Body for

LIFEEmily BonnemortEDUC 612July, 2010

IntroductionTen years ago I decided to transform my life. One day I looked in the mirror

and realized my appearance was affecting my confidence. I decided to set off on a journey toward a healthier me. I am going to compare my journey as a learner, teacher, and teacher researcher to my weight loss experience. Both are never ending journeys that require reflection, dedication, and action.

Roadmap Myself as a Learner Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

help me acquire new knowledge.

Multiple approaches for healthy eating and exercise help me acquire my fitness goals.

My learning experiences in college helped me build my teaching foundation.

Body for Life helped me build my healthy lifestyle foundation.

Myself as a Teacher

My Professional Journey My Journey toward a healthy lifestyle

My lifelong desire to become a teacher inspired me to pursue my dream.

My lifelong desire to lose weight inspired me to achieve my fitness and weight loss goals.

Student teaching gave me the opportunity to practice and apply the strategies and knowledge I acquired in my education courses.

My first 12 weeks of training gave me the opportunity to practice and apply the strategies and knowledge I learned from reading Body for Life.

My first years of teaching were challenging. My first few months of changing my lifestyle were challenging.

Myself as a Teacher Hitting plateaus on my teaching journey

helped me reflect and take drastic actions to improve my teaching practice.

My Professional Journey My Journey toward a healthy lifestyle

Hitting plateaus on my weight loss journey helped me to reflect and take drastic actions to continue my progress.

My literacy coach empowered me to push my teaching to higher levels.

My personal trainer (coach) empowered me to push my physical fitness to higher levels.

Myself as a Teacher Researcher

Teacher research begins with reflection. Making lifestyle changes beings with reflection.

My new school, Timber Lane Elementary, served as my support system to help me grow professionally.

Weight Watchers served as my support system to help me continue toward my goals.

Learner

TeacherResearcher

Beginning my weight loss journey.

Reaching my goal weight…

Realizing I am complacent and need to set new goals to begin a new journey.

This cycle parallels my ongoing journey of maintaining a healthy lifestyle with my ongoing learning journey as a

teacher and teacher researcher.

I believe: ASSESSMENT· Formative, ongoing assessment informs and guides my teaching.

INFLUENCE· I cannot underestimate the power of my influence. What I choose to do and say in the classroom profoundly affects the ways children view me, themselves, and each other (Miller, 2008)

INTENTIONAL· Children learn best when the lessons I design are purposeful, interactive, engaging, and relate to their lives.

Belief StatementsMy beliefs guide my day to day work with my children. I try to be

intentional, thoughtful, and reflective about the decisions I make.

STEADY· The gradual release of responsibility instructional model, integrated into a workshop format, best guides children toward understanding and independence (Pearson and Gallegher, 1983).

MOTIVATIONAL· I am responsible to motivate students so that all have the opportunity to learn in an atmosphere conductive to their learning style.

CONFIDENCE· High expectations create an environment which can produce high achievers.

ONGOING· Ongoing professional development and continual self-evaluation and reflection improve teaching.

Myself as a Learner

Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles Strengths and Weaknesses—(that can become strengths! )

Multiple intelligences and learning styles help me acquire new knowledge. I have stronger and weaker intelligences and learning styles. It is my responsibility to strengthen my weaknesses and utilize my strengths. I flex and adapt my learning preferences to fit various contexts.

Similarly, multiple approaches for healthy eating and exercise help me acquire my fitness goals. Different programs have been more or less effective. I flex and adapt my approaches, depending on the circumstances in my life.

Myself as a Learner My Multiple Intelligence and Learning Styles

Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences by suggesting that intelligence can be exhibited in many ways. He defined eight distinct types of intelligences: verbal linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist (Silver, Strong, & Perini, 2000). I completed a multiple intelligence self diagnostic tool to identify my intelligences. I discovered my strongest type of intelligence is interpersonal. My high score indicates I am very comfortable with this type of intelligence. I am comfortable with spatial and intrapersonal intelligence and moderately comfortable with bodily-kinesthetic, verbal linguistic, and musical intelligence. I have little comfort with logical-mathematical or naturalist intelligence.

I feel the results of this inventory match my interests and talents. My greatest strength and joy is working with people. I have the ability to be in tune with other people’s feelings and personalities. I have chosen a profession that fulfills my most dominant intelligence. Next year I will apply to be a reading specialist/coach. I look forward to working with adults and children on a regular basis. I am not surprised by my comfort with spatial intelligence. I love creating my ideas visually, which explains my skill for interior and wedding floral design. I play the piano and appreciate music but don’t enjoy singing or creating music, which justifies my moderate comfort with musical intelligence. The self diagnosis indicated I wasn’t as comfortable with verbal linguistic or bodily kinesthetic intelligence, which explains why I am most insecure with my writing skills and ability to play sports. I was surprised that I scored so low in logical-mathematical intelligence. I am certainly no mathematician, but I do enjoy solving logical problems. I wasn’t shocked my weakest intelligence is naturalist. I enjoy a hike or camping trip now and again but I am not passionate about spending much time outdoors observing living things.

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Individuals have different learning styles and process information in different ways. Silver and Hansen (as cited in Silver et al., 2000, p.105). designed a learning style inventory to create a spectrum of four learning styles: sensing-thinking(mastery), intuitive-thinking (understanding), sensing-feeling (interpersonal), and intuitive-feeling (self-expressive). The inventory indicated my dominant learning style is sensing-feeling (interpersonal), which is also my strongest intelligence. Following closely behind is self intuitive-feeling (expressive). My weaker learning styles are intuitive-thinking (understanding) and sensing-thinking (mastery).

Before taking these inventories, I recognized a few of my learning strengths and weakness but didn’t know there was research to categorize and describe them. By discovering my own dominant learning style, I understand more about myself and how I learn. For example, I always recognized that I enjoy cooperative learning and am motivated by receiving attention and encouragement, but didn’t know this was indicative of an actual learning style.

For years, I have been convinced I have attention deficit disorder because I detest working alone for long periods of time and have to take frequent breaks. Now I realize interpersonal learners dislike long periods of working alone silently, which explains my behavior. Interpersonal learners also dislike emphasis on detail or demanding routines. Before taking this learning style inventory, I truly thought I just had a poor memory for details. Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy are seriously my worst enemies! Now I realize I probably choose not to store the details in my memory but prefer thinking about themes and relating information to myself.

Sensing –Feeling/Interpersonal

PREFERS TO LEARN BY:•Studying about things that directly affect people’s lives rather than impersonal facts or theories•Receiving personal attention and encouragement from teachers•Being part of a team•Activities that help her learn about herself and how she feels about thingsLEARNS BEST FROM:•Group experiences and projects•Loving attention•Personal expression and encounters•Role playingLIKES•Receiving personal attention and encouragement•Opportunities to be helpful in class•Personal feedback•Sharing personal feelings and experiences with othersDISLIKES•Long periods of working alone silently•Emphasis on factual detail •Highly competitive games where someone loses•Detailed and demanding routines

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Myself as a LearnerBuilding a Foundation

My learning experiences in college helped me build my teaching foundation.

Similarly, Body for Life helped me build my healthy lifestyle foundation.

Body for LIFE: My Foundation for a Healthy Lifestyle

One day, near the end of my freshman year of college, I stood in front of the mirror and just stared at myself for quite a while. I whispered “How did I let myself get this overweight?” At that moment I decided I had to do something to change my life. I borrowed Body for Life, by Bill Phillips. I devoured the entire book in one evening. The book outlines a 12 week program that promises amazing results. Body for Life encompasses weight training, aerobic exercise and balanced nutrition. The most inspiring to me, were the shocking before-and-after photos of regular people that followed the program. The photos helped me come to the realization that I could actually look different, which until that point, had honestly never occurred to me. This book motivated me to change my lifestyle and get moving toward a healthier me!

“No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change.”-Bill Phillips

College: My Foundation for my Teaching Practice

My first two years of college were probably pretty typical. A lot of lectures. A lot of reading. A lot of exams. I made it through my generals but thought of my classes as obligatory stepping stones to get to the classes I would really care about- my elementary education core. During those first years, I don’t recall a single class or professor that catered to my interpersonal learning style. It’s not that I didn’t find my classes interesting, I just didn’t see how they related to my future career as an educator.

I came to life when I started the education core. For the first time, I was learning about things I was passionate about. I didn’t have to sit through many lectures- and the ones I did, I soaked in every word, because I thought it was relevant information. I participated in hands-on activities, cooperative learning, role-playing, and peer teaching. My homework consisted of some traditional reading and writing but I spent the majority of my time putting together presentations, lessons, and units.

My education classes truly help me build a foundation for teaching. I learned basic teaching strategies, lesson planning, classroom management strategies, and assessment techniques. I also learned methods to teach social studies, science, physical education, and music. I built a basic knowledge base in mathematics, reading, and special education.

Myself as a Teacher

Myself as a TeacherLifelong Desire

Whenever I asked my mom what my future would hold, she sang the song “Que Sera Sera. ” Then she would assure me that I would become whatever I wanted to be.

My lifelong desire to become a teacher inspired me to pursue my dream.

My lifelong desire to lose weight inspired me to achieve my fitness and weight loss goals.

Desire: My Motivation to Lose WeightI have been on a lifelong journey to lose weight. Growing up, I was a “chubby” kid. All through my childhood and adolescence I wanted so badly to be one of the thin girls. Although it was my heart’s desire to lose weight, I didn’t know how to choose a healthier path. I honestly didn’t realize I had a choice in the matter.

Desire: My Motivation to Become a Teacher I have also had a lifelong

desire to teach. Unlike weight loss, I understood the path I needed to take to reach this goal. My journey began the moment I started school. I fell in love with Miss Anderson, my first grade teacher. Like most little girls, I dreamed of becoming a teacher when I grew up. Unlike most other children, I never grew out of that dream. I spent countless hours in the basement setting up elaborate classrooms and “teaching” my pretend students. During my early teens, I practiced “teaching” by babysitting. I was a highly sought after babysitter in my neighborhood. Children begged their parents to call me because I always came prepared with a craft tote, games, and activities. In high school I spent time volunteering in classrooms at the local elementary school. I observed and assisted teachers, tutored small groups and individual students, and even taught a few art lessons. In college I knew I was destined to become an elementary school teacher. I didn’t really choose a major, I just continued on my journey.

I am teaching my little sister how to do her math.

A letter I wrote about getting my degree in Elementary Education

Student Teaching: Getting Started

Both experiences were challenging and rewarding.

Student teaching gave me the opportunity to practice and apply the strategies and knowledge I acquired in my education courses.

My first 12 weeks of training gave me the opportunity to practice and apply the strategies and knowledge I learned from reading Body for Life.

Myself as a Teacher: The journey begins!

I student taught sixth grade at Kainalu Elementary in Kailua, Hawaii. My cooperating teacher, Kathy Saito gave me total autonomy. She trusted me completely and basically handed me the semester’s learning standards and left the room for the rest of the year. Her hands-off mentoring was the best way for me to learn. I consulted her when I had major problems or questions, but I solved most issues by myself, or by talking to classmates. Although student teaching was exhausting, it gave me the opportunity to apply all of the strategies I was learning in my program. I truly enjoyed planning thematic units, trying new strategies, and practicing management techniques. When I finished student teaching, I couldn’t wait to have my own classroom!

My First Year: A Challenge My first year of teaching was a challenge- to put it mildly. I felt overwhelmed and stressed most of the time… Most days I fought for a positive attitude and confidence.

Similarly, my first few months of changing my lifestyle was a challenge. I had to force myself to fight food cravings and focus on portion control.

“Unless You Puke, Faint or Die, Keep Going!” – Jillian Michaels

My First Year Teaching: A Challenge My journey as a professional teacher began in Ogden, Utah. I was hired at

Lakeview Elementary, a Title One School. I shared a fifth grade class with Sarah Etherington and taught every other day. That year was a challenging experience, to put it mildly. It was extremely difficult to job share. It was tough to present a unified front to parents and students and I struggled to keep my partner’s pace, since I was trying to learn the curriculum. Classroom management was a nightmare. I basically followed my partner’s lead and tried to use her classroom management system, which didn’t fit my philosophy or style. I spend most of the year feeling frustrated and lost in the curriculum. I frequently had anxiety in the morning as I drove to work.

Although Sarah and I had different teaching styles, she taught me an important lesson. She encouraged me to balance work and my personal life. She made me realize that if I was tired and burned out, my teaching and personal life would suffer. Brookfield (1995) echoed Sarah by stating, “Critically reflective teachers can stand outside their practice and see what they do in a wider perspective. They are able to distinguish between a justifiable and necessary dedication to students’ well-being and a self destructive workaholism (p.16) My colleagues still have to remind me of this fact when they drive past the school at night and see my car in the lot.

Experiencing Plateau

“Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, is my go to song when I need motivation in any area of my life.

Hitting plateaus on my teaching journey helped me reflect and take drastic actions to improve my teaching practice. I decided to consult professional literature and learn from the “experts.”

Similarly, Hitting plateaus on my weight loss journey helped me to reflect and take drastic actions to continue my progress. To solve my problem, I consulted professional literature to learn new strategies. I changed my exercise routines, adjusted my diet, and continued to work toward my goals.

“There are only 2 choices; make progress or make excuses.” – Ellen Mikesell

From 5th grade to 1st After my horrible first year I wanted a full time position. The only opening was in first grade! I had never even considered teaching a primary grade when my principal asked me to move down. Before accepting the job, I traveled to Idaho to observe my aunt Judy, a veteran first grade teacher. After a day in her class I felt confident I could handle younger children and I accepted the job the next day. In preparation, I spent the summer reading my teacher manuals and preparing materials. My first few months were quite an adjustment. It was difficult to map new curriculum and plan daily lessons while trying to figure out what first graders were capable of developmentally. I didn’t realize they couldn’t follow 3 step directions, copy text from the board, or independently work! For a while I called Aunt Judy every few days to survive.

As I became more familiar with first grade learning standards, I realized the way I was doing things wasn’t addressing all my students needed to learn. My teammates weren’t really interested in collaborating so over the next two years, I consulted a variety of professional literature. I started reading Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for all Children, and Phonics Lessons: Letters, Words, and How They Work both by Gay Su Pinnell and Irene Fountas. I also read Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction by Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston. Continued on next page…

B001IGO

As I continued to read professional literature and reflect on my teaching, I realized my teammates and I were not implementing research based practice. I was excited to share my knowledge. Unfortunately they were not interested in reading the books or working together. Their idea of sharing and collaborating was pulling out file folders and exchanging worksheets.

I felt alone and frustrated in my quest to improve my teaching practice. Brookfield (1995) explained my situation by affirming,

“Being critically reflective may well bring us into direct conflict with organizational priorities and hierarchies of power. As we start to suggest alternative, more democratic ways of constructing curricula, we are threatening a way of living and thinking that is comfortable for many of our colleagues. This threat might be feared because of its ideological nature. Or it might simply be that what we are proposing represents a shaking up of familiar routines” (p. 41).

So, feeling unsupported and isolated, I devoured professional books and used those authors as mentors to guide my teaching practice. The first year I focused on learning how to implement guided reading, phonics, and word work. My second year I realized I didn’t know strategies for teaching comprehension or writing so that summer I read “Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum by Lucy Calkins and Reading with Meaning, by Debbie Miller. I fell in love with their philosophies and added reading and writing workshop the next year.

Myself as a Teacher: My Support System

Weight Watchers served as my support system to help me achieve my goals. When I finished Body for LIFE, the 12 week program, I joined Weight Watchers. Weekly classes provided me with new information and strategies. My class members served as mentors, cheerleaders, and partners.

My new school, Timber Lane Elementary, served as my support system to help me grow professionally. My teammates, professional development classes, and coaching sessions helped me set and achieve goals.

Timber Lane Elementary: My support system for continual professional growth My feeling of isolation drove me to move across the county. I knew if I was

going to grow professionally, I needed to be part of a professional learning community. I wanted to teach with teammates who would teach me and push me to become better. I headed to Northern Virginia to try to get a job in any of the prominent school counties. Within a few weeks, I was hired at Timber Lane Elementary, a Title One School in Fairfax County. When I started the job, I felt fairly prepared to teach balanced literacy, but I soon realized I had much to learn. Fortunately my school is a Literacy Collaborative Site, where we implement a research based balanced literacy framework. I had the opportunity to attend regular professional development classes and receive coaching sessions from the teacher. My first grade team was filled with dedicated, knowledgeable teachers. We met regularly-formally, and informally to plan, discuss teaching practices, student progress, and problems. Timber Lane Elementary also introduced me to Professional Learning Communities. I appreciated an environment that promoted working collaboratively and interdependently to change classroom practice and achieve common goals linked to student learning.

My Coaches My coaches empower my success personally and professionally . Each help me accomplish goals and encourage me to set higher ones.

My coaches: • Motivate and push me that extra step• Model and teach me how to use new strategies• Empower me with confidence• Help me build a foundation so I can guide myself• Show me how to implement research based methods• Teach me to modify instruction/goals based on need

PERSONAL TRAINER: Mindy Madsen LITERACY COACH: Kathy Kee

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Ongoing Journey The next two years, I continued to grow

professionally. Kathy didn’t team teach with me in the mornings any more, but she still coached and mentored me. I frequently ran to her office to discuss literacy. I continued to refine my practice by attending professional development classes, asking questions, reflecting, researching, collaborating, and working with my coach.

Still, I had so many unanswered questions about literacy instruction. Some of the research based teaching methods for Literacy Collaborative weren’t meshing with other research I was exploring. I felt like I was blindly teaching literacy the way I was supposed to, without really understanding the reasoning behind the methods I was using. Brookfield (1995) states, “A critically reflective teacher works from a position of informed commitment. She knows why she does what she does, and why she thinks what she thinks” (p. 23).

I knew I needed to go back to school to gain a better understanding of literacy. I decided to pursue a Literacy Specialist Master’s degree at George Mason University.

Myself as a Teacher: Currently I currently team teach a first grade inclusion class at Timber Lane Elementary. I absolutely

love planning and teaching with my partner Karen. We learn a great deal from each other in our cohesive partnership. We work hard to build a safe, positive learning environment. My students and I have a high level of respect for each other.

I have high expectations for my students, both behaviorally and academically. I try to push my children as far as I possibly can—still working in their zone of proximal development, of course. I believe my six and seven year olds are extremely capable and they never cease to amaze me. Sometimes my colleagues think I am crazy when I teach my little ones how to conduct research, take notes, and write nonfiction reports. I believe anything is possible, as long as it is developmentally appropriate, thoughtfully planned, and well scaffolded.

I constantly try to think of new ways to make the curriculum relevant and exciting. I’ll do anything to ignite passion for learning. I dress up, sing, plan hand-on actives, or use technology to get my kids involved. I consider the needs of all my students when I plan instruction. Formative assessments drive my mini-lessons, small group instruction, and individual student conferences.

I constantly reflect on my teaching practice and choose areas to improve. This year I am going to focus on improving reading and writing workshop “share time.” As a starting point, I am reading Don't Forget to Share: The Crucial Last Step in the Writing Workshop by Leah Mermelstein. I am also going to improve my interactive read-alouds. I learned a little bit about developing text sets and plan to conduct further research to figure out how to integrate interactive read-alouds with writing workshop.

“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” – Oprah Winfrey

Myself as a Teacher

Researcher

Myself as a Teacher Researcher:Power of Reflection

Teacher research begins with reflection. When I begin asking questions about my students and teaching practice, I am driven to seek answers and conduct action research.

Similarly, making lifestyle changes beings with reflection. Reflecting on my appearance, eating habits, and fitness level helped me make a plan.

Myself as a Teacher Researcher Teacher Research begins with reflective thinking. My Education Core Classes have

taught me the importance of reflective thinking. One of Dewey’s criteria for reflection is it must be a “systematic, rigorous, disciplined way of thinking, with its roots in scientific inquiry” (as cited in Rogers, 2002). I am discovering that the majority of my reflections aren’t critical reflections, rather a “stream of consciousness or uncontrolled coursing of ideas running through my head,” as Dewey described. I have always been a teacher researcher—informally. I constantly question why I do certain things and look for ways to improve. I am never satisfied with my methods. In regards to critical reflection, Fecho (2004) believes “best practice” doesn’t exist. Teachers should never be complacent and should always inquire and find ways to reach their students (p. 4).

I never want to stagnate in my teaching practice. I try to ensure I am not doing things because it’s what has always been done or because it’s what my grade level, school, or district expects me to do. I like to question, research, apply my findings-then repeat the process over and over. I really connected with Hole and McEntee’s (1999) Guided Reflection Protocol. They recommend to; collect stories, ask what happened, consider why it happened, think about what it means, and decide what the implications for practice are (p. 36). I sometimes go through some of the phases of reflection but don’t always follow through with all steps. I blame my busy schedule and lack of time but I realize I need to critically reflect more often.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.”– Charles Buxton

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My Research This past semester I had the opportunity to learn how to conduct action research. I

considered many questions but narrowed it down to a topic that was meaningful to me. Falk and Blumenreich (2005) believe, “The pursuit of personally important questions is what leads to new discoveries, creations, or realizations” (p. 1). With this in mind, I chose to research “Interactive Notebooks,” a topic I have been mulling over for years.

Three years ago, I transferred from a small school district in Utah to teach first grade in Fairfax County. As I began to plan curriculum for Social Studies and Science, my teammates informed me that our school and school district strongly recommended the use of interactive notebooks. Overwhelmed with planning all subjects, I blindly incorporated interactive notebooks into my classroom for the first few months. At my grade level, interactive notebooks appeared to be a composition notebook where students collected teacher notes and inserted a concept sort. I didn’t really see the advantages of the interactive notebooks and didn’t take the time to research, so I abandoned interactive notebooks by midyear.

I was interested in revisiting the ideas of incorporating interactive notebooks into my classroom. Before making a decision, I needed to make an effort to understand the research that supports or negates their use. The first step of my research was to consult professional literature. The literature review helped me define interactive notebooks, determine the reasons for their use, and explore the advantages and disadvantages. Then, I wanted to see how they were being used in my school across the grade levels. I have included my findings.

MethodologyResearchers interviewed nine teachers from elementary and middle school. Two teachers

were from primary grades, two from upper level elementary grades, and five from middle school. Middle school teachers teach a variety of subjects including: U.S. History 7, Math 8, Civics, and English 8. Researchers asked four questions regarding interactive notebooks to determine their use and effectiveness (see Appendix A).

Researchers coded interview data into three different categories: what goes into the interactive notebooks, and how interactive notebooks are used to support instruction, and why teachers believe interactive notebooks are effective or ineffective. After all interviews were coded, they were entered into a chart to show trends (see Appendix C).

Researchers also collected sample notebooks to verify what teachers said about use of interactive notebooks. Examples are included in Appendix D.

Data Analysis Collected data is qualitative and based on

semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted via email or in the form of a written questionnaire (Appendix A). Interviewees were chosen on a volunteer basis. Identities are confidential.

Data was collected by interviewing 9 teachers: 2 from primary grades, 2 from upper elementary grades, and 5 from middle school grades.

Commonalities and differences among answers were marked with colored pens.

Areas of interest to the researchers include:

o How notebooks are assessed

o How often INBs are used in class

o What types of activities are used?

Samples of student notebooks were collected Interactive notebook qualities were studied to verify commonalities between teacher responses and pages

Analysis of Preliminary DataAs researchers were color-coding interview data, they noted many common trends.

Commonalities were listed and put into chart form. Researchers noted an overlap in interview data. The categories of effectiveness and use were grouped into one chart. Researchers chose to create only two charts; what goes into an interactive notebook in one chart and how they are used to support instruction into another chart (see second chart in Appendix D).

The first chart shows what goes into an interactive notebook. It indicates that all but two teachers use interactive notebooks for class notes and student interactions. Most teachers include graphic organizers in their notebooks. Two use notebooks for student reflections. A few activities were unique to individual teachers such as foldables and warm-ups. The kindergarten teacher differentiates notes using shared writing.

The second chart shows how interactive notebooks are used to support instruction. This chart indicates that all but two teachers mentioned using the interactive notebooks for organization, a record of learning/review, and for student interactions to facilitate higher level thinking. In addition, three teachers believed notebooks foster a sense of student ownership and accomplishment. Two teachers use notebooks as personal textbooks to support standards of learning in lieu of a traditional textbook. Two teachers use it as a tool to communicate with parents.

Across the grade levels, researchers did not notice trends specific to certain grade levels. Commonalities were noted among all grade levels with the exception of the kindergarten teacher.

Next StepsWe were satisfied with the interview data collected regarding our research question

(how are interactive notebooks being used?) but feel that further questioning is needed to address teacher reasoning for use of interactive notebooks and knowledge of their purposes.

Our literature review indicated that there was little to no research done showing a direct correlation between interactive notebook use and student achievement. Now that we have a general sense of how they are being used across grade levels, we are curious as to what further studies could be conducted to support their use. We noticed many teachers used interactive notebooks for organization and student interactions. Research could be conducted to determine whether or not these purposes affect student achievement.

For future research, additional questions could be added to the interview to probe further for teacher knowledge of the history of interactive notebooks and the purposes for their use. In addition, it would be beneficial to understand motivation behind teacher use of interactive notebooks. Are teachers being trained properly to use interactive notebooks as an effective means of instruction? It seems that most teachers interviewed lacked knowledge about the origins and true purposes of interactive notebooks. In our review of the literature, we found that traditionally a true interactive notebook utilizes right-side pages for teacher input such as: notes, lectures, etc. While left-side activities, or output, are intended for student interactions that lead to higher level thinking, for example: cartoons, Venn diagrams, creative writing, illustrations, etc. In addition, these left-side activities are designed flexibly to give students choice in their interactions. In our research, however, we found that most teachers were utilizing a two-sided format but were providing many of the output activities—preventing students from making their own choices in their interactions.

Future ResearchWriting workshop is a daily component of my language arts block. After the mini-lesson, I spend

each work period conferring with individual students. As I have been reflecting on how I conduct these individual writing conferences, I realize this is an area of weakness. I don’t always feel like I am getting the most out of the few minutes I spend with my students. I leave questioning my instructional moves and wonder if I helped my writers at all. Writing conferences are supposed to be the most valuable part of the workshop, so this is an area I really need to improve…

I will begin my study by consulting with “experts” in the field of writing instruction:One to One: The Art of Conferring with Young Writers by Lucy Calkins, Amanda Harman, & Zoe White

How’s it Going? by Carl AndersonBig Lessons from Small Writers (DVD) by Lucy CalkinsChoice Words by Peter H. JohnstonBoy Writers by Ralph Fletcher

I want to focus on improving my teacher language and instructional prompts. I am considering the question, “What happens when teachers engage first grade students in individual writing conferences?” I hope this question is framed in a way in which qualitative data sources will be appropriate. Throughout my research, I will use various forms of data collection including: writing conference notes, student writing samples, analysis of student writing, personal teaching journal, audio-taped sessions of writing conferences, and reflections of audio taped conferences. I will analyze my data to help me understand how I use teacher language/moves. I hope my action research will help me improve writing conferences.

This research will only be conducted in my classroom for the purpose of improving my teaching practice. I don’t think I will need to notify my school district or get permission from parents for this research study. I will meet with my principal so he is aware of my research.

Concluding Reflections As I reflected on myself as a learner, teacher, and teacher researcher, I began

realizing the three are closely connected. Realizing I had certain learning styles and intelligences caused me to consider how my preferences and strengths affect my teaching practice. I am now aware that I need to emphasize learning styles and intelligences that aren’t necessarily in my zone of comfort. I recognize that teacher research is also part of who I am as a teacher and learner. I constantly ask questions, reflect, and research to improve my practice and help my students. I am an interpersonal learner, so I constantly collaborate with my colleagues and coach. I also enjoy researching and studying, because I am choosing the topic, which is always of interest to me, and usually connected to my classroom. Learning about my learning styles also caused me to reflect on my prior learning experiences. This new understanding explained some assumptions I’ve always made about myself as a learner. Most importantly, it motivated me to strive to push myself in some of my weaker areas. I need to do a few more cross-word puzzles, try a new sport, or discover a new talent by taking classes at the community center.

Reflecting about my teaching philosophy was a good experience. I haven’t taken the time to actually write my belief statements down for quite a while, which doesn’t make me proud. My beliefs are what drive my practice. I always have them in mind, but now I will have them posted as a constant reminder of who I am as a teacher. It is easy to get caught up in the “nitty gritty” details of teaching, but I need to always remember my beliefs, because they are my foundation- the very reason I show up to work every day.

References Body for Life Logo (2010). Retrieved July 15, 2010 from http://bodyforlife.com/

Brigham Young University Hawaii (2010). Retrieved July 15, 2010 from http://www.byuh.edu/

Brookfield, S. D. (1995). A process of learning and change. In S. D. Brookfield, Becoming a critically

reflective teacher (pp. 28-49). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brookfield, S. D. (1995). What it means to be a critically reflective teacher. In S. D. Brookfield, Becoming a

critically reflective teacher (pp. 2-27). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath and Company.

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