April 26, 2012 Action Research Presentation

Inquiry Project Presentation Reflection          Wednesday, April 25, 2012       

Osceola Elementary School (OES) and Osceola Intermediate School (OIS)

I presented my project during an in service to the OIS and OES K-5 staff and principals.  Specialist teachers were there, including teachers of art, music, physical education, and special education.   The total number was probably between 50 and 60 adults.

I had revised the presentation a few times, and practiced it at home.  My power point was organized with the main headings of Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Implications for my classroom.  I used the post presentation checklist to be sure I met the criteria for a successful presentation.  I was nervous, but stepping up into the role of sharing wasn’t as scary as it would have been two years ago.

This presentation was valuable to all special education and regular classroom teachers.  These teachers are currently involved with inquiry projects.  There is the realization, in our second year of implementation, that the work we do with students will look different at different grade levels.  Different teachers and grade levels are doing different things, and it would be good to know what skills, projects, text coding, and units everyone works on.  The media specialist and I are working on a shared document, so I also talked about that.  I am hoping to fill the document by summer workshop in June, and then share.  Teachers will be encouraged to update it after that.

Following the presentation, there was time for discussion and questions.  I answered questions from my experiences, but other teachers also shared what their practices have looked like.  The sharing was beneficial to all, and the conversation meaningful.  Teachers are really working to hone their skills and make the process of inquiry most beneficial to students.  We are gleaning ideas from each other, and this was the perfect setting to continue the conversation.

After this discussion, we became familiar with the Common Core Speaking and Listening Skills, and needed to answer questions as to how well we are meeting these skills with the inquiry projects.  The sharing continued. My presentation was a good fit to this afternoon.  I am glad that our curriculum director asked me to present, and I am glad that I did.