My problem statement had been revised, and my research questions had already been approved. I had a clear compass to guide me through literature selection and review. But this compass was no match for my subconscious sense of direction. I knew I needed to focus on classroom strategies, but I kept on running further and further towards the land of school climate.
Taking this course has come at an interesting point of in my professional life: the juncture of being a fourth year teacher, where I'd consider myself decently comfortable with the nature of this job, and reaching the end of this masters program. At this point, reevaluating my instruction is automatic, and considering my future in this profession is increasingly becoming a part of my daily reflection...and the subconscious lens through which I viewed my topic's body of research. I fixated on any and everything dealing with school climate and leadership.
To be clear, my action research deals with using individualized instruction to improve reading level growth. Clearly, whole-school management is a bit removed from the details of this study. But it's what I'm interested in. It's what I want to know more about so I can rationalize the decisions impacting my classroom; so I can figure out where I can be the most effective in this world of urban, public education.
But this isn't the purpose of my action research. Therefore, I've decided that focusing on more isolated, classroom-based issues can amplify my ability to evaluate larger, more complex issues. So this is a necessary first step towards better understanding my future in this profession...outside successfully completing this course.
So what have I learned?
Well, I've read up a lot on how school climate impacts the learning in individual classrooms.
Edmonds, R. (1979). Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational leadership, 37(1), 15-24.
Hintze, J. M., & Shapiro, E. S. (1998). Curriculum-based measurement and literature-based reading: Is curriculum-based measurement meeting the needs of changing reading curricula?. Journal of School Psychology, 35(4), 351-375.
Pressley, M., Rankin, J., & Yokoi, L. (1996). A survey of instructional practices of primary teachers nominated as effective in promoting literacy. The Elementary School Journal, 363-384.
Teale, W. H., Paciga, K. A., & Hoffman, J. L. (2007). Beginning reading instruction in urban schools: The curriculum gap ensures a continuing achievement gap. The Reading Teacher, 61(4), 344-348.
And I've realized how difficult it is for this social scientist to be objective and adopt the sense of focus often associated with the "hard" sciences.
Now that I know this, it's back to the scholarly databases and back on track to completing this action research.
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