Personal Reflection

The most interesting portion of this project was the teacher research project on YBCO superconductors. It was very intriguing to be in a research environment at a major university working along side some of the best researchers in the field of materials science. All of the faculty members and graduate students are very knowledgeable, distinguished people; the leader of the research group I collaborated with is a member of the National Academy of Science. It was a very unique experience to work with such excellent people.

The most challenging part of this project was to put in writing all of the work that I had done. So often teachers do not write summaries of the informal educational reserach they conduct on a daily basis. Taking the time to reflect is difficult to do with the tight schedule teachers have during the academic year. Written reflections allow the teacher to share their finding with others and gives them the opportunity to explore themselves in a thoughtful manner.

The YBCO superconductor research I conducted was a great personal and professional growth opportunity. I look forward to expanding this research in the future and plan to seek grant moneys for additional equipment and materials. There are two other near term projects that I am also interested in that are related to this project. One is to develop units on energy conservation and the other is related to a bicycle trip I am taking across the country in the summer of 2002, called DiscoveryRide. Each of these two projects will be undertaken using the action research approach.

Action research is an excellent approach to making the classroom environment better for both teachers and students.

If feel as if I am a more professional teacher than I was before. When I look at my colleagues I feel proud to count myself among the many who conduct action research in their classroom on a regular basis. Some may not call it "action research" but they are fitting the model of an action researcher.

I learned a great deal about myself during the course of this project. First, I have never conducted serious scientific research at a major research institution. Not only was this a unique experience, it also gave me the opportunity to see that I too can play an important role in understanding how our universe works. I learned that I am capable of doing physics reserach and am more than adequately prepared to enter a graduate program in the sciences. However, I also learned that leaving my job to pursue an advanced science degree is not the best thing for me right now. If there comes a point in life where I may make a career change at least I know that there is an opportunity available.

Second, studying the action research model opened a new door to understanding how students learn best, how classroom teachers can improve what they do, and how we can communicate what we learn to others. The findings of this study will be shared with the world as part of the web site you are viewing right now. So often people who earn an advanced degree never share their work with their colleagues. Countless numbers of theses are relegated to home bookshelves and library archives, never to see the light of day. I have prepared this web site for the world to read and learn from. Great personal satisfaction comes from being able to share what I have learned with others. The gift of sharing does not come to everyone, so I share mine with you. Please use this web site for your needs and feel free to provide feedback to me if it has helped you in any way.

Action research will continue to play an important role as I advance my career as a teacher. Never before has such a simple, straightforward research concept been presented to me. As a scientist I am used to making up the procedure on the fly. Since nature is unforgiving there is only one right way to do things in science research - nature will let you know when you fail. Action research is failproof in many respects.