Professional Seminar:Conducting Research in a Collaborative Culture

Tina Bhandari, Beth MacDonald, Jenny Martin, and Windi Turner

To bring graduate students from different fields together in order to offer

diverse perspectives on educational research design.

“It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned

to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” - Charles

Darwin

Purpose

Adopting a Participatory Worldview paradigm, as explained by Reason and

Bradbury (2008), the participant-researchers’ collaboratively aimed to

 ascertain effective aspects of this particular doctoral seminar, suggesting

that an inferred reality is socially constructed through a blend of multiple

perspectives.  A participatory research type design, specified by Small

(1995), was utilized as participant-researchers found reason to gain access

to scholarly acts through “research, education, and action” (p. 943).

 Together, the class decided that the aspects of the course design needed to

be researched and investigated further.  Therefore, at the end of two

academic semesters, six participant-researchers and one participant each

wrote a two to three page narrative describing their experience in the

doctoral professional seminar. Familiarity with literature and other

participant-researcher perspectives were not discussed until after all the

narratives were written.

Methods

Belief: Collaboration is nonpartisan and never assuming.Role: active participant researcherSatisfaction: self assurance and revised outlook

Belief: Collaboration is nonpartisan and never assuming.Role: active participant researcherSatisfaction: self assurance and revised outlook

Belief: New literacies allow for collaborative writing from distant geographical locations.Role: co-author, reflective participantSatisfaction: Writing with ooVoo and shared Google documents strengthened outcomes.

Belief: New literacies allow for collaborative writing from distant geographical locations.Role: co-author, reflective participantSatisfaction: Writing with ooVoo and shared Google documents strengthened outcomes.

Belief: Collaboration builds character and opportunities.Role: co-designer and active participantSatisfaction: 100% where beliefs and roles were confirmed with confidence

Belief: Collaboration builds character and opportunities.Role: co-designer and active participantSatisfaction: 100% where beliefs and roles were confirmed with confidence

Belief: Collaboration allowed for interaction with data in an inductive nature.Role: co-designer, reflective researcher, open perspectiveSatisfaction: new perspectives, confidence

Belief: Collaboration allowed for interaction with data in an inductive nature.Role: co-designer, reflective researcher, open perspectiveSatisfaction: new perspectives, confidence

Discussion

Conclusion

“We are all in this process together, and it feels comforting to know that we are going through the same things and are so supported by our department..”

“We are all in this process together, and it feels comforting to know that we are going through the same things and are so supported by our department..”

“I’m beginning to glimpse what I’m doing here and why I’m doing it. Add to that the relationships formed with a core group of other PhD students, and you have a very valuable course. .”

“I’m beginning to glimpse what I’m doing here and why I’m doing it. Add to that the relationships formed with a core group of other PhD students, and you have a very valuable course. .”

“I not only found that what I learned in this seminar helped me as a doctoral student, but also was helpful to my colleagues in the same program as myself!”

“I not only found that what I learned in this seminar helped me as a doctoral student, but also was helpful to my colleagues in the same program as myself!”

Results