Monday, May 23, 2016

DFS Week 1 Reaction

This week I worked approximately 7 hours.  

I had my first meeting with my mentor this week. We had briefly spoken prior to this on some expectations and possible directions. I also sent him my Problem of Practice statement from the previous semester. So at this meeting, we spent several hours brainstorming and determining what we will be focusing on. We have quite the to-do list! I will be working on the literature reviews, creating the plan of study, and drafting a questionnaire. It was a great meeting and I feel energized about my project.

One thing that someone surprises me is that he has taken on some tasks himself as well. Based on his connections, he is working cultivate networking opportunities for me, as well as setting up meetings with program area directors. These opportunities will allow me to connect different program area directors and other stakeholders. I hope to get a lot of insight by doing this.

I started doing some literature reviews on how school systems are funded here in Arizona and learning standards. From this information, I drafted a questionnaire to ask the program area directors. This type of literature the view was a bit different from what I am used to since much of the information is on government websites as opposed to peer review journal articles. It provides a black-and-white view of educational systems; however, it does not capture the nuances often associated with how systems actually work. I feel like it is missing political and social factors. This is the type of information I hope to gain from the interviews.


I am a little overwhelmed with the amount of work that needs to be done in just about two months. I expect I will be working on tasks after the summer session has concluded. I am excited; however, that I will be able to utilize this information in my dissertation.

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