Category: LDRS591

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/#Unit_10

• How can I know that I can trust what I am reading?
  • After completing this course, I feel that I have been given many tools to increase the level of skepticism and critical thinking that I use when reading research. I believe that there is always a chance that what we are reading may not be credible and there is no sure way of knowing that something is 100% trustworthy. As said in the unit 10 notes, there is always a chance of error in someones research and in the peer review process. Throughout the course, we have learned ways of ensuring that our research is more likely to be trustworthy. Some of these tools include the charts found in Plano-Clark and Creswell (2017) that provide us with templates to help us evaluate research. PLano-Clark and Creswell (2017) are very good at providing indicators of high quality and low quality research. One specific tool that I found helpful was the tips that are offered throughout Plano-Clark and Creswell (2017). The ‘tips’ section often include specific wording to look for, as well as where to look for the wording in a research paper. Another tool is to look up articles online to determine how many times the articles have been cited in other research. The more an article has been cited, the more it has been trusted by other researchers, giving it more credibility.
• How do I know the research has been performed competently?
  • We have been given tools to determine whether or not research has been performed competently. The templates used throughout the course are designed to be implemented with any piece of research in order to determine the quality of it. It is up to the consumer to critically analyze the research to determine if there are any bias’, flaws in the design or important components of the research that are missing.
• How do I know the research is reported honestly?
  • To know if the research is reported honestly, I believe that a consumer must look at the method in which the research was conducted and critically assess to determine if the research was conducted ethically and fairly and is consistent with all participants. One must also look at how the participants were chosen. If there are any clues as to unethical research or a bias sample selection, the consumer should go deeper into research and find other, similar research to ensure that the findings are honest and reliable. If the results have been replicated in another study by different researchers, one can assume the study is credible.
• How do I know the findings presented are consistent with what other researchers would conclude?
  • This is up to the consumer to determine if the research is consistent with other findings. In order to find this out, a good initial step would be to look at the reference list and read the articles referenced by the author. A consumer can also look online to see if the article has been cited elsewhere and then read the articles in which it was cited. To ensure that the findings presented are consistent with other research, it is up to the consumer to complete a thorough amount of research and too be knowledgeable in other, similar studies that have been done.
• Close with one question that invites further comment and discussion.
  • It is important to learn to critically assess and analyze any research conducted. To further the research in any given area, one must be able to read the research, give it some thought, take a step back, and think about how it could have been done differently. Do you think you have to be an expert in the particular subject matter? I do not. It is important to approach research with an open mind. I think I have been taught the critical skills to assess research. I don’t believe that I have all of the answers, but I believe that my assessment of any research would provide beneficial feedback for further consideration.

References

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

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/#Unit_10

Stone et. Al, (2003), discuss that the underlying focus of transformational and servant leadership is how the leader focus’ on the people. “While transformational leaders and servant leaders both show concern for their followers, the overriding focus of the servant leader is upon service to their followers. The transformational leader has a greater concern for getting followers to engage in and support organizational objectives.” (Stone et. al, 2003, 354).

Evidence-based decision making is important for various reasons. Making decisions based on evidence and facts reduces the influence of personal bias. If the goal of a transformational servant leader is to put the interests of the follower at the heart of the decision-making process, then they need to earn the respect and the trust of the followers. If the leader’s decision-making is biased, then the follower will feel like his or her viewpoints are not being carefully examined, valued and considered in the decision-making process which will cause them to lose trust and not want to be a follower. An effective transformational servant leader should consider all viewpoints and perspectives and base their decisions on evidence.

 

References

Gregory Stone, A & F. Russell, Robert & Patterson, Kathleen. (2004). Transformational versus Servant Leadership: A Difference in Leader Focus. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. 25. 349-361.

Redirect

In unit 1, I shared a decision I had made as a leader. My decision occurred when I was acting admin for 2 days in my school and I had to make a discipline decision. In this particular incidence, I do not feel I would’ve made my decision differently. My decision was based on school policy, written behaviour plans for this student as well as on the values of our school and school safety policies.
I have gained new insight throughout this course and might approach this situation differently. In my first post, I wrote about how my past experiences influenced my decisions. Now that I reflect on this decision, I realize that as difficult as it may be, it is important as a leader to not base your decision solely on past experience. In my situation, I was making a decision that was partly based on a students history. While this particular student has significant history, this may not be the case in all situations and as a leader, it is important to recognize that. People change and grow, and children do this at an incredibly fast pace. Some students may grow from year to year. Although I was confident that busier, less structured times of the school year are stressful for this student, he was also a year older and there is a chance that I could’ve been wrong in making the assumption that the more chaotic times in the school year are stressful for him. This is something that I always tried to be mindful of when I taught this student. Each day is a new day, a chance to start fresh, without the influence of yesterday affecting how I treat my students today. Although a leader may be influenced by past experiences, a leader should base their decision on current and present findings and facts, and not solely on past experiences. A leader that is basing decisions on past experience, is allowing their individual bias to influence their decision and may have a negative influence on the decision. It is important to evaluate all viewpoints and to carefully examine the viewpoints of all who will be affected by the decision. Past experiences may influence decisions of a leader, but not be the only factor in decision making.
After taking this course, I believe that this specific situation could be turned into an action research project. For years, this student has struggled in our school system. Nothing has worked and neither the teachers, administrators or student have experienced many moments of success. We have a team of 6 adults trying to come up with ideas and implement them, only to find out that they too, do not work. This student has now been expelled from the school and is not allowed at the other school in my town. I do not believe for a second that we haven’t exhausted as many possibilities as we were capable of, however, maybe through a structured action research project, with additional research and data to support the situation, we may have been able to come up with something else to implement for this student.
In conclusion, I believe that this course has provided me with tools and insights that I need in order to be a more effective leader.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/#Unit_9

The most important thing for me about the conclusions section of a high-quality research report is a clear and organized summary of results and that the researcher carefully examines and relates the results to the literature. Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, say that the researcher should explicitly relate the results, as well as compare and contrast the results to prior research. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 476). By comparing the results to other, current research, this shows that the researcher is knowledgeable in the area of research. This improves the quality of the research and makes it more meaningful to the reader to know that the researcher has a strong content knowledge of other research on the topic.

This part of the conclusion is the most important for me as it allows me to have a clear understanding of the results of the research. Personally, I find other parts of a research article can be difficult to understand and at times, even confusing. Having little experience with statistics and reading data, I find it can be difficult for me. A well-written conclusion is crucial to my comprehension of the results and research. The researcher must include a description of how the results compare to predictions made by the researcher in order to provide a more clear understanding of how these results can be used for future research.

Even if the research contradicts the predictions of the researcher or the found results are unforeseen, it is important for the researcher to provide the reader with a clear and detailed explanation and relate it to the literature.

A clear and organized summary that relates the results to the literature will allow the reader to rate the importance of the research and decide whether or not the research is practical in their own practice.

If you found a research article that was significant and read to the conclusion to find that it is not clear and well written, would this impact the significance of the research? Would you still reference it?

Redirect

 

• Are the major results identified and summarized?

The results are identified in the Results section of the article. In the Discussion section of the article, the results are presented but they are not related to other models or descriptions of servant-leadership in the literature. Further the authors suggest: “that servant leadership can provide a successful alternative to other leadership styles…”(Melchar and Bosco, 2010, P.84). However, the question being researched was specifically about servant leadership and whether a corporate culture would develop that developed and attracted servant leaders. It was not research comparing how servant leadership style compares to other successful styles of leadership.

Rating: 1

 

• Are the results related to the literature?

Yes the results are related to the literature, but they are very vague. Melchar and Bosco,  (2010), state that, “We were able to empirically test the servant-leader model in three high-performing organizations whose employees are expected to perform their duties at a very high level.” (Melchar and Bosco, 2010, P 85). They do not restate their research question, hypotheses,or themes. There is no clear logical presentation of the conclusion. The authors conclude that the Servant-Leader model is effective in a for-profit organization. But since there is no clearly accepted one model of Servant-leadership, it is not clear whether they are basing their findings on the characteristics referred to in the article and put forth by Russell and Stone, 2002, and by Spears, 1995 (Melchar and Bosco, 2010, P. 76), the Greenleaf model of servant leadership introduced in 1977 (Melchar and Bosco, 2010, P.75), or the description of servant leadership put forth by Rude, 2003, in Nwogu, 2004, P. 2. One has to read the whole article, rather than just the conclusion to clearly understand what model they are using in their research.

Rating: 1

• Are appropriate implications of the results for practice identified and justified?

The authors state that their research proves that: “Clearly, servant leaders can be successful in a competitive, for-profit service organization (Melchar and Bosco, 2010, P.85)”. For-profit organizations then would be a specific audience for the research.  However, the sample size was fairly small, N=59, and the study was only conducted on 3 organizations all within the same industry. The authors admit that their results may not be generalized across all for-profit organizations. This contradicts their statement previously noted and it may have been better for the researchers to be more specific and state that: Clearly servant leaders can be successful in some competitive, for-profit service organizations.

Rating: 1

• Is there a thoughtful critique of the study’s limitations?

Yes the authors thoughtfully critique the study’s limitations, in that they admit that the sample size was small, only 3 organizations in the same industry were included in the research. In addition to the shortcomings of this research, part of the problem in studying servant leadership is that there is no one accepted model of what servant leadership is. This lack of a standard model, creates ambiguity in all of the research being conducted,as researchers are choosing different models or different criteria of servant leadership characteristics to base their research on.

Rating: 5

• Are suitable suggestions for future research provided?

The authors suggest that future research should be conducted across a broader spectrum of other for-profit organizations. They also suggest that there may be external or internal factors impacting the success of servant leadership in for-profit organizations and that there should be more empirical studies conducted. While it would no doubt be of value, studying the impact of external or internal factors impacting the success of servant leadership, as suggested by the authors, is outside of the scope of the current research that was conducted. If one is attempting to build upon the current research findings of this study, I would recommend the focus be on applying this research to a larger cross section of for-profit organizations in a variety of industries.

Rating: 1

Reference

MELCHAR, D. E., & BOSCO, S. M. (2010). Achieving High Organization Performance through Servant Leadership. Journal Of Business Inquiry: Research, Education & Application, 9(1), 74-88.

Unit 9 Learning Activities

 

• Does the problem focus on a real problem in practice?

The problem that the researcher plans to study is the decline in female participation in sports from middle school to high school levels. Tom tells us that there is a high amount of participation when the girls are in middle school and then as they reach high school, the level of participation is significantly low. This is a real problem in Mr. William’s practice.

• Does the researcher plan to study his or her own practices or plan to collaborate with community members?

As the physical education coordinator, participation would be something that Mr. Williams values. He plans to study the reason for lack of participation from females and hopes to learn what he can change within his own practice. In his review, Mr. Williams suggests that if some of the necessary changes are low cost, he will implement them immediately. The students who will participate in the surverys are the community members that he will survey. I would be interested in also knowing results of a survey done on parents of participants and teachers of the participants involved.

• Does the project include careful reflection about the problem?

Because I am female, I feel as though I have a slightly different reflection on this. I was one of those students who participated in all sports in middle school and almost none in high school. There were several reasons for this. 1. I think that girls have an extreme fear of acceptance. In my own case, I was never that good at sports, naturally my participation dwindled as I always felt like I was a ‘benchwarmer’ and it became a waste of my time. In middle school, it wasn’t a big deal, but in high school, girls are more concerned about what other people think. Also, sports become more competitive and serious in high school and some people don’t enjoy that aspect of it. 2. High school was a lot more about academics than middle school. 3. My family encouraged me to work throughout high school and sports take a lot of time and dedication.

 

I have coached basketball for 4 seasons. I know that committing to sports takes a lot of time and dedication. It makes sense to me that the level of participation is lower in high school as people are trying to establish themselves and work a little bit in order to start learning to be more self-sufficient.

 

I believe that the data collected in this research will cover all of the above pieces of reflection.

• Does the researcher plan to gather several sources of information (e.g. quantitative and qualitative procedures)?

Mr. Williams, plans to begin his research with data that is already available within the school including numbers of participants. Next, he will conduct a literature search on female participation trends in sports. He will then use a mixed method sequential approach. I believe this is an appropriate method of research for this problem. The quantitative results in this research are necessary in order to provide a general idea and explanation of numbers of participants. The qualitative data, which will be collected from focus groups made up of 6-8 kids, will provide a deeper understanding of why the problem exists and will build on the quantitative results. Mr. William’s will incorporate a Likert scale to learn about opinions on participation. After this data is collected, he will take on a quantitative research approach, using a focus group setting which will allow participants to openly discuss and suggest solutions to the problem. When all of the data is gathered, Mr. Williams will analyze the data and look for patterns. At this point, he will analyze his own practices to see what can be changed. Mr. Williams will monitor and ensure that the participation levels increase and that the changes he has implemented are working.

• Does the researcher develop a clear plan for addressing the problem?

The researcher develops and explains his plan for gathering and acting on the information. His plan is clear, concise and contains enough details in order for someone to have a clear and proficient understanding of the plan.

• Does the project include reflecting, thinking, looking, and gathering information and acting?

Yes, the researcher includes reflecting, thinking, looking and gathering information and acting upon it. He plans to gather significant amounts of data from various sources and provides a clear plan for analyzing the results and making a plan for implementing change.

• Will the results of the procedure enhance the lives of those involved?

The results have potential to enhance the lives of those involved. If the girls really enjoy the sports and aren’t participating because of variables beyond their control, such as part time jobs or academics, then the chance to participate will enhance their lives. I

If the girls just simply don’t enjoy the sports that are offered and they continue to not want to participate, their lives will not be enhanced.

Unit 8 Learning Activities

 

Austin, A. E., Council of Independent Colleges, W. D., & And, O. (1991). A Good Place to Work: Sourcebook for the Academic Workplace.

Gruenert, S., & Whitaker, T. (2015). School culture rewired : how to define, assess, and transform it. Alexandria, VA : ASCD, [2015].

Larkin, P., Clagett, C., & Prince George’s Community Coll., L. R. (1981). Sources of Faculty Stress and Strategies for Its Management.

McDonnell, L. M., & Dingle Associates, I. D. (1983). Implementing School Improvement Strategies.

Postell, W. A. (2004, August 25). A Model for Enhancing Morale among Middle School Teachers. Online Submission,

Whitaker, T., Whitaker, B., & Lumpa, D. (2000). Motivating and inspiring teachers : the educational leader’s guide for building staff morale. Larchmont, N.Y. : Eye on Education, c2000.

Xu, F., & Shen, J. (2007). Research on Job Satisfaction of Elementary and High School Teachers and Strategies to Increase Job Satisfaction. Chinese Education & Society, 40(5), 86-96. doi:10.2753/CED 1061-1932400509

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-8-learning-activities/

 

1. Since I have started working at my school in 2013, one of the biggest problems that I have encountered is a low staff morale. It may not seem like a major issue to some, however when the staff morale is low, it affects teacher efficacy, teacher burnout rates and eventually affects the students. In the time that I have worked there, our school has been through 3 different administrative staff members who have all left feeling like their hands were tied and there was nothing else that they could have done. I have made it my mission to improve the staff morale and to be the change that our staff needs to see. To date, I have planned countless staff activities and social events like: Fondue suppers, Lobsterfest, Minute to win it contests, and a Scavenger Hunts. I have also reached out on a personal level to each staff member, by sending out special notes to them on their birthday, or letting them know that I hope they are feeling better after they have been away sick. I show them that I truly care about them. I stay positive. I try to motivate and encourage everyone. I hope that by setting the example, the morale will begin to change. But just last week, we had our 4th administrator resign because he felt like our staff was too much for him to deal with. Last year in a staff meeting, we were told that our division has one of the highest rates of teachers taking sick days. Staff morale is definitely an issue in my workplace.
2. I am a teacher in northern Alberta. I teach in a town of just under 7000 people. We are 500 km north from Edmonton. Because of our more isolated location, we do not have access to many educational resources that would be available in the city. In the 2016/2017 school year, I experienced how this could be a problem. I had a student in my class who was severely violent. This student had spent some time in Edmonton in the Glenrose Hospital Rehabilitation Program. Upon his release, it was recommended that his family move to Edmonton and that the student would reside in the Glenrose hospital for a much longer stay, as they felt that his violent tendencies were only going to escalate to the point of someone being hurt. This would’ve meant a large uprooting for the family, so they decided to stay in our community. Not surprisingly, his tendencies did escalate and he became extremely dangerous to have in the classroom. There were several incidences where I worried for the safety of the other students. He tried to strangle one of my students, he had broken the nose of the principal the year before, and there were many slightly less dramatic, but violent incidents. The problem in this situation is complex. We do not receive any extra training to handle children with behavioral problems such as Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder or Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders. How can we have students with these conditions in our classrooms? We are pushed for inclusive education, but do not have the support (or even have support within a close proximity) because it is a northern, more remote community. The student is still entitled to an education, however, his peers are entitled to a safe learning environment, which was most definitely not being provided for them last year.
3. Another problem also stems from situations that I experienced with this particular student. His violent tendencies escalated and a one-on-one support worker was hired. Unfortunately, the salary did not attract a person with the appropriate training and the person who was hired, lasted less than six months after being subjected to countless threats, physical abuse and verbal abuse from this student. As a teacher, I found myself questioning how it was possible that a student like this could be in a regular classroom rather than a special needs classroom, when everyone who worked with him, including myself, had absolutely no training on how to deal with it or how to protect ourselves and our students. I feel that it would be beneficial for teachers to have to take some kind of emergency response training for situations like this in which all students safety is being put on the line. Although there is a protocol when there is a violent outburst and the teacher requires assistance, I was told by several teachers not to expect them to come to my aid.  Again an example of how low the teacher morale is. They would prefer to close the door of their classroom than to come to the aid of a teacher who felt her classroom’s safety was in jeopardy.  

Unit 7 Learning Activities

• Is there a rationale provided for needing a mixed methods design?

To enhance both reliability and validity, the current study employed a mixed method approach of conducting research. The strength of a mixed-method design is through implementing the best features of both types of data collection. The purpose of using a mixed-method design was to enhance confidence in the findings rather than using a single methodology. When conclusions support data collected from multiple sources, validity is enhanced. (Black G. L., 2013, P 446).

Rating: 3

• Is the choice of the mixed methods design appropriate and justified?

The mixed methods design in this research is appropriate. In this study, the mixed methods design combines the strengths of qualitative and quantitative data to increase the validity of the results. The mixed methods design also allows the researcher to build on the initial results to obtain more detailed and specific information, which Plano-Clark and Creswell (2015) suggest as an appropriate reason for using mixed methods results. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 386).

Black explains the mixed methods design and the tools that were used in the research in the introduction and then proceeds to justify the need for a mixed methods design in the methods section. Plano-Clark and Creswell (2015) suggest that it should be explicitly articulated as to why either quantitative or qualitative research alone is inadequate and that the research must provide a sound reason to justify the use of mixed methods. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, P 405).  Black justifies the need for the mixed methods design, “quantitative data provides for generalizability, whereas qualitative data offers information about the context or setting.” (Black G. L., 2013, P 446).

Rating: 3

• What were the results of the study?

Black’s (2013) study found the following:

The overall canonical correlation analysis, which combined the teachers and principals in the same analysis, reported a significant positive relationship between the perceptions of servant leadership practices and perceptions of school climate. The strong relationship suggests that when servant leadership 460 Catholic Education / June 2010 is perceived to be present, the perceptions of the school climate are positive. (Black, G. L., 2013, P 459-460).

• Does the use of mixed methods produce a good understanding of the study’s purpose?

The purpose of combining the data was to add depth to the findings in the quantitative data. The results added confidence to the original data. (Black. G.L., 2012, P 459). The use of mixed methods research provided a more in-depth analysis of the problem. The findings are in-depth and answer the questions of the research. (Plano-Clark and Creswell, 2015, P 405).

Rating: 3

References

Black, G.L. (2013). Correlational analysis of servant leadership and school climate. Journal of Catholic Education, 13(4), 437-466. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ914879 Melchar, D.E., & Bosco, S.M. (2010). Achieving high organization performance through servant

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