My aha moment this week came from watching the videos on epic. If you talk to my closest colleague she would agree that I have real issues with reinventing the wheel. I have reluctantly learned over the years that it's okay to use something that is tried and true and just tweek it to fit my situation. I noticed in the interviews that most of them basically stated in their own way that you do not have to reinvent the wheel. Through that I realized the importance of taking my time during the literature review process and using valid and reliable sources. I have also been known when reinventing the wheel to take it to the extreme. So I will definitely need to stick with the advice of Kirk Lewis and stick with "practical active research". I will constantly ask myself the two questions he noted "What is practical for you?" and "What do you need to know to apply to student learning?". Hopefully this will keep me from doing more work than is necessary, and I can feel good about it because I am taking the advice of respected, accomplished doctoral graduates. :-)
I had the same Aha moment this week! We don't have to make it so hard. After listening to the interviews, I felt much better with my selection for my action research topic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both that reinventing the wheel is not necessary, but it is so natural for us to do as teachers. It will be something so important for me to remember as well and I appreciate your reminder.
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