5 0 V olu m e 7 ł 2 0 1 2 By u n de r st a n ding…a du lt e pist em ologica l
de v e lopm e nt , e ffe ct iv e doct ora l pr ogr a m s ca n sim u lt a n e ou sly m e e t t h e n e e ds…of a dult le a r n e r s in a m a nn e r t h a t socia liz e s t h em for t h e …e x pe ct a t ion s of t he pr ofe ssion s.
Fr om Th e or y t o Pr a ct ice t o Ex pe r ie n ce :
Bu ild in g Sch ola r ly Le a r n in g Com m u n it ie s in N on t r a d it ion a l
D oct or a l Pr ogr a m s
Hank Radda, PhD
Dean and Senior Vice President , College of Doct or al St udies Gr and Canyon Univ ersit y
Dem ands of t he m oder n w or kfor ce, coupled w it h r apid adv ances in educat ional t echnology , hav e cr eat ed a new par adigm of doct or al lear ning. No longer designed w it h t he t r adit ional academ ic in m ind, doct or al educat ion has expanded t o accom m odat e the expect at ions, dem ands, and expert ise of work ing professionals. Sim ult aneously, t r adit ional academ ic v oices hav e ar t iculat ed m or e vibr ant and diver se under st andings on t he developm ent and socializat ion of doct or al lear ner s. Consider at ions of t he m et hods, int er vent ions, and out com es for t he developm ent of scholars ar e being inv est igat ed; as highlight ed by Gar dner and Mendoza ( 2010) , successful doctor al progr am s should consider a w ider var iet y of scholar ly out put s, developm ent m et hodologies, and st akeholder per spect iv es. I n t his r eflect ion, I focus on t he consider at ions unique t o adult lear ner s, w it h a focus on t he scholar - pr act it ioner m odel. By under st anding ( and em br acing) adult epist em ological dev elopm ent , effect iv e doctoral pr ogram s can sim ult aneously m eet t he needs, schedules, and dem ands of adult lear ner s in a m anner t hat socializes t hem for t he var ious ex pect at ions of t he pr ofession. While t he t heor et ical under pinnings of m oder n doctor al educat ion hav e been established in t he lit er at ur e ( see Gardner and Mendoza, 2010, for an ov er view ) , it is less clear how t hese andr agogical pr inciples t r anslat e int o t he or ganizat ional and st r uct ur al foundat ions of a scalable doct or al pr ogr am in a m anner t hat fost er s a v ibr ant lear ning organizat ion. I n t his essay , I dr aw on m y
experience in cr eat ing doct oral pr ogram s designed explicit ly for t he m oder n adult lear ner and discuss, in collabor at ion w it h cur r ent doct or al lear ner s, t he im pact of t hese progr am m at ic init iat iv es on t he lear ning exper ience.
When discussing nont r adit ional, scholar - pr act it ioner- or ient ed doct or al progr am s, it is im por t ant t o highlight t he
char act er ist ics t hat dist inguish t hese unique
progr am s fr om t heir m or e t r adit ional count er par t s. Nont r adit ional doct or al lear ning is designed for adult lear ner s w it h 15- 25 years of professional exper ience w ho ent er t he program w it h m ast er degr ees and significant know ledge and experience in t heir cur r ent field of pr act ice. As such, t her e is a dedicat ed shift in em phasis aw ay fr om acquisit ion of cont ent k now ledge; r at her , t he goal is t o cr eat e oppor t unit ies t o engage in applied resear ch t hat synt hesizes lear ners’ cur r ent ex per t ise and scholar ly engagem ent . These condit ions cr eat e a unique oppor t unit y t o develop a scholar ly lear ning com m unit y in innov at iv e w ays t hat capit alize on t he st rengt hs, k now ledge, and passion of t he lear ner s.
I nSigh t : A Jou r na l of Sch ola r ly Te a chin g 5 1 N ont r a dit iona l doct or a l
le a r n ing is de sign e d for a dult le a r n e r s w it h 1 5 - 2 5 y e a r s of pr ofe ssiona l e x pe r ie n ce w ho e nt e r t h e pr ogr a m w it h m a st e r s de gr e e s a nd sign ifica n t k n ow le dge a nd e x pe r ie n ce in t h e ir cu r r e nt fie ld of pr a ct ice .
degr ees. I n t his unique set t ing, I hav e had t he oppor t unit y t o creat e t he progr am m at ic st r uct ur e t hat suppor t s scholar ly lear ning com m unit ies in a m anner t hat aligns w it h t r ends in online educat ion, adult lear ning t heor y , and w ork for ce expect at ions. Alt hough we have achiev ed consider able success ( bot h in t er m s of gr aduat es, pr ogr am gr ow t h, and applied scholar ship) , w e are at t he early st ages of cr eat ing t he oppor t unit ies for gr eat er collabor at ion in scholar ship t hat t ak es adv ant age of int er disciplinar y per spect iv es, geogr aphically disper sed par t icipant s ( facult y and lear ner s) w it h unique scholar - pr act it ioner exper iences, and enhanced coor dinat ed resear ch agendas for scholar ly out put .
Reflect ing on our init iat ives ( including bot h successes and failur es) , t wo t heor et ical assum pt ions em erge as essent ial com ponent s of progr am s t hat fost er effect iv e int ellect ual grow t h at t he doct or al lev el:
o Adult lear ner s w it h professional exper ience have significant over t and t acit know ledge t o shar e and develop.
o Adult lear ners in t hese doct oral com m unit ies hav e int ent ionalit y t o im pr ov e t heir com m unit y / or ganizat ion using t he scholar ship, cr it ical t hink ing, and analy sis dev eloped t hr oughout t heir educat ion.
Under lying t hese assum pt ions is t he need t o fost er an int er act iv e com m unit y of lear ners: not sim ply a cohor t t o ser v e as suppor t , nor a social grouping t hat pr ogr esses as a shar ed collect iv e, but r at her , a learning com m unit y t hat is ex plicit ly designed w it h t he needs, goals, and ex per t ise of each individual lear ner dr iv ing t he for m at , cont ent , and progr ession of int er act ions.
These t ypes of lear ning com m unit ies oft en em erge as t he nat ur al by- product of
close- k nit resear ch gr oups in a t r adit ional, face- t o- face inst it ut ion; w it h a single facult y m em ber leading a hand- pick ed gr oup of pr odigies, t he nat ur al dy nam ics of a social group t ake ov er t o fost er an int ellect ual give- and- t ake. I n cont r ast , m oder n online pr ogr am s m ust be explicit in t he dev elopm ent of a pr ogr am m at ic st r uct ur e t hat suppor t s t his t y pe of int ellect ual ex change. While t her e is obv iously not a single, isolat ed rout e t hat inst it ut ions m ust t ak e t o fost er scholar ly lear ning com m unit ies w hile serv ing a geogr aphically disper sed populat ion, I w ill highlight t hr ee init iat iv es t hat w e found t o be par t icular ly successful w it h our lear ner s: int ent ionalit y em phasis, r esidency progr am s, and scholar ly net w ork s.
I nt e nt ion a lit y Em ph a sis
5 2 V olu m e 7 ł 2 0 1 2 W h ile onlin e e du ca t ion ha s a n e st a blish e d r e cor d of e ffe ct iv e n e ss, it is a lso im port a n t t o pr ov ide opport un it ie s for fa ce - t o-fa ce in t e r a ct ion v ia r e side n cy pr ogra m s.
The cur r iculum of t he init ial classes is explicit ly designed to assist lear ner s in different iat ing t heir concept ualizat ion fr om a m ast er ’s t o a doct or al progr am . Em phasis is placed on foster ing lear ner s’ responsibilit y for t heir lear ning, t he quest ioning of t he m at erial, and t he early developm ent of cr it ical analy sis and r eflect ion. Thr ough an em phasis on independence and int ent ionalit y , t he pr ogr am encour ages lear ner s’ ex t r acur r icular involv em ent in t he scholar ly lear ning com m unit y . We believe t hat w hile it is v it al t o pr ov ide oppor t unit ies for scholar ly engagem ent w it hin classes wit h an int egr at ed curr iculum and out side t he confines of each class, it is equally im por t ant t o fost er a m indset that pr epar es lear ner s t o effect iv ely t ake adv ant age of the init iat iv es prov ided.
Re side n cy Pr ogr a m s
The r ealit y of t he m oder n work force necessit at es t he inclusion of online cour sework as a foundat ion of m any scholar - pr act it ioner - or ient ed doct or al progr am s. While online educat ion has an est ablished r ecord of effect iv eness, it is also im por t ant t o pr ov ide oppor t unit ies for face- t o- face int er act ion v ia r esidency progr am s. Our unique focus in r esidency oppor t unit ies is t o br ing t he com m unit y of scholar s toget her w it h facult y t hat ar e exper t s in r esear ch and disser t at ion developm ent . Since w e hav e an int egr at ed curr iculum t hat t hr eads cont ent and scholar ly inquiry t hr oughout t he pr ogr am in a dev elopm ental fashion, t he r esidency is used as a piv ot al ev ent t o clar ify t he
scholar ly goals, ascer t ain pr ogress, and est ablish a clear pat h for t he next phase in t he lear ner s’ progr am .
Dur ing t he init ial online ex per ience of t he progr am , cam ar ader ie develops in t he online classroom s w here lear ner s engage in t hought ful and m eaningful dialogues ar ound specific cour se cont ent . When learners m eet
face- t o- face for t he fir st t im e in r esidency , an im m ediacy and int im acy of m ind ( i.e., t hink ing and under st anding of t he ot her s’ perspect iv es) em er ge in t he int er act ions. The r esidency pr ogr am is designed t o fost er an act ive com m unit y of scholars focused pr im ar ily on t he developm ent of t he prospectus, pr oposal, and t he disser t at ion. These r esidency ex per iences punct uat e int egr at ed lear ning to guide t he m ost difficult par t of t he doct or al j our ney .
D oct or a l Com m u n it y N et w or k ©
I nSigh t : A Jou r na l of Sch ola r ly Te a chin g 5 3 Ev en t hough t he Doctor al Com m unit y Net w or k ( DC) is in it s adolescence, lear ner s and facult y ar e already act ively engaged in scholar ly dialogue result ing in grow ing r esear ch agendas and int er disciplinary scholarship. As lear ner s post r esear ch ideas, ot her lear ners and facult y r eflect , shar e resources, and encour age ar t iculat ion of t hought . The enhanced scholar ly dialogue stem s fr om out side of t he classroom ( sim ilar t o hallw ay conv er sat ions av ailable in face- t o- face pr ogr am s) and capit alizes on t he exper iences and exper t ise of our geogr aphically dispersed populat ion. Unlik e gener al social net w or k s, t he Doct or al Com m unit y Net w or k ( DC) explicit ly focuses on pr om ot ing qualit y scholar ship, fost er ing successful com plet ion of t he progr am , and encour aging engagem ent in t he lar ger academ ic com m unity t hr ough oppor t unit ies t o publish and/ or present r esear ch.
Con clu sions
Fost er ing v ibr ant lear ning com m unit ies for adult lear ner s in nont r adit ional doctor al pr ogr am s r equir es explicit at t ent ion t o t he unique needs of t his populat ion. I nst it ut ions m ust design progr am s t hat creat e oppor t unit ies for scholar ly int er act ions in a m anner t hat fit s t he needs, goals, and schedules of t he adult lear ner .
Ex t ending beyond t he confines of a single class, effect iv e lear ning com m unit ies em erge w hen pr ogram m at ic st ruct ur e allows adult learners to drive int er act ions t hat capit alize on t heir pr ofessional ex per t ise and int ent ionalit y . As such, pr ogr am m at ic init iat ives m ust m aint ain a cr it ical balance bet w een st r uct ure and fr eedom . Successful pr ogr am s pr ov ide t he st r uct ur al foundat ion t hat suppor ts and encour ages collabor at ion, yet allow s sufficient fr eedom for doct or al lear ner s t o for m ulat e and dir ect t heir role w it hin t he lar ger st r uct ure. Nont r adit ional doct or al progr am s m ust creat e oppor t unit ies for lear ner s t o int er act and m ax im ize professional connect ions in order to capit alize on t he br oader per spect iv es and ex per t ise av ailable.
I n t he follow ing reflect iv e annot at ions, y ou w ill see t he pr ogr ession from t he t heor et ical under pinnings highlight ed by Gar dner and Mendoza ( 2010) t o t he exper iences of doctor al lear ner s curr ent ly im m ersed in a nont r adit ional pr ogr am designed t o fost er an int egr at ed scholar ly lear ning com m unit y . Thr ough t he r eflect ions of doct or al learner s on t arget ed chapt ers of socializat ion and developm ent , y ou see an em er ging scholar ly lear ning com m unit y . I t is hear t ening t o see a resonance bet w een t he program vision and t he act ual experiences of t he lear ner s. Clear ly , t his is an ongoing dialogue w her e lear ner s, facult y , counselor s, and adm inist r at ion collabor at e in t he cr eat ion of scholar - pr act it ioners w it hin a v ibr ant scholar ly com m unit y . This ex ercise, in and of it self, aligns w it h our inher ent process of cont inually defining, dialoguing, and enhancing our pr ogr am for gr aduat es t o develop pur poseful scholar ship.
Re fe r e n ce
Gar dner , S., & Mendoza, P. ( Eds.) ( 2010) . On becom ing a scholar : Socializat ion and developm ent in doct or al educat ion. St er ling, VA: St y lus.
