WELCOME BACK Practitioners & WELCOME Family Members
I enjoy inviting
family members to our graduate research seminar to meet each other and to meet
me.
I am the person
responsible for some of the sacrifices your spouse/parent will make this
semester.
They are an
example of what research is, the importance of it, and how you need to support
them.
You can support
them in the following ways this semester:
- Powerpoint of Cohort Members
- They will be involved in a project that they
are not sure about-so they will be more fragile than usual.
- Provide routines and do things on a temporary
basis to relieve some of this stress.
- Your parent/partner will be preoccupied-do
not interpret this as indication that they do not love you, care for you,
or are neglecting you. There is a reason every book has an Acknowledgement Page. Those who
live with writers and researchers are understanding, cognizant that their
counterparts are working on something for the greater good.
- Let us feast today for tomorrow will be
challenging work to do. We will celebrate in May at the completion of
their diligent and focused work.
- Sometimes they may just need to talk and for
you to listen to play out their thoughts and to articulate and to make
meaning of what they are thinking. Build in some scheduled time together.
On Saturdays-family time. Sundays-give them the freedom to work on their
project uninterruptedly.
- Practitioners also need to establish a
productive working time free from distractions and interruptions and
temptations. Support them in accomplishing this.
- Not all of their stress will come from me.
They are the ones who will be conducting research in their classrooms. If
they are unusually stressed, be proactive and offer to make dinner or
suggest to order out to relieve some of the stress. Have a family meeting
where responsibilities may be divvied up.
- We
all know that this is temporary! By Spring Break (March 22) they will be
near the end of their project. Their draft will be due but there may be
some minor adjustments which they may still have to take time to do. APRIL
12-13 is their ORAL EXAMINATION where they will travel to Albuquerque to present their classroom
research in the SHARED KNOWLEDGE Conference. It is not a thumbs up or thumbs
down kind of inquisition. I am responsible for their grade in this
capstone experience. However, their classroom research is an extension of
who they are as professional teachers. They may continue this research on
their own in the future.
- We encourage students to
simply tell their story-no need for fancy bells or whistles or fancy
delivery. We honor the storytelling approach. Practitioner research is the
storytelling art of research. So by simply
telling who they are, what they did, why and what happened along the way;
what new questions arose; where it led them and where they are going from
here, comprise their story.
On
May 13, you are invited to their Graduation reception 5-7pm & May 14
Graduation at SJC(UNM ALB May 14). When you come to graduation/reception, you
will be familiar faces to celebrate their successes together. There is no doubt
that they will be successful. That is a given
SYMBOLIC Artifacts:
Ants = Natural, authentic learning
Crayon = Drafts & Revisions
Money = Investments already made & future gains
Puzzle Piece = Piecing the puzzle of your research story together
as you go
Rubber Band = Flexible, stretchable thinking
Quote = Trusting yourself & students in the process
Block Letters = Art & craft of your writing and storytelling
Candle = Light of Inspiration & Intuition along the way
Candy = Elements of surprise, satisfaction & enjoyment
