Week 3

Well I'm going into week three and I'm getting stressed about the mini action research project. I know how to do it I believe. I just think that that I may be stressed for time to get it done. It is also kind of loose still with regard to development so that makes me feel out of control. My tiny outline is below:

Action Research Proposal

What are the impacts of student blogging on improving student writing at the elementary level?

Qualitative Data Collection
Interview of two teachers that have embraced blogging as an instructional tool with their class to capture their perceptions of blogging and its role in improving student writing.
Interview of 5-10 students per class to gather data regarding their attitudes toward blogging and their level of engagement with regard to writing.

Research Questions:
What are the main purposes of a the classroom blogs?
What aspects of blogging do teachers feel contribute to improving student writing?
What evidence does the teacher have that indicates blogging is a successful instructional tool?
What are the attitudes of the students with regard to the classroom blog?
Have

The Context:
A multiage classroom of 2nd and 3rd grade and a 4th grade classroom
District has 6% free and reduced lunch rate and a low percentage of ELL students
96% of students have computers at home with access to the Internet. All school computers have access to the Internet.

I'm sure I'll change it 50 more times, but it is a start and I still have a few months left to finish.

We have also been talking about power. We read the article Subject and Power by Michael Foucault. I found it somewhat challenging to read as it is very philosophical and circular. However here is my muse as a result:

How can we manage power when the continuum of evil power and good power is based so heavily on subjective perceptions of the context in which it occurs?

This question resonates with me with regard to the current climate of immigration and Sherrif Joe. It is how power has gone arwy in light of the current anti-terriorism climate. The sad part is anti terriorism in this context is just a screen as the focus is solely on Mexicans and in my mind racially motivated. It is a hate crime committed by elected officialls and wrongfully supported in the name of securing borders. Why wasn't I stopped in the current roundup I witnessed. I could be an illegal Canadian, but it looks like only the Mexicans get caught in Arizona. So, Canadians, English, Scottish, or whoever else--come one come all as long as you look white.