Hubbard & Power (Chapters 1 &2)

"Many teachers have to do some wandering to get to their wonderings..." (4).

I wonder if I will ever narrow down my Teacher Research question! In reviewing my Field Notes and class notes, I feel a little disjointed. I notice that I inquire about a range of possibilities--social justice in the classroom, teacher expectations and student reception, empowerment vs. entitlement, student ability to question authority with respect. The more I wonder, the more my mind wanders!
Nevertheless, upon reading Chapter 1 of Hubbard and Power, I found solace in the lines: "Teachers often need to rely on their intuitive hunches; trust these hunches to guide you in the genesis of your research question. Remember that research is a process "that religiously uses logical analysis as a critical tool in the refinement of ideas, but which often begins at a very different place, where imagery, metaphor, and analogy, 'intuitive hunches,' kinesthetic feeling states, and even dreams and dream-like states are prepotent" (8). Imagery, metaphor, and analogy! Now, I know this! Through the reading of Hubbard and Power, I understand research to be analogous to the writing process; thus, internalizing the purpose of Teacher Research through my schema or personal literacy. Hmmm...is it worth doing my Teacher Research on writing? I believe that I have narrowed down my area of focus.  Through this intuitive connection, I have a deeper understanding of the end goal. Writing is organic and evolves (or devolves!) in order to reveal the unexpected; Teacher Research is organic and evolves (or devolves!) in order to reveal the unexpected. Hubbard and Power advise the teacher "to make sure the question is open-ended enough to allow possibilities the researcher hasn't imagined to emerge" (7).

Here is my list of questions/thoughts. They bounce back and forth between a stream of consciousness and a laundry list of "what-ifs" (3).

1. How can I successfully teach grammar in the secondary classroom? How can I bridge the gap between overt grammar instruction while still helping students to efficiently acquire the language for the purpose of improving writing? (I really am leaning towards these questions. I hated learning grammar because it was so boring. Also, I feel like I do not tackle grammar lessons effectively or frequently enough to see student improvement.)

2. My students enjoy creative writing versus analytical writing. Through mini-lessons and Writer's Workshop, how can I motivate my students to write analytically with the same fervor that they exhibit for creative writing?

3. I teach my students to question absolute truths, so why don't they question my authority? (This sounds better in my head!) How can I encourage my students to respectfully question authority with clear purpose?

4. How does my choice of writing prompts encourage student engagement in writing? What if students could create the prompts?

5. How do I improve reading comprehension? (Way too broad! Suggestions?)

6. How can a Writer's Notebook function as a forum for issues of social justice? What if students could create the prompts?

7. What is the most beneficial way to edit student papers? Peer editing, teacher conferences, self-editing checklist? How do I get students to see the bigger picture--writing is a process?

8. How does teacher morale/energy positively or negatively affect students? Does the classroom environment or the school culture (as a whole) have a more significant influence om students?

Please provide feedback. I feel confident with certain assertions, yet off base with some. As I continue to complete Field Notes #3, I plan on focusing on student writing (informal, formal, sentences on a vocabulary quiz, reactionary paragraph to a voice recording of a Shakespearian sonnet.) I know that my students write daily, but how well? Is it more important to get ideas on a paper than mechanically-sound sentences? Like Sarah, I will post my Field Notes #3 as well. Please help me to hone in on the "specific, tangible, concrete" (5).