thesisthoughts

This week, school holidays for Passover,  I met with the teachers from N for a full day seminar. As we couldn’t meet at the teachers’ center, we met at my school. There are many benefits in this, including the use of our wonderfully equipped computer room and the friendly, educational environment (which we certainly don’t have this year at the center which is always “just about to be done up”). There is much to discuss about where external PL meetings take place and how the surroundings can contribute or hinder learning. An interesting comparison I should make is the experience I have this year at the two teachers’ centers, K and N.

Anyway, this time we met at my school, we began with hot coffee and cakes I brought with me. With 100% attendance (very rare, especially in school holidays) we began the seminar.

The day was divided into two parts – the first dealing with the digital text and the effect of the Internet on writing and the second on connections between reading and writing.

We began with a brilliant piece from You-tube, one I was introduced to by Ilana Snyder in the course I studied with her at Monash.

This piece has so much in it that I could have based a whole two hour workshop / lecture on it and still not touch all of the information and messages contained. The workshop was successful with very lively participation from all the participants (including those closer to the web and those that are barely computer literate).

My frustration with the Hebrew language surfaced again. Why aren’t there materials such as these being developed here daily? Why isn’t more material being translated?  When I bring something in English (even a cartoon), there is always tension in the air. Israeli teachers as a rule are threatened by the English language and would prefer not to use their knowledge in their learning, despite the fact that most have a fairly good grasp of the language.

Together we explored what our curriculum has to say about digital texts. I was surprised that most of the participants had not noticed these pages before. Then we moved on to a document that none of the participants knew existed, the standards booklet for  learning in an ICT environment. The necessary link between literacy teachers and the digital world out there is just not being formed. I got the impression that even the teachers who are technologically independent and do use computers and the Web in their teaching, have never dealt with the changes occurring in written language.

They were all interested and active and one of the senior teachers from my school commented that I must do the seminar (or at least part of it, with all the teachers at our school). I was satisfied that the questions were raised and that the topic is now “on the table”.

Two questions that need to be addressed, and of course were raised in the group are 1. the digital divide: “It’s not such a big deal at a school like this which teaches children from well off homes…” or “At our school there are no computers in the classroom and we don’t have lessons in the computer room…”   and 2. The expectation that teachers become more computer literate: “We have many teacher at our school that don’t know anything about computers, they are scared of them. How can they be expected to teach these things to the kids?”.

We then moved on to discuss the positive impact technology can have on student motivation to write. When I discussed blogs (explaining from the beginning as most had no idea what I was talking about) they were shocked by the possibilities. I could see that some of the teachers began racing in their minds what they can do with this new option, but others concentrated on the “why nots”: “My class is too big”‘, “I don’t have time to read all the writing and comment before it is posted”, “Who has time to check a blog every day and run it?”

I proudly presented the blog I am running for my students, I can’t wait to use blogging in other groups and classes next year.  

The second part of the day was dedicated to the connections between reading and writing. For a moment I was disappointed that I couldn’t show the powerpoint presentation I had prepared and then I realized that I didn’t need it. As a result the teachers talked more and I talked less – always a better situation.

As a starter they worked in pairs and prepared a venn diagram to present how reading and writing are similar and different. The discussion was very fruitful and the diagrams were very varied. I will scan them and post them on the virtual campus. We then opened up the discussion in the whole group. Later on I presented the research that has been done in the field and presented examples of work that can be done in the classroom, every day, to strengthen the connections between reading and writing. The aim is of course  to reinforce both writing and reading, and of course, thinking.

The most disturbing part of the discussion for me was when teachers who know how to combine the two spoke of how after “The Reading Wars”, they believed (or were specifically told) that everything they did in their Whole Language classrooms must be disregarded. As a result, they have been teaching reading very differently and writing has been totally separate. Some of the teachers in grades 1 & 2 commented that they thought that they weren’t allowed to ask the children to write until they “finished teaching reading” (Is that ever completed?). As the pendulum swings backwards and forwards, it seems that the more teachers are confused, and the less time is spent in real teacher learning, the results in the classroom are more destructive.  

 That’s it for today…

I am happy that I have taken another step in the direction of getting re-enrolled. Filling in all the forms and having my certificates and passport all certified by a notary was a bit of a hassle, but of course the main difficulty was getting the proposal summary down on paper. When they asked for 200 or so words, I had no idea what kind of text was expected. Sending it off to my supervisor was very helpful as it was only when I started to receive his comments that I felt my brain cells getting back into order. After three revisions, I am happier with the summary but realize that it is only the diving board.

As soon as I sent the envelope off, I realized that the question I wrote last may be the one which is the most original and interesting.

Big news!

I am planning to travel to Australia in July. I am excited by the very thought and can’t wait to see family and friends. It will be strange to arrive at Monash university and to meet the people who helped me through my MEd studies and will be accompanying me on my journey to my PhD.

In addition, I would love to attend the AATE conference in Tasmania. It would be a great opportunity to hear some interesting lectures and do some face to face learning.

With all this excitement going on and my burning desire to get stuck into studying, work is a tiny bit on the boring side (I can’t even bear to admit it to myself)

The other night I spoke to my thesis supervisor on the phone for the first time. Although we worked together on my thesis for almost a year and he both taught me one unit in the past and helped me publish an article, we have never met and never spoken on the phone. Distance learning is such an interesting phenomenon…

Talking on the phone is so different to email conversations which allow a slower pace, to stop and recollect your thoughts and present questions and answers in an organized fashion. As I have become accustomed to doing all of my professional “talking” in writing, I was quite nervous before the phone rang.

We had an interesting telephone conversation and I managed to gain a lot of interesting points to think about concerning my examiners’ reports and my thesis in general. Probably the most important part of the chat was that we began to discuss the where to from here??? questions.

It is now clear that the time has come to make the big decision about continuing my study as a doctoral student. If I’m going to do it there seems that there isn’t much point in waiting. My workload isn’t going to get any lighter in the near future. The framework will help me find the time for pursuing the journey I feel I must continue.

Decisions, decisions….

I’m off to the swimming pool for my last day of lifesaving duty. Autumn is well and truly here and it really is too cool to go into the water. Maybe I’ll be able to sit there alone for an hour or two to continue work on the article I am trying to edit.

Free images from: http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=167861 and  http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=251940

Well, my waiting is over and I am extremely happy with the grade I received for my thesis (to say the least!). In addition to the mark, I understand that the thorough and extensive feedback I received from both examiners is an honour. I was surprised to see my work being treated so seriously and will definately follow up each of the points presented.

I have read both reports several times and my head is swimming with thoughts about the incredible process I have undegone and about the work I have produced. Thought about the future are also beginning to arise.

I will be back in the next few days, I need to reflect here in writing.  I imagine my thoughts will slowly unravel soon. Maybe the fireworks in my head are making it difficult to think? Or… maybe it is school which is making me fuzzy…

I can’t believe that my thesis has been handed in and that this enormous task is behind me.

It has been over a month since I blogged because I was just reading, writing and revising 20 or so hours a day. I was exhausted but more than that, I was riding an emotional roller-coaster. The closer I got to finishing, the more excited and nervous I became. On the one hand I was waiting to submit the piece and be done with it and on the other, I was upset that I was leaving this incredible learning experience behind. Tears of joy, achievement, pride, frustration and worry all joined, I found it hard to describe my feelings.

Now I have many questions to explore. After a year off school and my job as leader of professional development, I am going back to work full time. How will I manage to keep up my professional learning in formal and informal frameworks? Will I continue this blog which was essentially a study tool or will I begin a new work blog? I imagine that this will all become clear to me in the next few weeks.

This blog has taken on a role very different from that intended at the outset. I thought I was opening this site as a means of recording my study notes but it has become far more than that. Blogging has helped me develop my identity as a teacher and as a researcher, it has helped me think and reflect. My writing here has brought me into a community of edubloggers, wonderful people who, as I wrote in my thesis “have let me into their hearts and into their classrooms”.

I want to thank you for reading my work. I never imagined that anyone would find this blog and would take the time to read it. You have all made a great contribution to my study and to my thesis on professional learning for teachers. I appreciate you giving me your precious time, the flowers at the top are for you! 

 The next step is preparing my thesis for journal publication, another step in this wonderful endless journey of professional learning.

But… today I am on lifeguard duty at the pool… an exhausting experience of a totally different kind.

 Image from: http://www.fromyouflowers.com/images/products/new_large/TFWEB165.jpg

OK, it looks from my blog that things are slowing down but I’m not so sure.

What have I been doing?

I have written a narrative,  around 3000 words so far, about writing in my own personal experience and the forming of my professional identity. I am waiting for feedback on my methodology chapter and I already know it needs work.

 Literature Review 

I have been reading everything available on the role of writing in teacher PD and identity. A lot deals with reflective practice. I am noticing some kind of patterning in the lit and have tried organizing the materials into a diagram. Now I plan going back to the books and articles I have read in order to check my diagram and enter article names and dates. If this works, this is a major breakthrough.

One point particularly relevant to me at this stage is the extra benefits of collaborative writing and written conversation. The more I read and compare these processes with the almost solitary work I am doing, the more frustrated I get.

All  in all I am very happy with my learning and am busy trying to work out what I’m going to do with all of this in the real world.  One thing I’m sure of – the professional learning activities I organize for teachers will never be the same again…

More about changing the world later!

Questions for the Lit Review – Diagram from the NSWU Learning Centre

                    (Not all relevant for my work)

My first draft of the methodology chapter is almost finished…

Probably be back to blogging here next week.

Yesterday I reread Laurel Richardson’s chapter in the Handbook of Qualitative Research and it imbued me with a burning desire to finalise my thesis direction and get going. I have several options open and I really need to decide. The chapter helped me realise (yet again!) that until I begin writing I won’t know what I really know and won’t be able to grasp how able I am to do the job.

The reading I have done in the past two months have convinced me that narrative will be a central feature of my work (my narratives? teacher narratives?). Writing from an involved position seems natural to me now – I can’t believe that a year ago I was looking up the rules of “don’t dare to use the personal “I” in your academic writing”.

During the past weeks I have expressed my concerns about the validity of the work I will be doing and about my claim to authority (How will anyone ever take my work seriously? Who am I to produce an academic text?). Reading Kamler & Thomson (2006), Helping doctoral students write: Pedagogies for supervision (thank goodness for ebooks) boosted my confidence as did Parr’s article (2007), “Writing and practitioner inquiry: Thinking relationally”.

Laurel Richardson’s discussion of the post modernist view of authoritative knowledge took me one step further.

“The postmodernist context of doubt, then, distrusts all methods equally. No method has a privileged status…a postmodernist position does allow us to know “something” without claiming to know everything. Having a partial, local, historical knowledge is still knowing” (p. 928). Richardson reassuringly reminds us that we don’t need to “write a single text in which we say everything at once to everyone” (p. 929).

I am grateful to Laurel Richardson for these encouraging words. Work like that I CAN DO! I do know something, I even know quite a bit! Yes, my knowledge is “partial” (but involves up to  20 years of teaching, school administration and teacher mentoring), it is “local” (I can relate to my own education in Melbourne, Australia and to my work experience in the north of Israel), and it is “historical” (My personal experiences as a pupil go back 30+ years and my professional experience spans several upheavals in the battle over teaching literacy). I do know, all teachers know. My task will be to critically examine that knowledge in order to personally grow from it and maybe also interest others on the way.

I am hoping to succeed in writing a readable and interesting report, one Richardson would call “vital” (p. 924), a text which would “make a difference” (p. 924). I aim to write for my colleagues, literacy teachers and teacher educators – real people in a real world, not necessarily for the university library.

I can’t see myself experimenting with fictional or poetic genres although I found the fictional story-diary I wrote in Graham Parr’s unit challenging and stimulating. Richardson explains the use of the metaphor in social-science writing and gives an exercise on it at the end of the chapter. I want to devote some time to this. What metaphor would I chose for the teaching of writing? What metaphors would upper primary school pupils choose to describe the task of composition?

What are my thesis options as I see them at this time?

• Autoethnography – examining my personal experiences of learning and teaching writing in order to discover patterns and themes which may well be relevant to teaching done by others.
• Narrative Inquiry – examining personal teaching experience through field texts gathered from other teachers (I’ll have to find Aussie teachers somehow) – email conversations or blog entries mainly I presume. I’ll have to decide whether I am researching from the sidelines or become personally involved in the process and the content. The involved stance interests me more.

Still more questions than answers…decision time is definitely here!

Richardson, L. (2000). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2^nd ed., pp. 923-948). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

I have been recommended this book and have just started reading it – hope it gives me some confidence in my academic writing skills.

Ilana Snyder wrote a chapter in the new Encyclopedia of language and education called “Research approaches to the study of literacy, technology and learning”. The chapter is basically a literature review of surveying relevant issues which have been studied in the past 30 years. Reading the chapter was recommended to me after my disappointment in my last assignment. 

The text is organized, the reader is informed of the author’s aims and the section headings help the reader navigate his or her way through the large number of studies presented. The information is organized chronologically but within each time period studies are grouped together by research methods and other relevant factors.  

The subheadings are:

1. Introduction
2. Early developments (1978 – 1993)
3. Major contributions (1990’s)
4. Work in progress (2002 – )
5. Problems and difficulties
6. Future directions

* The dates are not part of the headings.

I will be able to use this text as an example when writing literature reviews in the future. I must say that I don’t feel confident that I will ever be able to reach this level of clarity and comprehensibility.

Snyder, I.(2008). Research approaches to the study of literacy, technology and learning. In K. A. King & N. H. Hornberger (Eds), Encyclopedia of language and education Volume 10: Research methods in language and education (2^nd ed. pp. 299-308). Springer science and business media LLC.