Once again, I think I built the Literature Review up to be some giant monstrosity in my head. In reality, I used the old-fashioned highlighter method mentioned by Joanne in her lecture, identified themes, and sat down to write. I got through about 3 of my topics before I hit 10 pages. I did some re-tooling and wrote 12 pages, which I then had to cut down to 10.
If I were doing it again, I'd have organized things differently. I guess it's been so long since I wrote any kind of research paper (or anything of substantial length on my own--many of my longer assignments have been group assignments) that I can't really judge how much content I have before I start writing. I'm out of practice. And tend to be verbose. There was just a lot to say and a lot that I read that didn't make it into the lit review. I learned quite a bit, but at the same time it was frustrating. I think my frustration stems from the fact that I still have the mind of a practitioner.
Teachers are very pragmatic people. They are trying to get a lot done in very little time and, while they might actually be interested in theory, what they really want is for you to tell them stuff "quick and dirty." All this research is nice, but it doesn't actually tell them what, exactly, to do. And since Montiel-Overall (I feel like we are now friends since I typed her name so much in my lit review) found that teachers really didn't know how to collaborate or even have a true understanding of collaboration vs. task division, it's obvious to me that most educators (or people in general?) need explicit instruction in how to collaborate. Then there's the time issue, but Rome wasn't built in a day. I think Creighton is right that Web 2.0 tools could help, but you're not going to convince the woman that is worried about teachers using match.com at work that she should start a wiki.
That type of thing just makes me annoyed. Who are these Luddites who insist on working in education, and why can't we get rid of them? I'm not saying technology is the answer to every problem, but it is a useful tool that can be harnessed for good. If a doctor said, "Oh, I'm not going to use that new technique; I'm sticking with this thing I learned in med school," he sure wouldn't have very many patients. Why do we allow educators to do that? Then, more often than not, they play the, "Oh, silly me, I just don't understand how that computer thing works" card. Seriously? Either learn or get out of the classroom.
And that is why I can never be an administrator.
Really, though, one idea I have for my research proposal is the idea of Web 2.0 as a collaboration tool. In spite of Creighton's research participants, I do think that most teachers try to use technology and, with training, can become competent at using it. What I'd like to know is if, with training in specific Web 2.0 technologies and some lessons in how they can be used for teacher collaboration and in the classroom, teachers are better able to collaborate at a higher level (how do we move past task division to true collaboration if we accept that we will never be given adequate time for that)?
My other idea is to explore the impact of TL inservice training on actual classroom practice. There's all this research about collaboration, but as mentioned in one of my articles, it is not the ONLY contribution the TL makes to student achievement. One of the abstract articles from my distributed research group mentioned that simply training the staff of a summer program in information literacy skills increased the learning of camp participants. Maybe if we had more research on the impact of TL inservices, they would become as important as collaboration. Maybe more important since they are a lot easier to fit in. I'd also like to know if the experience actually changes teaching practice long-term.
Actually, I wonder that about collaboration as well. Does the act of collaborating improve teaching in subsequent lessons, even when the TL is not as directly involved?
I will probably go with that second idea. At least that's what I'm thinking right now.
Either that or I'm going to pull a Hadley and go to Kindergarten with my daughter. Not really, and I'm there every Thursday as part of my participation obligation, but it does seem fun.
I am going to try to keep my head on about this assignment. It is 9-12 pages. It is not cause for panic. Stay calm and carry on.
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