The IRB process has not been terrible for me, and it has helped me to solidify my research methods, and thereby my research question and some of my sub-themes. However, there was a lot that was confusing at first, and it was thanks to some long conversations with my advisor Brian Geisinger that I now feel good about the process, even though there are still some outstanding questions I need answered.
The biggest frustration I have faced in the IRB process is in coming to grips with the fact that I need to go through an institutional review in the first place. I am conducting research for a project for AHS anyways, that I am doubling down on for my capstone. It works out very well for me. The depth and complexity of my capstone is greater than what I am doing for AHS. However, I am doing this research anyway, without a review by a board other than my colleagues. Since it is more-or-less action research and is being conducted in my classroom, I have a hard time answering some of the questions geared towards insuring that the well-being of my students is maintained. Nothing about my teaching practice is changing to allow for my research to take place since I am conducting research on the efficacy of my practices, and I would never cause harm to my students. Beyond that beautiful frisson that leads to intellectual stimulation and growth, I do not see why I need to defend my research as an extension of my teaching practice. Moving forward, I plan on submitting an expedited IRB proposal. I was hoping to get away with exempt, but I decided I really valued student feedback on their own growth, and I am having them reflect and self-assess anyways, so I might as well use this valuable data in my Capstone Project. My biggest issue is that the IRB process has convinced me to limit my data collection tools and methods simply to expedite the process… In the long run, I will probably be glad about this as it simply means less work for me. Yet, it feels like I am selling out on my research and methods in order to jump through some hoops and tick off boxes on a bureaucratic piece of red tape. I still have not resolved this feeling, and I still have not submitted my final IRB proposal. These things may be related...
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Julian SpringerMath Department - Animas High School Archives
December 2019
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