 Explain why and how you see things differently.

 Share an insight gained from having read your colleague’s posting.

 Validate an idea with your own experience.
 Ask for evidence that supports the posting.

Stacey,
I enjoyed reading your discussion post. One difference between my action as an educator and
your discussion post are I do not often communicate with other educators to make changes in my
classroom. In my educational setting I am the only teacher in my department and the only time I
can interact with other teachers with similar content is during professional learning community
meetings. These meetings occur only once a month and often have a strict agenda that we must
progress through. Reading your post reminds me of the importance community plays in
supporting reform and social change. According to Mertler (2020) educators should include
students, stakeholders, other educators, or administration when looking to make a change.
Educators can rely on these groups to gain new perspective, discuss ideas, and collaborate to
make informed decisions. According to Ostovar-Nameghi and Sheikhahmadi (2016) teacher
collaboration can be beneficial to supporting teacher self-efficacy, improving teachers
effectiveness, and increasing positive behaviors. Moving forward I can rely more on these
groups to support my practice and help promote social change and reform. I can work with other
educators in different content areas to gain ideas to connect curriculum. I can meet outside our
scheduled meeting time with my professional learning community. Stacey is collaboration
something that is easy for you in your setting? If not what challenges do you face?
References
Ostovar-Nameghi, S. A., & Sheikhahmadi, M. (2016). From Teacher Isolation to Teacher
Collaboration: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings. English Language
Teaching, 9(5), 197-205.
Mertler, C. A. (2020). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.).
Sage.

Sara,
After reading your discussion post I can see that my definition of traditional research differs
from yours, however your definition has helped reshaped my original understanding. Prior to
reading your discussion I saw traditional research as research that existed in the form of articles,
journals, and other publications on topics related to the field. Your interpretation while similar
also included professional development opportunities that are guided by research in the field. I
believe that your interpretation has helped me not only gain a new understanding of this term,
but also see the importance action research can play in educators professional practice. As
teachers we often are presented opportunities to learn more about topics through professional
development opportunities. These opportunities can be beneficial to educators, however the ideas
should not be considered universal as each classroom differs in the students that make it up,
students’ ability levels, and technology present in the classroom. This is why action research is
so important to the field of education, because it enables educators to conduct research of their
own and determine what is effective and what is not. According to Mertler (2020) action
research is conducted by teachers with an interest in improving their school, their practice, or
support student learning. Moving forward I will include professional development in my list of
traditional research platforms. Have you found information in a professional development
session to not be applicable to your classroom?
References
Mertler, C. A. (2020). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.).
Sage.