When the PhD changes you, WHAT remains 2

Circuitous is the only way to describe my ongoing thoughts and ideas moving into specific actions to finally define 'what remains' when the PhD changes you.

Markers of change

- the not so good part:  being able to quickly spot errors in minutes of the FEDFac Council mtgs and questioning reasons for change of grades

-the good part: I became an avid supporter of fellow faculty members intending for their course proposals to be approved for institution.  I hyperfocused on that for a few days to ensure positive results - that is, for the courses to be offered in time for the graduating students to take it within their last academic year at my open unive.  This effort is in support of the new AA program chair.

- I have become more conscious of people, their jobs and achievements of late. This meant removing biases against faculty members from other units. This is like me giving chances to others for future collaborations.

My eyes have also opened on fellow academic and professional staff whom I've taken for granted. I realized that in the process of doing webinars I've made allies out of them = the BEST part. And this time, I found a space where I can continue to teach and learn with them through FEDs Continuing Education Program (CEP) where my daydreams continue to take flight. The fun part is defining this thing called FED-CEP, which may be the space for a CeTL or MeTL to take root and take flight.

Markers of what remains

This idea of a MAEd program have been in my conversations with Sol, a FEd colleague and dear friend. We had those days in the DilFacrum@NCC where we imagine teacher education programs for my open university. We tried to suggest but failed in that area. I think because our brains weren't primed to follow given templates of action in our university. A colleague has reached exasperation point with our ideas, telling us to consider the channels or levels we have to negotiate with in order to have our ideas approved. So that remained afloat, for about years or so. Our lives went on safely, after all, we had enough teacher ed programs.

Now it's back, and with a vengeance. The ideas have solidified. Thanks to my Australian unive experience.

Markers of possible Change-a-coming

With weapons on hand (academic writing to launch the ideas), I have now crafted a Concept Paper on a prospective Master of Arts in eTeaching and eLearning. The weird part is I am going through this back to front. The idea is to play around with a bunch of non-formal short courses towards proposing a masters degree of purely coursework but with RPL schemes.

And when I PLAY, I mean these in my sandbox of sorts:

> we will set up a virtual learning community site which would contain spaces for: blogs, forum posts, OER sharing, news/articles

> do all sorts of discussions among fellow short course participants 

> do our short courses in our Moodle rooms or some Google Classroom

> open up the site to DGurong Pahinungod 1.0 ~ 4.0 to focus on the OERs

> then add SSE students for Service Learning Option OER projects

> craft course combinations leading to a CeTL - Certificate in eTeaching and eLearning

> define pathways to become RPLs schemes from this non-formal program to formal programs or the CTL leading to an MeTL

OMGahhhd, the list is going on and on.

I just pray I have my network of K-12 teacher-friends to help me.

I've started with a series of webinars, which ran quick surveys of possible short courses as part of the evaluation. Then came a list of courses and a list of possible course developers and teachers.

What am I missing here? A sure shot of course participants.

Good thing, I am now in this network of Gurong Pahinungod System-wide Group. Who would have known that we pioneer teacher volunteers will be working together?

Gotta stop here. Methinks my thoughts take me up too high.

Earth2Aleta...yoohoo...

Pandemic Blah Blahs

That Monday, I broke into tears after seeing Twitter feeds coming from the Lumad Schools. The 6/6 tweet thread showed a timeline of military actions against these schools servicing IP students in Mindanao area. There seems to be senseless red-tagging of teachers and students who simply desire a kind of education which celebrates free-thinking, critical analysis & conscientization.  That could have easily been me years back as a volunteer teacher/ community worker in Palawan, Tarlac or Romblon. And so I feel for their situation. Then of course, the  news of Maria Ressa's Cyberlibel case. I've been following her in the news for days. I thought maybe there is a slight chance we could win this.  I've given up on checking the number of Covid 19 cases in Pilipinas kong Mahal.

I cried more because for the first time, I've finally admitted, I want to kick my children out of my house and out of the Philippines. Yups. We talked more over lunch for a possible strategy.

Midweek, felt glad to be connected online with key folks from USQ. Learning something new keeps me afloat. Research ideas continue to pre-occupy me in some creative and maybe escapist way.  The chance to read more and daydream, vibe/emails these with my very few friends while I'm WFH is one of the reason to get up in the morning.  I relish these last few days of my full study leave.

Then came my webinar -- what  a source of joy and more, source of rethinking.   Analytics show that the webinar reached about 3,000 active viewers. Nice to read the comments. After patting myself on the back, I wondered about the questions from the teachers. I sense a general worry, a bit of desperation, and more, well-meaning questions to search for a one-time solution. The questions were quite interesting-- ranging from parent concerns/issues, formative assessments, how to handle a big class, how to motivate the unmotivated, mostly not even related to blended learning but real questions the concern teachers with or without the shift to fully online delivery of instruction.

Of course I had answers, but their questions left me asking why these questions?  Why such worries?  Why the need for templates of action?
As I've told my husband, why Im no longer into 'teacher training' perse, is that I no longer believe in one time big time trainings like how we used to organize it with teachers and daycare workers. Even more now. I said it's hard for me to actually teach teachers things which I just happen to learn on my own because that is mostly how I brought things to my class.

I've mastered the skill of lesson planning, the height was during my IB teaching days when I managed to put all the words they wanted to hear or see to make the evaluators feel secure that we teach what we ought to teach.  In the end anyway, it's just a plan. What matters to me, once I face my class, or join my students at work whether seated on the floor, in front of the computer or on the ground itself -- is the experience of being with them, sensing what interests them, junk the need for coverage or sequence of skills and just see where they are and find ways to take them further from where they are.  Or back in the days of community based teaching, no matter how I prepare my plans and pull out a stack of materials to bring to the sitios --- when I reach the families, it's either they are ready to engage or they are nowhere at all, or the numbers change from time to time.  In such a case, you let go of your plan and targets and instead listen to their stories and concerns for the day.  Then you try to turn those into learning events. I decided to take pictures and next session, I bring their copies and then we talk more -- engage their thinking and story telling. Then weave in questions of what to do next time we meet.  The time spent while walking and crossing creeks those days, or even taking a shower or driving are precious time to think of ways to experience teaching and learning.  I'd usually have a drop down list of the basics to be covered which I know I can pull from or mentally tick.  Best parts would be the unplanned ones.  I'd pick up something from this and that while in my travels or side projects or anything outside of my K-12 school life.  It triggers an idea or two, then there it goes. You try to feel test a few things which seem to match your student's needs and most of all their interest.  On some days, I feel we didn't learn a thing, but we just manage to make use of the time. Then there really are brilliant days of light bulb moments and projects where kids surprise me with what they were able to do on their own. Of course, those days when I battle my will with the children and some surrender, let the teacher's idea go and days when my ideas aren't picked up and so let's see. With all these, I've made more successes.

But then I ask why? Possibly, it's the luxury of small teacher-student ratio, smaller group of students to handle, there's time to write and reflect, time to share during conferences, time to discuss students' needs and talk to parents, time for trips, time to make grand projects --- all these afforded by a smaller class size. Schools aren't just there for children to learn, it is there equally for teachers to learn. There is so much growth in that if only we bank on the idea that teachers aren't perfect. They do not know everything. They can just be 5 steps ahead of their students for all we know.  Sometimes when we thought what we knew for certain is a fact, isnt a fact after all. And therefore, in that imperfection comes the time to make mistakes, the time to search for read and ask a fellow teacher, what can be done better next time, and most importantly, the time to try again and do well. There is always, always the time to do better if only we open ourselves to that possibility that not everything can be learned in 1 hour, 1 semester, 1 schoolyear. What we thought as students have already mastered or may appear as such, wouldn't be there next time.

So I guess, I'll stick to the advice I gave in my webinar -- one of the major things we must consider are class sizes.  If we managed to pull the K-12, pull the free tertiary level education,  why not a reasonable teacher student ratio -- it makes the class manageable and more real collaborations going on, manageable paper work; why not lessen the lesson planning so teachers spend more time to empty their brains of an overcrowded curriculum or PD fatigue, so that when with their students, they get to really immerse and see possibilities.

My Can of Stars = What IFs

After gathering needed readings and first read of articles on Social Presence, I now have real questions---to mean real questions that pop out (not as a means to satisfy a proposal submission nor like somekind of afterthought upon seeing that there is rich source of data to match questions) but more like it was questions that bug me at the onset of this new found curiosity on Social Presence. Of course it was a product of prior interest in sense of community, the COI and teacher presence.  

Looking back at my first month of studies at USQ, I think I picked up Social Presence from 1 email exchange with Dr PR. And then since I thought maybe it was connected with Sense of Community ( the first construct I studied upon entering the online teaching-learning world, and hands on experience with a virtual community site building), I decided to explore a better understanding of it. So I just read and read and read, alongside practising my a new tool, EndNote. 

Then the few interviews and field visits I managed to do alongside only confirm recent research done on Open High Schools. I therefore see that I cannot compromise a few plans I've had at the back of my mind for this research endeavor.

I came around to asking my adviser a question, then of course, she managed to see through what I was trying to word into an actual research question.  

It practically opened what I can only label as a A CAN of STARS-- you can literally see me having stars surrounding my head, not out of a bad bump, but more out of sheer excitement with this new study I am treading on...and neatly seeing how it is a continuation of prior curiosities.

So Id like to capture this moment, knowing that at some point, the stars may become dark clouds of confusion or a mud of messiness...let that take care of itself. For now,  try to see what Im seeing.....

Given that in a specific context such as learning communities in transition,  there are clear cut/ defined roles among  teachers and learners. But then possibly, there may exist shared roles in the area of SP and sense of community.

What if through my study, I initially capture the educational experiences of learners through the elements of the COI:  “what is the nature of the educational experiences of learners in the Open High School?”

Then afterwards,  I attempt to capitalize on SP and TP  in the process of building  a virtual community site in support of existing attempts to go blended or online.

This can be done by introducing/ co-facilitating the use of a virtual learning community site (either as learner support/ tutor/ and HS teacher) to jumpstart online community building, socialization, and with spaces for class related discussion forums, will this still be fine?... and if so, will this mean an action research component?

Then how about, I reexamine and investigate the elements of COI, particularly the development and interaction of the TP and SP overlap, that is, "setting the climate for learning": “Upon the development of a virtual community site for OHS teachers and learners, what will be the manifestations of TP and SP in setting the climate for learning? What will the interactions of TP and SP be like? How do these contribute to specific outcomes—such as sense of community or self efficacy or even initial CP?

Maybe then, a reinterpretation of the COI framework/ model will emerge, if not maybe additional indicators of it, or perhaps a rearrangement of the elements will take place, to fit the context of learning communities in transition…like a prequel version of a COI which may be applied at the secondary, and in support of movement towards the direction of a more genuine COI at the higher education level. Therefore, my study asks:

In what ways can the COI framework be utilized to examine the educational experiences of teachers and learners of the  Open High School  in the Philippines?

-->

DP Hist 11 Disequilibrium v. 2.015

I really need this mode...it is kinda hard when I don't exactly know where to turn to for very specific concerns re: the Hist new guide. This is what I truly miss about my former work. I know anytime I can bounce ideas with or unload to co teachers for anything about teaching and learning--offline or online...embedded in the craziest narratives of the day or even the sickest, greenest jokes over lunch, and this still happens 24/7 having my husband as the most reliable co teacher around.

Now at my 2nd year at Beacon, I have a small groupie I know I can turn to. I have AG, RE and JG to ask about DP HL/ SL matters. I have VN and JL to check on my sanity, AA to ask about her thoughts on my views, ML and CC about teaching, kids & classes, CF for ideas in my  MYP class, GG and PI  for organizational/ faculty-as-body views, ZG for acad reading and writing...

OMG, what list was that. It only shows how cluttered my brain can be.

Lately, and specific to History I am able to sound off  ideas to  and concerns with a new (but very experienced) teacher but still in times when I get confused (and bagot with myself for being confused) and then emotional in the midst of the confusion,  I think it best to shut up and listen first to my thoughts before I do anything.  That space between stimulus and response (naxx..what I gathered from HOS, hehe)

While I do recognize I can turn to my current DP coord for concerns re: grading, assessment and TSCs, Id really like a serious conversation about IAs and how it relates to the IB Exam paper assessments etc etc etc AND the course guide itself. Im sensing, there must be a better way to work with all these--tipong we hit 2 birds (or even more) with one stone...and in the end try to lighten the load on the students or actually maximize their brain efforts toward the common goal of meaningful learning. 

Here goes:

I was thinking what if to help students in that phase when they need to think of a research area of inquiry and their research question, which upon advice of former DP coord should be related to Philippine history,  we can actually look at THAT list of World History topics outlined by IB in their New History Guide. From the list, extract those topics and even from that list, why not develop specific WH topics for Grade 12?

And if so, do I rock the boat---this way: ask a co teacher and my coord whether another WH topic can be developed for the 12s next year in of support student related IA inquiries  which touch on the Philippines-SEA context?

And if so, which  former World History topic can then be replaced by this new WH unit/topic?

And if so, can the DP coord with the Hist 12 teacher also look at this topic/ unit development alongside  the DP Socio-Anthro course development?

So instead of actually looking at the History course as a topic listing of sorts, we look at the topics as a coherent web--with the routes, prescribed courses, case study like courses and world history option courses as somehow interrelated and we see THAT common strand we can work in so that we work around the IA?( I wonder then how we can view all our DP courses.) It's as if we do not actually have to start from scratch whenever we are faced with the IA.

Suma total, it is essentially a question of (and in the light of the new Hist Guide): Do we keep the Hist course safe and keep with the courses we have comfortably developed and enriched vs Do we take this as an opportune time to do the necessary change so that the Hist course can continue to evolve or redefine itself given student demands and interest on Phil History?

OR keep it safe cuz eventually, we shall cancel out Hist course and go for Socio-Anthro, just to be pragmatic about this. We have soooo much work to do  anyways.

So AHA...there must be something good coming out of doing a self study on this New History Guide_ m2017. It requires us to realistically look into our priorities as a program...and also a chance to ask ourselves--could it be that the Phil educ system have always sidelined Socio Anthro as a social science over History which seems to have dominated the SocSci discipline since time memorial...with History historically emerging even before the Social Science was conceived. Then all the more, we carve that space for Sociology and Anthropology, the Philippine kind in IB-DP.

Glad to have this out of my brain.

Forked Path: Which is which?

I am at this point when I am tempted to do something nitty gritty for my study vs. keeping focus on what I think I should do first. The nitty gritty is this: I have 4-6 audio transcriptions in. for Nellie's classes. I want to align the data, meaning to say on a sheet of paper, I'd like to align the audio flow vs the chat--make the data in sync. That's the best term I can think of.

Recalling here the steps I've  done so far in terms of data gathering:
1) Scheme through 1 recording per teacher: N, G and NA. This gave me a sense of their classes.
    Then I've selected classes based on most recent recordings (due to recent WizIQ changes in the virtual class, consecutivity---how close the sessions are so I can follow the flow of content)
2) Transcribe 1 recording per teacher--this is to get used with the language they have; the communication happening and start taking down notes on what is happening.
3) View more of Nellie's recordings to examine her teaching and what's going on in her classes. I've started to take note of segments in the recordings and code teaching moments on my scratch sheet.
4) After viewing the first identified batch, I decided to select more classes.
5) Then I've asked 2 people to start with the audio transcriptions as I move on with viewing the Batch 2 recordings and noting  more segments to highlight.
6) I've seen emerging themes and would want to exhaust the data hence viewed  Jan-mid Feb recordings.
7) This time I've experienced a shift---I have now started to pay close attention to the chat to audio interactions, chat-chat interactions, audio to chat responses.

Since now I have the transcriptions in for Batch 1, I am torn between:
Plan A= doing a chat-audio sync of the data on paper  OR
Plan B=simply focusing on the audio transcriptions.

Plan B goes this way:  I review  Nellie's recordings again=2nd level. This means my goal is to look at the audio transcriptions then start highlighting segments based on my initial notations=coding.  I see the need to do this lest I forget the context of my notations.  This time, I shall follow a more systematic flow--starting with (Feb 18), Feb 25, March 5, March 12, March 25, April 1. 

So here goes.... I will go for Plan B.  Do this for 1 week....and keep blogging. I need to get over school reports then writing proper for research start first week of October.

Photo finish in time for October 11-13 Conference at Penang. My paper will end with a degree of certainty=emerging themes + uncertainty=possibilities for future investigation of the 'interactions' which is about a semblance of not just TP---but tp + lp= as role both T and L do.  Final questions raised=is this just unique to the style of teacher and how her perspective of online teaching and language learning? or are there in fact observable patterns in among exemplary teachers w/ a range of  teaching style.

Side questions:
1)How is teaching presence diff from teaching style and online teaching? Or what are the relations?
2) May I do a first person writing? What justifies such? Where/which part/how should I write about the choice to do first person?

I feel like I'm scribbling co centric circles in this QR path---it ain't linear at all. But it's a path I feel safe in navigating with the knowledge that this is all part of the process.  After all, I realized that I am going through this with ample reflections---I am not yet in the-wanting- to- get- this- over- and- done- with phase. I am still learning something new and look forward to seeing more recordings of N & G....G most especially!

Taking a Chance...Again

Somebody asked about my research and so I started to rethink what I thought have forgotten. This is what I have now. I don't know if this is good enough, but I need to try at least. Reposting here from an email I sent to the 'medium' who happens to be as good as the message.

March 2011
What has been at the back of my mind since I started with my small gradeschool and getting involved with my open university is the idea of a virtual HS. Why? Simply because I believe not all children are meant to end up in the big private Catholic schools we have nor the public HS which are in a worse situation. There has to be other alternatives.

But this has been a bugger for me as I may have a keen sense of what can work but I need research to back me up. I'm not even sure whether I should get into a virtual HS as I have gradeschool to take care of.

However, the least thing I can do for now is to research about it in answer to the ff questions:

1) What's a good model to do a Virtual HS? ( for homeschoolers, school leavers=out of school youth and students coming from progressive grade schools who are most likely to consider this)

2) What's the best platform to launch this?

3) What other things should be planned for to assure its efficiency, effectivity and sustainability for the end users ?

The above research should be based on prior studies related to:

-the state of Alternative Learning Systems in the Phil for homeschoolers and school leavers
-gaps in the implementation of these: whether curr related or delivery related
-current learning needs of prospective learners
-curriculum targets of HS (local Dept of Educ requirements)
-the state of Virtual HS in developing countries
-platforms which are out there which can make Virtual HS happen (ex how does VHS operate in US-based Open Universities and is WizIQ in fact a better alternative...but if no research about it yet, what proves its efficiency and "power"? perhaps WiziQ stats in terms of classes for HS levels!!!)

And since I am looking for a good working model of a VHS, the research needs to arrive at:
-recommended model of VHS using an effective platform for Filipino learners
-other areas which may not be met by current virtual platform and hence have to be sourced out or developed
-mechanisms to monitor student learning and teaching effectiveness

Reposting Prior Blogs on Homeschooling+Online Teaching+Virtual HS

AS OF SEPT 2008
PLAN D: Program Development of an Online Learning Component
for Grades 6-8 Homeschoolers

-a needs assessment, and curriculum development plan and implementation of distance education for home schoolers

What now: Not prepared to do this as I need an MDDE...but the idea of studying again under this UPOU program excites me

AS OF OCTOBER 2008

What Matters to Me the Most:
1) That the research should be able to sustain my attention for 6 months to 1 year
2) That the research can only be significantly done and achieved through my degree
3) That I be able to contribute a product which a community
can readily use
4) That it is achievable within the maximum time I can devote my attention to it amidst all the other things in my life
5) That the research



AS OF JUNE 2009

What Research Says about Instructional Design Models of Online Learning for High School Home schoolers

Aims
-to investigate what current research says about online learning and high school homeschoolers
-to describe current and effective instructional models of online learning for high schoolers
-to draw out implications pertaining to developing a model for FIlipino homeschoolers

HMMMMM....

Auto ethno of which is which?

After doing more read, I am unsure as to whether my current topic is the one for auto-ethno which is worth writing about. Auto-etho may also mean, SPN=scholarly personal narrative which has already been around.

I came across another interesting site: http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/search/results

Lots of writings about the making of autoethnoes.

Here's another idea of an autoethno as I, myself, a teacher.
This is about looking at my current school's curriculum and narrating how I managed to arrive at this kind of curriculum--curriculum making as teacher's meaning making. The paper will also deal with previous engagements with curriculum making in the hope of surfacing lessons learned and critical learning points in my journey as a teaching making meaning out of teaching practice--specific to curriculum making.

So how do I make up my mind then?

Random Thoughts

Here I go again. It's general cleaning time. I'm set to sort and dispose stuff frpm kitchen storage and work room. It's a Sunday and these thoughts flow:
-a CMS on Filipino Online: w/ Aklat Adarna Publications to lead it, alongside these elements: forum for quick online lessons; content sharing of teacher made materials; content sharing of lessons based on Adarna books; latest news and research re Filipino language
-survey progam managers/teachers and parents of gr 6-8/ Middle Years--arguments for and against it
-research on blended design of online teaching-learning for middle years
-research on virtual high schools
-renew membership in ASCD and NCSS
-curriculum exhibit of Builders' School at Educ

Gahhd...what a New Year for a mid-lifing woman.

Letting the Mud Settle

I'm still in this pool of self doubt but at least now, I am managing.
Last year was the ulimate pressure to give my theses a go. But a part of me is holding back for the simple reason that I want more experiments with doing quali research. The thing is I'm learning this on my own with help from Doctor X and Jean Gray, 2 people I look up to when it comes to doing research and maybe the most immediate ones I know I can rely on for help. My curiosities now are with the types of quali research methodologies which I'd like to experiment on for the sake of experimenting and not particularly to come up with a decent output. I'd like to just undergo the process of doing things and make the essential mistakes I have to in order to learn.

This gets in conflict with external pressure to acquire a PhD because this is what is acceptable to the academic world. A PhD is a necessity in a higher ed career. Academics and scholars are supposed to generate knowledge. This I question of course. There's just too much knowledge to go around with, right? The greater need for me is to write what I want to write. I thought I could pull it with my first topic presentation but I was not able to in my panel members' view.

So it's still an ongoing battle of wills: a part of me says "Wisen up!", a part of me says "Give it up!" and yet one says "Give it a rest...let things be".

Left of Center

Finally, I've heard honest feedback from Mam Jean re my EDDE 206 work.
But I wasn't even expecting to get words of advice for my theses.
Just when I was about to give up on my cause (Progressive Schools+Social Studies+ Curriculum Design/Dev't)and get into a different topic....

It seems like all the support systems are in place for me to be able to do this--
I have collegeaues who believe that this is worth it and I know I can count on them anytime for research advice. I have children who are self supporting alongside a free range mother hen such as I who seems to be up and about. I have a Teacher Vic who does more than his share of parenting and has tolerated me all this time and given me the space to be caught up in all these. I am lucky enough to afford a UP education. I have students and co teachers who are self propelling. I have a job that can allow me to do all these. There is no standing obstacle except I, MYSELF, ME=JULIET! Self doubt has been my mortal sin-mortal enemy all this time.

It took an EDDE 206+ Jean + Primo to do make me see that.

Noting down here points to remember and perhaps to live by:
-start from where you are
-get the side of my advisers
-consider their view
-let my contribution to the field be the research methodology
and theoretical frame through which I can achieve this research


In the midst of my exchanges with Jean, and overhearing Primo saying this and that, I go (trying to recall my exact words...) "bakit sa tingin mo magagawa ko yan"?
Primo goes "kase left of center ka e". How can he have captured that side of me I've taken for granted. All this time, I've never exactly did what most usually do.
I've always been a step away from the path or shall I say veered away from the common path to explore a trail that's nowhere to be found.

I am meant to be here, at this time for a reason and I've simply failed to see that God's hand has been there. And maybe if Dave were here, he would say "causes and conditions". My attachment=self doubt=self at the center of the self doubt!!!

So Aleta, just keep at it...carry on.

Streamlining my Research Work

In my quest for a sense of equilibrium amidst multi-tasking and finally getting started with de-cluttering my closet, I finally got it. From this month onwards, this how my quests will take place:

-target paper presentations: for mini research as product of my self study and experiments with quali research and distance learning

-target submissions for publication: as by product of my experiments in Builders' School and a means to push forth my agenda for social studies and teacher education--for now it's the PUNE PEPPER


-target data gathering (FGD, school observations, questionnaire): as means to achieve a small study on Progressive School practices and Social Studies Education--
for now it's questionnaire status

-2010 targets: Inquiry SS for publication; paper presentation which is distance learning related; 6-month data gathering for Progressive Practice--portions 1-3 are done--to follow, findings, discussion and analysis, conclusion

Any which way will sustain my brain's curiosities and level of functioning in doing research.

Agreed?

Maximum Work Required:
Quarter 1: Pune Paper (now - Feb)
Quarter 2: Soc Studies Paper (summer)
Quarter 3: Inquiry Paper for Publication (PECERA)

Minimum to keep me self assured w/ my goal:
-Pune Paper
-Inquiry based learning: Sample Social Studies and Science Projects

What went wrong? and what now?

WHAT HAPPENED?

Well...I guess it's basically a stubborn attitude when it comes to writing.
I was bent on trying out narrative analysis only to find out, this requires something else. I wanted to try it cuz my previous papers were basically case studies.
I wanted to get out of that safe mode and try some other methodology.

In other words, research is not just about MY personal agenda because there is data which have to be considered and viewed beyond that personal agenda to practice!!!

Here's feedback we got about our paper:
Reviewer A:

Relevance: 5

Originality: 3

Significance : 3

Content : 3

Style and Clarity: 4

Soundness: 3

Recommendation The paper is OUTSTANDING and deserves to be shortlisted for a
best paper award.: No

Change of Paper Type: No

Revision: Revision required, see comments

Comments :
I suggest the author considers including reference to Downing et al (2007).
The full reference is Downing, K., Lam, T., Kwong, T., Downing, W.K., &
Chan, S. (2007)
‘Creating interaction in online learning: a case study’ ALT-J. Vol.15,
No.3 201-215, 2007.
This is because this study identifies some key interaction patterns highly
relevant to the authors paper. This could then be used to add weight to the
authors conclusion which is currently a little short/thin.


MORE QUALIFIERS HERE....
Review Criteria

Relevance 5
The paper is relevant to the conference theme and key areas.
The topic has the potential to encourage interactive discussion.
Originality 3
The paper presents a novel or innovative approach to the research in one of the three key areas.
Research and/or best practice that has not been frequently discussed or provides a different perspective.
Significance 3
The paper will make a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge in the field either empirically or practically.
Content 3
The paper will present a case to the reader that is logical and the reasoning is supported by specific facts.
Style and Clarity 4
The paper is presentable and well organized. The paper increases the understanding of the content to experts, practitioners and lay persons.
The paper is clear and there is an appropriate use of style (APA), standard English, correct grammar and spelling usage, free of errors, and ease of reading.
Soundness 3
Full/Brief Paper - Quality of the literature review, statement of purpose and research goals. Appropriate methodology (reliability and validity), analysis, findings, and conclusions are clear and believable.
Best Practice Paper - Quality of literature review, demonstration of use in professional practice, learning points, and conclusions are clear and believable.


WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

-methodology is again based on your research aims and purposes plus the data gathered and made available.
-questions clearly reflect that it's a case study in the first place
-methodology has to be clearly stated according to the questions raised by Primo:
What type of data did you use?; covered dates and time periods, why did you choose to make use of the above mentioned data?

WHAT DO I NEED TO UNDERSTAND?

-if this is a case study...what is not? what is narrative inquiry or analysis?
-a question by co writer: what is significance vs relevance?

Reality Check: What Have I Overlooked

I spent time with the AA's yesterday and boy, we got to cover a lot of things in our exchanges: student council, student org, MMS photography class, Biomodd field trip 1, field trip part 2, sportsfest, photo exhibit, suggestions for the upou lms/website, UPOU FB1, UPOU FB2. And so, out comes a bunch of ideas for the UPOU virtual learning community. And out comes a new set of glasses to see VC's from others' points of view besides mine.

A major wake up call! So now that I'm awake, there's a part I have yet to see in this research: online behavior. Hah--and my co writer has seen that before.

Anyways, movin' on....I need to review the questions, collect/ review current lit I've collected, go back to the abstract. There!


Perhaps it is time to FB, in order to:
-connect more with students through an online presence in the social network they themselves created
-get out of the box and see students from a different light
-observe online behavior and search for meanings

What's Brewing....

Cutting and pasting an email exchange:

Re Site stats: What good will it do?
(I'm thinking aloud + figuring out something here to get to a certain point)
That article from where I got those site stats actually say that such stats didn't provide enough basis to evaluate site interaction in the VC. And so the article went on to use other means to describe the nature of interaction among members of the VC qualitatively.

I'm thinking along these lines...
to include some kind of data in your narrative in terms of:
-threads which garnered most number of hits/ responses
-threads which YOU as moderator see as indicatives of quality interaction
-threads which provide evidence that there is a growing sense of community

Okie. Now I have Part 2 questions brewing ...

In the end, I guess, to examine the interaction and sense of community at the site, we need to use the ff:
-narratives from a set of guide questions
-contents from specific threads at the site
-questionnaire/ checklist (there's a sense of classroom community survey I got somewhere which I can tweak to use at the site for active users and new users)

Is there any other data you think we should include?

But there's a WOW here cuz finally I stepped out of that OC-ness of looking at review of lit.I am now getting into concerns re data gathering and analysis...yehey.

Why It Could Not Work...but What Can

I got an EXT for my quali research course at UPOU.
I take responsibility for that entirely.
This is a chance for me to reflect why so.
I mean I do love studying now in grad school--it was never like that in my undergrad years.
My fave course is EDUC 390 Independent Study. Took it twice cuz it allowed me to meaningfully work on papers I WANT to do and not because of some kind of course fulfillment to comply with.
The idea here is for us students to work on our current research interests--work on these alongside listening to other's work on theirs so you get this feeling that all of you are in the same boat and you have people to bounce ideas with. I was just lucky enough to be with classmates who came from different fields--a doctor of medicine, an expert in the field of hospitality management, a school director, a Dean from another tertiary level institution, another Dean from U.P. But we have a common interest--research and curriculum.

And so we did work on our papers, organized a forum to present these. I was fortunate to have my papers presented in another forum and published later on.

I had these prior experiences to back me up.
Then here goes my course at UPOU.
What a downer...a downer cuz I was excited and enthusiastic only to find myself doubting myself whether in fact I got what it takes to understand research-- qualitative research at that.

My course tasked us students to come up with a research project in the end.

So here I am again, grappling through all the terms--confusing myself as usual.
I managed to lurk for days at different times throughout the course.
I didn't read through most of my classmates posts so as not to get more confused.
I got fixated with books on quali research and I am still in a state of disequilibrium.
I know what quali research is--its purposes.
I learned about paradigms.
I have done a case study.
I am confused about--design vs methodology vs forms of research.
How is a research project diff from a research proposal?
Howcome I've done 3 papers without going through a proposal?
Where is narrative in the scheme of things?
I need a concept map--and a clear one to classify these once and for all.

I am interested in virtual hs only to find out I have topics closer to home I would like to write about. I should settle this once and for all.

I will rule out virtual HS--it may be interesting but not immediate.
I will do virtual communities--it is interesting, new, immediate and practical.