to create a situation with the entire staff that was similar to the department experience. I don't think you can ever truly re-create a situation --even with the same people much less a larger more eclectic group of people (who held some resentment right from the get-go). Should we attempt to re-create a situation? If so, why? how? benefits? Will this provide a topic for discussion? she wonders as she continues to type...
I did like the meeting protocol the three teachers (TRC) came up with. It seems like common sense, but being part of a group, I know how easy it is to become distracted with work related conversation as well as side bar comments. Setting up clear expectations works not only with students but with adults as well. (Hmmm... I'm sensing some overlap with my own research question of writing group dynamics and online postings.) Have we
*Complete side note. This probably deserves its own post. Be forewarned. Okay, really, this is the last comment. It may seem unrelated, but I’m not sure I’m really getting this book we’re reading. Can someone (Cindy? Bud? Jason? Anyone?) explain to me how the book Working toward Equity was chosen? I’ve read the two assigned articles, as well as the one by Aguilar (“An East Oakland Odyssey: Exploring the Love of Reading in a Small School”) and I’m confused how this book can help me become a better t-r. Is “equity” the thread throughout all teacher research? Is the book not intended to help me as a t-r, but to become more aware of equity or inequity within my school? job? profession? life? Am I the only one not seeing the correlation? Please advise.
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Okay, you caught my attention with peanut butter and chocolate. The problem here is my brain is focused on that Reece's peanut butter cup, or better yet, those deliciously yummy peanut butter M&Ms and not on the work at hand. So, shaking my head - here I go with my comment.
When I read Stacey's post prior to reading the article I was a little concerned that her words might unduly influence the way in which I understood the article, but not too worry, what I took away from the article was very different than what Stacey took away - a fact that perhaps is significant when discussing the effectiveness of the TRC.
What struck me most about this article is the hard data with which I tend to really identify research. This article describes research that makes sense to me. From the initial accumulation of the lists gathered "In order to make our instruction of writing more uniform..." to the concrete objectives "Our first activity was to brainstorm a list of what we expected our students to be able to do in our classes." Although anecdotal evidence has merit, the data reported in this article suits my 'style' better I suppose.
Overall I think the most striking element in this research was the emphasis on the positive. Even the restatement of how to look at the data gave me a different insight. I like the way these teachers CHOSE to emphasize the positive instead of negative aspects of their issue.
Finally, and perhaps most important for myself as a TR, was the elimination of judgment from the process. Rather than discuss the shortcomings demonstrated by students, this research eliminated judgements and focused on how to get the best results - something that bears repeating and remembering!
In regards to the side note - I'm not at all sure what equity has to do with any part of what we're reading (okay, I understand it in reference to this particular article), but I'm going to take a cue from my own approach and try to remain focused on the big picture and make the assumption that somewhere down the road it will all become clear (notice I avoided saying crystal clear!). However, I'd be curious as to the answer for the question Stacey poses.
Hi, all,
I'm going to address Stacey's sidebar comment here right now and then I'll get to the article later (I have class in about 15 minutes).
Jason and I chose _Working Toward Equity_; actually it's probably more accurate to say I chose it with Jason's approval after we had a conversation about what we wanted pre-AI reading to look like.
Take a look at the Introduction on p. 1 if you want to know more about the background and the equity emphasis for the book (I know most readers skip intros., and we didn't even assign it, but this one is really worth a read).
Briefly, though, the book is a product of a 3-year partnership that NWP was in on called the Teacher Research Collaborative (TRC) that emphasized what the educators involved believed was a natural intersection between t-r and equity. Their goals were (and I quote):
"* to establish an ongoing presence for equity-focused teacher inquiry
* to develop and articulate strategies for using inquiry to improve student learning and achievement
* to share resources that its members had found useful to educators leading teacher inquiry with an equity focus.
This guide [the book] is intended to meet the third goal: to serve as a resource to educators--particularly classroom teachers--interested in conducting, leading, and facilitating inquiry for equity."
And then there's a really cool footnote at the end of that sentence that sounds like it's written exactly with Stacey's sidebar question in mind! Here it is:
"No single publication can be all things to all people. The TRC planning team considered including a range of resources for initiating teacher inquiry and engaging in explicit dialogue about equity. As we worked with the educators in the TRC, we realized that _Working toward Equity_ would not provide a step-by-step 'how-to' guide. Fortunately, many excellent resources already offer this kind of support. In appendix A, we list a handful of resources that we have found particularly useful."
So we wanted to start with these readings to give you several examples of teacher researchers talking about their work and reflecting on it in a variety of ways. At the orientation we hoped to give you enough of a beginning on the "how-to" with finding your question and suggestions for data collection to get you started between now and the AI summer sessions where we'll deal with the nitty-gritty process of data analysis. Toward the end of those sessions and the post-summer meeting, we'll start planning for the sharing-out part of your research. In other words, we've tried to design this so that you're getting the "how-to" along the way. Remember that _Teacher Researchers at Work_ is coming soon to your mailbox, too, and it's a great nuts-and-bolts handbook.
Does this make sense?
And now I'm gonna be late to class where my students are sharing the findings of their t-r projects--LOL!
OK - I am going to take a shot at responding to all of these intelligent thought provoking comments (I mean that). The problem is that by the time I finish reading and start typing, I can't remember everything I wanted to say! My brother is getting an on-line degree in computer something or other - his and his peers posts are 1 or 2 lines. They are however the most boring 1 or 2 lines I have ever read, so I am not complaining :)
Now - the article. I agree that the diversity problem was not one I could apply to my classroom well, but I could relate to underacheivers. Honestly, the part I took with me from the article was her common sense approaches (occassionally I make things more difficult than they are).
Her list of students by acheivement and their habits/problems.
Her list of expectations and skills needed to meet them.
Her simple questioning of students (da! I am going to use this next week by the way).
Her analysis of HW vs CW.
Best of all - her philosophy "don't wait to act."
It helped me to clarify my own thoughts about my project.
As for equity...does that connect to the objectivity question? I am not sure but it is something I am thinking about often.
I'm curious to know what Stacey's thinking is about a possible protocol. Do we need one for these discussions? How are you all feeling about that?
Great post, Stacey -- lots to think about. I want to zero in on the protocol question, as I have a little experience with trying to run t-r meetings and I've just spent a day and a half running protocols here at the meeting I just finished with NWP.
I don't think we need a protocol for the general conversations during the AI. But I do think a protocol would be handy and useful for formal looks at data and t-r processes. Particularly if you want to get through a meeting and look at more than one person's questions or data.
Having -- and following -- the protocol could help to minimize the distractions and side chatter that tend to hamper t-r meetings. Focused side chatter is handy -- but I don't think our site's able to multitask with t-r processes, and a protocol of some kind would allow us to "follow the rules" and not leave meetings frustrated. So I'm all for a protocol for times when we need to be formal and not for one when we don't.
Real helpful, huh?
In response (for now) to Stacey's questions about the Equity book, I have to say I was also a little confused about it. I did notice it was an NWP publication, so I trusted that initially. I had to guess (incorrectly?) that the term "equity" was implying "fairness" to students as we research. I took it to mean that one must be fair in one's research to the subjects and reporting out when it comes to, like Stacey mentioned, race, gender, socio-economic status, learning style/disability, etc. So, when we read further, I am hoping that becomes clearer to me. This week's article touches on that, so I thought I was on the right track....? And other than the comments here and there by McKamey (this week's author in the book), I did not see this book as a how-to. I am still struggling with the how-to end of things big time. But the author this week does mention some common sense/practical steps to compiling info from her students and that is helping me to some extent. I am definitely looking forward to receiving the more concrete (I hope) book in the mail about data and t-r.
Until the book arrives, what would help in terms of "how-to"? (This is to Steph or anyone else who could use some help).
To add to the conversation started by Stacey about the article from San Francisco, I made some more connections. Like Stacey (The challenges within the English Department and (versus?) the rest of the school didn't shock me. Was anyone?) I was not surprised when the whole staff wasn't totally on board with the t-r going on in their school. Why is it that schools always have to form a committee every time they want something done? Could this be why educational research is rarely taken seriously? The two-day staff retreat seemed a little much without the proper context or background and I have been a part of a staff that resists this kind of thing on occasion. The buy-in was weak with the rest of the staff, it seemed to me.
They made committees to discuss African-American kids' needs over and over. I wonder what their results were? A frustration I had with this article was just that---lots of things were alluded to (articles, findings, etc.) but none was shared or even summarized for the reader of the article. Is most t-r like this? Are we to really seek out and then read the articles the author found using their works cited page to make sense of their own article? It seems like a lot of work, but if that is how t-r articles are written, then I guess I'll do it because I was confused about references especially to the article "Race and the Schooling of Black Americans" when I hadn't read it. I couldn't really find the overall the gist of it was, either, when the author did little more than just mention it and move on.
Not to repeat my earlier post, but I did like the way the steps of the group's research process were listed for us as they went along. I also read the entire introduction to this book and in some ways, it helped me understand "equity" though I know it doesn't necessarily have to be the focus of our own work here. I think I may have more ideas for research with this understanding in mind--though I'm not entirely sure. The intro also helped me try to form some research questions to start with. (I know we did the exercise at the first meeting, but to be honest, I was a little overwhelmed and the ideas were a little too abstract for me, a research rookie. I'm starting to get it, but fear I'm running out of time for any relevant field research like those described in the book.)
Another question I had was about the comments made on page 47 at the bottom: "When teachers know more about African-American students' knowledge base and preferred learning styles..." I wonder what those are, specifically? What are the differences among the different learning styles of kids from different races? Where can that information be found? Surveys? Published articles from other research? Just some observations and questions as I sift through my own!
Whoops, I worry that this ship has sailed, but I did get the chance to read your comments and a couple of things struck me.
First, I agree with Steph that it is amazing how schools have to form committees to do anything, and it seems impossible to get whole staff buy-in.
I am currently on a committee to help freshmen transition to high school (the TALON committee, because we're the Eagles!) and although we have accomplished a lot it has not been easy. It has actually been a great learning experience for me to see how difficult running a committee can be.
I commented to one of my colleagues at a meeting a couple of months ago that I could understand why early humans resorted so quickly to absolute dictatorships rather than democracies--it's a lot more efficient if someone just says, "this is how it's going to be." Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean I'm a fascist or anything, but democracy is hard work!
I am also still fascinated by Natalie's comment about "anecdotal evidence" vs. "hard data". Too late to start a new thread here, but I think this merits some discussion. Maybe no one else finds it interesting, but I think a lot about this kind of thing and for me it's one of the more interesting things about t-r. Subjectivity is our strength.
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