Moving forward I have a new appreciation for action research. It is a complicated and confusing process that keeps you on your toes. It seems almost every week we discuss how messy this process has become for us. Because of this, action research requires all participants to be active and those who are passive will not be able to keep up. I have gained a new sense of what it means to be active when learning collaboratively. My group members, Susannah and LaDawna, have consistently challenged me to be at the top of my game. Working with Susannah and LaDawna gives me hope for future group projects and allows me to approach collaborative assignments with optimism.
Regarding my project, the findings I found to be most meaningful to my classroom are those related to creativity and confidence. I discuss these findings in my previous reflection, but it’s important to me to revisit them as I reflect on my learning experiences. My students have shown they value opportunities to be creative and imaginative, which leads me to feel tasked to integrate more ways for students to express themselves creativity. I also feel a responsibility to increase my students’ self-confidence and provide them with a safe place to take emotional and creative risks.
To finish off in middle school fashion, I wrote an acrostic poem showing some of my takeaways.
- Analyze
- Collaborate
- Teach
- Investigate
- Organize
- Neatness – #psych!
- Responsive
- Engage
- Scholarly
- Envision
- Annotating, a lot of annotating
- Reflection
- Creativity
- Honesty
Wes Akers 
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