Goal Statement
Portfolio 1When I began the PhD in Education program a year ago, my goal was to gain the skills necessary to have a career that combines research and teaching. I was particularly interested in instruction for students with mild disabilities in inclusive settings. At the time, I was working as a mentor to first year teachers. Issues related to teacher preparation, particularly the preparation of special education teachers through alternative licensing programs, interested me. As a teacher who worked in schools with strong professional learning communities, I was further intrigued by the idea of conducting action research.
After three semesters in the PhD program, including work as a graduate research assistant (GRA) and experiences teaching at the university level, my overall goal is the same. I remain drawn to a career that combines research and teaching. While I feel it is too early in my studies to narrow my sights to a particular type of job in the field of special education, I currently lean toward working in the university environment. My research interests have changed somewhat. I remain very interested in effective instructional practices for students with mild disabilities in inclusive settings. However, now that I am no longer working directly with first year teachers, my curiosity about alternative teacher preparation programs has waned.
Through my coursework and GRA experience, I have gained many research skills that I will build and refine as I continue my studies. There are two personal research goals that I would like to accomplish before graduating from the PhD program. First, I would like to graduate feeling comfortable conducting a variety of types of research. To that end, I have selected research methods as my secondary concentration. I would like to take courses that focus on different research methodologies, such as quantitative and mixed-methods designs. Second, I would like to complete a research study (in addition to the research conducted as part of my GRA position), and submit the manuscript for publication. Currently, I think the best way for me to accomplish this goal would be to complete the project as an independent study.
In addition to research goals, there are teaching goals that I would like to accomplish before graduating from the PhD program. I have enjoyed teaching Introduction to Special Education. Teaching a small class during summer session and teaching a large class during spring semester have challenged me to expand and improve my teaching skills. Before I graduate, I would like to have the experience of teaching another class in special education. This would give me another opportunity to practice planning for and instructing a university-level course – a skill I would like to be competent at when finding a job after graduation.
To date, I have done little in the area of service. My service activities have included assisting fellow doctoral students with data collection for their research projects, and participating in PhD applicant interviews. During the next school year, I would like to have the experience of supervising GMU student interns. I will also look for more opportunities to serve at GMU and within the larger community.
All in all, I feel I have a solid start toward achieving my goals and preparing for the career that I want. At this point in my program, I feel it is time to shift my focus more heavily toward conducting research. Based on my experiences as a GRA, I know that planning for, conducting, and publishing research is a long process. To achieve my goal of publishing work before I graduate, I need to make research a priority. The coursework and other activities I select at this point should support me in maintaining this focus.
Portfolio 2
As I write this revised goal statement in November 2009, I am nearing the end of my PhD coursework. Looking back over my goals as I entered the PhD program and after three semesters of study, I see a clear focus on instruction for students with special needs and a consistent interest in research. I am working toward the goals I set for myself at the time of my first portfolio meeting. In the area of research, I am taking three research methods courses this semester (quantitative methods, single-subject research, and mixed-methods research) to increase my knowledge of and comfort level with various types of educational research. Additionally, I am in the process of conducting a mega-analysis of writing meta-analyses in learning disabilities, which began as an independent study project over the summer. In the area of teaching, I have not taught a university-level class since Introduction to Special Education in Spring 2009, but I hope to gain additional teaching experience after I finish my coursework. In the area of service, I am mentoring an undergraduate student in the BIS program at George Mason University. I am also the assistant editor for Exceptional Children, the Council of Exceptional Children’s peer-reviewed journal.
Moving forward in the PhD program, instruction for students with disabilities and conducting research continue to be at the center of my work. My research, teaching, and service goals at this point in my studies related not only to the PhD program, but also to my career after graduation.
Research goals
I have three research goals I would like to accomplish before finishing my PhD coursework in May. First, I will finish the writing mega-analysis I started as an independent study during Summer 2009. Second, I will begin preparing for my dissertation by working on a literature review, writing a draft proposal, and applying for dissertation funding next semester. Third, I will present findings from the research projects I have worked on at the Council for Exceptional Children and AERA conventions in April. Specifically, I will help present lectures on the writing intervention research project conducted last fall with middle school students with serious emotional and behavioral disabilities, and I will present a poster session on the writing mega-analysis.I have also begun thinking about the type of research I would like to conduct after completing the PhD program. I am very interested in the process of implementing research-based instructional strategies in real-world classroom environments. As part of my current mixed-methods course, I have begun thinking about how research designs such as design experiments can help “bridge the gap” between research and practice by highlighting ways that interventions need to be adapted to meet the needs of the classroom and gaining an understanding of how teachers adopt and adapt new instructional practices. Such research combines my knowledge of teaching and interest in intervention research. Furthermore, I believe that having a process for transitioning intervention research into the classroom would be beneficial to the field of special education.
Teaching goals
Although I am not teaching university level courses this year, I am still interested in teaching another course before I complete the PhD program. This may be done next Summer or Fall, after I have completed my coursework. My long-term, post-PhD teaching goal is to teach at the university level. Over the past two semesters I have realized that I truly enjoy working with pre-service teachers. I also strongly believe that the best way to improve outcomes for students is by having well-trained, well-supported teachers. As a university instructor, I can affect the learning of many students with special needs by preparing strong teachers that provide outstanding, research-supported instruction.Service goals
I am excited to be a mentor to an undergraduate student in the BIS program. One of my goals in this role is to help her successfully complete a research project next fall. As part of that, I will begin working with her during the upcoming spring semester to ensure that she has the skills and resources she needs to complete her research project. Through my role as an assistant editor, I would like to gain practice reviewing research articles in a way that is useful and meaningful to authors and editors. I am also interested in learning more about how editorial decisions are made, and how different interests are balanced and addressed in the journal. Finally, my role as an assistant editor has made me recognize the importance of being involved in the field of special education beyond my own university. I will continue to look for opportunities to be involved in the larger special education community before I leave the PhD program.Portfolio 3
I believe that students are at the heart of everything we do in the field of education, whether we are the teachers who work with children every day or the policy makers who determine how much funding schools will receive. Every decision that is made and action that is taken must be made with explicit consideration of the impact it will have on the children we serve. We must take great care to ensure that our top priority is always to help students be successful in school so that they have the opportunity to be successful life.
I also believe that the best way to improve student achievement is to focus on teaching excellence. Teaching excellence requires teacher preparation programs that provide new teachers with the background and field experiences they need to provide high-quality instruction in the classroom. It also requires meaningful, sustained professional development for all teachers throughout their career. My role, then, becomes supporting teachers through conducting intervention research, providing instruction for teacher preparation and professional development, and promoting a partnership between general and special education to improve outcomes for all students. Through my coursework, research activities, teaching, and other experiences in the PhD program, I have sought to improve my skills in research, teaching and service to prepare me for this role.
From the beginning of my time at George Mason University, I have been focused on a career that combines teaching and research. Over time, I have determined that a career in higher education affords me the opportunity to achieve this balance. The long-term goals I have set for myself during the PhD program have remained consistent – to conduct intervention research, to teach at the university level, and to serve local schools and the larger special education community. Since my last portfolio meeting, I have met many of the short-term goals I set for myself. I have also set new goals that focus on completing my dissertation.
Research goals
At the time of my last portfolio meeting, I set three goals in the area of research. First, I wanted to finish the writing mega-analysis I had started the previous semester. This semester I finished a preliminary analysis and presented the study at a poster session at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) conference in Nashville. The session was well attended and I had the opportunity to talk with others who are interested in writing research and share resources with them. This summer I will write a manuscript of the study to submit for publication. My second goal was to begin work on my dissertation by starting a literature review, drafting a proposal, and applying for dissertation funding. All of these have been accomplished. I completed the writing research portion of the literature review as an independent study this semester; I wrote a draft proposal to submit for dissertation funding; and I was recently informed that I have received full funding. My third research goal was to present findings from the research I have been involved in at national conferences. In addition to the writing mega-analysis poster previously mentioned, I also participated in a presentation on conducting research with students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) at the CEC conference. Additionally, the writing research studies I have been involved in were presented at the CEC conference and the AERA conference in Denver.
My short-term research goals now focus on completing my dissertation. I plan to finish my dissertation proposal this summer and defend it at the end of July. Then, I will collect data at a middle school during fall semester, and finish writing my dissertation in the spring. My dissertation will focus on teaching writing to middle school students with EBD, including a peer-revision component that I am designing. The study will be a single-subject study with four small groups of students. I have found a school in which to work, and have approval from HSRB through the writing project I have worked on as a research assistant. Because of the type and amount of data I would like to collect, I will need to hire, train, and manage at least two individuals to take on-task behavioral data and score numerous essays. This will be a new responsibility for me. Another new responsibility will be managing a research budget. As part of the dissertation funding fellowship proposal, I developed a budget to cover all anticipated costs of the study. Now I will need to manage that money, keep records of how it is spent, and pay data collectors. Finally, my dissertation will be the first time that I have had the primary responsibility for working with a research site. Maintaining communication with the assistant principal and teacher, managing the schedule, and other details will need to be a constant focus before data collection begins and throughout the semester that I am in the school.
Teaching goals
My short-term teaching goal remains the same – to teach another course at the university level before graduating next May. I was unable to work on this goal since the time of my last portfolio meeting because I had not yet completed my PhD coursework. Given that I will be collecting dissertation data in the fall, I feel that next spring would be the ideal time to teach another course. This fall I will contact the instructor coordinator for special education about teaching in the spring.
Service goals
Since the time of my last portfolio meeting I have made progress on both of my stated short-term goals. First, I have worked with my BIS mentee to develop a research focus for her senior project. Next year, then, I will continue to work with her as she designs her study, collects her data, and analyzes it. She has chosen to do an intervention study, so I feel well-prepared to help her through the process. Second, I have continued my work as the assistant editor of Exceptional Children, and have had the opportunity to review articles and learn about the editorial process. Additional service activities have included acting as a student mentor for two fellow PhD students – one who is half-way through her program and one who is just beginning. I have also helped a fellow PhD student with data collection and scoring for her dissertation. As I continue throughout the rest of my PhD program, I will continue to work with other students to help them meet their goals and manage the demands of the program. A final short-term service goal is to work with the English teacher at the school where I will be conducting my dissertation study to help her develop her writing instruction. She has expressed an interest in alternative ways to teach writing to her students and seems eager to “experiment” with new methods in her classroom.
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