Introduction Brandi Crumb EDU671: Fundamentals of Educational Research Dr. Sheila Thomas

My name is Brandi Crumb. ›I was born and raised in Oklahoma, and reside in Midwest City, OK. ›Spent Kindergarten thru 2 nd grade in the Greater Oklahoma City area and them moved to a small rural town in SW Oklahoma for 3 rd -12 th grades, graduating in May 2000 (my graduating class was 23, just to give you an idea of the size of the town). ›I received my undergraduate degree from Oklahoma Christian University, a B.S. in Liberal Studies (Communication/Theatre, Education/Math, & Bible) in 2004.

My Life— I don’t have any kids of my own, but my nieces and nephews (and neph-puppy) are my life. These are my Munchkins (nieces), my Monkeys (nephews), and my Bug (neph-puppy)! Allyson-11 Alexia-8 1/2 Damon-3 Liam-1 Jacob-3 1/2 Jeremy- 1 1/2 Rowdy-5 Cora-2 1/2

I played and ref’d roller derby for Oklahoma City Roller Derby—Tornado Alley Roller Girls and Lightning Broads for 5 years before retiring in 2011, and I miss it every day! As a player I was Kaysa Payne. As a Ref I was Hot H2O.

My Plans ›I am a MAED student specializing in mathematics and would like to teach Jr. High Mathematics here in Oklahoma. ›As stated before I have a B.S. in Liberal Studies but because I did not specialized specifically in Education, I do not have my certification and because I don’t work in a field of my degree, I cannot do alternative certification. So I am working towards my Master’s to better prepare me for the ever changing classroom, and allow me to apply for alternative certification in my state. ›I chose mathematics and middle school because this is a time when students are really just coming into their own. There are many changes that are taking place that will affect what they will do in high school and later on in life. This is a time when most students begin to hate math, and when I began to love it. Math in general is getting harder (they add letters in with the numbers and that can be confusing) and the answers are becoming more complex. If I can help my students understand and, if not love, at least not loathe math then, maybe we will not be so short on math and science teachers in the future, and can eventually compete with other countries academically.

Action Research vs. Traditional Research ›I had never heard of action research before reading this prompt. What I have gathered from the definitions I read, is that action research is more like being a part of a living breathing project, while traditional research projects are much more clinical and set apart from the researcher.