I expect to use a great many books without pictures or conversations in the course of EDUC 5115: Research Methods.
Selected text and imagery from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll (public domain).
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Who Am I, and Who Am I Becoming?
Who Am I, and Who Am I Becoming?
An EDUC 5115 Reflection
At this point in my learning, I feel a great deal like Alice — adrift in unfamiliar terrain, surrounded by competing voices and expectations, and trying to make sense of rules that seem to shift depending on where I stand. As both a teacher and an emerging researcher, I find myself navigating overlapping demands from home, school, and my own professional learning, all while being asked to pause and articulate who I am in relation to knowledge, inquiry, and practice.
Research, much like Wonderland, can feel disorienting at first. There are new languages to learn, unfamiliar pathways to follow, and an ever-present sense that everyone else has received a map I somehow missed. Yet, as Alice discovers, disorientation is not failure — it is often the first sign that meaningful learning is about to occur.
As a teacher, I am accustomed to seeking order, structure, and purpose for my students. As a researcher, I am learning to sit with uncertainty: to ask better questions rather than rush toward tidy answers; to notice patterns amid apparent chaos; and to accept that inquiry is iterative, partial, and deeply human. EDUC 5115 is inviting me to hold these identities together, even when they feel in tension.
This course represents a pause at the edge of the rabbit hole — a moment to look closely at how I make sense of experience, whose voices I privilege, and how research can serve as a tool not only for understanding education, but for improving it. If I feel overwhelmed, it is because the questions matter. And like Alice, I am learning that curiosity, persistence, and reflection may be the most reliable compass I have.
Here we go.
My Learning Goals for this Course
My Learning Goals for this Course
Through EDUC 5115, I aim to:
Through EDUC 5115, I aim to:
Explore my evolving identity as a teacher and as a researcher, recognizing that both are relational, contextual, and continually in formation.
Develop a meaningful understanding of positionality and how my experiences, values, and beliefs shape the questions I ask, the methods I choose, and the knowledge I construct.
Move beyond reflection toward ongoing reflexivity, attending to how my thinking, actions, and relationships shift throughout the research process.
Learn to sit with uncertainty and complexity in research, resisting the urge for premature clarity or overly tidy conclusions.
Strengthen my capacity to engage critically with educational research, with particular attention to methodology, ethics, and voice.
Use research as a tool for improving practice, not just producing knowledge—connecting inquiry to the lived realities of teaching and learning.
Course Expectations & Commitments
Course Expectations & Commitments
As I journey through EDUC 5115, I commit to:
As I journey through EDUC 5115, I commit to:
Engaging thoughtfully with course readings, resources, and discussions, approaching them as entry points into inquiry rather than sources of definitive answers.
Participating openly in community spaces, recognizing learning as relational and dialogic, shaped by the voices and experiences of others.
Documenting my learning through a digital research journal, using it as a space to think aloud, make sense of ideas, and trace shifts in my understanding.
Embracing reflexivity as an ongoing practice, continually asking:
Who am I in this moment?
How do I relate to others and to the research?
How might this shape my future practice?
Balancing the demands of home, school, and study while remaining intentional, ethical, and curious in my work.
Accepting moments of disorientation, overwhelm, and ambiguity as integral to the research process, rather than evidence of inadequacy.
If this feels at times like a caucus race — everyone moving, no clear starting point, and the rules still emerging — I will remind myself that inquiry rarely moves in straight lines, and that curiosity remains the most valuable guide.
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