EDLD 5301 Course Reflection

Before beginning this course, EDLD 5301 Research, I had no idea what to expect.  I was nervous, yet eager at the same time to begin this class. 

As I began the first week of this course, I began watching the lecture video.  I began to panic when Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Arterbury began talking about “Action Research”.  What was it and how do we do it?  The lecture was very helpful in explaining the process and what was expected.  Dr. Arterbury suggested some tips during this lecture when searching the literature and drafting my literature review summary.  Those tips included stay on topic, create a visual road map for the reader, begin my outline with an introductory statement, general-to-specific flow works best, create a varied blend in writing and conclude with summary statements.  As I progressed through the lectures during this course, the lectures became more informative and helped me feel at ease when creating my action research plan.

The big highlight from the readings was in the Dana text, chapter 2, The Passions That Drive Your Journey.  This chapter had several significant moments for me.  The nine passions helped me break down the components at our campus and figure 2.1 (Dana, 31) provided a visual that helped me find my wondering on my campus.

This quote, “If sometime during the course of your inquiry journey you discover something that begs for you to “tweak” your initial wondering to better guide the remainder of your inquiry, or you learn something that makes your initial wondering ‘outdated’ and you must move in a new direction-tweak or abandon away and chart a new course for your study” (Dana, 68).  This was the best advice in the book.  I realized that the more I delved into my research and the more I talked with my supervisors, the more I needed to tweak certain things.  It put me at ease knowing that ideas should change as you learn.  

The assignments and activities for this course were very time consuming and a little frustrating at times, but with the help and aide of the discussion board I felt more relaxed.  The discussion board is truly a beneficial tool when working on assignments and activities.  It allows for current feedback from other students in the class to make positive and effective changes to my assignment or activity.

The blog was another tool that was very beneficial to me.  It was amazing being able to see and communicate with others in my class and rely on reactions and feedback from them.  In addition classmates offered suggestions or changes that needed to be made to my action research plan.   

With the use of the tools and resources received from this course, it will make the process of implementing my action research plan run smoother.  I will use the information I obtained to not only follow through with my current action research plan, but also to create and implement other plans to improve our campus as well as student achievement.  I have found this course to be helpful and relevant to my professional career, and one that has certainly enriched my professional life.