TE 808 Reflection

Upon the conclusion of my action research project I have learned a lot about my teaching and my students.  I learned that my ideology behind teaching with an investigative approach is beneficial to students’ achievement and growth.  Furthermore, students enjoy seeking out the answer opposed to just being told the information.  By having students investigate the answer, the content becomes more memorable.  When students make connections to the material, they are better able to apply the content when solving a problem or taking a test. Through this action research study I have discovered that having students apply their knowledge through STEM investigations will increase the percentage of students who are able to score proficient on Benchmark tests.  One day I would like to share my action research study with the faculty at my school.  There are some teachers do not believe STEM is effective, I believe this data will help show them that STEM if beneficial. 

In TE 808 I have learned how to appropriately conduct a research project and present my results.  This is very beneficial to know so throughout my career I can investigate aspects of my teaching.  In the future, I will be able to conduct a study, analyze my results, and determine if the topic of the study is effective or not.  This TE 808 course also stressed APA formatting.  Knowledge of APA formatting will help me in the future MATC classes because it is the professional way to cite information, and is well known by everyone in the Education field. 

The most challenging part of TE 808 was the workload.  It had been almost two years since I had taken a masters class, and I forgot how it felt to have deadlines and additional work to complete.  Furthermore, TE 808 was challenging because I took it in addition to a teaching job and another masters class.  The best way to deal with this workload was to figure out when things were due and list them in order of which was due first and work on things in that specific order.  On the other hand, the most beneficial aspect of TE 808 was the peer review of the action research project.  When peer reviewing, you get more than just feedback from a college, you gain a better understanding of what is expected because you are evaluating their work as well. 

If someone were expressing interest in TE 808 I would have to tell him or her that my experience was tedious but rewarding.  This class was tedious because there was a lot of work to do; multiple deadlines a week, readings to complete, research to create and conduct, and it was all in addition to having a teaching job.  However, it was rewarding because you feel a sense of accomplishment when completing the research.  I was interested to see how my study would turn out and upon its completion it yielded results I could share and benefit the students in my district.