Professional Development Statement

[Research] [Teaching] [Service]

This part of my portfolio describes my professional development in my first year doctoral program in the Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. This statement includes three areas: Research, Teaching, and Service. In each area, I will address and reflect on the following questions:

1. What is my goal in this specific area?

2. What have I done to fulfill this goal?

3. How did I achieve this goal?

4. What have I learned through these experiences?

5. What do I intend to do next?
   

Research
If I, a doctoral student, were a cook, then the research is the dish that I am going to present. I know if I want to become a good cook, I need to get familiar with the materials that I am going to cook, as well as the kitchen utensils and the way to cook with them. Additionally, I need to have a good recipe to follow. Therefore, my goal for my research development turns out to be, “Get familiar with research methodologies as well as the literature in the field of Instructional Technology, and based on these skills, background knowledge, my interests, and advisors’ guides to conduct a research study which can contribute to this field.” In other words, in my first year, I was honing my research skills, doing literature reviews, and refining my research interests. This was a challenging journey for me, because the course loads were heavy and my personal expectation was high. I was always searching for the balance among these things that I need to learn, and trying to enjoy doing these.

For the research techniques courses, I took both qualitative and statistic classes in my first semester and another qualitative research design class in my second semester, because I knew it is important for me to master these techniques as early as possible in my program. These courses actually built the foundation of my research perspectives, and provided me with several examples about designing and conducting qualitative research. By reading the intense articles and working on the heavy assignments, I felt that I was starting to think and work like a researcher. The challenge for me right now is to practice the theoretical language in my writing, as well as enhance my research conducting and paper writing abilities. These take time to master, and I will continue to improve them.

The literature review was another big task for my first year. In order to get thorough background knowledge as well as to narrow down my research interests, I took Dr. Tom Reeves’s literature review class (EDIT 9630) in my second semester. My topic was “A review of cultural consideration in online learning environment”. I looked specifically on several topics, such as how does culture influence perceptions and communication, how teachers adjust their teaching styles to accommodate cultural factors, what framework in studying this topic, and the challenges for future studies. I expect to submit the final manuscript to “Journal of Computing in Higher Education” for publication review.

My research interests include E-learning environment evaluation, online learning community, and creativity in constructionism. In order to try out these ideas, I took and conducted studies related to them. In Dr. Tom Reeves’s evaluation class (EDIT 8350), I implemented an evaluation plan for the School of Social Work to evaluate their web-based modules for geriatric enrichment project and also explored a special topic on web usability. In another course called “Creativity: Instructional procedures and problem solving processes (EPSY 8240)”, I got hands-on experience in creativity instruction and activities. I was also planning to write a research proposal with another doctoral student related to creativity. At the same time, I was joining in the IT Studio classes to observe and experience the constructionism learning environment from the perspective of the instructor. My purpose was to think and look for the ways to add creativity components into this instructional design. In my qualitative research course (ERSH 8410), I was conducting a study with my advisor, Dr. Tom Reeves, titled, “A qualitative research about taking online classes in the United States: The perceptions from Asian students.” I have submitted a proposal based on this for AECT 2004, and I intend to submit another proposal for E-learn 2004 conference. In addition, I hope to submit the final manuscript for publication review around October, 2004 to a journal focused on online learning.

All these things I have done or am planning to do are aimed at refining my research ideas, as well as obtaining more research experiences. My plan for the second year is to focus on the pilot studies for my dissertation research. At the same time I would like to have more research opportunities to work with other faculty members, as well as to involve myself in other types of development or service projects.

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Teaching
My idea about getting teaching experience started from the professional development seminar presented by Dr. Janette Hill in my first semester. I realized that teaching is not only a way to practice my teaching style, but also a way to learn how to express my ideas clearly. Therefore, during my first semester review with my advisor, Dr. Tom Reeves, I asked for any co-teaching or teaching opportunities. Things turned out well, and I became a co-facilitator in the IT studio course-EDIT 6210. I have provided workshops as well as an Interactive Museum presentation in the studio class. Although it took me a lot of time to prepare and get involved in the course, I believe it was a worthwhile experience. In addition, I wrote an article in Chinese to introduce this Studio model and submitted it to the leading IT journal in Taiwan for publication review. My purpose was not only to introduce the Studio model, but also to promote some cross-cultures interactions in our field between Taiwan and the United States.

Another teaching experience was to serve as a graduate assistant in the school library media program in our department. One of my tasks was to solve their technology problems. I created a guide to teach them using WS-FTP, and answered their questions related to web page development. Although all these were done by email or web pages, I believe it was also a precious teaching experience for me.

In the future, I would like to have more co-teacher experience in some more theory-based courses, like EDIT 6400, EDIT 6170, and EDIT 6180. My purpose is not only to get more teaching experience, but also to observe how students interpret these theories in their perspectives as well as the gaps between the theories and the real world.

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Service
“Learning by doing” was what I got from an interview I conducted with my advisor, Dr. Tom Reeves, in the very beginning of my doctoral program. I totally agreed with that and I started to seek for every learning opportunity in my first year. My goal was to benefit from these experiences to nurture my professional skills, like resources search, data collection, and research design. In my first year, I participated in several different events. Some of them were volunteers, such as the student worker in the SITE conference, the data collection assistant in the Scitrek museum in Atlanta, and the committee member in the Studio comprehension exam.

I also participated in Dr. Llord Rieber’s Powerpoint game implementation in the Honey Creek Elementary School near Atlanta. That was a great opportunity to observe how an idea was carried out in the real situation. I also participated in every professional development seminar presented by Dr. Janette Hill during my first year. This experience really helped me to build my foundation for my future academic career.

All these participation experiences really enriched my professional development in my first year. In the future, I would like to participate in more international, national, and local professional conferences, as well as to join in more research related activities.

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