Final Reflection
I began this journey of action research with one thought in mind. I was fiercely focused on Project Based Learning (PBL), specifically how to realistically implement it in a kindergarten classroom. How could I do this effectively? Was it even possible? I had no idea. I taught at a charter school that believed in using PBL and inquiry, but I had never thought about what that might look like at my grade level. I was excited about the Project Based Learning course in my first year of grad school. I was finally going to see what PBL looked like for primary aged kids, how to implement it, and get the answers to what seemed like at the time hundreds of questions.
However, I soon came to the realization that I knew a lot more PBL than I thought. In fact, I was already implementing lots of the principles in my classroom without professionally labeling it as such. You can imagine the horror when I realized this. I couldn’t very well do an entire Action Research project on a topic that I was already using in my class. I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I had no direction. I was stuck now, without the Holy Grail of ideas, or so I thought at the time.
What was I going to do? I asked myself this over and over. I wanted to pick a topic that would sustain my interest for an entire school year. I needed to research a question that I didn’t know the answer to and I needed to find something quickly. The pressure I felt to find the perfect topic and corresponding question was immense. The first year of grad school was coming to a close and I was still not sold on any of my ideas. However, I kept returning to the idea of creating a cooperative community within the classroom. I wanted to have a classroom where it was possible for my students to work together, communicate, and solve conflicts. It was necessary for my class to be explicitly taught how to react in various social situations. They had very little idea what were the appropriate responses when having a disagreement with a friend. I wanted to help shape my students into problem solvers. I wanted to give them the power to be able to work with peers and not call each other names, become physical with each other, or tattle.
I was so excited. I had a direction again! I would spend the next year and a half of my life learning how to create a community of problem solvers through conflict resolution. And before I knew it I had my question. How do I do that?
As I have said earlier, I taught at a new charter school, Leonardo da Vinci (LdVCS). The school opened with grades K-6 and we quickly discovered that many of the students that were choosing to enroll at LdVCS were kids that didn’t fit the mold in a traditional setting. They were looking for something different and we were it. Bringing all of these unique personalities and behaviors together made for an interesting mix of students.
LdVCS wanted to adopt a school wide program that built a community that taught students how to work together. Wow! I couldn’t believe how perfectly this aligned with my thinking. It wasn’t just my students that needed to learn how to interact with each other; it was the entire student body. At the end of the 2010 school year, we adopted The Caring Schools Community (CSC). This meant that I had a program that I needed to implement to stay consistent with the rest of the school but I still wanted to be able to use other programs.
I was now placed in a catch 22. I wanted to be a team player myself and use all of the programs that were part of the LdVCS curriculum but I also wanted to remain true to my action research question: How do I create a community of problem solvers through conflict resolution? I had a moment of apprehension. I couldn’t really answer my question by only using CSC. I wanted to have the freedom to use other programs. In the end I decided to use CSC but incorporate lessons from other programs as well. I spent the next school year teaching my students to communicate, share their feelings, and work together while implementing conflict resolution strategies.
Creating this community was a learning process for me as well as my students. We had our ups and our downs along the way and I was constantly surprised. It is surprising, looking back after the process was over, that at the beginning I thought it was really possible for kindergartners to be successful problem solvers. They are young and can be very self-centered so I didn’t know if they could look outside their own needs and wants long enough to see things from a different child’s perspective.
My first obstacle was letting go of all the doubts and fears. I had to stop second-guessing myself. I am someone that if things are not perfect or exactly how I want them to be, I won’t do it. I get scared and shut down. Being forced to continue to see this through to the end was challenging for me. But once I accepted the fact that my students and I were capable of embarking on this journey I found positive results. I couldn’t be happier that I was able to complete this action research project and in doing so, found a way to build a peacefully community where we were successful.
It has been very difficult for me teaching at LdVCS. My first year I was the youngest teacher and everyone there was so amazing in the classroom. I always felt insecure and not really worthy of teaching among them. I didn’t have the confidence to know what I was doing in the classroom was good enough. I had it worked out in my head that I was always doing something wrong. It was exhausting always feeling behind the pack. However, during my second year, I learned that even though there will always be someone with more experience or a different skill-set doesn’t mean that I do not have something wonderful to offer as a teacher.
One big take-away for me was simply that conflict resolution is a process. You need constant practice and refreshing, even adults need to continue to practice solving problems. It is hard. There are days that everyone in the community isn’t willing to take on the role of problem solver but it doesn’t mean that they are not capable. I won’t pretend to say that everyday, all day long my students were perfect problem solvers but that was to be expected. I was able to give them the tools to work with others. They will continue to hone their skills and as they get older and it is my hope that I will see this group of students become the future leaders at LdVCS.
As this year came to a close I realized that I had a few wants for the future. I want to build on the program that I started this year. I want to continue to work on myself as an educator. I want to go outside of my comfort zone, take more risks, and become a leader. I want to create a community feel every year while improving on what was started this year.
However, I soon came to the realization that I knew a lot more PBL than I thought. In fact, I was already implementing lots of the principles in my classroom without professionally labeling it as such. You can imagine the horror when I realized this. I couldn’t very well do an entire Action Research project on a topic that I was already using in my class. I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I had no direction. I was stuck now, without the Holy Grail of ideas, or so I thought at the time.
What was I going to do? I asked myself this over and over. I wanted to pick a topic that would sustain my interest for an entire school year. I needed to research a question that I didn’t know the answer to and I needed to find something quickly. The pressure I felt to find the perfect topic and corresponding question was immense. The first year of grad school was coming to a close and I was still not sold on any of my ideas. However, I kept returning to the idea of creating a cooperative community within the classroom. I wanted to have a classroom where it was possible for my students to work together, communicate, and solve conflicts. It was necessary for my class to be explicitly taught how to react in various social situations. They had very little idea what were the appropriate responses when having a disagreement with a friend. I wanted to help shape my students into problem solvers. I wanted to give them the power to be able to work with peers and not call each other names, become physical with each other, or tattle.
I was so excited. I had a direction again! I would spend the next year and a half of my life learning how to create a community of problem solvers through conflict resolution. And before I knew it I had my question. How do I do that?
As I have said earlier, I taught at a new charter school, Leonardo da Vinci (LdVCS). The school opened with grades K-6 and we quickly discovered that many of the students that were choosing to enroll at LdVCS were kids that didn’t fit the mold in a traditional setting. They were looking for something different and we were it. Bringing all of these unique personalities and behaviors together made for an interesting mix of students.
LdVCS wanted to adopt a school wide program that built a community that taught students how to work together. Wow! I couldn’t believe how perfectly this aligned with my thinking. It wasn’t just my students that needed to learn how to interact with each other; it was the entire student body. At the end of the 2010 school year, we adopted The Caring Schools Community (CSC). This meant that I had a program that I needed to implement to stay consistent with the rest of the school but I still wanted to be able to use other programs.
I was now placed in a catch 22. I wanted to be a team player myself and use all of the programs that were part of the LdVCS curriculum but I also wanted to remain true to my action research question: How do I create a community of problem solvers through conflict resolution? I had a moment of apprehension. I couldn’t really answer my question by only using CSC. I wanted to have the freedom to use other programs. In the end I decided to use CSC but incorporate lessons from other programs as well. I spent the next school year teaching my students to communicate, share their feelings, and work together while implementing conflict resolution strategies.
Creating this community was a learning process for me as well as my students. We had our ups and our downs along the way and I was constantly surprised. It is surprising, looking back after the process was over, that at the beginning I thought it was really possible for kindergartners to be successful problem solvers. They are young and can be very self-centered so I didn’t know if they could look outside their own needs and wants long enough to see things from a different child’s perspective.
My first obstacle was letting go of all the doubts and fears. I had to stop second-guessing myself. I am someone that if things are not perfect or exactly how I want them to be, I won’t do it. I get scared and shut down. Being forced to continue to see this through to the end was challenging for me. But once I accepted the fact that my students and I were capable of embarking on this journey I found positive results. I couldn’t be happier that I was able to complete this action research project and in doing so, found a way to build a peacefully community where we were successful.
It has been very difficult for me teaching at LdVCS. My first year I was the youngest teacher and everyone there was so amazing in the classroom. I always felt insecure and not really worthy of teaching among them. I didn’t have the confidence to know what I was doing in the classroom was good enough. I had it worked out in my head that I was always doing something wrong. It was exhausting always feeling behind the pack. However, during my second year, I learned that even though there will always be someone with more experience or a different skill-set doesn’t mean that I do not have something wonderful to offer as a teacher.
One big take-away for me was simply that conflict resolution is a process. You need constant practice and refreshing, even adults need to continue to practice solving problems. It is hard. There are days that everyone in the community isn’t willing to take on the role of problem solver but it doesn’t mean that they are not capable. I won’t pretend to say that everyday, all day long my students were perfect problem solvers but that was to be expected. I was able to give them the tools to work with others. They will continue to hone their skills and as they get older and it is my hope that I will see this group of students become the future leaders at LdVCS.
As this year came to a close I realized that I had a few wants for the future. I want to build on the program that I started this year. I want to continue to work on myself as an educator. I want to go outside of my comfort zone, take more risks, and become a leader. I want to create a community feel every year while improving on what was started this year.
