I was thinking about what might help all of you folks, and my thoughts went to the end, that project that you'll be sharing in April both in person and online. We all have different approaches, but one thing I thought of was the potential value of keeping a research journal (or blog) as your work unfolds. Sure, it's valuable to help guide and keep track of thinking, but it's also valuable for producing a project. Imagine being able to draw on the quotes you can pull from observation notes and journal entries as you've been going through this work.
So if you're not keeping a journal - be it on paper, blog, or nifty iPad, then think about it. It might be worth it.
Here's a link for all to some NWP articles on teacher research:
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource_topic/teacher_research_inquiry
Journaling gets a number of mentions.
I have been journaling on my laptop after each lab lesson (I've only had 2), but it's helping me to focus in and see where my issues are and reminding me what to do next. I just created a blog for the class I'm taking with Ken, I think I might add my project to that blog and it'll all be in one place. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Dave. I started a journal today. It's also a place for me to keep track of all the ideas that come to me at odd times. I think this will be a big help.
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