Week 5 Reflection

As I prepare to begin my action research project, I find that reading what others have discovered is very beneficial.  Knowing what others have learned helps me narrow down exactly what I want to discover in my action research.  I believe that once I have completed my action research I will uncover a lot of information about STEM that will influence my future in teaching.  I am very curious as to what I will find out; how much my students enjoy it and how it affects their achievement.  I also want to compare my data from this year when I have incorporated STEM to last year’s data and see how much it has changed.

The technology aspect of this class really makes me reflect on how much I do, or don’t, use technology in the classroom.  As a STEM teacher a big part of STEM is technology.   It is hard to come up with technology that will work in the classroom and enhance students’ STEM challenges, but being provided with different links and ways to use technology will help me incorporate technology in the future.  I really enjoy looking through my peers’ responses to technology and how they would incorporate it; it gives me many good ideas to bring to my classroom.  My favorite one so far would be the toondoon.  I think that toondoon is a really good way to introduce ideas or students in the classroom.

The most beneficial aspect of this class to me is the peer review.  When I review a college’s work I grasp a greater understanding of what we are supposed to incorporate because I get to evaluate their work.  This is higher level thinking that goes beyond just doing our own paper or reviewing our own work.  By reviewing and commenting on somebody else’s work I gather a deeper understanding of what and how I want to present my own work and what exactly is expected of me.  On the other hand, when somebody else evaluates my work, I get feedback that improves my work and my understanding of how I want to present my work.  So far I have used all the peer feedback that I have gotten to enhance my writings.   When I either get feedback or give it, I really evaluate my own work and work to make it better.  I believe by the end of this course, I will have gathered a much deeper understanding of what and how I can conduct research in the future to enhance my teaching.