Week 8
Research has always been an intrigue. I have never thought myself bold enough to venture out into the world of research in music education, even though I am savvy enough to know its value. As an educator in the public education system, I have always thought it to be dangerous to "stick my neck out" and actually conduct research on topics that interest me. What if something I decide to pursue creates conflict, or harms my reputation? What if something I research is considered controversial, exposing, or "unethical"? Even though the truth is being sought, sometimes it seems as though it's best to leave it undiscovered. You never know what rocks you may turn over, or what kinds of snakes are waiting underneath them. If I were in a position of higher education, I would definitely be more willing to conduct research, and it likely would be required. At this point, I'm not sure how much I will actually do because of my schedule demands as the administrator of the program, and a performing musician - there's just not a lot of time. The information attained has brought much relevance with it. I know that there are techniques I can use in my own program that can assist us in making things better for our students, even using simple questionnaires or surveys. What is most important is my students' music education, and if research becomes a part of that process, then that is the path I will follow.
Having completed a Master of Education degree, I understand: the need to find better methods for classroom instruction, classroom management, how to decipher state and federal data, how to determine when a program is suffering, or when change is necessary. Sometimes it's purely a case of egocentrism, "what's in it for me?" when in fact, the focus needs to be on the development of the students. I do believe integration is possible, where there's a will, there's a way. Again, if it is the best interest of the students' education, it would be our responsibility to ensure their success.
I'm dedicated thoroughly to the action research project that I have begun in this course. I plan on furthering my work on this project throughout the remainder of the program. This particular course of research has been of peak interest to me since I was an undergraduate student of Dr. George Wolfe. I'm sure I will learn more about this topic in other courses, and as I continue to review additional literature. I am looking forward to conducting this research with my own students to determine a route of easing their performance anxiety, and also sharing my findings with the rest of campus to be used as relaxation techniques for testing.
It's going to be a fun, albeit CHALLENGING ride!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Week 7
As this term winds to an end, I force myself to reflect on the past two and half years of my life in graduate school. I have learned a great deal in my first two courses at the University of Florida. The research course has definitely been the most challenging by far of ALL of the graduate courses I have completed, but the information is very valuable.
I have to say that the importance of relaying information is crucial. Whether this is being done from the office at work, or reporting the findings of research, communication must be clear and concise. I enjoyed distributing the questionnaires for this particular week's assignment. The most encouraging aspect being that the participants were very excited about filling the questionnaires out for me. Also, there were several questions asked about where this project was headed; the interest in the topic was overwhelming.
I am looking forward to following through with this research proposal. While there is a great deal of additional organization necessary to ensure a quality product, I believe that the data gathered can help to improve performance for students of all ages. What is even more intriguing is that the administration on my campus may be interested in the results as well. If these techniques can help improve relaxation in performance settings, it could certainly help in test taking scenarios as well.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next several months as this research takes place and data is continuously evaluated. My original hypothesis was incorrect, there is no correlation between 14-18 year olds and their level of performance anxiety. I expected that older students would feel more comfortable in performance settings, but some of the older students' levels of anxiety were equal to, if not higher than that of younger students.
As this term winds to an end, I force myself to reflect on the past two and half years of my life in graduate school. I have learned a great deal in my first two courses at the University of Florida. The research course has definitely been the most challenging by far of ALL of the graduate courses I have completed, but the information is very valuable.
I have to say that the importance of relaying information is crucial. Whether this is being done from the office at work, or reporting the findings of research, communication must be clear and concise. I enjoyed distributing the questionnaires for this particular week's assignment. The most encouraging aspect being that the participants were very excited about filling the questionnaires out for me. Also, there were several questions asked about where this project was headed; the interest in the topic was overwhelming.
I am looking forward to following through with this research proposal. While there is a great deal of additional organization necessary to ensure a quality product, I believe that the data gathered can help to improve performance for students of all ages. What is even more intriguing is that the administration on my campus may be interested in the results as well. If these techniques can help improve relaxation in performance settings, it could certainly help in test taking scenarios as well.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next several months as this research takes place and data is continuously evaluated. My original hypothesis was incorrect, there is no correlation between 14-18 year olds and their level of performance anxiety. I expected that older students would feel more comfortable in performance settings, but some of the older students' levels of anxiety were equal to, if not higher than that of younger students.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Week 6
The summer has drifted by quickly, no sooner did I blink than I was back in the south Texas sun for marching training. Regardless, here we are, being reflective.
This week's topics were a little easier to deal with because they were familiar. Having covered some of the data collection methods and how to break data down in the Assessment in Music course made the information comfortable to digest. Admittedly, as most textbooks, the reading isn't always easy to digest. With the intensity and rigor in the field of research, the coursework has raised a bar of demand in my arena. The last time I was required to complete this must research was in Music History as an undergraduate. My attachment to being a traditional student makes this difficult, but I'm learning as I go.
I was appreciative of the structure suggestions in the reading. The information was helpful, and it assisted in expanding my knowledge base for data collection. The assignments were also beneficial because I had to recall how to do all of those things again. The project is coming together, but what was once a thought of simplicity has become far more demanding. When I originally was going to help in the design and implementation of a similar study in 2002, I wasn't going to be doing it alone. This would have been a study between my saxophone professor and me, so we could have designed everything together. This is why Dr. Wolfe will play an important role as this develops into my thesis. His experience and resourcefulness will be of great value in this endeavor, and while we're not working side by side, we'll still be working together. This is what we planned to do a long time ago, so I'm excited to see it all come to fruition.
As the research continues, I'm more and more intrigued by how this study can be applied to general life experiences. Some people have an innate fear of night driving; could learning to use breathing help soothe this ailment? Driving in traffic, job interviews, standardized tests, DATING(?), coping with any kind of stress - this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cultures around the globe have used meditation as a means of focus and alleviating stress for generations. If a practical application can be found, why not implement it?
This week's topics were a little easier to deal with because they were familiar. Having covered some of the data collection methods and how to break data down in the Assessment in Music course made the information comfortable to digest. Admittedly, as most textbooks, the reading isn't always easy to digest. With the intensity and rigor in the field of research, the coursework has raised a bar of demand in my arena. The last time I was required to complete this must research was in Music History as an undergraduate. My attachment to being a traditional student makes this difficult, but I'm learning as I go.
I was appreciative of the structure suggestions in the reading. The information was helpful, and it assisted in expanding my knowledge base for data collection. The assignments were also beneficial because I had to recall how to do all of those things again. The project is coming together, but what was once a thought of simplicity has become far more demanding. When I originally was going to help in the design and implementation of a similar study in 2002, I wasn't going to be doing it alone. This would have been a study between my saxophone professor and me, so we could have designed everything together. This is why Dr. Wolfe will play an important role as this develops into my thesis. His experience and resourcefulness will be of great value in this endeavor, and while we're not working side by side, we'll still be working together. This is what we planned to do a long time ago, so I'm excited to see it all come to fruition.
As the research continues, I'm more and more intrigued by how this study can be applied to general life experiences. Some people have an innate fear of night driving; could learning to use breathing help soothe this ailment? Driving in traffic, job interviews, standardized tests, DATING(?), coping with any kind of stress - this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cultures around the globe have used meditation as a means of focus and alleviating stress for generations. If a practical application can be found, why not implement it?
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