Reflection
Conducting Action Research as the culmination of the one-year Masters Credential Cohort has been a transformative experience in my journey in becoming an educator.
One size does not fit all
As a teacher, I learned to broaden my perspectives and be willing to try new things. Opening up the door for students to share their input creates a remarkable sense of community in the classroom and helps my personal development as an educator. I will continue to encourage and create time for reflection using a mixture of both open-ended and guided prompts. I will allow myself to be surprised by what I may find. I also learned as a teacher that everyone has their own way of doing things. I have learned to continue to think about how I best learn in order to guide my teaching, while also being open to going out of my comfort zone and doing things differently.
In brainstorming research topics, I wanted to investigate the effects of meditation in the classroom through a mindfulness-based curriculum. I approached this research with a strong conviction: Meditation and mindfulness will work. I was convinced that every student, given the opportunity, would benefit from mediation and mindfulness practices if they simply try. As a dog with a bone, I did not want to admit that meditation, as I know it, was not for everyone.
I was astutely advised to broaden my viewpoint, incorporating aspects of brain-based learning in order to uncover why this method works. Phase One clearly showed that one size does not fit all, supporting the idea that I needed to expand my research beyond traditional meditation. Phase Two further opened up my eyes to the complexity of my students. Adopting this frame of mind can greatly contribute to my growth as an educator, both as a classroom teacher and a yoga instructor.
One size does not fit all
As a teacher, I learned to broaden my perspectives and be willing to try new things. Opening up the door for students to share their input creates a remarkable sense of community in the classroom and helps my personal development as an educator. I will continue to encourage and create time for reflection using a mixture of both open-ended and guided prompts. I will allow myself to be surprised by what I may find. I also learned as a teacher that everyone has their own way of doing things. I have learned to continue to think about how I best learn in order to guide my teaching, while also being open to going out of my comfort zone and doing things differently.
In brainstorming research topics, I wanted to investigate the effects of meditation in the classroom through a mindfulness-based curriculum. I approached this research with a strong conviction: Meditation and mindfulness will work. I was convinced that every student, given the opportunity, would benefit from mediation and mindfulness practices if they simply try. As a dog with a bone, I did not want to admit that meditation, as I know it, was not for everyone.
I was astutely advised to broaden my viewpoint, incorporating aspects of brain-based learning in order to uncover why this method works. Phase One clearly showed that one size does not fit all, supporting the idea that I needed to expand my research beyond traditional meditation. Phase Two further opened up my eyes to the complexity of my students. Adopting this frame of mind can greatly contribute to my growth as an educator, both as a classroom teacher and a yoga instructor.
Follow your passion
As a student and a learner, I learned to ask questions without fear, as well as heed the advice of my wise mentors. I learned incorporating my personal interests into my studies, exploring topics I am personally and professionally invested in, will keep me engaged in the process. It will also allow me to further explore my passions, delving deep into the educational implications and investigating how I can integrate them into my classroom.
My research topic was a direct result of my personal journey in becoming a yogi. For much of my life, I suffered from anxiety. I was stuck in the “rat race for control” (Inoue, 2012), grasping for any means of control. I shied away from experiences that would force me to self-reflect. I was consumed with others’ perceptions of me. I deeply relate to many of my students, whom struggle with similar issues.
My studies in becoming a yoga instructor, along with my personal dedication to a daily practice of meditation and mindfulness, have greatly contributed to my social and emotional growth. I have noticed this growth has also helped unleash my academic abilities as well, allowing me to be more open to new experiences. Because of this, I was personally invested in the research with a firm belief in the efficacy of these workshops. Aligning my research with my passion allowed me to connect with my students on a deep level.
As a student and a learner, I learned to ask questions without fear, as well as heed the advice of my wise mentors. I learned incorporating my personal interests into my studies, exploring topics I am personally and professionally invested in, will keep me engaged in the process. It will also allow me to further explore my passions, delving deep into the educational implications and investigating how I can integrate them into my classroom.
My research topic was a direct result of my personal journey in becoming a yogi. For much of my life, I suffered from anxiety. I was stuck in the “rat race for control” (Inoue, 2012), grasping for any means of control. I shied away from experiences that would force me to self-reflect. I was consumed with others’ perceptions of me. I deeply relate to many of my students, whom struggle with similar issues.
My studies in becoming a yoga instructor, along with my personal dedication to a daily practice of meditation and mindfulness, have greatly contributed to my social and emotional growth. I have noticed this growth has also helped unleash my academic abilities as well, allowing me to be more open to new experiences. Because of this, I was personally invested in the research with a firm belief in the efficacy of these workshops. Aligning my research with my passion allowed me to connect with my students on a deep level.
You must know that I, being in the stage of my life that I am, am relatively malleable by people I trust and respect…I learned the most from you this year: I learned about research, the 'real world' of work, meditation, and how I can use it to balance myself. I learned how to deal with difficult people in all their complexities, and I learned I loved learning and working with you (Focus Student).
Students can feel when their teacher is truly invested. I encourage all teacher researchers to align your research with your passion. Most importantly, allow yourself to be surprised by the outcome.
You will never know the answer to a question unless you are willing to ask
As a researcher, I learned to recognize challenges in the classroom and approach them through a question-oriented procedure. Instead of immediately relying on existing research that someone else has already done, I will ask the questions and try to find my own solution.
Challenges in the classroom are inevitable for all teachers. One of the biggest obstacles I faced during this research was the fear I was overcome with at the beginning of Phase One. Through an emphasis on the brain literacy workshops, I felt my plan repackaged meditation into a more palatable approach for a school setting. While the designed plan for the research focused on these brain literacy workshops, I began to worry my personal bias would lead me to push meditation onto the students.
Following the Introduction to Mindfulness workshop, I was overcome by a sense of trepidation. In spite of the open-minded nature of my school, in light of the lawsuits against the Encinitas Union School District’s yoga program, I grew hesitant in unrolling meditation into the classroom. I found myself fearful, apprehensive of pushback from students, parents or other faculty. This led to me modifying my well thought out plan. As I slowly introduced meditation into the classroom, I was quickly reminded why I wanted to conduct this research in the first place.
This experience has taught me to remain strong in my convictions, but to not fear modifications when necessary. The advice to broaden my narrow focus of traditional meditation proved invaluable, as it opened up my research, allowing for students to gain a deeper understanding of themselves as well as develop their own methods. As educators, we must be willing to take risks to overcome our fears, and be willing to propose the difficult questions.
99 percent practice, one percent theory
The most profound impact of this research can be found in my continual development of personal theories of education. Though I had been working as a yoga instructor prior to beginning this whirlwind program, I had close to zero experience in a traditional classroom setting. My personal theories were heavily shaped, if not entirely constructed, by existing academic theories. If you were to have asked me to identify my personal theory of education, I would have recited Bandura’s Self-Efficacy and Expectancy Value Theory, or perhaps Deci’s Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic motivators.
Though the learning of academic theories and exploring existing research are important, I feel they mean nothing until you try to apply them to your own practice, in your own classroom. While I can gain valuable insight from existing academic research and theories, I can continue to develop my own personal theories through conducting my own research. There is no better place to gather research than my own classroom.
“99 percent practice, one percent theory”, says Sri K Pattabhi Jois, the father of Ashtanga Yoga. I feel we can fall trap to relying too heavily on existing research and theory. We can use these as a crutch that can get in the way of introspective thinking. Conducting research in my own classroom forces me to challenge my own core beliefs. Examining what is going on inside of my mind can be daunting. However, it is essential for personal and professional growth, as well as connecting with my students on a true and meaningful level. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have conducted Action Research and look forward to continue performing research in my classroom this coming school year.
To return to the Limitations, please click here
To return to my Action Research Home Page, please click here
You will never know the answer to a question unless you are willing to ask
As a researcher, I learned to recognize challenges in the classroom and approach them through a question-oriented procedure. Instead of immediately relying on existing research that someone else has already done, I will ask the questions and try to find my own solution.
Challenges in the classroom are inevitable for all teachers. One of the biggest obstacles I faced during this research was the fear I was overcome with at the beginning of Phase One. Through an emphasis on the brain literacy workshops, I felt my plan repackaged meditation into a more palatable approach for a school setting. While the designed plan for the research focused on these brain literacy workshops, I began to worry my personal bias would lead me to push meditation onto the students.
Following the Introduction to Mindfulness workshop, I was overcome by a sense of trepidation. In spite of the open-minded nature of my school, in light of the lawsuits against the Encinitas Union School District’s yoga program, I grew hesitant in unrolling meditation into the classroom. I found myself fearful, apprehensive of pushback from students, parents or other faculty. This led to me modifying my well thought out plan. As I slowly introduced meditation into the classroom, I was quickly reminded why I wanted to conduct this research in the first place.
This experience has taught me to remain strong in my convictions, but to not fear modifications when necessary. The advice to broaden my narrow focus of traditional meditation proved invaluable, as it opened up my research, allowing for students to gain a deeper understanding of themselves as well as develop their own methods. As educators, we must be willing to take risks to overcome our fears, and be willing to propose the difficult questions.
99 percent practice, one percent theory
The most profound impact of this research can be found in my continual development of personal theories of education. Though I had been working as a yoga instructor prior to beginning this whirlwind program, I had close to zero experience in a traditional classroom setting. My personal theories were heavily shaped, if not entirely constructed, by existing academic theories. If you were to have asked me to identify my personal theory of education, I would have recited Bandura’s Self-Efficacy and Expectancy Value Theory, or perhaps Deci’s Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic motivators.
Though the learning of academic theories and exploring existing research are important, I feel they mean nothing until you try to apply them to your own practice, in your own classroom. While I can gain valuable insight from existing academic research and theories, I can continue to develop my own personal theories through conducting my own research. There is no better place to gather research than my own classroom.
“99 percent practice, one percent theory”, says Sri K Pattabhi Jois, the father of Ashtanga Yoga. I feel we can fall trap to relying too heavily on existing research and theory. We can use these as a crutch that can get in the way of introspective thinking. Conducting research in my own classroom forces me to challenge my own core beliefs. Examining what is going on inside of my mind can be daunting. However, it is essential for personal and professional growth, as well as connecting with my students on a true and meaningful level. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have conducted Action Research and look forward to continue performing research in my classroom this coming school year.
To return to the Limitations, please click here
To return to my Action Research Home Page, please click here