Research Blogs
All Graduate Junction researchers get a mini blog to share their day to day experiences. Log in to see who is posting and make contact.
Well it's that time of the year again - The Education Faculties Winter School. A time for all the part-time, distance and full-time post-graduates to get together and expand their minds.
The first 3 hour session is "The research Imagination in a World on the Move: What is it, who has it and how might you get it?", Presenters Jane Kenway and Johanna Fahey
After lunch is "The possibilities and Pragmatics of Visual Data Analysis" with Glenn Auld & "Writing excellent abstracts: The first step in presentin work in publication" with Rosemary Viete
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I am printing out my thesis today - had to go out for more ink because I miscalculated how many pages I'd be able to copy using the 'everyday printing' setting. WARNING to all nearly-completed postgraduates. Check your ink cartridge pack. It will probably give some indication how many pages it will do. Buy more ink than you imagine you could possibly need. And find something boringly mundane to do while it's printing out. I ironed before my wedding, ironed in labour, and ironed whilst giving birth to the first copy of my doctoral thesis last night! I HATE ironing. FURTHER ADVICE to everyone. Be sure to have alcohol on the premises for your celebration once you've submitted!
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In his book Writing Up Qualitative Research Harr Wolcott suggests that there are two types of researchers - Writers and Readers. I think of myself as a Reader. I read for pleasure. I read for inspiration. I read when I'm trying to solve a problem. I find writing difficult. Like Wolcott I'm not a 'natural' writer. In the past when writing essays for various courses I have experienced some very intense feelings of anxiety. I edit my intitial draft to within an inch of it's life. What I finally submit is always an extensively edited piece of work. So submitting early drafts of my thesis chapters to my supervisor remains a very anxiety prone activity. An early version of my Methodology chapter was described as "very stream of consiousness". When I read the comment I was confused. What the - did that mean? In some of the writing workshops that I had attended the convenors had suggested that it is better to get your thoughts on paper first and then worry about editing them. Many of the texts that I have read assert the Writing is Thinking/Learning. Of course the main trouble with my Methodology chapter was that I didn't know what I should write! I'm a B.Sc Physics/Mathematics major doing Qualitative research. My only guide is what I've read. With some simple guidelines from my supervisor I rewrote my Methodology chapter. The latest feedback is "a nice piece of writing" which only needs some minor editing and reduction in the level of detail. I'm still not sure how a piece of writing that developed of the course of several months could be described as stream of conciousness! Now writing a BLOG that's stream of consciousness! I hope Your Writing is going well!
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My first research blog posting on this site. Interesting place, it is, and hope it grows better and stronger, I do!
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In three hours I will begin my PhD defense. I truly have no idea what to expect. Having spent the last month working in a completely new field (engineering even though my PhD is in chemistry) I feel I have forgotten a fair bit. I just hope they aren't expecting a photographic memory of references. I am fine with concepts and justifying my method, but if they ask me to talk about reference 189 I am in trouble.
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I am concerned with vigorous privatization of higher education currently underway in Africa. It is a clear manifestation of the exchange of control with money as increased reduction of public spending on higher education is primarily a decision by the World Bank and other foreign funding agencies. My claim is that when the haves are able to join universities, the poor will remain marginalized both from knowledge and the knowledge-led economy. As such, privatization may end up with high degree of inequality in the region. I just want to share ideas with interested scholars
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Well my interview with Danielle (not her real name - but one that she selected!) was interesting. Firstly, I'm glad that I opted for a semi-structured interview where the questions were only a guide. Since Danielle did not have the background that I had assumed for my research participants many of my questions were irrelevant! Having the flexibility to alter the questions and follow up on interesting points has opened up several new directions for the analysis. Secondly, I didn't get the types of answers I was expecting. I had taught Danielle Year 11 Maths for an entire year. During the classes we often have short discussions about our experiences with schooling and maths in particular. So I thought I had a good background knowledge for this particular student. So the lack of consistency between our shared experiences, of the previous year, were suprising. Several incidents which I thought were significant and remembered clearly Danielle professed to having no knowledge of. On the flip side she was very candid about her work ethic and its affect on her results. The degree to which her self-confidence and self-efficacy fail to translate into any sort of a consistant approach to her studies is confusing. I will need to do some serious thinking about what this student is telling me about her approach to the study of Maths. Especially given some of the assumptions and conclusions that are reported in the literature. What I really need now is a few more student 'drop outs' to volunteer to participate in the study so that I can see if this is an isolated case. Irrespective of how the study proceeds her comments about what interested her about the Maths classes are already starting to suggest some ways in which I could change my teaching. For example she held a strong belief that writing was a waste of time in a Maths class because it meant that you weren't doing 'real' maths. I definitely need to think about what this means for my teaching practice!
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British students should take a look at this petition on the Downing Street website (http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Loansofstudents/).
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For more info about my research, education and conservation projects, visit www.amazonarium.com.br
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I'm working on a book proposal focused on helping nurses and other health professionals write business plans and grant proposals. I would love to network with anyone interested in these topics. http://hlthcarebusinessplnsgrantprops.blogspot.com/
