Valerie San Filippo '15

2012 Soar Student

Major/minor: English/Education

Hometown: Lindenhurst, N.Y.

Project: Teacher Action Research: Contemporary Leaders in Practitioner Inquiry and their Epistemological Belief Systems

Project advisor: Dr. Joseph Shosh

Project details: Our SOAR Project seeks to organize and simplify the many works written in the field of teacher action research in order to create easy-to-use resources for anyone (particularly Moravian M.Ed. students) to use as reference material. These resources include an annotated bibliography as well as biographies of leaders of practitioner inquiry. We hope to continue our work by creating a timeline of the history of action research within the context of the history of education.

Why I wanted to participate in SOAR: My primary motivation to participate in SOAR was our advisor, Dr. Shosh. He is very enthusiastic about his field of study, and to work with someone so willing to guide us in a project we believe in was a great experience. I knew from the beginning that SOAR would allow me to develop my critical skills beyond those necessary in the classroom. Not only have I done this, but I have gained confidence in working with academic material on a large scale. The skills I’ve learned will benefit me for years to come. SOAR won’t look bad on a résumé either!

Results: We created both an extensive source bibliography and an annotated bibliography of works by leaders in the field of teacher action research, compiled lists of colleges and universities in the tri-state area and California with teacher action research programs, and created biographies for the leaders of practitioner inquiry.

Future plans: I plan on getting a degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, followed by a Master’s Degree in Education.