This artifact is the final draft of the Results section of my action research paper titled Socratic Circles in Middle School Science: Impact on Cognitive Engagement and Discussion Depth. This Results section was completed in the class 606 Action Research in Education--Advanced, which was taught by Susan Hughes and Chris Bakkum in the spring of 2018. The goal of the course was to guide students in completing and reflecting on their action research papers in preparation for presentation of their findings during Proseminar. Each student gathered the results of their research and, after much analysis, presented the findings in the results section. The results section is pivotal to the action research process. Without accurate and well-organized results, it is difficult to analyze the results of your study and evaluate the findings. Students also learn how important it is to dig into the data below the superficial level to really understand the story the data tells. The InTASC Standard that this artifact aligns with is Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice, because the process of gathering data and then analyzing that data to present in an action research study was a perfect opportunity for me to learn professionally using evidence as well as seeing how my practice is affecting my students.

The process of gathering and analyzing the data for the results section has really helped me to strengthen the use of data in my role as an instructional coach. Realistically, much of my job is working with teachers to analyze their classroom data and then creating a plan of action to increase student learning. The depth of research in the action research process has helped me to better understand how to use data in my coaching cycles to come up with better goals with my teachers.

I was limited in my previous understanding of types of data that could be used for analysis, but after completing the results section, I have developed a better understanding that data does not have to encompass the traditional quantitative number data that I always seemed to fall back on. I have developed a new respect for qualitative data which can be just as important when working with many different classroom environments. Using qualitative data for making educational plans can have just as much student impact as using quantitative data.

This artifact is the final draft of the Discussion section of my action research paper titled Socratic Circles in Middle School Science: Impact on Cognitive Engagement and Discussion Depth. This Discussion section was completed in the same class as the Results section, 606 Action Research in Education--Advanced, taught by Susan Hughes and Chris Bakkum in the spring of 2018. The goal of the course was to guide students in completing and reflecting on their action research papers in preparation for presentation of their findings during Proseminar. After completing the Results section, students in this class developed the Discussion section to explain and interpret the results in more depth. The discussion section is important because it allows the writer to take the information in the results section and dissect it for trends and meaning to see what the results of the study really mean. The InTASC Standard that this artifact aligns with is Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice, because in order to truly understand the meaning of the results, you need to analyze the evidence to see the impact on the learners and then decide if it is something that is a quality future option or if it is worthy of more study.

It was very difficult for me at first to differentiate between the results and the discussion sections of the action research. I was so used to immediately and informally trying to interpret data from my coaching cycles, rather than taking the time to break it down and analyze it properly. I think the division of the two sections in the study helped me to slow my pace and do a better job at not jumping to conclusions with data. It also helped me to unearth some connections that I may not have noticed without careful dissection of the results by looking through the lens of discussion.

After this experience, I am looking forward to using more qualitative data in my coaching cycles along with the current quantitative data. I am also hoping that the process that I have been exposed to will help me to make better connections and dig just a bit deeper into the data implications than I have previously. I am hoping to help my teachers use data more effectively as well. Ultimately, my hope is that this will help to improve our impact on student learning, which is always our goal.

This artifact is the final draft of the Conclusion and Future Implications section of my action research paper titled Socratic Circles in Middle School Science: Impact on Cognitive Engagement and Discussion Depth. This Conclusion and Future Implications section was also completed in the class 606 Action Research in Education--Advanced, taught by Susan Hughes and Chris Bakkum in the spring of 2018. The goal of the course was to guide students in completing and reflecting on their action research papers in preparation for presentation of their findings during Proseminar. Upon completion of their Results and Discussion sections of their action research papers, students in this course concluded and reflected on their findings in the Conclusion and Future Implications section. This section asked the student to look back on all of their learning throughout the action research process and to reflect on the importance of the study, the lessons learned, and the future implications of research. This section is important because it sums up all the meaningful learning for the student throughout the study. The InTASC Standard that this artifact aligns with is Standard 9, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice, because the process of reflecting on the study and evaluating its impact are essential to assessing the effects of my teaching on the learning of my students.

I have become a true believer in the power of reflection to create change in practice, and the process of reflecting on the action research process in this section was a great way for me to think about how this process should change my current practice. I have explained previously that I will be using some of the things I have learned in my action research to tweak my current model of coaching cycles that I do every day as an instructional coach. I will also, obviously, be using Socratic circles more in my practice as well, but I think the biggest take-away from this section is for me to make it a point to set time aside to reflect on each of the coaching cycles I complete. I believe that this will help me to become a better coach by learning from both successes and mistakes, and it will hopefully help me to better recognize the best opportunities to impact student learning when those opportunities present themselves.

I think that this reflection at the end of the research process was a great way of culminating all the learning that I have experienced in this integral part of my master’s educational journey.