Module 8...Coda

Throughout the last 8 weeks, there has been a plethora of knowledge put in my lap.  While I must admit I did feel overwhelmed most of the time, I do feel that I have learned A LOT since taking this class.

Every week there were readings from the Phillips (2008), Mertler (2012), and other attached PDFs that needed to be completed.  I appreciate the variety of text that was utilized in this class as it gave a number of different ways to present most of the same knowledge.  I constantly spoke of the text of Phillips and Mertler in these blog entries about how they presented items.  While Phillips was music specific, Mertler spoke to me on a more humanistic level for this class.  All of the text that was read during this class has taught me something; they just approached things differently.  The plethora of videos that were provided throughout this course helped to clarify many different aspects of the research process.  The weekly “spot-light” videos on prominent figures in music education were very interesting.  I definitely learned some very interesting things about these people.  My favorite was the Bennett Reimer video…I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his musical journey through life!

APA format has become my new best friend with the help of the OWL website.  I had limited use of it in college.  I remember using it in one class during a specific unit.  In high school, MLA was the source of choice, as well as in my rhetoric classes in college.  I am thankful that research in music education has come in the first semester of my degree program.  I am sure APA will be utilized extensively as I continue in the program.  I hope to become more fluent in its approach as time progresses and I utilize it even more.

I have realized that research is much more organized and detail-oriented than I had originally thought.  I always thought people just sat down and started typing, reading, and studying.  I now realize that there is more to qualitative and quantitative data.  There are specific types of these research studies that require a very specific process.  It actually took me a few weeks to realize that these mini-assignments we had been given were parts to a research project that would later be combined.  Not only am I more familiar with how research works, I am also more familiar with issues that I face on a day-to-day basis in my school.  Reading the research regarding strategies for urban band programs has helped me to think differently about my approach to certain aspects of my job.

In regards to the Phillips (2008) text for this week, I believe that teacher participation in research is absolutely essential.  I, personally, think it is atrocious that politics determine educational decisions.  I am a music teacher…do I tell a microbiologist how to do his job? No.  It is time that teachers be given the opportunity to change the way education is approached.  With that being said, it is time that teachers take responsibility for being part of the bigger solution with open arms.  I do not think that integrating research into our classrooms is going to be easy, but action research is definitely doable.  Teachers can work together by grade level or subject specialty in order to better the education of students.  I believe that if there were undergraduate classes that focused on research (as tedious and time-consuming as it is), young teachers would be much better prepared to go to the literature for suggestions.  Young teachers would also be prepared to have the skill necessary to conduct a research study.  At this point, I do believe that I would consider an action study for my capstone project, however, I am in my first semester and that could change as time progresses.

While I am glad that the plethora of written work is over for this class, I am happy that I had this experience.  It has opened my eyes to the process of educational research and I believe it has helped me to become a better teacher.  I look forward to integrating new approaches into my teaching as a result of the research in this class.