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Swimming Upstream: Summary of Findings from The Writing Hour Micro-autoethnography

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Date Issued:
2015
Summary:
This qualitative, micro-autoethnographic study explored the perceptions of four female doctoral students at FAU that made up the founding and consistent membership of a self-created, self-directed, and self-sustaining blendedlearning cohort focused on doctoral dissertation completion. The participants also served as co-researchers of this study that investigated their motivation to persist through their doctoral programs in educational leadership with a focus on the dissertation phase. This study utilized group and individual interviews, spontaneous drawing, document review, and the SDLRS instrument to collect and analyze data on the group’s formation, development, challenges, culture, sustaining factors, and outcomes. Findings show that while this group of doctoral students faced substantial challenges and distractions, their self-created cohort evolved through the stages of group development into a viable and supportive community of practice based on their learner motivation orientations achievement and affiliation, personal strengths, and strategies that included dependence on technology; meeting structure, time management techniques, rules, sharing, critiquing, accountability, artificial deadlines, and emotional support. This study fills a major void in the literature. While research exists that examine doctoral cohorts, graduate student retention factors, and graduate student peer mentoring, literature is sparse regarding the outcomes of self-created and self-sustaining graduate student cohorts. Given the high rate of attrition among doctoral students across disciplines in the U.S., the implications of this study include improvement of graduate student advising, suggestions for supportive restructuring of graduate study programs toward increased retention, and the creation of an empowering model for student cohort formation to be validated through further research.
Title: Swimming Upstream: Summary of Findings from The Writing Hour Micro-autoethnography.
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Name(s): Kamin, Fran
Felsher, Rivka A.
Brittain, Kristin
Graduate College
Swann, Elizabeth G.
Bryan, Valerie
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Poster
Date Created: 2015
Date Issued: 2015
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 1 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This qualitative, micro-autoethnographic study explored the perceptions of four female doctoral students at FAU that made up the founding and consistent membership of a self-created, self-directed, and self-sustaining blendedlearning cohort focused on doctoral dissertation completion. The participants also served as co-researchers of this study that investigated their motivation to persist through their doctoral programs in educational leadership with a focus on the dissertation phase. This study utilized group and individual interviews, spontaneous drawing, document review, and the SDLRS instrument to collect and analyze data on the group’s formation, development, challenges, culture, sustaining factors, and outcomes. Findings show that while this group of doctoral students faced substantial challenges and distractions, their self-created cohort evolved through the stages of group development into a viable and supportive community of practice based on their learner motivation orientations achievement and affiliation, personal strengths, and strategies that included dependence on technology; meeting structure, time management techniques, rules, sharing, critiquing, accountability, artificial deadlines, and emotional support. This study fills a major void in the literature. While research exists that examine doctoral cohorts, graduate student retention factors, and graduate student peer mentoring, literature is sparse regarding the outcomes of self-created and self-sustaining graduate student cohorts. Given the high rate of attrition among doctoral students across disciplines in the U.S., the implications of this study include improvement of graduate student advising, suggestions for supportive restructuring of graduate study programs toward increased retention, and the creation of an empowering model for student cohort formation to be validated through further research.
Identifier: FA00005886 (IID)
Collection: FAU Student Research Digital Collection
Note(s): The Sixth Annual Graduate Research Day was organized by Florida Atlantic University’s Graduate Student Association. Graduate students from FAU Colleges present abstracts of original research and posters in a competition for monetary prizes, awards, and recognition.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005886
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.