Category: Unit 2

Response to E. Denguessi’s Post on Assessment Unit 2

September 29, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 1 Comment

Link to Post: https://create.twu.ca/edenguessi/2018/09/22/unit-2/

I really enjoyed reading both your concept map and your post. After reading your post, I felt compelled to learn a little bit more about Cameroon. I was saddened to see that there are some warnings posted about the violence that is occurring near its borders. I have friends who have recently left Chad after spending a couple of years there. Your love for Cameroon is palatable in your writing and I can appreciate how you wish to find ways to improve the governance.

Would you prioritize research about first nations people done by local authors over the same topic done by outside researchers? What are the advantages and inconveniences of either choice?

To answer your question, I believe that as long as the research you are looking at is a first hand account of events and isn’t secondary in nature, than I believe that both points of view are equally important. It is when we set our own biases aside and view things from the lens and perspective of all sides that we can learn the most about any issue.

Response to Charlie Mable’s Post on Assessing Research

September 29, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 0 Comments

Link To Charlie Mable’s Post

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post as well as looking at your concept map. A lot of your personal interests are similar to mine. Your professional question that you would like to research is definitely a timely one. Each day it seems we are reading articles about the devastating affect the opioid addiction is having on families and our communities across the Nation. I look forward to learning more about your research through your posts.

To answer the question that you posted:

Do you think that research of a medical nature can be applied to the Canadian landscape even if it was carried out in another country?

I think that we can always learn from others research if we believe the research to be ethical, credible and if it meets the criteria of a reliable source. I do worry sometimes about the research being conducted by pharmaceutical companies and question the bias of it. However, a lot of what we have today was discovered by others.

Some examples of research conducted in other countries that Canadians have ultimately benefitted from are:

Alexander Fleming, a Scottish researcher discovered penicillin
Louis Pasteur’s research conducted in France played a huge role in the discovery of vaccinations, microbial fermentation and pasteurization.
Marie Curie a polish researcher’s discovery of radium has gone a long way in the treatment of cancer.
Raymond Damadian, a researcher from the U.S. invented the MRI

Clarifying my Research Interest with A Concept Map

September 27, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 3 Comments

Below you will find a picture of my rather large concept map! It became larger and larger as I had to continually go back to the drawing board to further define not just my interests, but to further develop topics that not only had credible research available but that were relevant to current issues in education that warranted further exploration. You will most likely have to zoom in to read it! My apologies as I couldn’t make the image any larger.

General areas that appealed to me were:

Women in leadership
Student engagement
Empathy in the classroom
Teacher mentorship
The impact of classroom design on students and whether it affected student achievement

I had several research questions that I was interested in pursuing, but these were in my top 4 (there are more listed on my map):

I’m a huge fan of Brene Brown and her work! So I wanted to examine the importance of empathy as a critical skill for teachers, administration and students to develop. I wondered further if empathy was inherent or if it could even be taught. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of research available that I could find. A lot of what I found, discredited the importance of trying to teach empathy, instead arguing that empathy is a subjective topic and it would be like trying to teach someone who is right handed to print using their left hand only and that not everyone is capable of displaying empathy to the same degree due to cultural beliefs etc.,
I wanted to examine Myers Briggs Type Indictors, in particular, the INFJ (which I am) because according to online data found at 16Personalities.com, this type makes up less than 1% of the population. I wondered how this personality type related to leadership roles, in particular Transformational Servant Leadership as both a leader and as a follower.
I have a 17 year old son who has lost his love of school and his elementary school curiosity. As a teacher and a parent, I know that my children and my students love it when I share stories. Often through stories told they are able to make connections to their own lives as well as to larger global issues. My inquiry question was: How can secondary educators make school personally relevant to students and enable them to develop their own personal narrative through the use of storytelling in the classroom?

The research question that I ended up choosing was:

Why is mentorship important in reducing ‘burnout’ in new teachers and necessary to help facilitate success so that new teachers can have a long and prosperous career?

I chose this question because it is extremely relevant today due to the massive teacher shortage in British Columbia. Brand new teachers are being hired, many right from the classroom without any prior experience and are expected to cope with the same responsibilities and teaching loads as teachers with years of experience without any assistance or supports in place. Many new teachers don’t speak up and ask for help out of fear that they will be perceived as not being competent, especially when it comes to pedagogy or classroom management. A lot of teachers leave the profession with the first 5 years due to exhaustion and teacher burn out. I have a vested interest in this topic as well because my School District has a new teacher Mentorship Program and I have been a mentor teacher for others.

I combined the following areas in regards to teacher mentorship and honing the craft of teaching thoughts on my concept map to define my question:

How long should first year teachers be mentored for?
What does a good mentor look like?
How is mentorship in teaching defined?
Has teacher mentorship been proven to be successful for teachers who struggle with assessment or classroom management?
In the shortage of teachers crisis, how do school Administrators ensure that ‘quality’ teachers are being hired and retained? What makes someone a ‘quality’ teacher?
What makes someone a ‘master’ teacher? Can you ever truly hone your craft to become a ‘master’?

I anticipate searching for literature in the following fields of education, leadership, psychology and healthcare as they each relate to my topic.

Resources

Caraway, K., Tucker, C. M., Reinke, W. M., & Hall, C. (2003). Self-Efficacy, Goal Orientation, and Fear of Failure as Predictors of School Engagement in High School Students. Psychology in the Schools, 40(4), 417–27. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ671155&site=ehost-live

Doren, B., Murray, C., & Gau, J. M. (2014). Salient Predictors of School Dropout among Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 29(4), 150–159. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

Elias, M. J., & Arnold, H. (2006). The educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement : social-emotional learning in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Corwin Press, c2006. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat05965a&AN=alc.178470&site=eds-live

Goodwin, B. (2016). “High touch” is crucial for “high tech” students.(promoting empathy inside the classroom)(Research Matters)(Column). Educational Leadership, (1), 81. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edscpi&AN=edscpi.A464028667&site=eds-live

Hobson, A. J., Ashby, P., Malderez, A., & Tomlinson, P. D. (2009). Mentoring beginning teachers: What we know and what we don’t. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.09.001

Hudson, P. (2012). How Can Schools Support Beginning Teachers? A Call for Timely Induction and Mentoring for Effective Teaching. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(7). Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ995200&site=eds-live

Keogh, J., Garvis, S., & Pendergast, D. (Eds.). (2010). Plugging the leaky bucket : the need to develop resilience in novice middle years teachers. Primary and Middle Years Educator, 8(2). Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsaed&AN=rmitplus183973&site=eds-live

Lawford, H. L., & Ramey, H. L. (2015). “Now I Know I Can Make a Difference”: Generativity and Activity Engagement as Predictors of Meaning Making in Adolescents and Emerging Adults. Developmental Psychology, 51(10), 1395–1406. Retrieved fromhttps://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1075074&site=ehost-live

Park, S., Holloway, S. D., Arendtsz, A., Bempechat, J., & Li, J. (2012). What Makes Students Engaged in Learning? A Time-Use Study of within- and between-Individual Predictors of Emotional Engagement in Low-Performing High Schools. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(3), 390–401. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tue&db=eric&AN=EJ956027&site=ehost-live

Strati, A. D., Schmidt, J. A., & Maier, K. S. (2017). Perceived Challenge, Teacher Support, and Teacher Obstruction as Predictors of Student Engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(1), 131–147. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1125534&site=ehost-live

Waajid, B., Garner, P. W., & Owen, J. E. (2013). Infusing Social Emotional Learning into the Teacher Education Curriculum. International Journal of Emotional Education, 5(2), 31–48. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1085617&site=eds-live

Wormeli, R. (2014). Motivating Young Adolescents. Educational Leadership, 72(1), 26–31. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1038882&site=ehost-live

Yilmaz, E., Sahin, M., & Turgut, M. (2017). Variables Affecting Student Motivation Based on Academic Publications. Journal of Education and Practice, 8(12), 112–120. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1140621&site=eds-live

Defining Research Interest – Unit 2

September 27, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 2 Comments

Part A – My Experience Searching for Scholarly Literature

www.canstockphoto.ca

I experienced a plethora of emotions as I searched for scholarly literature that would allow me to delve deeper into some of the areas that I am passionate about pursuing. I started off very excited and pleased with a question I had formed on my concept map. I’d like to be able to say that I joyfully searched and was immediately rewarded for my efforts, however, this wasn’t the case at all. I began to feel woefully inadequate as I turned up empty handed over and over again. I kept going back to the drawing board and my concept map and starting a different question from scratch. Sometimes there simply wasn’t enough information available on the areas that appealed to me the most. As the week wore on, I began to become really concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to find a research problem. I needed to find a question that not only appealed to me, and, presented a relevant issue that needed further investigation but also one that would provide sufficient information and data. With great relief (probably to my family as well), I finally settled on a topic! In the end, the databases that proved to be the most helpful in my search for the most recent scholarly articles were the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center), EBSCO and Google Scholar.

Part B – Assessment of a Source

Source: Link To Journal Article: How Can Schools Support Beginning Teachers? A call for Timely Induction and Mentoring for Effective Teaching

Author: Peter Hudson

Author’s Credentials: Peter Hudson is the author and contributor to 150 referred conference papers and journal articles. He is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Queensland University of Technology. In addition to being an Associate Professor for 20 years, he has had 16 years educational experience as a teacher and as a Principal. His University research focus is on mentoring early-career teachers. He won a National Program Award from the Office of Learning and Teaching in 2013 and a National Citation Award in 2012 for his work on the Mentoring for Effective Teaching (MET) program. (Link to Credential Information)

Currency: The source was published on July 6, 2012 in the Australian Journal of Teacher Education. Being less than 10 years old, it is relevant and up to date. The author also included 47 references in his 14 page study.

Purpose: The intentions of the author are to raise awareness about the growing need for new teachers to receive support with teaching practices, with pedagogical knowledge development and behaviour management. The intended audience for this article are school districts, school administrators, experienced educators and new teachers.

Publication Type/Process: This article was peer reviewed and published in 2012 by Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37 (7), pp.70-84. The article ISSN number is 0313-5373.

Bias/Special Interests: The article is a qualitative study involving a small number of the author’s students who are part of the MET program which the author was an active participant in developing. The author notes that the “study was limited with the number of participants and the geographic location, therefore it may be difficult to make generalizations beyond these immediate contexts” (Hudson, 2012, p.83). The author also admits that, “more research is needed on understanding how mentoring beginning teachers affects teaching practice and student achievement using a range of data sources” (Hudson, 2012, p.83).

Part C – The Sources I will Use and Trust The Most

www.henrykotula.com

As outlined by Clark & Creswell (2015, pp 132-133), I will be selecting literature that is relevant and of good quality by looking at whether the source is an original source, if it’s been peer-reviewed and if it can be accessed through mostly reputable databases like ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center), EBSCO Google Scholar and TWU’s library. For literature on quantitative research studies I will refer to Clark & Creswell’s (2015, p.211) chart outlining the criteria and indicators for evaluation and likewise to their chart on page 301 outlining the criteria for evaluating qualitative research reports. In addition to books and peer reviewed articles, when listening to TED Talks, watching news reports, youtube videos, or reading blogs, I will be:

examining the credentials and experience of the speaker
looking for evidence of bias
questioning the intent and purpose
looking for how current the report is
looking for the number of references cited to review the accuracy of data reported

A Discussion Question:

How does a study gain credibility if it is the first of its kind without prior existing data to reference or build from?

References

Badke, W. (2017). Finding your way through the information fog (6th ed.). Bloomington, IN:iUniverse

Booth, W. C., Columbia, G.G. & Williams, J.M. (2008). The Craft of Research (3rd ed.) Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, p. 51-65

Plano-Clark, V. & Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide. (2nd Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Responses to Other Posts: Unit 2

May 14, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 0 Comments

In response to Achsah’s Springs Post on Light From Many Lamps Assignment

Link: https://create.twu.ca/achsahs-springs/2018/05/12/focus-outside-ourselves-light-from-many-lamps-assignment-1/

Quote from Mother Teresa that was discussed in her post: Lasting change is created by the actions of one person as proposed in this quote credited to Mother Teresa: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Question posed in her post was: “How do you find happiness outside of yourself?”

My response: Your post is beautifully written and so articulate! It sums up the purpose of leadership and why we choose to serve others. I love the Mother Teresa quote that you shared about the importance of creating a ripple. The purpose of your trip to Kenya is inspiring and I am so happy that those students have someone that genuinely cares about them and their success in life.

To answer your question about finding happiness outside of ourselves, I can genuinely say that this revolves around my love for what I do. Working with at risk students, despite it’s challenges, is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

Do you think that a lot of leaders within your organization are ‘happy’ with themselves and the job that they are doing?

In response to Charlie Mable’s Post on the Survey Questionnaire

Link: https://create.twu.ca/charliemable/2018/05/11/leadership-questionnaires/

Question that was posed by Charlie was: Is this (my traits and leadership style) what the position needs, or what I bring to the table?”

My Response: I loved your question of “Is this what the position needs, or what I bring to the table?” It caused me to do some deep reflecting myself on whether what I bring to the table is what my position actually needs.

I also wonder how many of us will find that we scored lower on self-confidence and self-assurance, and what steps we could take to build that up. If we are fully capable of doing our jobs and we do them well, then why does it appear to others that we don’t come across as believing enough in ourselves? What is that we do or say that gives this impression?

In response to Charlie Mable’s Post on Light From Many Lamps

Link: https://create.twu.ca/charliemable/2018/05/12/light-from-many-lamps-section-1-and-2/#comment-5

Question that was posed by Charlie was “Do you agree that rest is rust?”

My Response: I absolutely loved your post! It really hit home as I can totally relate to being at the same stage in life with my kids, my career and wanting to keep moving, to not grow stagnate. I definitely agree that rest can become rust. A lot of my fellow teachers who retired, found that they suddenly went from being extremely busy to having too much idle time that they didn’t know how to fill. They felt restless and unfulfilled. Retirement wasn’t what they had thought it would be. Many of them now, teach on call, volunteer and have taken up part time jobs. I also loved your point about instead of asking why to ask why not. It was a great reminder for me to not shrink away from trying new things and to say ‘yes’ more to opportunities that arise. Thanks for the inspiration!

What would you ask why not about within your organization?

In Response to Shaaz Post on Light From Many Lamps – Abraham Lincoln

Link: https://create.twu.ca/shaaz/2018/05/12/assignment-light-from-many-lamps/

Discussion: Abraham Lincoln, servant leadership and the importance of being sensitive towards others

My Response: I liked and appreciated your point about the importance of remembering to be sensitive towards others. As a teacher, this is something that I work on and try to practice each day. There are many things going on in my student’s lives that affect their ability to learn. It is also a life lesson that I try and share with my students as well. A quote (whose origins I am unsure of as it has been attributed to Maya Angelou, Carl W. Buehner and Carol Buchner) comes to mind, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Thank you for reminding me of the importance of being sensitive.

Do you think that a lot of leaders rate sensitivity as a desirable trait or something that can be a detriment to doing business?

In Response to Achsah’s Springs Leadership Traits Questionnaire

Link: https://create.twu.ca/achsahs-springs/2018/05/10/leadership-traits-questionnaire-results/

Discussion: Interpretation of questionnaire results

I’m sorry you had a rotten day and I hope that this coming week is better for you! I really appreciated your vulnerability and courage in sharing your experience and how it affected you. Definitely something that we all can relate to! I also really admired your attitude towards your interpretation of your questionnaire scores and how you were going to take the discrepancies in the scores and use them as a starting place to grow. I found your approach to be really inspiring!

Brene Brown is a great read on courage and vulnerability if you haven’t delved into her books or TED talks yet!

Light From Many Lamps – Enjoy Yourself: It is Later Than You Think

May 12, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 7 Comments

“Well, maybe it is later than you think; why don’t you do something about it?” (Dr. Frederic Loomis, 1938)

I couldn’t stop thinking about this story after I read it. It felt like it was written specifically for me as a reminder to live my life in the present, and to not keep putting my hopes and dreams off until the future. Both my Dad and my Father In Law passed away at a time in their lives when they had planned to do all of those things that they had put off for so long due to busy careers and the tasks and costs associated with growing families. They never had the opportunity to enjoy some of the rewards that they had earned.

Dr. Loomis (1938) in Lillian Eichler Watson’s Light from Many Lamps shares that;

“Many years have been added to the average expectation of life but each individual’s fate is still a hazard. The most valuable people around us have lived largely for others. This seems the time to remind them that they will have more years, and happier ones, to do good for others if they start right now to do something for themselves; to go places and to do things which they have looked forward to for years; to give those who love them the happiness of seeing them enjoy some of the rewards which they have earned; to replace competition with a bit of contemplation. (Watson, 1988, p. 27)”

On a personal note, saying yes to opportunities that solely benefit myself, isn’t an easy thing for me to do. I married my high school sweetheart and wholeheartedly lived 25 years of my life putting my spouse and my two children first. When my marriage fell apart three years ago, I was gutted and at a complete loss. I struggled with rediscovering who I am. I had identified myself solely as a wife and mom for so many years. Even with two grown children, I felt guilty about putting myself first or doing anything to reward myself. Shonda Rhimes book, The Year of Yes (2015) was a great read and I made a pact with myself that I needed to say yes to opportunities more when they present themselves. As reminded by Dr. Loomis (1938) it is important to go places and do things that we have looked forward to for years, and if we actually take the time to do these things for ourselves in turn we will be providing more happiness and joy to those who we continue to serve both personally and professionally.

My Dream Board

I created a dream board two years ago that hangs on my bathroom wall. It is a reminder to me each morning as I get ready of what I would like to do and who I would like to become as a person. On my dream board are several beautiful photos of Italy, a place I have always wanted to explore. Much to my surprise and delight, I was recently presented with the opportunity to travel to Europe this summer on free airline points. Despite the photos on my dream board (that I have looked at for two years straight) my immediate gut reaction was; “No way, I can’t do that. I have 2 kids, an elderly mom and a dog to look after. I’ve just started my Masters and I don’t think I can even afford to go …etc.,” The reality is that my kids are older and will be well looked after as will my mom and dog. Just like Dr. Frederic Loomis’ medical practice in his story, my family world also will not stop spinning and fall apart if I go Italy. I know that ultimately, I would regret it if I didn’t go. Thanks Dr. Loomis and Shonda Rhimes for confirming for me that I need to say yes and go! Look out Europe! Here I come!

W. Beran Wolfe declared that, “One important source of unhappiness is the habit of putting off living to some fictional future date (Watson, 1988, p.29”. I don’t want to keep putting off my dreams and miss out on the many opportunities that life has to offer. Time really is a gift and one that none of us knows the quantity of. The time is now for me to pursue my dreams of travel, getting my Masters and pursuing educational leadership opportunities. As Loomis (1938) says,”Well, maybe it is later than you think; why don’t you do something about it? (Watson, 1988, p.25)”

‘Why don’t you do something about it?’ is a great leadership question! If there is something that we don’t like or something we want to do, what’s stopping us from getting it done? Who or what are we waiting for?

Eichler Watson, L.E. (1988). Light from Many Lamps, (1st Fireside Edition). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Survey Says… Leadership Questionnaires

May 12, 2018 / awalkinthewoods / 3 Comments

Survey Says …

Can leadership abilities, traits and styles really be revealed by answering a few questionnaires? I was curious to find out just how close the results aligned with my own self conception.

The style questionnaire revealed I perform almost equally at the top of the high range for tasks and relationships. I was a little surprised that my results were equally spread out in Leadership Theory and Practice. I scored 25 in Technical Skill, 27 in Human Skill and 26.5 in Conceptual Skill.

I wanted to make sure that the responses to the Leadership Trait Questionnaire really were an honest reflection so I asked some colleagues from my former school team, my current school team and my significant other to fill them out. The results were consistent, all 5’s except for 3’s and 4’s in self confidence and self-assurance. It was confirming to know that others view myself and my leadership traits the same way I do. I recognize that I need to work on these two areas in order to be a better leader.

I know that I can be overly sensitive and take things personally at times and would really like to build my self-confidence. What are some strategies that you have found effective for not letting negativity (from situations or within your organization) affect your self-confidence?