Reflections

Reflection #1 (Due Sunday, February 1 at 11:59 pm): to ePortfolio
How are you going to revise your work? What secondary sources might you need to
explore to bolster your previous research? Who are you writing for and how will that
impact your revisions?

Throughout this past semester, there were many things that I did to contribute to my team’s data. With this being said, I was able to email a list of participants asking for an interview. Currently, only one has reached back out, however, I was still able to conduct one with the Director of Grants and achievement for Rock Island school district, located in Rock Island, Illinois. Furthermore, my contact list includes many other potential participants such as the National Great River Museum and early education professor from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. It can be said that I have already completed the first steps of my plan. 

As stated in the previous statement, I have completed the first step in my research. Specifically, can be described as reaching out to the participants, in a manner that informs them of the research my team is conducting. Even though I have only conducted one interview, that interview has some great insight regarding our research problem. With that, I was able to learn where educators find curriculum that meets the standards of the state. NGSS proves to be a great resource for educators teaching K-8 students. I say this because they provide material that meets the standard of state guidelines while making it relatable for students in this generation. I found the reality aspect to be most important because this is likely how students remember water sustainability practices. More specifically, it is vital that we highlight data that demonstrates the impact of education that can be applicable to real-world scenarios. As far as interviews go, my plan is to update my team members about the results I got. This includes any new information or finding that might help them with their own endeavors. 

There are many things that I could do better in the future regarding interviews. One of the ways that I can ensure an effective and smooth process is vetting out candidates. If I would have created a stronger list of candidates, I could potentially get more results. With that, I wouldn’t have to rely on potential participants to email me back. Specifically, when gathering data, I organize it differently. During this round of interviews, I decided to utilize Microsoft word dictate option. Yes, this option is convenient, but it also causes disorganization when trying to conduct an interview at the same time. Dividing the questions into themes and order is something that can be considered an edit, but successfully impacts the outcome of my questions. This aspect is something that I will make sure to do every time I have to conduct an interview of any type. Another step that I want to ensure that I do every time is give context. During my first interview, I didn’t give strong context regarding the problem. It led for the educator to answer questions that weren’t as much related to the topic. Despite this, I was able to vet important research that answered many of the questions I had about engagement. 

2. Reflection #2 (Due Sunday, February 8 at 11:59 pm): to ePortfolio
   Who do you want your work to reach? Who are the relevant stakeholders, and how
   do/should they shape your work?

Reflection #2

Throughout the duration of this project, there are many things that I’m apprehensive of. It can be said that these apprehensive tendencies will help me become well prepared in the future. As far as behaviors, operating within normal ethics and keeping open lines of communication, have made a positive benefit to my research. Without these aspects, it would be hard for me to incorporate different perspectives regarding my research. Thus, those are things that demonstrate the effectiveness of my work, when it comes to critically curating interview questions. I can also say that I have planned out my agenda in a goal-oriented format. With that being said, I have set goals that I want to achieve by certain timeframes. Not only does this agenda hold me accountable to deadlines, but it also stands for an organized form of notetaking. Considering the concept of this research, there are also many other steps that I can take to improve my research process. It should be stated that building trust, engaging, and learning from mistakes are all aspects that come with research. As far as stakeholders and how my work will be shaped, I can say that I have become passionate and committed to evaluating the benefits of our water fair program. Further thinking about the things that we need to fix and tweak when talking about an improved toolkit. Already, I have contributed to an environment that harbors open lines of communication where everyone is passionate about their work. Now that I have given you a brief overview of the different concepts regarding my research, I will explain them in further detail. 

One of the main critics that I have with my work specific to our research question is interview questions. Interview questions have been the most tedious part of my work so far. I say this because it involves a lot of critical thinking about perception. Moreover, I tended to think about the questions from an interviewee’s lens. Furthermore, asking myself “how would I answer that question?” These actions helped speed the process for implication. As I curated questions, I ensured that each one was asking something different. I paid great detail to this because I’m able to get greater results by providing a diverse set of questions. Another thing that I had to consider was the order of the questions. Mainly thinking of sorting them based on category, theme and relevancy. Strategically, I was able to organize from general to more research specific. Purposely, it allows for me to ease them into the questions, without starting off with a critical thought. Ultimately, all of these mechanisms helped ensure that I had good vetted research questions to ask participants. 

Yes, it is true that curating research questions was one of most intricate tasks yet, however there are many aspects of this process that helped contribute to my research team. One of these aspects was utilizing my notes and creating an agenda. Before curating questions, I was able to gain insight from my group regarding the things that they were doing with their own research. With that, I was able to contribute my piece that is relevant to the work that they were doing by collaboration. I often took notes on articles we all annotated and the lessons that they plan to create. After gaining that knowledge I was able to create a detailed agenda that incorporates that knowledge of local subject matter experts. I found that this work is needed, when wanting to ensure that our research is credible. 

Reflection #3

There are many ways that we can receive feedback as it regards our research projects. One of the things that I find valuable would be the relationship that my group has with JJK. I find that this relationship helps ensure that we are constantly improving and thinking about the effectiveness of the Water Fair Toolkit. As it regards the feedback, I believe that feedback from the participants could also be a vital factor in the process. More specifically, evaluating the areas where we were able to engage students and make activities interactive. Previously, I mentioned my role of conducting interviews with the National Great River Center in Alton, IL. This interest has led me to further research ways that my group could reflect on the water fair. I think that it’s important to reflect on the stations and whether they were interactive. With that being said, through our Emplace post, we can encourage future perspectives that want to use the toolkit to make it their own. This brings me to the idea that true evaluation could include that the Water Fair toolkit be modified for different communities. For example, East. St. Louis experiences many natural disasters, such as floods, which make it harder for people to recover from. It can be said that other communities could be dealing with different issues and need different material. This is a question that my group could be thinking about in terms of improvement and outreach. My goal is to ensure that we are helping non-profits and/or schools implement the water fair toolkit as a way to engage and teach about water conservation practices. Hopefully, JJK and the National Great River Research Center could help contribute ideas as fair as implementation to make sure that all nonprofits and schools have the opportunity to receive curriculum that students can apply in real life.