For Competency 2, “Create Knowledge”, I have chosen three artifacts. For the first sub-competency, “Demonstrate ability to describe common research methods in discipline”, I have chosen my first Trend Analysis paper from EDCI 52003. In this paper, I have researched the concept of the Growth Mindset, first developed by Carol Dweck (2006). Throughout this paper, I discuss the different methods Dweck used in her research. She started by giving students different tasks, observed how they completed the tasks, then analyzed her observations. She furthered her research, continuing to develop her concept by including ideas of how to implement it (2015). She also cited other researchers whose works she studied to help develop the concept of Growth Mindset. I then discussed how the idea of Growth Mindset could be implemented in the classroom. It’s a different way of thinking about solving problems, that it’s not always about the outcome, but about the journey getting there. This is something that I use in my program, especially when we talk about robotics. Often students become frustrated with robotic building or coding because there are many failures involved, or they don’t know where to begin. I am working on ways to help them with where to begin, but the Growth Mindset is key to help them keep going, to not give up. Reminding them that what’s important is what they have learned throughout the experience, not necessarily the outcome, because they can build on their experiences until they succeed.

For the second sub-competency, “Demonstrate ability to read and evaluate research related to discipline”, I have chosen my second Trend Analysis Paper for EDCI 52003. In this paper, I investigate what research has been conducted about students after the pandemic. Since the pandemic happened less than three years prior to the writing of that paper, there was not much research done as some of the effects were still being processed. In my teaching environment, we do not see the students on a regular basis over a long period of time, so we do not have the time to get to know the students well or build a long rapport with them. Conducting research like this is important to understand what these students may have gone through, what support they may need. This research was helpful immediately, giving us an insight into the students participating in our program. In our middle school program, it seemed that we were having more discipline problems than we have in the past, which would line up with some of the findings in this paper. I have noticed that in the year since this paper was written, some of those behaviors have become more aligned with behaviors of the students before the pandemic, which is correlated by one of the articles within the paper. This will be a topic that will be revisited to help ensure that we are meeting the needs of the students coming in through our doors as quickly as possible.

For the third sub-competency, “Apply research findings to the solution of common problems in discipline”, I have chosen my group Educational Improvement Plan from EDCI 52004. In this project, we researched how to apply the Engineering Design Process (EDP) to other disciplines beyond Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). We started with a literature review, only to find there was not much. We then researched different ideas for using EDP for a variety of disciplines. All of this was put into a presentation with the intended audience of a teacher professional development event. The limited research information also indicates that there is potential for future research, to see if EDP can help students within other disciplines. If they are more EDP-minded, this may help them be more engaged and understand the other discipline; if they are not EDP-minded, then perhaps connecting EDP to something they are more comfortable and familiar with may help them understand EDP. My subject matter is tied to STEM, but as a group, we may continue to develop this research, investigating this idea further, and bring this to a professional development for feedback from outside our limited circle.

References:

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset : the new psychology of success (1st edition). Random House, New York.

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Dweck, C. (2015, September 23). Carol Dweck Revisits the “Growth Mindset.” Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset/2015/09

EDCI 52003 - Trend Analysis Paper 1