Get Specific or Die Tryin': First Conference Reflections

     Today I had my first conference with Megan, Brian, and Calvin regarding our research inquiry projects.  Each of us took turns to explain our inquiry topic, either by outlining the main components or by reading/summarizing our research proposal letters.  Then we got feedback from Megan and the rest of the group regarding topic direction and where we might need to modify our original ideas to make the inquiry a more attainable goal.  

     With each of our topics, we needed to define some limits and get very specific, such as what kind of social classes or student populations we wanted to research.  Megan especially went a long way to get us there, asking specifc questions that made us redefine our topics to cover specific methods, factors, populations studied, etc., The result was that we avoided broaching a broad subject and eventually having to write about that same subject in a needlessly long paper.  Each of us had great ideas for inquiry projects and the feedback we received at the conference helped shape those ideas into something much more manageable. 

1.) Calvin suggested I compare current teaching methods versus new teaching methods being used in the implementation of Common Core Standards.  Brian suggested examining what was working and what wasn't with each of these teaching methods, and to even look at whether anyone had done research on teaching methods previously dismissed as ineffective. Megan asked me to narrow down my field of study to a specific population (6th through 8th English students from North Carolina) and asked me to define the terms of measurement when referring to "successful" implementation of Common Core (AYP data). Megan also suggested I limit my perspective to consider just the teacher's perspective rather than that of the administrators as well when discussing opinions relating to my topic.

2.) Probably the most helpful advice I received was the suggestion to narrow down my topic into some reasonable frame so that I might write a paper as opposed to a dissertation.  I might be enjoying writing more than I have in a while, but not that much!  I really thought this was an interesting direction to go in and, based on some resources Megan turned me towards, I should be better placed to start looking for research articles and data for this very specific population.  I was already concerned with the breadth of the topic going into the conference and it seems I was right to be so; the first thing Megan said was that most conferences consisted of helping people get their topics more specific and manageable. 

3.) I think the advice to consider what teaching methods haven't worked in the past is the least helpful advice I received.  I appreciated the feedback, but I'm not sure that looking at ineffective teaching methods is going to keep my inquiry specific--if anything, I think it would make for a much broader subject to consider if I were to consider those as well as the successful ones.  I believe I will just stick to examining the teaching methods that have shown marked success in terms of AYP and leave it at that, hoping that it is enough.

4.) Overall, I felt the conference to be an incredibly beneficial use of my time. I had a huge topic going in that I suspected needed redefining, and I was able to do so with help from Megan, Brian, and Calvin.  I guess I really needed to see for sure that my inquiry project was sound (if gigantic) and I could find some decent research on it.  Megan gave me some great websites to check out for clarifications on the Common Core Standards and their implementation in North Carolina, so I have a great head start on my research already. At worst, I have a direction in which to travel. 

5.) While I think I had most of my questions answered at the time of the conference, I have since reconsidered the decision to focus on English students in 6th through 8th grades in North Carolina.  Since my friend (and inspiration for this inquiry) is a math teacher, I believe I want to look at math standards for the same population instead of English. I said English before mostly because we're in an English class, and I forgot to consider that I had a great math resource in my friend.  I believe I will proceed in this direction from here on out, and I apologize for the confusion, folks. I just needed more time to consider all the facts and I didn't think it through in the time I had during Conference--after all, had to get moving onto other people's proposals.  I feel that I can do better with this, though, and so I'm going ahead with it.

The only real question that I didn't ask is whether I should still look at how these methods are accommodating special populations of students.  I think doing so may make my topic too broad again, so I hesitate to look at it. That said, I welcome suggestions as to whether I should consider it as well in my inquiry.

6.) My plans for revision are to examine the teaching methods showing documented success with implementation of Common Core Standards for 6th through 8th grade Math education in North Carolina Schools.  I have clarified my definition of "success" and defined it in terms of AYP statistics documented for this population.  I will also limit my perspective to consider only that of the teachers (omitting the perspective of the administrators) when I discuss the effectiveness of the teaching methods outlined in the research.