1. MIKHAEL’S INTRODUCTION EDU 671: FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INSTRUCTOR DR. ANTHONY VALLEY MAY 3, 2016

2. SHARE WHO YOU ARE, YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE (ESPECIALLY ANY DEALING WITH EDUCATION), AND YOUR PERSONAL INTERESTS. Greetings! My name is Mikhael (pronounced “My-kel”) and I live near St. Louis, MO. My professional background includes retail, substitute teaching, Pre-K teaching, higher education as an administrative assistant to academic deans of both undergraduate and graduate institutions, front office manager at the same undergraduate institution, and currently I am working as a Special Education paraprofessional at an elementary school. I am excited to announce that I will be beginning my first year as an elementary teacher this coming 2016-17 school year! I will be teaching the 4th grade. I am certified 1st-6th grade and also as a library media specialist. As far as personal interests, I enjoy participating in various ministries at my church, reading (both fiction and nonfiction), crafting, drinking coffee, eating chocolate, watching Netflix, and living vicariously through the people I am connected to on social media.

3. ILLUSTRATE WHAT YOUR BACKGROUND AS A K-12 STUDENT WAS LIKE AND DISCUSS EITHER A PERSON OR AN EXPERIENCE THAT HAD A LASTING INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE. I ATTENDED PUBLIC SCHOOL FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH THE 5TH GRADE, A SMALL PRIVATE SCHOOL DURING MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND WAS HOMESCHOOLED ALL OF HIGH SCHOOL. ONE TEACHER THAT STANDS OUT IN PARTICULAR IS MY 3RD GRADE TEACHER. I REMEMBER HER READING TO US IN CLASS AND BECOMING SO ENGROSSED IN THE STORY THAT SHE WOULD CRY. MAYBE THIS IS WHEN I BEGAN TO REALIZE HOW WE CAN MAKE EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS TO LITERATURE. I LOVED THAT SHE HAD A CLASSROOM LIBRARY WITH MORE “GROWN UP” (LARGER) BOOKS THAT I COULD READ. SHE REALLY ENCOURAGED MY LOVE OF READING AND LITERATURE, AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR HER INFLUENCE TO THIS DAY.

4. STATE WHICH DEGREE PROGRAM YOU ARE ENROLLED IN (MAED OR MATLT) AND DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF POSITION YOU HOPE TO HAVE IN THE FUTURE AND/OR AS A RESULT OF YOU EARNING YOUR ADVANCED DEGREE. WHAT IMPACT DO YOU BELIEVE HAVING YOUR MASTER DEGREE WILL HAVE ON YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS? I am enrolled in the MAED program. My specialization is in library and media. My long-term goal is to become a library media specialist in the K-12 setting and/or in the higher education setting. I am qualified for the K-12 position now (I have library media certification), but school librarian jobs are harder to come by. They are usually given to more seasoned teachers. However, I am hoping that my education (I have a bachelor’s degree in Library Science and Media and will soon have a master’s degree with library and media specialization) might give me a bit of an edge and perhaps help me obtain a library position sooner. Until then, I will enjoy my time in the classroom! There is still a possibility that I will end up working in higher education again (I really enjoyed working for Urshan College and Urshan Graduate School of Theology), and a master’s degree will definitely help me be more qualified for a higher education position.

5. DISCUSS IN A PARAGRAPH YOUR EARLY UNDERSTANDING OF ACTION RESEARCH COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL RESEARCH. My initial understanding of action research at this point is conducting research that involves an immediate problem or issue that will be addressed with some sort of action plan that will hopefully lead to a resolution or improvement. Traditional research may involve study, analysis, investigation, experimentation, etc. but may not necessarily lead to action or the resolution of a problem. I am sure that as this course progresses, my understanding of action research will deepen.