A phone conversation with my mentor a few weeks ago highlighted a problem I am having with my dissertation that is compounded by working full time (and more so in the last few months) and trying to still be present with the family; dropping the ball. My dissertation proposal has stalled in this state of being unsure about the problem, the research, the everything. It was so confusing that I was allowing myself to dig into working insane hours and agreeing to bad projects at work. I was trying to do anything vs. trying to do something.

My mentor and I agreed to speak via phone and talk through what was going on and the feelings I was experiencing of uncertainty, confusion, frustration, and inadequacy. The good news is that these feelings were commonplace at this phase of the process and compounded by the work full time-study full time aspect of going to school as an adult.

I was thankful to hear that I was experiencing something normal and that this was the real point of proving my metal. I was so thankful that I inquired about how I can press on vs. step out. My mentor informed me that sometimes beginning with the end in mind is helpful (who would have thought Covey was right on this? ha). Her guidance was to understand the problem in general and select a sample population then work from there on the design. It seemed like cheating to do that but in the world of being a scholar, practitioner, leader, we need to find a process that is academically and business sound. This might work.

We discussed a few other ideas for my project like using only podcasts or linking blogs and podcasts through a literature search. We talked about sample size and the statistical analysis. All helpful conversations. I felt re-energized with the project again.

So I’ve set off to get some initial documentation completed and working a bit backwards to accomplish the while goal. Thanks Maureen!

As I delve into the proposal writing, I am finding numerous situations that come down to the chicken and egg argument. To determine the ful study, I need to know this thing, to know that thing I need to know another but to know the last I need to know the first. Frustrating? Kind of frustrating, to be sure.

I feel like I want a template that steps through the process and links to assistance so effective decisions can be made. UPX provides a dissertation checklist but it does not have the you need to know this first, then this. Rather, it gives you what should be included in each chapter.

For now, I need to make some decisions about the statisitical analysis and experiment design. I have a conversation this week with a colleague offering some advice on the study process, experiment population, and working student dissertation issues. I am looking forward to it.

Image Source: woodleywonderworks

I begin DOC/733 today, it is the second course with my mentor and one that I’ve been looking forward to completing for some time now. I had to delay the start due to some unexpected circumstances and bills. The purpose of the class is to prepare the proposal or Chapters 1, 2, and 3. This is a monumental undertaking for me. As most of you know, I stepped back on my research to focus solely on podcasted training and the learning impact of using podcasts.

This narrowing of focus should help my research but it does require me to get going and flesh out the research. I also need to get my research methods in order and secure an study group. Apart from that, I need to find a committee in the next few weeks so that my proposal can be thoroughly guided and built. There is a lot to do. Perhaps it is a good thing that I am being certified in FranklinCovey’s Focus Time Management series. I can use all the help I can get.

It feels like I am beginning again. It has been some time since my last class and the bad habits have snuck back in on me. I am breaking them now and it hurts. I know the road ahead is going to be a rough one but no doctoral program would be complete without these rites of passage. There are times that I wish I could be in a physical community of doctoral learners to keep the momentum. I realize, though, that would breed unhealthy competition for favor and attention from faculty. I also know that would mean being apart from my work and family; two things I am not willing to part with right now.

As I look ahead to the next 8, and likely 16, weeks I see clarification beginning to happen and a new sharpness and professionalism coming to this research. I know a lot of people are interested in the outcomes, so am I.

Image Source: LiveALittle.org

I got my newly revised problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions back from my mentor this weekend. I had also asked for some guidance on what elements to include in my new literature review.  Year 3 residency really set me back a bit with some small changes. Think of it like turning a ship only 1 degree from the course and figure out what that impact is 2,000 miles away; quite a different landing place.

I’ve selected some categories for the next evolution of my literature review:

• Constructivism
• Blended Learning
• Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts
• Learning Evaluation

My mentor thought these areas will serve me well and likely aid in redrafting the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions. What!?! Again!?! Yes, again. This process is iterative and continues to cycle back on the previous components at every turn. Frustrating to be sure but needed to validate and refine the project.

So the biggest piece of advice is keep reading. I will read. I need to read. First, I need to find some articles. So the remainder of the week is business travel and my regular class, so I will be in the academic frame of mind.

One nice about my research is that it fits my work well. If everything holds out, I will be able to use my work to do my research. That would be ideal.

Image Source: Swamibu

In revising my problem and purpose statement, along with fleshing out Chapter 1 of the dissertation, I got some sage words of wisdom from my mentor.

We want you to graduate

I liked the idea of measuring my dissertation to what Kirkpatrick would call the behavioral level or Level Three. However, as I know and my mentor pointed out to me again, this level of measurement is evasive and lengthy to determine. While I think understanding this is important, I also think graduation is important.

Even Kirkpatrick determined that Level Three is a difficult level to evaluate and can lead to false negatives. In the literature Kirkpatrick proffered that too many factors can mute a behavioral change and lead the researcher to issue a negative statement which might not be accurate. In fact, Kirkpatrick cautioned that influencers like a boss, workplace, personality, etc could give the impression that the training was ineffective when in fact learning took place, at Level Two.

So, I pulled back from work performance to get a faster and more accurate evaluation for the research. Is it cheating? Not at all. In fact, because the literature doesn’t have any determinations of effectiveness, this is a most appropriate level to evaluate. Future studies could include behavioral evaluation. In fact, that would make a nice second book for me…so don’t take my idea

I sent my revisions into my mentor and am looking forward to her feedback on the matter. This does add another component to my literature review but that isn’t going to be too bad. I jsut need to read more.

I’ve spent the Summer revising and revising my literature review in hopes of getting it to the point I feel it is worth my mentor’s time to review and comment. I understand the function of the mentor is to guide and offer coaching as needed. Perhaps I should have taken her up on this function. In fact, I know I should have.

Still, the revision process takes some time. I spend most of it writing something, then reading it to make sure it sounds accurate, understandable, and scholarly. This is no easy task.

What I have found in my reflection is an evolution of writing style from the Master’s level to this dissertation level. In my MAED program it was appropriate to conclude something based on cited evidence and support from a peer-reviewed author. In the beginning of the EdD program it was appropriate to cite evidence and conclusions that were cited elsewhere adding some transitional text that agreed with the preceding work. At the dissertation level, it is appropriate to academically report the findings and conclusions of others (at least for the lit. review).

My thesaurus and the online thesaurus tools are getting a work out. How many synonyms for report, conclude, said wrote, offer, etc. do you think there are?

Some good news on this front. I am learning to be a better critical thinker and writer. I am also learning more about journalism that I thought I should know. Journalism in the theoretical sense, not the practioner sense.

I am happy with the lit. review so far. The long process should conclude this month with another submission to my mentor and then onto planning the proposal (chapters 1, 2, & 3).

Side note: my APA PERRLA/StyleEase posts have gotten some notice from APA PERRLA. Here is hoping for a speedy release so I can return to my favorite APA tool.

Image source: quartermane

Jessica Hagy at Indexed had a brillant representation of the changing workplace and the impact that has on our economy.

The index card shows a graph with a direct relationship between boomers increasing in management positions and the X’ers starting up businesses. The message here is one of generation differences and the potential ripple effects in both businesses and the larger economy.

Each generation has a different style and the importance of them working together was highlighted in a post earlier on the Doc Blog; Millennials Are Not Alone. My mentor and I engaged in a discourse to study the impact of a new training intervention on the entire workforce population and not isolate the research to one subset or subgroup of the workforce, Millennials. Here is an excerpt of my Literature Review – 2nd Draft - that highlights the interrelationship of Millennials and other generations.

The current workplace is experiencing the presence of four generations that actively participate in organizational operations (Wagner, 2007). Each of these generations exhibit different working styles that result in conflict, change, and organizational growth (Wagner). Bridgers and Johnson (2006) describe the workforce makeup as 10% Traditionalist generation members, 44% Baby Boomers, 34% Generation X members, and 12% Millennials making for a workforce in flux from the employees beginning careers to those exiting into retirement.

What this shows is that a difference exists and the demographics of the varying populations. Hagy’s graph adds to the discourse by suggesting that potential conflict between 2 generations (boomers and X’ers in her case) can lead to an exodus from existing companies and the expansion of smaller startups (for good or bad).

How does this relate to my dissertation? If a solution is not found to satisfy the the bulk of the workforce, meet the expectations of senior generations, and bridge generational gaps through knowledge sharing there might be further exits of junior generations.

However, I would be curious about the X’ers exodus from Boomer managed companies and if these X’er startups appeal more to Millennials than the Boomer-run companies. Alas, this is a research topic for another time or someone else.

I’ve been reading, re-reading, writing, re-writing my literature review based on the comments from my mentor and others. It has been a frustrating process bouncing between copies of my paper trying to make the right change in the right places. This is often a problem with a lot of comments (trying to track those little lines is a pain).

That was until this morning. This morning my frustration turned to inspiration and I clicked the accept all changes button in MS Word. Following that, I chose Save As… from the file menu and saved the document as a new file. Miracle cure? Kind of, sort of, maybe.

What I need to do now is read through the paper and decide if I like the change or not. It did clear up a lot of the deleted, changed, added, stuff leaving only the comments in there. I like that. It is a new day in revision mode and I am hopeful for quicker turn around.

Image Source: Luke Edgar Seeley

Discourse this week with my mentor might be changing my dissertation slightly. I’ve been laser focused on Millennials because I feel this is a big concern in the learning and performance industry. This has been supported by recent traffic and comments on the Doc Blog.

My mentor and I discussed the possibility to broaden the discussion about generations prior to Millennials. Her advice was that whatever the Millennial population workforce count, they are not alone in the workplace. Her discussion continued to say that businesses are not likely to adopt new processes unless the processes can be applied to everyone.

This is something that seems so obvious to me but I still missed in my own thought process.

Taking this into advisement, and still wanting to know the impact on Millennials, I responded with an idea to broaden the topic to be ‘Constructivist Learning and Worker Performance using Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts in Workplace Training’. The research questions would include inquiries about the impact on different generations.

Is this a more important problem? Is this change more in line with industry concerns?

I think it might be but what do you think?

Thanks for being patient as I completed other projects (my literature review draft). In this episode I discuss the literature review project:

• Writer’s Block
  • Sage advice from Dan
    
  • Keep writing advice from Foley
• How I did it.
• Slight changes to topic
• Draft
  • Seeking feedback
• Thanks to everyone for visiting the draft section. The sheer volume of views helps validate the topic as important.

What do you do when you hit a roadblock?

It seems that I’ve been living with roadblocks throughout the course. I began well and had a lot of pre-course work completed, a lot of writing done about the topic, and a clear problem statement. Still when it came to writing during the course I hit roadblocks. These were both mental and physical.

Mental seemed to be getting my thoughts organized into a proper flow and get that flow down in writing. Physical was a series of neuromuscular issues that prevent long bouts of sitting and a more recent flooded basement.

The draft of the literature review is due in a few days and I am working hard to get my final thoughts organized. The funnel technique is working very well. In fact, it is having n unseen benefit in helping to organize my Zotero notes. I’ve taken prior writings in this area and moving them into the literature review, as well as the gap analysis paper. Both are helping to flesh out my ideas.

Over the next day I will put the final touches on my reading. I’ve been painstakingly looking for other resources in the literature. Essentially, there are commonly drawn on sources and I need to incorporate those to give the paper weight and to use primary sources (per APA and UOP wishes).

This weekend is the big push on writing. I’ve prepared my family for the long hours of writing, I have a chiropractor appointment on Saturday AM to better prepare my back for the long sessions of the weekend, and I am cleaning my office up for a stress free environment. There is even some consideration of taking Friday and Monday off to give me more time. On Monday I will have the draft completed and turned in. The roadblocks will be broken and I will await the feedback of my mentor so I can redraft the literature review.

The introduction of any piece of writing can provide guidance when the distraction and blockages take over. I wouldn’t say I am blocked or distracted, just lacking some focus. So I am returning to my introduction for guidance.

The University of Phoenix SAS group provides a nice rubric for doctoral students which outlines the necessary elements of the dissertation. This rubric is broken down by chapter and section. As such, a student can successfully create a dissertation along the expectations of the university.

I wrote and posted my introduction for my mentor’s feedback hoping that I was on the right track and that I was covering the essential elements. Here is the introduction for you to review too.

The Millennial generation of workers are using computing technology in ways previous generations have not and require learning to be technologically enabled, non-sequential, collaborative, social, and exploratory in nature (Tapscott, 1999). Instructor-led training offers Millennial generation employees a traditional linear style modality of learning that is not adequate to meet the members’ preferences for learning (Tapscott, 1998). The emergence of collaborative computing technologies like blogs, wikis, and podcasts, provide learners a social, non-sequential, and collaborative learning environment that corporations can use to engage members of the Millennial generation (Beldarrain, 2006).

The literature review discusses this issue in four sections. The first section discusses the implications of constructivist learning philosophy on collaborative computing technology-enabled learning sessions in a corporate setting and Millennial generation employees. Section two discusses the independent variable, collaborative computing technologies focusing exclusively on the three technologies studied in the research: blogs, wikis, and podcasts. In the third section the discussion deals with the dependent variable, Millennial generation employees and the work and learning preferences related to this group of employees. Additionally, section three compares the learning and work preferences of the Millennial population and  previous generations. In the final section, the discussion focuses on the measurement of organizational training and training efficacy.

References

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27, 139-153. Retrieved February 24, 2008, from EBSCOhost

Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Tapscott, D. (1999, Feb). Educating the net generation. Educational Leadership, 56, 6-10. Retrieved September 3, 2006, from EBSCOhost

The goal here is to re-introduce the problem statement and transition to the review of literature. Having done that I needed to outline what is coming in the chapter ahead.

Do you think I accomplished my goal?

Feedback on my gap analysis is back and it includes the guidance to consider other generations besides Y. This is an interesting turn in the dissertation, I had not intended to include X, Boomers, Lost, etc into the analysis for a few reasons. Chiefly, that these generations are not the next big boom in employment and by extension corporate training sessions. However, they are a factor in the workplace. Like every generation before them, Millennials will need to contend with prior generations and the knowledge that must be transferred in order for organizations to continue.

This means that other generations need to use the technology as well; even if it is as a producer of content. Further, many training operations like one-size-fits-all training vs. highly learner specific modalities.

Which leads us now to a discussion of a digital divide. Prensky and Tapscott both offer that there is some gap that exists and must be bridged in order for these Millennials to learn at the upper end of their capacity. However, neither contend that the gap cannot be bridged. Quite the contrary. Both Prensky and Tapscott support the idea of collaboration amongst all generations to adequately support learning and instruction.

Bill Brantley at Design of Knowledge recently reiterated a point about there not being a gap in learning technology. I agree that there is little to no gap and that whatever blocks exists for other generations to adopt these learning technology, it can be overcome. Certainly younger generations adopt the technologies sooner than previous ones but that is not an indicator that other generations cannot use them with the same ease as their younger counterparts in the workforce.

What needs to occur for learning technologies to be adopted more broadly? Understanding, support (in many forms from technical to learning), collaboration, and the willingness to overcome anxieties and misunderstandings about the new technologies.

How can I help? My research will be important to the application of blogs, wikis, and podcasts in corporate learning. It will give us some indicators of the actual impact of there incorporation into workplace training. The showing of sound research helps others understand what is possible, thus overcoming the willingness to give it a try or not.

Bottom line, I am trying to find out how best to include the other generations into my research. Should it be a side point, future consideration, potential pitfall, or something central to the research?

What do you think?

Dan posted a wonderful comment the other day about the gap analysis project. His advice was to think about the discussion as the story thus far. This helped me think about the project in a different way and echoed the advice of my mentor who understands that this literature search is never completed and continually evolving.

Both pieces of wisdom helped me to flesh out the paper more. I am afraid, though, that it is not my best work. The pendulum swung the other way and I had so much story to tell, it was then difficult to get it smaller.  I ended up having about every line cited, which is distracting and shows that I was trying to streamline the paper by eliminating text that could help.

I am confident that telling my story will be easier as I can spend time developing the overall plot and subplots more effectively.

I am thankful today that the project is turned in, for the advice I am being given, and the support to complete this literature review.

Your comments are always welcome.

Just a moment ago I posts about herding the squirrels of my literature to support my gap analysis project. Whatever happened in that blog post helped me to more formally identify the gap and now I thought I’d share the results:

The problem is workplace training is not designed to engage members of the Millennial generation (Galagan, 2006). Training in U.S. workplaces is 49.5% instructor-led and considered least effective by learners in corporate settings today (Sparrow, 2004). The Millennial generation of workers are using computing technology in ways previous generations have not and require learning to be technologically enabled, non-sequential, collaborative, social, and exploratory in nature (Tapscott, 1999). Instructor-led training offers Millennial generation employees a traditional linear style modality of learning that is not adequate to meet the members’ preferences for learning (Tapscott, 1998).

The emergence of collaborative computing technologies like blogs, wikis, and podcasts, provide learners a social, non-sequential, and collaborative learning environment that corporations can use to engage members of the Millennial generation (Beldarrain, 2006). Current literature is limited to qualitative trend analysis focusing on K-12 schooling and higher education with no found examples of quantitative research supporting or denying the premises brought forth in the current literature. With companies adopting collaborative computing technologies as arenas for information and knowledge exchange (Gordon, 2006) quantitative research is required to determine the impacts of these interventions on corporate learning (French, 2006).

References

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27, 139-153. Retrieved February 24, 2008, from EBSCOhost

French, D. P. (2006). iPods: Informative or invasive?. Journal of College Science Teaching, 36, 58-59. Retrieved February 24, 2008, from EBSCOhost

Galagan, P. (2006, August). Engaging generation y: An interview with Marcus Buckingham. T+D, 60, 27-30. Retrieved May 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost

Gordon, S. (2006, March). Rise of the blog [journal-based website].. IEE Review, 52, 32-35. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from EBSCOhost

Sparrow, S. (2004, Nov). Blended is better. T+D, 58, 52-55. Retrieved November 16, 2006, from EBSCOhost

Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Tapscott, D. (1999, Feb). Educating the net generation. Educational Leadership, 56, 6-10. Retrieved September 3, 2006, from EBSCOhost

There must be a form of writer’s block that ionvolves having too much information. It did help move the blockage to write a little here and I am hoping this will help a second time. The problem I am facing is that aside from the excerpt above, I am not sure what to write about.

I identified the gap, cited my sources and even managed to call for the research I want to conduct. Now what?

My mentor advises me that this is not a paper but a discussion. But I cannot help to feel that a discussion would be easier to have versus the paper assignment. I am left wondering about this assignment and the motives for including it in the DOC/722 instruction. Like others assignments in this course, it seems to be built for those that do not have a clear goal in mind for conducting specific research. With my work, the contrary is true, and I am left feeling that this assignment might be a waste of time if left to it’s original intent.

Perhaps looking at this from a different perspective will help. If I use it for a spring board into the full literature review, I could knock this assignment out of the way and be a large part of the way there for the final assignment, the drafted second chapter of my dissertation.

Perhaps it is the universe giving me no distractions or it could just be a weather system coincidence. Whatever the reason, Buffalo is set to get socked today through Sunday with a 12-18″ of snow (which is unusual despite popular misconception of my fair city).

This is going to give me an opportunity to remain focused on reading and writing about the gap I see in the current knowledge. I was thinking yesterday about a mentor of mine from a previous job, Craig Rogers. Craig told me that the dissertation is about moving the needle on education, and even a minute movement is enough.

I’ll admit that in the beginning I wanted to solve the problems of the world through my dissertation, a lot of students feel that way. Over time though, I developed a sense of what was attainable and really mattered in the industry. Craig’s advice echoes for me know as I read through hundreds of journal articles and find the gap I want/need to address versus the potential for dropping into a chasm.

Being snowed in will help me remove the distraction of hanging out with friends, doing home projects, and the like. I can move into the office and really focus on the gap, staying clear of the chasm.

Some recent guidance from my mentor was to spend every waking moment “in the library”. Sage advice, again, I’ve been wrestling with a terrible pain problem stemming from my genitofermoral nerve. Needless to say, the problems relate to both the genito and the femoral and it is highly unpleasant. It also prevented me from sitting for too long (no more than 30 minutes) and then a need to lie down or stand up for an extended period of time. So, my chiropractor is wonderful! He identified the problem quickly and has me on the fast-track to health.

Back to the main idea. I am making up for some lost time and spending a lot of time reading and pulling articles. This is a grueling regiment of screen time but required to make the lit. review a sound example of my researching acumen.

Zotero, has the ability to allow for custom tags and linking of articles. Which is helping label the articls accordingly. Some tags I created are:

• Supporting
• Contrary
• Gap
• Stats

These tags identify the article or elements of the article to critical factors in the lit. review. Additionally, I can copy key text from the article and put that into a note so I don’t need to go through the entire article again. This is a wonderful feature.

As always, I am backing up the database per my friend Dan‘s advice.

As I approached DOC/722 I began to envision the class as a dark box in the curriculum. Professors and other students would hint at the course but nothing that provided a comforting familiarity with what the course was about.

I am fortunate that my mentor sent along the syllabus and some working documents in advanced. Even those were not finalized as she was looking to make some changes. So while helpful, it did give me the chance to peek into this dark box a little.

One of my resolutions for this class was to shed some light on DOC/722 and give students following a flashlight so they could prepare either mentally or scholarly for the class ahead of them. Not to mention process the course occurrences so I can make better sense of them.

To this point there is little in the way of weekly assignment or discussion. Perhaps this leaves room for the bulk of the work in gathering and reviewing literature around the subject. I’ve posted any prior work relating to my dissertation topic, discussed what lies beyond the Ed.D. for me, and even drafted the literature search guidelines. All of which was met with positive feedback and encouragement to move forward.

Taking that into consideration, I more fully delved into the gathering of literature planning to then read the articles more deeply and make my notes, connections, and identify how that literature justifies my own research. I posted my weekly summary regarding this point. Some great feedback came back.

Regarding the pulling of articles – then reading – I would recommend you do a little pulling, a little reading, more pulling, more reading. The bouncing back and forth will help a little in focusing your efforts. Also – the reference sections of each really good article will point you in a direction of other really good articles (typically). The locating process becomes a little easier because you have all the search information and you don’t need to rely on search engines and key words. You’ll have the authors and article title, etc.

This is something I thought to do, but not until my first pass had been made. Reading the comment, I feel as though it is the best course of action and began immediately to do that. Right now I am reading through articles relating to blogging (as one of my 3 collaborative learning technology areas). What am I finding? That my EBSCOhost and ProQuest searches yielded many of the referenced articles and that I pulled them into my Zotero database. That makes me feel smart; that I identified key literature items and pulled them in from other key literature items.

So I continue to read, make notes, connections, pull, etc. and I am making good progress this way. In fact, the on-screen reading is easier than I’d originally thought it would be.

My mentor is offering encouragement and allowing me to navigate this course on my own. Which sometimes feels like I am using a flashlight in the dark vs. having the lights thrown on in the classroom. My emotions are mixed about this. I understand that we learn from challenges and that this course is ultimately very personal. It is a very different course from any other at University of Phoenix; which is both good and bad.

There is a gap analysis assignment coming up in a few weeks. I am reading the literature and making notes to possible gaps now. I also have looked back on previous assignments and used those as guidance on finding the gap in the literature for my research to fit.

I would like the addition of weekly discussion questions, or classroom questions, to keep my thought process engaged. That is a personal characteristic and could be met through the Doc Blog. After all, that is what I intended this blog to be many moons ago.

If I could point the flashlight in any single direction for those students behind me it would be to use every class assignment to read and write about your topic. This is something that has proven invaluable and enabled me to get ahead or stay on target aptly. Don’t delay getting your topic researched enough to choose and get working all through classes on that topic.

Your comments are welcome.

DOC/722 is off and running. I’ve been having a long week with work, depleting energy levels, and a doctor’s appointment that had me a little worried. Not to worry, everything is fine and now I am back on target.

The class has begun with a collection of prior work relating to the topic. I am glad I used this topic to write many papers, it helps hone my task down and focus my energies. Hint for the other UOP doc students: choose a topic early and write about it.

It also has a series of initiation questions that spark the conversation and focus me on the future. One such question was:

You will become the “expert” on your topic. What plans do you have for your career given the new expert status?

This fit nicely with a conversation my wife and I had about what the next challenge would be for me/us. I’ve thought about a lot of things including a Ph.D. in Climatology (a topic that fascinates me). Alas, my loving wife has little patience for more schooling for me and rightfully so. Not to mention I am lacking many of the basic science courses likely required for such a program. It will become a hobby for me.

Back to the question, what will I do when I am the expert.

• Write. Jeffery Gitomer, a well known sales expert, professes that writing gave him everything. I love to write. So I will continue with blogging, add articles and books to the list and establish myself as the industry expert.
• Speaking. I am a Toastmaster and witness to how powerful speaking is for people. Continuing that, expanding to speak at conferences, etc will establish my expertise in the industry.
• Consulting. My own business helping businesses.
• Researching. This is not the end of the learning evolution. Thus, I need to continue to look at the horizon and forecast the next change. Being an expert means remaining an expert.

I like this question very much. It focuses on the right thing, what comes next. If we, as students, look at the next task or assignment we are being myopic. Even looking at graduation is not far enough ahead. It is assumed we will graduate, then what?

Your comments are welcome.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my dissertation topic and making a minor course correction. Frequent readers know that I am looking to study the effect of using collaborative learning through blogs, wikis, and podcasts on generation y worker performance. The main idea here is to implement a training intervention where traditional instructor-led training is taking place and measure the difference.

Where a course correction might be needed is in the intervention media. Is the use of wikis, blogs, and podcasts. Is that too many variables to effectively study the impact to generation y worker performance. I do not want to go to the beginning and redesign the entire study and a small correction wouldn’t need that.

I could limit the study to one variable and measure the impact. But, research shows that a blended approach tends to be more imapctful. Maybe I need to think about what the intervention would look like before I make any alterations to the course. A discussion with my mentor will also help to clarify things.

The latest in a series of thinking about my dissertation has me a bit preoccupied. Perhaps it is cold feet going into my DOC/722 class. Next week it will work itself out.

Your comments are welcome.

Frequent readers know that I lost my dissertation mentor before we even began the process. This forced me to restart the search. I am happy to report that I found a wonderful person and skilled professional to mentor my dissertation process.

Meet Dr. Maureen Steinwall.

Maureen is a skilled executive running a plastics company in Minnesota and having earned her Ph.D. from Capella University. Her dissertation research focused on a training intervention (which tightly aligns to my own methodology for the coming research).

We exchanged screening questionnaires (which I found refreshing…no one gave me one to fill out), we spoke on the phone, and reflected on working with each other. There are many great mentors at UOP. I feel I’ve found the best fit for me and my research.

I am thrilled to have Maureen along side this process and look forward to February when we begin writing the dissertation.

Yesterday morning I had an eMail from Dr. Fischer that he can no longer be employed by the University of Phoenix due to a payroll issue with his new address. He moved from one location in Ohio to another in Ohio. According to my sources, there is some payroll tax/deduction issue with the State of Ohio, which is preventing him from being employed.

Yikes! He lived in Ohio when I selected him and he was active as a professor with UOP. Now, he is denied employment because HR cannot withhold taxes, or some such issue. Yikes! I’ve heard of things similar in the past with other employers and employees, usually resolved with some action on the companies behalf to resolve the problem with the State. Alas, that must not be going on at UOP for this situation, at least not now.

I am disappointed that Dr. Fischer cannot proceed with the dissertation.

I am disappointed the UOP-HR allowed this situation to occur without being proactive or understanding the impact on the student/customer.

The mentor search can be fun, if not time consuming, when your mind and heart are in it. There are numerous great mentors at UOP and I am confident in finding someone of equal or greater passion, experience, excitement about my topic.

I began my search yesterday and will continue it through until I find a mentor suitable for the project and fits my working needs and me to their own.  Wish me luck.

My recent misadventure in scheduling is forcing me to think about my dissertation and how the course adjustment impacts my progress. First, let me say that, I am disappointed that 1 person can throw my schedule off by a month or more. Second, I am equally frustrated that other sections of the course are not provided or available for me to remain as close to target as possible.

That said, the additional time off might not be so bad. My newborn daughter, Olivia, can use more Daddy-time and I can always use more Olivia-time.

There is so much to consider.

• My committee chair/mentor for one is someone I need to be in continual contact with as my schedule finalizes so we can stay on the same page.
• Not to mention that I need to stick to my plan on literature review and use this time to develop a more thorough review.
• I need to watch my end date and make sure that is not beyond the allowable period of time
• My next residency component time is now pushed out and in a different location
• A multi-family vacation next July is looming and needs to be handled
• And, my employment post-doctor is now delayed slightly

It is unavoidable that the schedule is changing and it is up to me to own my own learning and navigate this change.

Read more about my process this point:

Topic:

Millennials
100.2 Million

Dissertation Progress:

Here it is…. A Research Plan…Well a Draft of One
Gathering Steam
Residency is coming
Problem Statement Revisions
I’ve Got a Problem
Nailed It
Mentoring Update
Continual Attention to the Dissertation
Meet Dr. Fischer

Other Doc Blog posts about my RES/722 class adventure:

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
Disappointed
Happy
Fill Out This Survey…
Navigating the Schedule Change

My search for a mentor has ended. Meet Joshua Fischer, Ph.D.

Professional Experience

Adjunct Faculty, Adjunct Faculty/Mentor, Consultant, Coordinator of Correspondence Studies, Director of Distance Education, Director of Services for Adult Learners, Regional Dean of Ohio/Interim Regional Dean of Kentucky, Training Program Manager, Vice President, Systems & Procedures/CIO

Dr. Fischer and I have met before, he facilitated 2 of my Master’s courses. I was pleased to see him in the doctoral mentoring database.  I remember his classes well and enjoyed the challenges and encouragement he provided. That his academic, professional, and dissertation experience aligns with my online learning focus is even better.

So, what does a mentor do?

Dr. Fischer will guide me through DOC/722 the first 1:1 class with my mentor. The class helps to develop Chapters 1, 2, and 3. Primarily Chapter 2, the literature review. He will then be a presence is in other 1:1 classes where the dissertation will develop more completely.

Additionally, the role of mentor is more traditionally known as the committee chair and will guide the committee’s activities as well, including the defense.

Why Dr. Fischer?

My past experience, for one, led me to choose him as the mentor. His courses were the foundation of my academic career with UOP and led me to many successes in my professional and academic lives.

However, it had been a while since we last worked together and nothing at this level of collaboration. His responses to the questionairre were very closely aligned with my own responses and needs.

I also remember when he was hooded during one of my classes. An experience that I looked forward to now and then.

Finally, he plays Euchre, a game I love to play and don’t often get the chance.

There will be more on the process and Dr. Fischer, but I need to get going, see my earlier post for why.

I began my mentor search about a little over a week ago. The mentoring database at University of Phoenix is rather hit and miss. I was able, however, to find 6 people I thought would fit my project interest. I am now expanding my search to find more potential mentors. Casting the net wide will help me find someone the fits my methodology and interest well.

The 6 potential mentors I found all had a variety of responses to my request. Each potential was asked to complete a questionnaire.

dissertation-advisement-committee-screening-interview.doc

It is an important part of the process for me. The matchmaking questionnaire is also highly recommended by both the school and proceeding doctoral students. The enjoyment derived from reading the responses is hard to capture. The variety and professionalism of the mentoring pool is awesome. While some did not fit, others did. This process is fascinating.

Only one potential balked at the questionnaire citing the length and his lack of time to complete the document. This ruffled my feathers and I felt that this person would not be a match, on any level, to my needs as a student or the vision of mentoring of University of Phoenix. Just think, if a mentor does not have the time to complete a 15-25 minute questionnaire, what kind of time will the mentor has to review, comment, and return a 3 chapter portion of the dissertation? Not much. Worse, this person took nearly a full week to reply that he had no time for the questionnaire. I parted ways and continued the search.

This is an important decision and one I do not make lightly. I am looking for someone who is in it for the long haul and has the tenacity to be as driving as I am. This is a massive undertaking and the strength of the mentor is important to success.

Comments are welcome.