Reflection
Conducting this Action Research project was a very valuable and rewarding learning experience for both my students and myself. My Action Research project was valuable to my students because it helped my students to grow socially and emotionally. Before my project started, my students were not able to independently and proactively solve their own social conflicts. My students would either report the conflict to me or another adult to solve for them or try to solve the conflict with physical aggression. Through my action research project, I taught my students a strategy to independently and proactively solve their social conflicts called a Problem Solving I-Message. The Problem Solving I-Message provided a structure for students to verbalize their feelings and solve their problems when they encountered a conflict with a friend. In my action research lessons I presented my students with situations where a Problem Solving I-Message could be used and provided opportunities for my students to practice using the Problem Solving I-Message. Slowly, I began to witness my students choosing to use the Problem Solving I-Message to solve their own social conflicts they encountered instead of reporting their conflicts to an authority figure or trying to solve their conflicts with violence. Even though at the end of my project there were still conflicts being solved by aggression and tattling, the amount of conflicts being solved this way was far less than when I started the project. Instead, many students were choosing to use the Problem Solving I-Message. Through my action research project, my students also learned a way to verbally express their appreciation for others known as Appreciation I-Message. After learning about it students started to use it whenever they saw someone doing something nice for them. At the end of my project many of my students could verbally communicate their feelings and emotions to other students. Since these skills were not apparent before my project started, this told me that my students had grown socially and emotionally due to my project.
In addition to benefiting my students, this process also helped me grow as an educator. First, the Action Research process taught me the importance of being flexible. The action research process was not a linear process. Many things came up that I had not planned for or expected. I had to be open to making changes and adapting my project to best meet the needs of my students. For example, my initial goal was to teach my students two independent problem solving strategies in Phase 1. For the first three weeks of Phase 1, I wanted to focus on the I-message strategy then the last week of Phase 1, I wanted to teach them the more complex strategy called the 4 step strategy. However, my students development with using the I-Message was a lot slower than I anticipated. Approaching the last week of phase 1, my students were still not consistently using the I-Message to solve their social conflicts. Therefore, I decided for the last week of phase 1 it would be best to keep reinforcing and practicing the I-Message instead of introducing them to the 4 step strategy like I had initially planned. I also had initially planned on solely focusing on conflict resolution for my Action Research project but when I saw how the emphasis on conflicts and challenges was causing my students to get upset with one another, I immediately decided I needed to introduce something to make my students feel cared for so I integrated teaching appreciation into my Action Research.
Second, Action Research also taught me the importance of reflection as a teacher. The action research process requires a lot of reflection. Throughout my Action Research I found myself constantly reflecting on my lessons and my students development with independent problem solving and appreciating others then adjusting my lessons based on their needs and areas of concern. This is a skill that I think is so essential to grow and develop as a teacher and I will continue to do this throughout my teaching career.
Lastly, Action Research taught me the importance of getting students feedback. For my Action Research project, I conferenced with each of my students and asked them about how they were solving social conflicts and appreciating others. This allowed me to get an insight on their skills. It allowed me to see areas of need and the strengths of each student. I learned things about each student that I could not have learned from just observing the student. I think meeting with students and getting their feedback is so important because it allows teachers to establish an individual relationship with each student. Including this component in my Action Research showed me the value of doing this and I will continue to do this with my students in my own classroom. Although, my Action Research has come to an end, it will always have a lasting impact on me as it allowed me to acquire new knowledge and develop skills that will make me a more effective and qualified educator.
In addition to benefiting my students, this process also helped me grow as an educator. First, the Action Research process taught me the importance of being flexible. The action research process was not a linear process. Many things came up that I had not planned for or expected. I had to be open to making changes and adapting my project to best meet the needs of my students. For example, my initial goal was to teach my students two independent problem solving strategies in Phase 1. For the first three weeks of Phase 1, I wanted to focus on the I-message strategy then the last week of Phase 1, I wanted to teach them the more complex strategy called the 4 step strategy. However, my students development with using the I-Message was a lot slower than I anticipated. Approaching the last week of phase 1, my students were still not consistently using the I-Message to solve their social conflicts. Therefore, I decided for the last week of phase 1 it would be best to keep reinforcing and practicing the I-Message instead of introducing them to the 4 step strategy like I had initially planned. I also had initially planned on solely focusing on conflict resolution for my Action Research project but when I saw how the emphasis on conflicts and challenges was causing my students to get upset with one another, I immediately decided I needed to introduce something to make my students feel cared for so I integrated teaching appreciation into my Action Research.
Second, Action Research also taught me the importance of reflection as a teacher. The action research process requires a lot of reflection. Throughout my Action Research I found myself constantly reflecting on my lessons and my students development with independent problem solving and appreciating others then adjusting my lessons based on their needs and areas of concern. This is a skill that I think is so essential to grow and develop as a teacher and I will continue to do this throughout my teaching career.
Lastly, Action Research taught me the importance of getting students feedback. For my Action Research project, I conferenced with each of my students and asked them about how they were solving social conflicts and appreciating others. This allowed me to get an insight on their skills. It allowed me to see areas of need and the strengths of each student. I learned things about each student that I could not have learned from just observing the student. I think meeting with students and getting their feedback is so important because it allows teachers to establish an individual relationship with each student. Including this component in my Action Research showed me the value of doing this and I will continue to do this with my students in my own classroom. Although, my Action Research has come to an end, it will always have a lasting impact on me as it allowed me to acquire new knowledge and develop skills that will make me a more effective and qualified educator.