I'm published! Really!

They finally published the spring edition of the Western Association of Financial Aid Administrators' newsletter online, and I'm on page 9!

Take a gander -- WASFAA Newsletter.

Oh, but keep in mind, they did their own editing to the piece, so while I tried to keep with APA, they decided that their own formating was better.

The Measure

I'm almost to my comprehensive exams. The "class" starts on Monday, and as everyone has told me I need to put dissertation talk out of sight/out of mind until I finish those. But, before I do, I wanted to make one last comment on my thoughts around my latest dissertation idea.

I think learning strategy awareness will be a good topic. I feel confident that I can get it approved. My concern is deciding what my measurable variable will be. Initially, I did want to focus on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. But, in conversations with school district employees, I have learned that the WASL is in the process of being revamped, to the point that it might not be a valuable measure for me. They are already instituting interventions to help students with the math section, and the date that a passing score would be required has been pushed back. I'm also concerned about my assumption with this study -- that learning strategies are somehow related to standardized testing. I'll need to do some research to see if this assumption is correct, or if it has even been studied.

So, if I decide to discard the WASL as my measurable variable, I think I'm left with only one other option -- well, only one other easy option, I should say: GPA. And, it is my belief that I would have an easier time requesting GPAs than requesting WASL scores.

My last thought is which schools I will pursue with this study. Keeping with my interest in second language learning, it could be interesting to study learning strategy awareness with bilingual or international schools. There is one such school in Bellevue, WA, but it is considered the one of the top schools in the nation. Who would really care if a successful school was even more successful?

Well, I will continue to ponder this until I am engrossed in my exams. I probably won't post again, though, until after I pass.

Research Idea, continued

I heard back from my friend, Shelly. Not only was she supportive of my idea, but she shared with me that she was hoping to do a similar study on a much larger scale. I am more than excited now about the prospects of completing this research. Plus, my professors are in full support of my idea. I still need to speak to some high school principals and/or some school psychologists, but I hope I can get the go ahead.

Now is the difficult part. I am required to attend three in-person seminars as part of my educational program with Capella University, and they all must be completed before I can move on to my comprehensive exams and my dissertation. At this last seminar, there were nine classes on how to write the dissertation in addition to many statistics classes. I took all of them. While they were extremely informative, I must now put all that information on the back burner so that I can focus on my comprehensive exams. So, they got me all excited about doing research, and I can't do research! I think they should have one more seminar after we finish the comprehensive exams, completely focussed on the dissertation, but it's too late for such a decision to affect me.

So, on to the comps. At Capella University, we have the ability to nominate a mentor who will stay with us through the comprehensive exams and onto the dissertation. I selected my mentor based on my initial idea to conduct research in second language learning. Though I don't plan to look at second language learning now, I still think I made a good choice. I found out at the seminar that this faculty member had the current chair of the Educational Psychology department as his mentor when he was doing his dissertation. I think that is pretty cool. Add to that, this faculty mentor I chose was apparently the most published student when he was completing his course of studies. As it is my intention to publish, I truly believe he will provide me excellent guidance.

The comprehensive exams consist of two weeks of preparation, four weeks of intense writing -- answering 3 questions in a maximum of 50 pages (not including title page and references -- and then waiting to find out if I passed. If I fail any section, I have two more weeks to revise. If I don't pass a second time, I am out of the program. It's a scary thought, but I was told that 90% of the students pass the first time, and of the 10% who must revise, 95% of them pass the second time. I'm really hoping I won't have to revise at all!

Inspiration Strikes Again

Here I sit at my last seminar of my doctoral program. In two weeks, I start my comprehensive exam, a concentrated quarter of two weeks prep, four weeks writing, and four weeks hoping that I'll pass and can move on to dissertation.

I've been shakey about my research idea over the past couple of weeks, but at the same time, I couldn't think of anything else. I was hoping for clarity once I arrived in Chicago, and perhaps, I found it.

There were a couple of people at this seminar who I had met at one of the last two seminars. At those seminars, I was sure I would be doing a research project on massage and critical thinking skills. Imagine their surprise when I told them I abandoned the idea of massage as a dissertation topic and now wanted to focus on second language learning. I was able to discuss my new idea -- iconic gestures and second language learning for the kinesthetic learner -- with quite a few people, but it wasn't until my appointment with the career center director that something clicked. He asked me what would it mean if my research confirmed the hypothesis that kinesthetic learners did learn a foreign language better with iconic gestures than without. Well, the answer is simple, I suppose: kinesthetic learners should have the opportunity to have instruction in such a manner. But how does the teacher know who is kinesthetic, or rather, whether there are any kinesthetic learners in his class? Good point.

That made me think about the benefit of giving students a learning styles assessment. I know it has done wonders for the students at Cortiva. I hear rave reviews not just from me, but from many students who had no idea what learning strategies could be helpful to them. A general study on the benefits of learning style awareness doesn't say much. What would the measurable variable be? GPA? Another test? And, then it dawned on me . . . What about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (AKA the Washington state proficiency exam)?

In the current state of things, public/private high school students in Washington state are now required to pass the WASL in order to graduate. In last year's assessment, approximately 70% of the students who took the test DID NOT pass the math section. The requirement was then slightly changed. Students are required to pass the writing and reading sections of the WASL, but not the math section. If students fail the math section, though, they must take a math class their senior year, pass that math class, and take the math section of the WASL one last time. Here might be my research project.

I plan to present the following at my poster session on Thursday:

Title: Learning Strategy Awareness and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning

Research Question: To what extent does learning strategy awareness increase students‘ performance on the math section of the WASL?

General Method: A quantitative quasi-experimental design using a control and experimental group. Students will be selected from high school juniors in the Seattle School District who have previously failed the math section of the WASL. It is hoped that 200 students will be selected from a larger population. All students will complete a demographic questionnaire and complete a checklist of current learning strategies used. These 200 students will be randomly assigned into two groups -- experimental and control. The experimental group will receive an overview of the TIPP(TM) Learning Styles and Temperament Assessment, an online password to take the assessment, and a review session which will explain learning strategies tied to a specific learning style strength and/or temperament. The control group will be offered already established study materials from the Washington School District website, but no opportunity to participate in the learning styles and temperament assessment. The experimental group will also receive the study materials provided by the district website. When students retake the math section of the WASL (3 to 4 months later), a between groups T-test and a within groups T-test will be performed to evaluate whether there is a significant difference in the scores and to evaluate to what extent learning strategy awareness has affected students’ performance.

*The null hypothesis is there will be no significant difference between the old and new scores both for students who participated in the learning styles and the students who did not participate. A second null hypothesis is there will be no significant difference between the control and the experimental group.
*The alternative hypothesis is there will be a significant difference between the old and new scores both for students who participated in the learning styles and temperament assessment and the students who did not participate. A second alternative hypothesis is there will be a significant difference between the control and the experimental group.

Of course, nothing is set in stone. My next steps are to talk to the TIPP(TM) developer. I have sent her an email and am currently waiting to hear her response. I will also need to talk to a few high school principals to see if this idea is even feasible. What kind of red tape will hinder my progress?

But, despite not being 100% sure, I am looking forward to this Thursday to see what my professors might have to say.

Dissertation Topic and High School Debate

I'm still deciding whether I want to pursue my current dissertation topic idea of investigating iconic gestures as a language learning strategy. My biggest concern is how to decide that the gestures are a learning strategy? How would that be measured? The current plan is to teach using gestures and assess by asking the student to translate into the target language using both the gesture and the word. But, is this sufficient to say that iconic gestures are a possible language learning strategy? I could certainly look at the relationship between the number of words/gestures recalled and the identified learning style, but again, does this answer my question?

Second, is it significant? I'm reminded of my high school debate class and the formulation of a standard debate case. We were taught that to make a succinct argument, we must show significance, harms, inherency, topicality, and solvency.

The significance, in this case, is the need for improved foreign language learning. But, harms? The only thing I could think of in this area is the apathy most students have toward learning foreign languages, the difficulty involved in learning non-germanic or non-latin languages, and the perception that foreign languages are not important to US students. (All of this is making me think that I should direct my dissertation study toward children/adolescents rather than adults, but that's a subject for another blog!) Can I make a case to show that these harms are really that horrible? That could be subjective. The inherency also poses a problem. Inherency would say that something is not already being done. In truth, gestures are being used in foreign language classes. But, they're being used within Total Physical Response (TPR) formats. There are multiple curricula that promote the use of TPR, but none (as far as I know) that look specifically at kinesthetic activities by themselves. While I can find research that shows that kinesthetic instruction is not as prevalent as auditory and visual instruction, I can find even more research that promotes the use of instruction toward all three learning strengths. So, I have to wonder if it's just as harmful, or more harmful, to restrict my instruction to one learning style. Am I no better than those teachers who only use auditory and/or visual instruction? Topicality is the easiest area to address, in my mind. If I propose to investigate learning strategies or the relationship of a learning strategy to a learning style, my goal is to not stray. Solvency isn't as important as the others. Whether I prove or disprove my hypothesis, the important piece is the quality of my research. In other words, if I hit the other components, I should be able to present a quality dissertation.

In March, I attend my final colloquium. It will be my last opportunity to receive feedback from my classmates and faculty members on my proposed dissertation topic. My mentor won't be there, which is disappointing, but there will be faculty members there with whom I've spoken before, and I feel confident I will receive good feedback from them.

Internship or Post-Doctoral Fellowship?

Yesterday, I started contemplating what I will do after graduation, in the event that I am not working in research prior to graduation.

At one point, I thought about pursuing a post-doctoral fellowship. There are certainly multiple opportunities for this lasting from 3 months up to 5 years. A shorter fellowship would be ideal as I could apply for one anywhere in the country, find temporary housing, and then return home at the conclusion of the fellowship. However, upon further investigation, I fear that I wouldn't be qualified for a fellowship. Most, if not all, require a certain amount of prior research experience of which I have none. It's possible that I could impress the selection committee with the work of my dissertation, but I think they want to see more than that. With the work involved in preparing an application for a post-doctoral fellowship, it almost seems that I would be wasting my time.

On the other hand, internships don't necessarily require that the candidate have a wealth of experience in the field. Simply, they're looking for someone with academic preparation and an interest in the field in which he desires to intern. Of course, there has to be a catch: Every single internship I've looked at require that the applicant be a current student. I couldn't pursue an internship while I'm still a student. For one, once I start the comprehensive exam phase, if I stop for any reason, I'm out of the program. Another thing is that I couldn't justify leaving my current position for a short period of time and then returning and looking for a short-time job until graduation. To me, that just doesn't make sense.

So, I'm left with the question, do I pursue a post-doctoral fellowship when I feel I would be one of the last people an organization would accept? Or, do I pursue an internship when while I would qualify with my limited credentials, I might not be eligible?

The good news is that there is still time to make my decision. Life could present its own obstacles and windows to my future career. For now, I think I will contact organizations which offer internships in my area of interest. If I can find a contact, perhaps I could inquire whether he would accept a recent graduate of a doctorate program.

Social Networking

To date, I have joined 9 social networking sites:

LinkedIn
Biznik
Translator's Cafe
Language 1 2 3
Peek You
Facebook
MySpace
Friendster
Tapped In

It would seem I have my bases covered. If anyone could suggest additional networking sites that might be of interest to me, please let me know!