Improving Schools and Empowering Educators - Assignment Example

Assignments 2 Assignments 2 Question room Participation All room activities should involve all participants. Teachers and students should contribute actively towards all classroom sessions so that both parties benefit mutually. Some students are fond of drifting through or in and out of lessons, and some teachers like to leave students on their own and engage in other activities that run parallel to classroom activities. Such acts of inattentiveness usually seem trivial when viewed superficially, but a closer look reveals that they are detrimental to the attainment of lesson and school goals and objectives in the long-term. Ultimately, teachers bear the greatest burden in this regard (Greenwood and Levin, 2007). Teachers must always make sure that students are paying attention in class, and they must also ensure that they make their presence known while conducting lessons. A short lapse in concentration from either participant could influence many other students to feel comfortable in gliding through classroom activities. I would like to improve, to the highest level possible, classroom participation. Punctuality Like participation, punctuality applies to both students and teachers. Teachers and students must observe time if classroom activities are to be productive. Students should not be late for classes, and in case they are late they must have genuine explanations. Similarly, teachers must honor timelines so that they avoid inconveniencing not only students but also their colleagues. They must conduct their classes within stipulated times to allow the school program to run smoothly. Punctuality does not apply to availability for the start of lessons alone. It also applies to breaks during lessons (Mertler, 2013). If a student asks to be excused to use the washrooms he must take a reasonable amount of time to avoid disrupting the lesson. At the same time, teachers who request to attend to other matters during lessons should respect schedules. A 10 minute break should be a 10 minute break, no more. Lesson Planning (Goals and Objectives) Lesson planning entails developing clear timelines, goals, objectives, and approaches to teaching a particular subject. Lesson planning must be done expeditiously, prudently, accurately, and comprehensively. Research shows that poor planning of lessons is a major factor in poor delivery and uptake of concepts by teachers and students (Mertler, 2013). Teachers should know what they will be teaching before the start of a new academic term or year, and make this known to students so that they can prepare for lessons. Teachers should also develop SMART (smart, measurable, accurate, realistic, and time-conscious) learning objectives that help students prepare for and understand the syllabus. Students, on the other hand, should work independently to prepare for and comprehend the syllabus and lessons. Etiquette Etiquette is required for both teachers and students. Classroom etiquette should always be observed and upheld, and should be guided by moral principles (Mertler, 2013). Good classroom etiquette instills discipline in students and helps them in their interactions with other people (e.g., professionals) in other settings. Communication I would like to improve communication between students and teachers to make the classroom more interactive. Teachers should maintain open and fluid communication channels and encourage students to do the same (Greenwood and Levin, 2007). Students should always feel free to voice their concerns in clear and coherent ways and to interact closely with teachers. All the issues highlighted would be appropriate for an action research study because they touch on matters that require practical interventions. Question 2 During one term academic term, a colleague who was on leave was forced to extend her absence because of personal problems. Consequently, I was asked to fill in for her for a week because we taught similar subjects. However, it so happened that I was supposed to be on duty during the same week. I was, therefore, facing two tasks that required my total commitment and time to accomplish successfully. I had realized that I could not perform both effectively, so I requested to be excused from duty during the time I was filling in for my colleague. I requested the headmaster to appoint some interns for duty and allow me to focus on classes. Surprisingly, and being a very stubborn person, he rejected my proposal. He insisted that I perform all three duties on my own because I was the most experienced teacher available and that duties could not be delegated at a whim. At the same time, I was in charge of preparing students for examinations. The headmaster stated that he had made his decision and that it was final. I had no choice but to handle all the responsibilities. If I were in his position, I would not have made such a decision. I would have delegated some duties to junior teachers so that everybody has a reasonable workload and to improve the effectiveness of teaching. The difference in decision making can be largely attributed to different leadership and management styles. Question 3 Advantages of Traditional Research Limitations of Traditional Research Advantages of Action Research Disadvantages of Action Research High reliability and validity. Control over variables. It is easy to establish the cause and effect relationship. Offers better results overall. Offers insight into instructional methods. Limits the frequency of experiments because it is difficult to manipulate independent variables. Prone to human error. Triggers artificial scenarios. Employs casual relationships that create bias. Manipulation of values dilutes objectivity. Prone to emotional manipulation. It is suitable for both work and community scenarios. It is often participative (Mertler, 2013). When used by professionals it has the potential to increase the knowledge they acquire consciously from their work. It is directly and clearly relevant to practice. An additional bonus is its potential to generate positive outcomes for organizations. It is hard to conduct than traditional research. It is not congruent with the expectations of some organizations. One cannot use traditional thesis-writing formats to compose theses in action research (Mertler, 2013). The research (library) work is more demanding than traditional research. It is more difficult to report compared to traditional research. The thesis is often longer than that of traditional researches. Question 4 Traditional research can be of huge benefit to me and my students in various ways. First, it provides me, the teacher, with an authority role that involves but is not limited to moderating classroom activities. This authority role stems from face-to-face participation in guiding classroom activities. Using traditional research methodologies, I can ensure that all students participate and interact with their colleagues, and that one student does not dominate activities and discussions (Mertler, 2013). Using traditional research also allows me to keep classroom activities on track to avoid omission of any materials that need to be covered. Due to the dynamic nature of traditional research, it allows me to change the topics covered during lessons. Traditional research also allows me to employ non-verbal inputs as a vital component of the information gathered during traditional group classroom sessions. Finally, traditional research assures me that all students are dedicating almost 100% to classroom activities throughout (Greenwood and Levin, 2007). In this regard, I can also screen all students to determine who is not participating in classroom activities. Question 5 Action research has potentially great benefits to me and my students if I use it correctly. For example, I can use action research to narrow the chasm between theory and practice. I can also use it to empower myself, create professional growth opportunities for myself, to enhance educational practice, and to grow my knowledge base. For students, action research is useful in developing and testing remedies and to identify educational challenges for individual students. I can then use these challenges to eradicate weaknesses among students and to instill confidence and belief in them (Greenwood and Levin, 2007). Since action research is a comprehensive and critical evaluation of learning environments, I can use it to conduct self-appraisals and to improve my teaching methods. Another potential benefit of action research that I can take advantage of to improve my practice and students’ comprehension is its repetitive process of developing, planning, implementing, and reflecting. All these processes are vital components in any improvements that I intend to make in my teaching and my students. I can harness them strategically, when necessary, to identify weaknesses, eliminate them, or turn them into strengths (Mertler, 2013). Finally, the highly participative nature of action research allows me to interact more with my students. This allows me to understand them and relate to them on more than a student-teacher basis. References Greenwood, D., & Levin, M. (2007). Introduction to action research social research for social change (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Mertler, C. (2013). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE. Read More