Exploiting Rapid Change in Technology

Enhanced Learning

… for Post Graduate Education

Enhancing the Opportunities in Graduate Experience: Independence

Independence is a heady draught, and if you drink it in

your youth, it can have the same effect on the brain as

young wine does. It does not matter that its taste is not

always appealing. It is addictive and with each drink you

want more.

Maya Angelou

Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the

conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To

survive in the world, we have to act in concert with others,

but to survive as ourselves, rather than simply as cogs in

a wheel, we have to act alone.

Deborah Tannen

Agenda

1. How bad is it?2. What independence do you want?3. When/how it has to be earned?4. What to take away from this conversation?

How bad is it?

Qualitative Data From socialization survey…

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/socialization4graduatestudents

1. I am happy for the independence but would benefit from at least some

outreach from my advisor. Feedback is very slow and this is

disheartening. When my discouragement causes me to become

disengaged, I would really like my advisor to simply email me and check

in. That has never happened - and I've been working on my dissertation

for about 3-4 years (I don't like to count it!) I know that the responsibility

falls to me, but for someone to show a little bit of investment or care

would go a long way to motivate me!

2. Having a committee that has different view of how they want to see

things written and being stuck in a loop as each member wants things

written from their perspective

3. Drop out didn't come until dissertation phase

4. The process is flawed because at the end of the day we are student in a

mega learning curve. In addition to having clear goals, advisor said one

thing to me and then changed it when the group weighed in.

Mallinckrodt, B., & Leong, F. (1992). International graduate students, stress, and social support. Journal of College Student Development, 33(January 1992).

International Student?40K international students in US by 1990 / 186 nationalities / 25% of PhDs

1. Different scales of when it is right and proper to approach advisors.2. Different standards as to the role of teacher and student, therefore the

expectation to be independent and able to defend ones ideas and work may cause extreme discomfort.

Context Re-examined

Has impact on amount of support that will be given

Exercise 1: Enquire as to your advisors’ experience as a student or in academia – how much independence was/is required or expected?

What independence do you want?

Weidman, J., Twale, D., & Stein, E. L. (2001). Socialization of graduate and professional students in higher education: A perilous passage? San Francisco, CA, USA: Jossey-Bass.

Role Development & IdentityThe development of role identity, a pre-requisite to being able to act independently - Involvement is required in the role and in preparation for it. In other words successful graduate students are not passive in their engagement. yet this development is interwoven with support issues: pg 80 - "the degree of autonomy given by the faculty and the amount of independence exhibited by the graduate student are critical to the faculty-student relationship"

Importance in Engagement

Contribution 11% linked with engagement growing in confidence and independence -being on your own as a competent researcher - these experiences added to engagement -autonomy (13%) linked with source of engagement for doctoral work.

Vekkaila, J., PyhältÖ, K., & Lonka, K. (2013). Experiences of disengagement -

A study of doctoral students in the behavioral sciences. International Journal of

Doctoral Studies, 8, 61–81.

Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1978). Toward a Theory of Organizational Socialization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

What is independence?In Health care… and other places

Two measures:Attributes for cognitive independence

• Critical thinking

• Ability to sort literature and find new options

• Flexibility in connections within and between the conceptual and the

empirical – (Van Maanen & Schein, 1978)

Criteria for the ability to move on your own• Evidence of independent action• Ability to recoup action after a set back• Goes hand in hand with perception of your contributions• part timers more naturally independent as they didn't have the option to

become dependent• Same with online students – demanding of profs (Preston, 2014).

When you know you have it:Personal Voice

The best and truest form of independence

“difficulties with claiming their voice in their

doctoral seminars, with professors, and in their

writing” Linked to ethnic and racial divide in HE,

Gonzales (2006)

Encouragement of personal voice and neutral self

evaluation allow for a greater sense of indepence

on the one hand and support when you need it on

the other. Gordon, N. (2014). Flexible Pedagogies:

technology-enhanced learning

Role Identity Shifts with Independence

An easy to use

hierarchy to help you

flourish…

Independence

Defensible Voice

Mentored Support

Student Role: What am I supposed to do?

What steps to take/not take

Variety & Courage

• Variety has been said to be the spice of life and it may well prove to be the spice of engagement as well.

• Anecdotal evidence regarding cohorts and communities demonstrate a bell curve where some will never engage and some will engage and stay engaged for years, leading some researchers to classify engagement into those students who are most like a project manager, a wanderer or a hobbyist (Lahenius & Martinsuo, 2011).

Only a fool does the same thing to get a different result

Independence Requires Action/Risk

Most, however fall somewhere in the middle for both level of engagement and likelihood of moving on. Moreover people may report feeling of engagement when they merely lurk at the edge of conversations, which explains why so many people join social networks groups in tools such as LinkedIn but few post (Butterwick, Cockell, McArthur-Blair, Maciver, & Rodrigues, 2012).

Do not expect the process to be easy

Real Risks…

PlagiarismIncorrect citations/references

In other words …

Have independent thoughts and state them with firm clarity and then back them up by citing those whose ideas are included

Provocative but Steady with Clear Roots -

Exercise 2…

• Say itThe next time you want to do something…• Do it

Or if that is your norm – to say and do what you are propelled to do – the…• Don’t do it

Remember the type of independent action you want to develop is considered movement propelled by what you think WILL BENEFIT THE ENTIRE SITUATION THE MOST

The next time you want to say something

What’s Up at DoctoralNet?1. Please take our survey about doctoral experience:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/socialization4graduatestudents

2. A full range of webinars in 2017 + groups for writing and one for lingering. Critical

writing/analysis and getting published coming up in Feb & March

3. Webinar on Feb 15th on coaching for anyone who ever wondered whether they

needed or wanted one or what it was all about.

4. Hundreds of #doctoralstudents have already gone through the 30 day writing

challenge - is this the month YOU should consider just 15-30 minutes a

day? http://www.doctoralnet.com/resources/phd-coaching-doctoral-coaching/30-

day-writing-challenge/48-jinbound-landing-pages/30-doctoral-writing-

challenge.html

5. Also a NEW 30 day challenge on improving your work life balance:

http://www.doctoralnet.com/resources/30-day-challenge-4-work-life-balance.html