Hey everybody! Only a couple more
weeks until I am out conducting my independent research. Because this time is
approaching so quickly, today’s blog post will discuss where I am in implementing
my methods and how this correlates with the schedule I created for myself
several posts back.
Currently,
I have not started conducting my research yet, however I am in the process of
preparing to begin my research soon. For my research, I will be implementing
surveys, interviews, and classroom observations to get as complete of an
understanding of the school I will be researching as possible. For my surveys, all
my questions have been written, the survey has been created on Survey Monkey,
and the link has been sent out to Mrs. Haag to be distributed to teachers.
For my interviews, I have
informally talked to all eight of the teachers that I want to interview, and
have received verbal consent to interview these teachers. Additionally, my
interview questions for these teachers have been written, and I am currently in
the process of planning the logistics for when I can interview these teachers. I
have not yet asked the head of school for an interview yet, however I have been
given permission to conduct my research in the building.
Lastly, for my classroom
observations, I have directly spoken to all but one teacher about observing
their classrooms; however, this one teacher is aware that I would like to
observe their class, but I just need to find them to confirm this in person. From
the teachers I have spoken to, I have been given their teaching schedules, and
so I am in the process of planning the days and times for when I want to come
in and observe classes. Once I have received the schedule from the last
teacher, then I will finalize my schedule for when I want to come in. This is
so not only I can plan, but also so that the teachers can have advance notice
for when they should be expecting me. Additionally, for my observations, I have
the coding sheet that I intend to use for my observations. Because of this,
once I am finished with my classes on February 2, then I will be ready to
observe classes starting the following week.
Currently, I am almost on schedule.
This past week was supposed to be used for gathering general information about
the school I will be studying; however, after the critique of my methods, this
part has been for the most part removed. In my schedule, I said that I planned
to start conducting interviews in the next week. Because I am currently focused
on perfecting my methods and literature review sections, I do not plan to do
interviews this week; however, I will send out emails this week to set up interviews
for the next several weeks. Despite this setback, I believe that this will not
be a problem because I will have over three weeks to conduct these interviews.
As long as they are all complete by February 18, then I will have enough time
to do my data analysis. With this being said though, I would like to be done
conducting interviews by February 11, so I can get a head start on my data
analysis.
That’s all for this week! I will be
continuing to prepare for conducting my research, and look forward to blogging
again soon. See you all next week!
Brian, I would try working on securing actual dates and times for the teacher interviews. In other words, while people may in theory want to help, when you try to actual pin down details, they may be unavailable. Therefore, reach out to those people and see if you can get dates and times worked out as quickly as possible, also to ensure that you can accomplish completing the interviews in the three weeks you have set aside.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would get secure dates and times for the observations as well.
Hey Brian! I think that you've taken some really great steps in conducting your research and I am confident that you will get everything done if you stick to your schedule. But I agree with Ms. Haag in that you really need to set specific times and dates so teachers have time to reschedule if they need to cancel. Also, I would make sure to conduct more of your observations and surveys and everything earlier in the time period, even if you're at school a heck ton at the beginning, because it's better to have all your data than to be analyzing and realize you ran out of time. You feel? But solid plan, and I know you'll do a great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Brian! It is good to see that you have completed all the preliminary steps (creating the coding sheet, survey, and emailing for interviews). Once you secure definite dates and definite written consent/permission as well (as now you only have verbal), you will be on the right track for completing everything on time. I agree with Daphne and Mrs. Haag, things can come up unexpectedly like teachers getting sick or finals week/prep possibly interfering with their availability. So, for their sake and yours make sure you schedule observing times and interviews with specific times and dates as soon as possible. Especially during this end of the trimester time and close to end of year, teachers will get busy with letter of recommendation for summer programs and grading and all the other stuff that comes up. Once you have written consent and planned out the schedule though with allowing for more time for data collection at the school, then I am sure you will finish ahead of time!
ReplyDelete