"The process of reviewing literature related to socialization has enabled me to further develop my understanding of the process and function of doctoral studies and I now have a better understanding of the formal and informal aspects of the journey that lie ahead. I’ve also now written an academic paper again; it has been twenty years since I last did this in my Master’s program. I recognize that my analysis of the literature needs to be strengthened, and know that this development is part of the process of socialization. As Baird (1992) notes “the central task facing entering graduate students is to master new ways of speaking, reading and writing that are the norm in the disciplinary and departmental community they are entering” (p.3). This paper is part of learning about that norm."
That paper took a couple of days to write, and brought me back to the requirements for academic writing, something I have been away from for a long time. The literature review in support of my research topic, on the other hand has taken a week, of reading, writing, reading more literature, more writing re-reading and and re-writing. The process has been both stimulating and frustrating, and for a few days caused me to question if I really wanted to focus on my topic related to disaster risk reduction and climate change. While I love learning new material, I've chosen a topic which does not directly build on my own field experience; this results in an additional learning curve about the topic itself, which I previously understood at a general level. I've been able to recognize the various levels of learning required to complete this assignment, and have stopped from time to time to reflect on my own learning process, frustrations and challenges. I've just this morning completed, I think, a decent draft of my paper, which hopefully needs only one more edit before submission. I've gained a much richer understanding of the historical roots and research related to my topic, and though I still have thoughts about whether it make sense to take on this topic, I also come away from this last week feeling more grounded in the need for, and approach to the topic I've chosen. The learning has been on many levels.
I bought a white board last week, and quickly filled it up in one afternoon mapping concepts as they emerged from my literature review. As a visual learner, and thinker, I've now decided that what I really need is a white board that covers my wall, and so getting that in place is one of my next tasks before classes start in the fall.
I've been away from reading and posting on the course sites this last week, and connecting with others in the class. Now that I've got this paper to a stage where I can focus on final edits, I hope to get my head up from my desk, and get reconnected with others online.
And now, off to work...and speaking of work, I came back to the office to find that small grants are being offered to support the exploration and adoption of new technologies in teaching, and so I now have potential funding to support the ideas that emerged during the recent course on campus. A nice surprise, and of course, I'll be submitting an grant application.
Here is an initial concept map that developed from my reading of the literature:
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