February 22 – March 11, 2016

Over the past couple of weeks, our group has been working with Mike to develop two preliminary surveys that we would administer prior to our arrival to Williams Lake. Mike and Siobhán have been supportive of us through this process, as they have offered valuable suggestions and insights to help us refine our survey questions. A full discussion of our chosen research methods can be found here.

Mike has agreed to administer the surveys after the students return from Spring Break, and will have the results sent back to us around April 5th. This will be extremely helpful, as we will have the opportunity to learn more about the different students at Skyline and begin compiling the student feedback as data for the analysis of the surveys. Between now and then, our group will continue to do more research and further educate ourselves about the Williams Lake community and various studies regarding alternative education systems.

One important thing that Mike mentioned in our previous meeting was to be prepared to face changes in the direction of our research question and focus upon our arrival to Williams Lake. Specifically he talked about how our relationship and engagement with students on a personal level will contribute and potentially inspire other avenues of where we choose to explore. This will be a vital point to keep in mind, both as researchers and outsiders of the Williams Lake community. We should be adaptable to the unexpected changes that occur along the way throughout the entire research process.