Determining Writing Readiness: Effects on Retention, Persistence & Academic Success

WRITING READINESS INITIATIVE RESEARCH PLAN Phase I: The Impacts of the Writing Readiness Initiative Phase I examines the relationship between Writing Readiness and Retention, Persistence and Academic Success. (FRIG 2012 Grant) Phase II: The Student Experience Impact of the Writing Readiness Initiative. Phase II of the Impacts of Writing Readiness Initiative study will be surveying and interviewing students to determine their perspectives on this initiative as well as their perceived impact on their writing.https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/archivedposters/1019/thumbnail.jp

Preparing Graduate Students for Conducting Qualitative Dissertation Research: The Nitty-Gritty, the Lens, the Meta-Cognition

We present a year-long case study of how to better prepare graduate students to conduct qualitative dissertation research in a hybrid online format. This is comprised of faculty from over two dozen disciplines in an online proprietary graduate school. Despite its distinct scope, these findings may be transferable to other academic institutions – online, conventional, and blended. Data are being collected during two National Faculty Meeting seminars (one in January 2018 with approximately 80 faculty; one planned for July 2018); and in two video-conference focus groups (scheduled for Fall, 2018). The presentation is organized into three domains: The “Nitty-Gritty” – what skills students need (e.g., coding, inductive analysis, using a conceptual framework, QDA choices) and best teaching practices for online/hybrid environments. The “Lens” – how to shift students to explore through a constructivist lens; and educate non-qualitative faculty on the rigor and value of this approach. The “Meta-Cognition” – how to articulate that, at its heart, qualitative research requires reflexivity of the emergent findings and one’s “Self” as the embodiment of the qualitative research instrument. This “thinking about thinking”, or meta-cognition, contributes to personal transformation on the part of the researcher while concurrently illuminating new areas of scholarship and application