Read the author's opinion and evaluate it. What are your thoughts your thoughts about mixed methods research based on her experience? Do you agree or disagree?? What can you add to extend the discussion? As I look back on my response to Discussion 1, I realize that I have learned quite a bit in this course! I posed a question regarding differing sample sizes, and how a mixed methods researcher deals with that issue. I learned through our readings that different sample sizes is a threat to the validity of a convergent mixed methods design, and the researcher must either use the same sample size or explicitly state the rationale at the outset for the difference (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). I still believe that mixed methods research is of great value to many audiences and I also hold the position that this type of study is more rigorous due to the fact that the researcher must be an expert at both quantitative and qualitative research. Some people work best under a quantitative, numbers approach, and some work best with words and themes. The mixed methods researcher needs to be adept at both, and this isn't easyto me, it's almost like having two brains! On one hand, the researcher needs to objectively collect data and maintain a stance outside the research, and on the other hand, the researcher must also actively participate in the lived experiences, procuring the rich details of the participants inside the research that could not be brought about with a quantitative approach alone. I plan on continuing to learn about mixed methods case study research because this may be my approach for the dissertation. This approach involves collecting QUAN and QUAL data to provide evidence for a case, and both types of data are embedded into a case design structure (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). My case will be explanatory in nature, and the unit of analysis for sampling is the case itself (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). For purposes of QUAN data collection, I will administer a pre-test reading motivation survey to all students in my second- grade class. All students in the class will then receive the arts-integrated reading intervention treatment during whole class lessons. The QUAL case study will take place over a four-month period. The design will involve two separate cases of a male and a female student who are struggling in reading comprehension (as defined by beginning of the year reading assessments). These students will receive additional arts-integrated intervention during a separate instructional time daily with the researcher/teacher. It will be necessary to collect multiple sources of information for analysis (interviews, document analysis, observations, etc.) Interview, document analysis, and observation protocol will be thoroughly planned out beforehand (Hancock et al., 2021). The rationale for a different sample size for the QUAL portion of the study is to be able to provide a rich, detailed account of how an arts-integrated reading intervention affects the motivation to read of struggling learners. The results of the QUAL findings will then be compared to the QUAN findings to see if there are areas of convergence and divergence. My aim is to compare motivation to read after receiving the arts-integrated reading comprehension treatment among average readers (whole class) to those readers who struggle, and are at least one grade level behind compared to their peers. My own motivation for this study arises from discontent with the current state of reading practices, especially for struggling learners in the area of comprehension. The simple view of reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) provides a concise model of reading comprehension comprised of two aspects: word decoding and listening comprehension. Children may need different intervention approaches to support their reading development at different times (Woolley, 2010). A problem exists when students who are proficient in their phonics ability receive more phonics intervention, when what they really require may be another approach to strengthening their comprehension skills (Woolley, 2010). Personally, I see this occur everyday with my intervention students who are pulled out of the classroom to receive separate instruction to presumably assist them in reading. These same students are then missing class time, and not receiving what they need, and I cannot say a thing about it because I am only the classroom teacher. In my district hierarchy, the RTI teachers are seen as above the regular teachers as being instructional experts, and I just cannot even express how frustrating this is on a daily basis! Currently, I am researching the literature on arts integration, visual learning, reading comprehension, working memory, and motivation. I am learning more about aspects of working memory and visual information to incorporate brain research into this study as well. In previous posts, I mentioned more about the arts-integrated treatment I would utilize: arts/reading comprehension strategies, visual sketch-noting, and visual thinking strategiesbut I need to research this further to refine my exact approach. I need to define that this is more about how the brain learns through visual strategies rather than just a focus on art projects. I need to also learn more about interviewing techniques with children, analyzing children's artwork for themes, and how to correctly carry out observations while I am also the teacher of the class. I think the ideas are of value to the educational community, but I need to explore ways to make this study feasible and one that I can actually carry out while also teaching