Week of 2/2-2/8

·      Just finished my plan and submitted it for Dr. Ensminger’s feedback.  I made sure when I was creating my management plan to account for particular busy periods at my job.  With PARCC testing, we have even more plates spinning in the air.  My management plan though, at least, I think, looks manageable, thus the purpose of the plan, and I am looking forward to seeing feedback from Dr. Ensminger; although, I appreciated his ideas when I met with him, and made sure to incorporate all of my notes from our meeting into my project plan.

Week of 1/26-2/1

·      After meeting with Dr. Ensminger, I have a new clarity and excitement about my dissertation research.  I really like the idea of comparing and contrasting two teachers perspectives on the CCSS, and fine-tuning my interview questions, as well as my document analysis skills.  I also like that Dr. Ensminger was able to distill my research down to a project that I could complete in a reasonable time.  When I worked on my project for Dr. Kallemeyn’s class, I was thinking, well, I guess my dissertation will take a few years to complete.  Though I am all about hard work, even my close friend/ NIU professor said that I was trying to do so much, so hearing it from Dr. Ensminger confirmed it.

Week of 1/19-1/25

·      I have been communicating with my former department chair, so springing research at her school will not come as a surprise to her.  I hope that I can still do research there.  I would think it would be entirely possible, but I need to see if I can keep my IRB or if I need to submit a new one.  My previous IRB was for a journal article that I planned on writing  which never came to fruition, but I learned how to submit an IRB at least.  I will make sure to submit my Case Study project to Dr. Ensminger before I meet with him. 

Week of 1/12-1/18

·      I need to send Dr. Ensminger my Case Study project to get feedback and prepare for my meeting with him on the 28^th.    I am wondering if my project for this class is the proposal that I submit /present to my dissertation committee, or is it an entirely different assignment.  Whatever it is, I will make sure that it is something I can use to prepare for my dissertation proposal.  I think I have a pretty good start given that I have been focusing on my research ideas since Ann Marie’s class when I began the program.