Meghan Mosher's ePORTFOLIO
Step 6—Reporting Results
It is often said that teaching is a lonely endeavor. It is doubly sad that so many teachers are left alone in their classrooms to reinvent the wheel on a daily basis. The loneliness of teaching is unfortunate not only because of its inefficiency, but also because when dealing with complex problems the wisdom of several minds is inevitably better than one.
During my digital learning project I frequently discussed my results and compared them with other biology teachers whose students were engaged in the same assignment. As a group we had all noticed that the students who had created websites had earned higher scores and created better products. We have discussed strategies to better help support our students in engaging in digital learning, and frequently share resources. The results of my project will also be discussed with the other teachers engaged in the Digital Learning cohort.
Step 7—Taking Informed Action
Taking informed action, or “action planning,” the last step in the action research process, is very familiar to most teachers. When teachers write lesson plans or develop academic programs, they are engaged in the action planning process. What makes action planning particularly satisfying for the teacher researcher is that with each piece of data uncovered (about teaching or student learning) the educator will feel greater confidence in the wisdom of the next steps. Although all teaching can be classified as trial and error, action researchers find that the research process liberates them from continuously repeating their past mistakes. More important, with each refinement of practice, action researchers gain valid and reliable data on their developing virtuosity.
Implications
I have realized that when offering students the opportunity to engage in digital learning that I need to initially take stock of their experience using specific digital tools. I also need to be prepared to offer a variety of scaffolds for students who are accessing the technology from different entry points. I am hoping to create a space on my class website that will act as a resource bank for digital learning, including videos and tutorials on how to construct websites, among other topics. Finally, it is because of my students who struggled with website construction that I chose to create a website to display my digital learning project. Through the many, many, hours that I spent creating this website, I am both more sympathetic and understanding of my students as well as more prepared to offer advice on website creation. Digital tools have come a long since I first created my own Angel Fire website using html code in 1999.