Reflect: Reflect on the discussions, interactions, readings, and
practices you have experienced during the colloquium. Please address
each of the following questions in your Reflection Journal:
• What have you learned during the onsite colloquium or virtual colloquium?
• What “ah-ha” moments did you experience?
• What is still unclear to you that you need to research further or continue to work on?
• What did you contribute that made a difference to the learning of others?
• In what ways will you apply what you have learned to the remainder of your doctoral program and to your dissertation?
• What actions do you need to take to continue your learning?
• What behaviors do you need to change to improve your learning experiences during your academic career at the university?
Cite these sources:
Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people personal workbook. Simon and Schuster.
Roberts, C.M. (2010). The dissertation journey: a practical and comprehensive guide to planning, writing, and defending your
dissertation (2nd edition). Corwin Press.
Reflection Journal
During the colloquium, I have indulged in multiple readings, interactions, and discussions which have helped to enhance my understanding of the doctoral study and the manner in which to balance my study-work life. Also, the virtual symposium has been a critical tool in helping build social support with my peers, who have offered the emotional and academic support required to achieve my doctoral goals. Although some aspects of learning such as literature review are still unclear, the colloquium has helped me know about the importance of support and organization in a doctoral dissertation, fostered my contribution in teaching my peers about the importance of planning for doctoral practice, determine ways in which I will utilize planning and organization in my learning and identify actions and behaviors that I need to take or change to improve my learning experience at the university.
Among the crucial aspects that I have learned during the online colloquium is the criticality of support and organization in a doctoral dissertation. Notably, I have come to acknowledge the fact that postgraduate studies can sometimes be overwhelming to students, mainly because of the associated workloads and life-study pressure. However, by applying a concert of the principle of organization- planning one’s activities, and support- surrounding oneself with support systems such as family and friends, a postgraduate student can overcome the challenges associated with this self-isolating process.
The “Ah-ha” moments during the colloquium has been the realization of the existence of financial tools that aid the acquisition of financing for education. While pursuing education, it is beneficial that there are tools that can help a student continue with their studies amidst financial constraints. This realization has, notably, been an “ah-ha” experience because I now have the assurance that my prior prerogatives can aid in obtaining financial help for education.
However, I still feel that I do not have adequate information and resources in the area of the literature review for my dissertation. So far, I understand that the literature review is a crucial chapter, more so, in completing the dissertation paper that I will defend at the end of the doctoral study. Therefore, I need to continue working on gathering more quality, scholarly articles to aid in the completion of my dissertation.
One of the things that I contributed during the colloquium, and which made a difference in the learning of others is sharing my tips about how to achieve success in one’s doctorate program. Most notably, in my discussion post, I highlighted the importance of developing clear learning objectives and deadlines during studies. I feel that this post helped several of my peers in objective development and meeting their planned goals within the stipulated time.
Overall, I have learned several principles, concepts, and practices, many of which I will apply in the remainder of my doctoral program. Mainly, I plan to utilize the principle of organization in preparing and completing my dissertation. As opined by Roberts (2010), organization, planning, and believing in working hard and smart are critical in the successful completion of a dissertation. Therefore, in compliance with the idea of organization and planning, I will breakdown and schedule various activities and set specific deadlines that will facilitate the completion of my dissertation.
Besides the ideas that I have acquired during the colloquium, there are actions that I need to take and behaviors that I should change to improve my learning experience. As suggested by Covey (2004), success is significantly dependent on the ability to take responsibility for one’s wellbeing. Therefore, I need to take responsibility for my mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing by seeking social support systems and creating a comfortable learning environment that will help facilitate a successful learning experience. I also need to change the perception that I have had about having enough time to complete my research and writing. Instead, I should set aside quality time in my academic work, which will, in turn, help me improve my learning experiences during my academic career at the university.
References
Covey, S.R. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people personal workbook. Touchstone. ISBN-13: 978-0743250979
Roberts, C.M. (2010). The dissertation journey: A practical and comprehensive guide to planning, writing, and defending your dissertation (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452219219
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