Vitae Goal Statements Coursework Professional Experience Analytical Thinking Research Artifacts

Coursework Reflections
General Culture
   
EDUC 800
Ways of Knowing
Dr. Anastasia Samaras
Fall 2008







 Ways of Knowing (EDUC 800) is one of the doctoral foundation courses for the Ph.D. in Education program at GMU. The course is designed to introduce a new Ph.D. student to epistemology and how it relates to the construction of knowledge and research in education. Throughout the course, we learned many different ways of knowing and how they have affected individual scholars, research, and the practice of education throughout history. The course helped bring my own awareness to reflect on alternative ways of knowing and how these different ways of knowing might influence my research interests. Lastly, the course explored various sociocultural, professional, and historical factors which have influenced the many different ways of knowing throughout the world.

EDUC 800 opened my eyes to what I truly felt and believed about education, the future of education, and my own personal philosophy towards education. Dr. Anastasia Samaras did an excellent job of presenting the class information through readings, presentations, group work, class discussions, art work, and written assignments. However, the best contribution Dr. Samaras gave to each student in the class was the freedom to explore the many different ways of knowing through our collaborative film project, mock reenactment of Descartes and Kuhn, our reflective journals, and our Ways of Knowing paper in ways that we felt demonstrated our knowledge of the topic. As I look back and reflect, several assignments stand out to me that helped to shape how I think and feel.

During the collaborative film project, we were tasked to form small groups and watch a movie of our choosing. After viewing the movie, we were required to write a letter to any audience of our choosing and discuss our thoughts and views of the movie in the letter. My group chose the film A Beautiful Mind. The audience I chose for my letter was to teachers. The purpose of my letter was to question how teachers view their students. I asked them:

As a teacher when you look at your students what do you see? Who do you see? Do you see a child eager and wanting to learn? Or do you see a disability? If you have been told the child has a disability, do you ignore the label? Or only see the disability?

I continued by asking:

So, as a teacher, what are we doing for our students to be successful? Do we really let them think outside of the box? Do we really let them go against the grain of society? Or do we stifle them and discourage them with our actions and words? Are we letting our students perceive and respond to the world differently? Do we encourage them to perceive and respond to the world differently?

Lastly, I encouraged the audience to be different, because every child with or without a disability learns differently. All children need different amounts of attention, encouragement, and, nurturing to be successful in school. This leads me to Journal Assignment #4, which were our thoughts on an article we read by Elliot Eisner titled, Forms of Understanding and the Future of Educational Research. In this article there was a quote by Nelson Goodman that stated, “there are as many worlds as there are ways to describe them.” This one sentence sparked an idea in my imagination on how there must be a revolution in the educational system in order to bring about the change necessary to meet the growing demands of teaching current and future generations. At the time I did not want to write another paper, so I created a PowerPoint presentation. In the presentation, a young child is having a conversation with an idealistic teacher about the current educational system and how it needs to change to accommodate all types of learners. In short, I argue that there needs to be a revolution to change the educational system from a monolithic approach to a pluralistic approach. I supported this argument that learning needs to be enjoyable and active, focused on thinking and understanding, transferable, encourage students to ask questions and explore, provide real-world experiences to engage students, and to promote social and communication skills. In essence, a school in the future would differentiate how a student would understand and know things.

With this in mind, Journal Assignment #5 gave me the opportunity to discuss the importance of conceptual conflict and complementarity. I discussed this briefly in my EDUC 805 reflection paper and the importance of communities of practice. Basically, an individual can have a wonderful idea on how to make a change or develop something for the better, but if they work in isolation it is only an idea. Through conceptual conflict and complementarity an individual researcher can share their ideas with liked mind professionals to further develop and finalize their ideas for the world to share. As I noted in Journal #5, “with what we have learned in the field of education and the use of technology, finding or creating a collaborative environment or group should not be difficult to accomplish”. Through a community of practice a small group of people can start the revolution in education to change how we teach future students.

One last thought comes to mind when I think about my Ways of Knowing class. Descartes has warned that, “those who set themselves up to instruct others must think they are better than those whom they instruct, and if they misguide them in the slightest they can be held responsible” (Descartes, trans. 1999, p. 7) (Final Exit Paper). This quote makes me think, who am I to teach? Who am I that encourages a revolution in an education system that has taught millions of children for over a hundred years?

I am a dreamer. I believe in the Shel Silverstein poem,

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me –
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

Change starts with a dream.

Now, I am learning the tools to chase that dream.
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EDUC 802
Leadership Seminar
Dr. Scott Bauer
Spring 2010		 EDUC 802: Leadership Seminar is one of three general culture classes required in the doctoral program.  The purpose of the class is for students to analyze the concept of leadership, understand the philosophical perspectives that have defined leadership theories, and identify effective leadership in the broader educational community.  The class was presented through a series of lectures and class activities; however, Dr. Bauer provided several opportunities for class assignments to be submitted for publication in educational journals.  Dr. Bauer felt very strongly that we begin the process of adding to the literature of the field.  With his feedback we were encouraged to submit at least one of our manuscripts for publication.

One of my favorite assignments for this particular class was a non-graded electronic assignment where I had to read chapters 15-23 of The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli.  The purpose of the assignment was to examine if there are circumstances under which Machiavelli’s definition of power or leadership would be more appropriate for a leader.  In my response I pulled out five statements that I believed embodied a leader who could influence a large group of people or one individual.  In addition, I reflected what those five statements meant to me as a future leader in the field of education.  The five statements that define a leader were:

1) “if he is wise he ought not to fear the reputation of being mean” (p. 75)

2) “he ought to be slow to believe and to act, nor should he himself show fear, but proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity” (p. 79)

3) “it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves” (p. 84)

4) “who is highly esteemed” (p. 88)

5) “observe the men he has around” (p. 112)

Lastly, through this electronic assignment I was able to link Machiavelli’s definition of leadership to Howard Garner’s characteristics of world leaders in Chapter 4 of his book, Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds.  In a book review I wrote on Garner’s book, Changing Minds, I briefly summarized Garner’s background, his theory of multiple intelligences, and summarized the seven factors Garner believes can influence an individual or group of people to change their minds.  Those seven factors are; (a) reason, (b) research, (c) resonance, (d) representational redescriptions, (e) resources and rewards, (f) real world events, and (g) resistances. Garner believes that human beings like to hear stories (2004, p. 19); therefore, he provided real world examples through stories to show how the seven factors of influence changed people’s minds.  In the book review I wrote, I expanded on how the use of multiple intelligences, the seven factors of influence, and storytelling could help special education teachers work more effectively with their students, parents, teachers, and administration.  As explained in the Analytical Thinking portion of my Portfolio I discuss the process of submitting this review as a manuscript to the American Secondary Education Journal. 

As discussed in the EDSE 843 reflection I have had a difficult time developing a leadership statement or a focus upon graduating from the Ph.D. program.  My goal over the past two years has been to complete my academic classes and begin the dissertation process.  I honestly never put much thought into what type of leadership role I wanted to aim for upon graduation, because I just assumed I would fall into one.  However, through EDSE 843 and EDUC 802 I have started to develop a leadership statement that I feel is complementary to my idealistic views.  The Leadership Platform paper for EDUC 802 was written a semester after EDSE 843 and I think shows a more focused growth on my leadership goals.  However, as I reflect on this particular document, I can see how my leadership views are still growing after completing EDUC 702: Managing Resources in Special Education.  Even though my views of special education leadership will evolve over the years, I feel that Maxwell’s model of Five Levels of Leadership, the blink process as described by Dane and Pratt, and Fullan’s leadership strategies and models will always play a prominent role in my leadership philosophies. 
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EDUC 805
Research and Scholarship in Education
Dr. Jeffrey Gorrell
Fall 2008
EDUC 805: Research and Scholarship in Education had two main purposes. The first goal of the course was to introduce the concept of communities of practice in the field of education and how communities of practice are used in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at George Mason University (GMU). The second goal provided an opportunity for students to meet several of the professors working in the CEHD department in order to learn about their current research endeavors. Many of the professors discussed how their careers or their research track was influenced or enhanced by communities of practice. Dr. Gorrell discussed how the department of CEHD can create a community of practice for the University, for the department, and for individual research teams. Our only assignment for the class was to write a final synthesis paper outlining our reflections about communities of practice in the CEHD department at GMU.

This was the first time EDUC 805 was organized with the intent of teaching new doctoral students the value of communities of practice while still providing us the opportunity to meet many of the professors. However, at times it felt as if many of the professors were relating their research to communities of practice as an afterthought in their presentation. Therefore, I had a difficult time relating many of the presentations towards the common goal of understanding a community of practice. There were some professors whose research naturally leads into the concept of communities of practice. For example, Professor Samaras’s research on critical friends and self-study was a great example of how important a community of practice is for the completion of a dissertation in a Ph.D. program. Another example of communities of practice fostered and created by CEHD is the Special Education Leadership Grant funded program that began in the spring semester of 2009. The three co-leads of the fellowship, Dr. King-Sears, Dr. Brigham, and Dr. Baker, created an opportunity for a cohort of Ph.D. students to come together to complete their program and then provide educational leadership in the future. A third example is Dr. Kaffenberger’s research on school counselors and their roles in fostering communication between several different groups of individuals to help students with cancer transition back to school after receiving treatment.

In theory, it is easy to understand the basic concept and function of a community practice. As I noted in my final synthesis paper, I believe the purpose of a community of practice is “that knowledge is found through social interaction and that knowledge and skills become a reality as each individual learns from each other” (Dr. Samaras and Klein et al, in press). However, Journal Assignment #5 in my EDUC 800 class clearly defined for me the purpose and necessity of a community practice:

John-Steiner called Bohr’s mode of thought, “dialogue thinking – thinking that is fashioned, refined, and elaborated in the course of intense exchanges.” (p. 45). I believe intense exchanges (aka - heated conversations) are a form of conflict and complementarity that are necessary for the development of any idea. I also believe that John-Steiner’s conceptual conflict and complementarity way of knowing is a valuable tool for an individual engaged in research to develop and grow into a productive leader in the community. It is easy to sit in a room by yourself and develop grandiose ideas and concepts that will revolutionize the world or a scientific field of study. It is another thing to actually put it into practice, and often putting something into practice is simply talking about the idea with a peer. John-Steiner states, “collaboration offers partners an opportunity to transcend their individuality and to overcome the limitations of habit, and of biological and temporal constraints” (p. 57).

In today’s technological advanced society, it is easy to work alone in an isolated environment. However, in the field of education we are trained and expected to collaborate, train, teach, grow, and share with multiple groups of people. As leaders in the field of education, it is our responsibility to foster and create successful communities of practice to further advance the research and evidenced based practices necessary for the education community to move forward.

I believe that in the field of education teachers, school counselors, administrators, and professors, need to practice creating and being involved in communities of practice in order to be successful and elicit change. An individual may have a wonderful idea, but without the help of others to refine, define, and implement the idea, it is only an idea. Ideas become action when communities of believers implement the idea to bring about change. My overall professional goal is about bringing about change. But in order to start change, I need to implement the following practices into my action plan; a) develop critical friends that will help all of us to complete the dissertation process, b) create and join communities of practice that will further my research goals with students with special needs, and c) continue to work with professors who I can learn from and develop lasting relationships into the future.
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Research Methods
     
EDRS 810
Problems and Methods in Education Research
Dr. Fredrick Brigham
Spring 2009

Problems and Methods in Education Research (EDRS 810) is a required course in Research Methods for the Ph.D. in Education program at GMU. The purpose of the course is for students to learn how to provide interpretation and application of educational research methods. Throughout the course students compare different philosophies of research, methods of formulating hypotheses, developing research plans, and analyzing procedures. During the course we examined and evaluated the limitations and strengths of previous research approaches.

EDRS 810 reminded me of EDSE 590 that I took during my Masters in Education program at GMU. Many of the projects for the course were similar. In both courses we were required to complete the CITI Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative in Human Subject Research, submit a mock Human Subjects Application Form for a potential research project, and complete two research method papers on qualitative and quantitative research methods. In addition, both classes attended guest presentations from the University Library and from the Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB), and instruction in the use of SPSS statistical software package.

Dr. Brigham did an excellent job of presenting the information through our required readings, presentations, hands-on application, and guest speakers. I took EDRS 810 during the same semester as EDSE 842 and used the instruction and knowledge from both classes to help me complete my assignments for each class. Dr. Brigham gave me permission to submit the same paper for both classes if they were overlapping in requirements. I did this for my qualitative research assignment. However, I took a different approach. Instead of submitting the same paper twice for two different classes, I took the comments from the graded submission I received in EDSE 842, made changes, included additions or made deletions and submitted a revised version in Dr. Brigham’s class. (As I note in my EDSE 842 reflection, this is how I used Dr. Scruggs comments to help improve my other papers). I used a similar approach with the submission of a quantitative study and mock HSRB application. I combined a recent grant proposal I had co-written with Dr. King-Sears for the Center for Consciousness and Transformation (CCT) and used the HSRB mock application used in my EDSE 590 class as a template to the new research design. Dr. Brigham’s comments on my quantitative research design paper in his class helped me make my research grant proposal for the CCT grant that much stronger.

Even though EDRS 810 was more of a review course it was still important in revisit the ins and outs of submitting a HSRB application, the use of the SPSS software package, and the development of research designs. In my Masters program, I felt that many of the classes were stand alone in their application and rarely overlapped with other classes. However, because of this class and the Spring semester of classes and research work, I am starting to realize that the knowledge from one class or project can be integrated into another class. By taking bits and pieces of information from each class, I feel that I am able to develop stronger research designs. In addition, submitting similar papers to two different professors helped me understand how two different individuals can view the same information in positive and negative ways. I believe this insight will be helpful when I start submitting papers to research journals for publication.
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EDRS 811
Quantitative Methods in Educational Research
Dr. Dimiter Dimitrov
Summer 2009

EDRS 811: Quantitative Methods in Education Research is designed for students to develop an understanding of statistical concepts and procedures in order to conduct statistical analysis of quantitative methods in educational research. While in the class students were expected to learn how to identify and report on quantitative methods used in published research, learn how to collect and analyze data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and to be able to produce written reports of the methodology used to analyze the data, and interpret the results. Dr. Dimitrov presented the course information through lectures, reading and homework assignments, hands-on practice with SPSS, two exams and one written assignment.

I was leery about taking EDRS 811 because during my bachelor’s degree, I had to take my statistical class twice in order to pass. However, I chose to take EDRS 811 in the summer, because I knew the everyday repetition of the class would help keep the concepts fresh in my mind and would benefit me in better understanding the material. Looking back, I really did not have anything to worry about, because Dr. Dimitrov did an outstanding job of being able to present the information in a way that was easy to understand. As I worked through the class I started to develop a better understanding of research articles in general. While taking EDSE 842, I had a hard time understanding many of the fundamental concepts of research that was reported in the journals. For example, during EDSE 842, I was confused on what degrees of freedom meant, or 95% confidence interval, or p-value, or how the results were written in the first place.

As I worked through EDRS 811, I started to understand how degree of freedom is calculated, what 95% confidence interval meant, and how the p-value relates to confidence interval level. Plus, I learned how to write the results of my findings in APA format. Just as important, I learned how to read and interpret the SPSS output data more efficiently. My written assignment for this course is a good example of my ability to display the data, interpret the data, and present the data in a written format. By no means am I an expert on all of this information. I still need to refer to my notes to refresh my memory. But now, I feel more confident and have a better understanding of the research articles I am reading. Plus, if there is something written in a journal article I do not understand, I have a comprehensive set of notes I can use as a reference source to find the answer.

I believe if I had taken EDRS 811 before I took EDSE 842, I would have felt more confident in 842. I believe I would have been able to contribute in 842 because I would have been able to have a better understanding of what I read and therefore been able to ask more in-depth questions. But the Ph.D. program is a learning process and everything I do in the program is integrated to help me grow and become a better researcher and thinker. EDRS 811 may not have been helpful in my 842 class, but it will continue to be a source of information I can reference to develop stronger hypothesis, understand research papers, and write stronger results sections.
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EDRS 812
Qualitative Methods in Educational Research
Dr. Earle Reybold
Fall 2010
EDRS 812: Qualitative Methods in Educational Research is designed for students to develop an understanding of the essential characteristics of qualitative research and how this approach differs from quantitative research strategies.  The students were expected to learn how to design and implement a small-scale qualitative study and communicate the design, process, and results, both verbally and written.  Dr. Reybold presented the course information through lectures, reading and homework assignments, hands-on practice with interviews and data collection, and one written assignment.

For my project in the class I completed a small-scale qualitative study (n=2) to explore if there was a connection between contemplative practices and the Baxter Magolda Epistemological Reflection Model and the attitudes of school administrators on using contemplative practices with students with emotional disabilities.  

The Baxter Magolda Epistemological Reflection Model was developed by Baxter Magolda to describe an individual's nature of knowledge based on the person's perceptions and experiences.  The model contains four stages of knowing a) Absolute, b) Transitional, c) Independent, and d) Contextual.  Based on this model I started to wonder if students with EBD are Independent or Contextual Knowers and are being mislabeled with a disability because they have not been taught the tools to express their views and opinions in appropriate ways.  Taking it a step further, I wondered if students with EBD could benefit from learning a contemplative practice to help them learn the skills needed to understand the Baxter Magolda model and therefore develop the skills needed to express themselves in school and life that is acceptable.  My findings were inconclusive.  

Concerning the attitudes of school administrators on using contemplative practices with students with emotional disabilities was overwhelmingly positive.  However, both administrators expressed concerns that teaching a contemplative practice would be seen as teaching religion in school.  One administrator even went as far as to say “people are Absolute Knowers and because of this they stick to a public education system that was created over a hundred years ago and are afraid to step out of the box to change the model to include something different” (personal communication, November 2010).  The other school administrator believed if the class was taught as an elective under the heading of an Independent Living course it might be possible to provide this opportunity to students.  However, she expressed that there will always be someone who will say “you are teaching my kid religion” (personal communication, November 2010).  

The positive outcome of completing this small-scale qualitative study and the class, was that interviewing those two school administrators sparked the idea to create a survey to measure any school-based barriers to teaching meditation in a public school.  Therefore, if conducting a qualitative study is to ask questions to generate quantitative research questions, then the class accomplished it's goal.
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EDRS 821
Advanced Applied Quantitative Methods
Dr. Dimiter Dimitrov
Spring 2011		 EDRS 821: Advanced Application of Quantitative Methods is designed for students to develop an advanced understanding of statistical concepts and procedures in order to conduct statistical analysis of quantitative methods in educational research.  The class built upon and reinforced what was learned in EDRS 811.  While in the class students were expected to learn how to identify and report on advanced quantitative analysis techniques, how to analyze data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and to be able to produce written reports of the methodology used to analyze the data, and interpret the results.  Dr. Dimitrov presented the course information through lectures, reading and homework assignments, hands-on practice with SPSS, two exams, and one written assignment.

Per the requirements of the course I completed an assignment to analyze a set of data from a current research study to demonstrate my knowledge of advanced data analysis procedures.  With permission from Dr. Sibinga at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), I conducted a data analysis on data that was collected during an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention with 40 inner-city middle-school boys.  One of the measurement tools used throughout the study was the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation - Checklist (TOCA), which is a survey form completed by teachers who observe students in the classroom.  Based on the teacher's observation of the student in question the survey assesses the student's concentration (CP), aggressive or disruptive behaviors (DB), and pro-social (PS) interactions in a classroom setting.  With this particular study the TOCA was administered during the pre-treatment, post-treatment, and during the three-month follow-up phase of the study.
   
For the purpose of my EDRS: 821 research project I analyzed the data using
  • a Pearson r linear correlation and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to determine if there is a difference among two or more groups based on a set of two or more dependent variables,
  • an analysis of variance (ANOVA) gain score and a repeated-measures ANOVA to determine if there was a change in the three behaviors (CP, DB, and PS) as measured by the TOCA-C, and
  • an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) along with principal factor methods to verify the three basic constructs of the TOCA-C as reported in the Koth et al. (2009) study.
Through this project I developed more confidence in working with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software.  Not only was I able to use SPSS to analyze results, I also acquired a greater understanding about the results of each data analysis procedure.  Lastly, I also learned how to document the results in both manuscript form and table form. 
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Professional Specialization: Special Education
EDSE 841
Intervention Research in Special Education
Dr. Frederick Brigham
Fall 2009
 EDSE 841: Intervention Research in Special Education is designed to provide students with opportunities for in-depth analysis and discussion of original intervention research that has been used in special education settings.  Throughout the semester students analyze research methods, learn how to code original intervention research, discuss intervention results, practice synthesizing findings, and develop future research questions relevant to students with disabilities.  Dr. Brigham presented the course information through lectures, reading and homework assignments, hands-on practice with SPSS, and the development of coding sheets.

As a class, Dr. Brigham’s goal was to develop a meta-analysis of math interventions used with individuals with disabilities and submit the findings for publication.  Each student was responsible for researching math interventions for specific grade levels, code the intervention findings, and report the findings back to the entire class.  Upon reporting back to the class, Dr. Brigham and the class determined if that research intervention would be included in the meta-analysis.  Unfortunately, in the end the class was not able to find enough relevant information to develop a meta-analysis for publication.

However, I learned how to develop a coding sheet to better analyze and synthesize original intervention research.  During this process I learned what relevant components needed to be included on the coding sheet and the importance of:

* assigning identification numbers to each manuscript
* including full APA citations
* listing participant demographics
* listing the intervention demographics
* describing the independent and dependent variables
* results of the intervention
* and the development of a definition coding sheet

By understanding and practicing the creation of a coding sheet in a real world situation, I was better able to understand and utilize this tool for future projects.  During my internship at Johns Hopkins University, I used a similar coding sheet to organize and display relevant information about the eleven assessments used for the research study.  I believe the skill of learning how to identify research characteristics and develop a coding sheet to organize research data is a useful tool that can be used in almost any type of research project.  Even though the class was not successful in submitting a meta-analysis for publication, the course was beneficial to me in learning a tool that I can utilize for the rest of my educational career.
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EDSE 842
Application of Research Methodology in Special Education
Dr. Tom Scruggs
Spring 2009
Applications of Research Methodology in Special Education (EDSE 842) is one of the Professional Specialization in Special Education courses for the Ph.D. in Education program at GMU. The purpose of the course is for students to develop an understanding of the various research methods, and the application of these research methods in special education. Throughout the course students will learn and understand the strengths and limitations of single subject, qualitative, quantitative, group-experimental, and survey research designs. The course was designed for students to study previous research conducted using each of these designs and how the research was successful or could be improved. The course also discussed the future of using single subject, group experiments, survey, and qualitative research methods in special education.

I took EDSE 842 in my second semester of the Ph.D. program and I do not believe I was ready for this course. I took EDRS 810 (Problems and Methods in Education Research) during the same semester and I quickly realized that I should have taken EDRS 810 and EDRS 811 (Quantitative Methods in Education Research) prior to taking EDSE 842. Throughout the semester I felt that I was behind the curve and always playing catch up on what Dr. Scruggs was discussing in class. I felt that with each paper due I had to find additional resources to try and understand the basic concepts of each research method. It was not until I took EDRS 811 in the following summer semester, that the information from EDSE 842 started to fall into place. My advice to new students in the Ph.D. program is for them to complete EDRS 810 and 811 before signing up for EDSE 842.

The course required the completion of four method papers and two written exams. The four method papers were written using single-subject research design, a qualitative research design, a survey research design, and a group-experimental research design. As I wrote each paper, I tried to focus on topics or applications that would help me with future research or projects. The single-subject methods paper was based on a research project that Dr. King-Sears and I had started during my EDUC 897 independent student course. During EDUC 897, Dr. King-Sears and I submitted a proposal to the GMU Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB) to research the effects of self-management tools with individual students with special needs. Overall, the single-subject paper described the purpose of using self-management to help students increase on-task behavior. However, I failed to describe how multiple baselines across three different class settings would be separated or measured. Looking back, the confusion came more from my lack of understanding of how to implement the self-management tool as opposed to measuring across multiple baselines.

As I wrote each method paper for this class my grades steadily increased, with my last method paper (group-experiment) earning a perfect grade. However, as I look back at the many comments from Dr. Scruggs on each of my four method papers, I have come to realize that it is not about grades but about what I have learned and how I can apply that new knowledge in the future. I honestly do not believe that Dr. Scruggs cares what grade we earned on our papers, but more that we demonstrated, understood, and improved in our proposals and writing of the proposals as the class progressed.

I probably should have asked more questions throughout the semester in EDSE 842, but honestly, I did not know what to ask. I was overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge that was presented in each class. However, my four graded methods papers are excellent resources for me to use in the future as I write more proposals and research papers. Each paper includes comments from Dr. Scruggs that prompts me to ask additional questions or to modify my way of thinking. I believe that EDSE 842 will continue to provide me with guidance throughout the remainder of my Ph.D. and dissertation course work.
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EDSE 843
Leadership in Special Education Administration
Dr. Pam Baker
Fall 2009
 EDSE 843: Leadership in Special Education Administration is designed for graduate students to explore current challenges in the delivery of special education services and how to apply leadership skills to successfully administer special education programs.  Through the course students will be able to describe behavioral and affective elements that define a good leader, identify specific styles of leadership, articulate core beliefs about leadership and how that applies to the vision of an effective school, and connect leadership and organizational theories to real-world cases.  Dr. Baker presented the course information through lectures, videos, guest speakers, group cooperative learning activities, online activities, and individual assignments.

Dr. Baker’s class had to be one of the more difficult classes I have taken in the Ph.D. program.  The class was not difficult because of the content, but difficult because of Dr. Baker’s expectations.  In the Leadership Statement written for the class, she included many positive and encouraging comments.  However, she also included comments that challenged a person’s reasoning.  I realize that other professors challenged a student’s logic; but Dr. Baker continues to challenge a person’s ideas even after you have explained why, or how, or what.  To be honest, at times it was very frustrating.  But as I reflect back on the course, I now realize she was doing this for me to better understand my own leadership philosophy.   She was giving me the knowledge and tools to be able to explain and defend my beliefs in a scholarly way. 

The project I enjoyed the most in this class was the Reframing Project.  The purpose of this project was to take a real-life case study I had experienced and analyze the situation through Bolman and Deal’s reframing process.  I chose a case study of a special education teacher being the school administrator of a therapeutic day school.   In my naiveness I was hoping to find proof that validated my beliefs that prompting this individual to administrator was a poor choice.  With the use of Bolman and Deal’s book, Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, I applied three of the four frames of structural, human resource, and political to try and examined the case study from a different perspective.  As stated in the self-reflection on the overall reframing project, I found that the therapeutic school had strong structural, human resource, and political frames to help support the teacher’s transition to administrator.  What I found was that the new administrator was weak in interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to be a strong leader.

A comment from the Portfolio 1 defense was that I had not focused my goals and reflections on the leadership aspect of the Ph.D. program.  I have been chosen to participate in a Leadership Program that is preparing me to become a future leader in the field of education.  After taking EDSE 843 and EDUC 802, I have a better understanding of my own leadership platform and the skills to effectively manage an educational program. 
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EDSE 844
Current Issues in Special Education
Dr. Margaret King-Sears
Spring 2010
 EDSE 844: Current Issues in Special Education is structured to help graduate students develop an understanding of the importance of research based evidence that affects practice and policy of special education.  The students in the class identified ten current issues within special education to examine through group experimental, single subject, and qualitative research designs.  Throughout the semester students evaluated research studies rebased on methodological strengths and weaknesses, and synthesized multiple research studies to gain a better understanding of each of the chosen ten issues.  Dr. King-Sears guided the students in choosing ten current issues in special education, assigned three synthesis papers, one controversial assignment, and each student was required to present a lesson on one current issue, and resources for a second issue. 

Throughout my life, whenever I became interested in a new topic, I always wanted to learn the history of that topic.  In essence, I want to learn from the ground up, so I can have a true understanding of what I am learning.  For example, when I became a personal trainer, I read books about Eugan Sandow, the grandfather of Bodybuilding, and books about Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the 1970’s to understand the basics of weight training.  When I became a yoga instructor, I read the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali and the Autobiography of a Yogi to understand the historical and spiritual significance of yoga.  So when I read Lloyd Dunn’s 1968 and M. Stephen Lilly’s 1971 commentaries in Exceptional Children, I felt as if I was learning from the ground up in regards to special education.  I feel that many of the Master’s and Ph.D. classes have only skimmed the surface of the history of special education and therefore have not provided a true understanding of how the field has evolved over the years.  For example Dunn states:

Therefore, to move special education forward, some 15 to 20 percent of our most creative special educators need to be identified, freed from routine classroom instruction, and placed in a stimulating setting where they can be maximally productive in curriculum development (p. 16).
    
Maybe I am wrong, but I thought special education teacher were supposed to provide teaching strategies and curriculum development for students with special needs within the education system?  I thought special education teachers are trained to be experts in learning strategies, emotional behaviors, and intellectual disabilities?  Therefore, why are we expected to become highly qualified to teach academic subjects?  I understand the importance of knowing the course material, but do we need to know the academic subject as well as the content teacher?  When I was a strength coach, I was trained to understand the human body and how it functions in an athletic competition.  Yes, each sport has different requirements from the human body to be successful; however, I did not need to know how to play the sport in order to develop an exercise routine for my athlete to be successful.  I just needed to understand the requirements of that sport.  Is that not the same as learning?  If a student needs to memorize facts, we implement a mnemonic.  If a student needs to learn how to read, we implement reading strategies.  If a student learns through auditory, we provide the instruction and test to them in a way they can hear the material.  All of these strategies do not entail that we need to become content teachers to be successful with our students.  Is it realistic for us, special education teachers, to become highly qualified content teachers in four or more subjects?  Stephen Lilly addressed the same concern back in 1971, stating that instructional specialists should be trained to diagnosis problems in academic skills, provide behavior management, and provide teacher education to content classroom teachers (p. 748).

I guess what concerned me the most from the Dunn article is that we are still asking the same questions 40 years later.  Dunn states “the most exciting examples today are in the computer assisted instruction studies” (p. 18) or “speech therapists have been spread very thin, usually working with 75 to 100 children” (p. 19), and “we have a long way to go before we can rest assured that the desires of the parents and educational needs of handicapped children are being fulfilled” (p. 21).  I’ve heard these same comments in EDUC 802: Leadership Seminar, EDSE 701: Legal Issues in Special Education, and EDSE 702: Managing Resources in Special Education, at what point are we going to answer these questions?  At what point will there be enough computer technology for all students?  At what point will there be enough speech therapists?  At what point will special education programs be seen as important as English and Math programs?  Stephen Lilly summaries it the best saying, “our first job as special educators is to make a difference in the way children are taught, and our top priority must be in seeing that such a difference is made” (p. 749).

As I reflect back on this course I wish the current issue I had presented on was the historical perspective; however, the current issues I discussed was the collaboration with parents as stakeholders in their child’s education.  The presentation gave an overview of team building with parents, conflict resolution, mediation, problem solving, and developing effective communication with parents.  Even though learning about current issues in special education was interesting, I felt learning the ability to synthesize research findings into a condensed manuscript was the most valuable lesson.  I believe my second paper out of the three best demonstrates this new skill.  I was also able to utilize this ability in writing two of my manuscripts over the summer and a paper for my internship on the use of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).  

In conclusion, learning the skill to synthesize research data has become a very useful tool that I will use throughout my career.  However, the overview of the historical perspective of special education has sparked many research questions that I would like to explore.  The Dissertation Planning of my Portfolio explores the type of research I would like to complete in regards to administration leadership and special education program.
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EDUC 897
Curriculum Based Assessment
Dr. Margaret King-Sears
Fall 2008
The EDUC 897: Curriculum Based Assessment class was a self-study course with Dr. Margaret King-Sears. However, over the course of the semester, running into two semesters, the course turned into more than just curriculum based assessment. Originally, the goal was to complete a research study and submit a journal article centered around a self-management study on a group of secondary students with an emotional disturbance. The purpose of the course was to give me the experience of developing a research proposal, completing a Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB) application for George Mason University (GMU) and Loudoun County Public schools (LCPS), initiate and complete the research study, and write the findings to submit for publication in an education journal.

However, there was more of a learning curve than I think both I and Dr. King-Sears expected. Throughout the semester, Dr. King-Sears and I had many discussions on self-management and how to implement a self-management design. Dr. King-Sears developed a self-management tool called SPIN, which incorporates a 10-step process in teaching students the tool necessary to change their behavior. SPIN is a four phase process that an instructor uses to determine the tool needed to change a behavior. In phase one, the instructor selects the behavior to self-monitor. In phase two, the instructor prepares to teach the self-monitoring tool. In phase three, the instructor instructs the student using the 10-step process, and in phase four the instructor notes the student’s short and long-term performance. In phase three, the instructor uses a defined 10-step process to teach the student the self-monitoring tool.

Throughout the process, I had a difficult time understanding what behaviors could benefit from the SPIN process and how to construct the 10-step lesson plan. I understood the concept that the behavior that is to be chosen is one that the student understands how to do and able to demonstrate the ability of doing the task; however, the student often does not perform the task for whatever reason. But what I had trouble with was finding a behavior that could be taught to a secondary student with an emotional behavioral disorder (EBD) using the 10-step process. As I settled on a student that demonstrated consistent off-task behavior, I had a difficult time writing a 10-step lesson plan that I felt the student would respond to. To be honest, I found it very unlikely that the student would respond favorably to role-playing the behaviors throughout the lesson plan. I assumed that the student would find the activity silly or immature because of their age, school level, and maturity level. So, when I wrote the lesson plans, I tended to combine the role-playing activity with cognitive lessons to try and hide the role playing activity. However, Dr. King-Sears consistently rewrote the lesson plans to break the activities into ten distinct lessons. I understand the logic behind her actions, but I question how effective that will be with secondary students with EBD.

As the project progressed, Dr. King-Sears and I wrote the research proposal and completed the HSRB application process. During the HSRB process, the proposal application was sent to the full board for review and was sent back for additional clarification and changes. In the end, the proposal was approved by both GMU and LCPS HSRB committees. Unfortunately, the approval process came late in the year, and we were unable to begin the research study. At this time, we have a year to complete the study and will be searching for a potential research candidate in the new school year.

During this same time period but not officially part of the class, Dr. King-Sears and I wrote a research grant proposal for the Center for Consciousness and Transformation (CCT) at GMU. The research grant proposal was for a self-management research study to examine the effects of self-efficacy on post-secondary students with EBD through the use of a mindfulness based practice. Unfortunately, the grant proposal was unfunded. However, we currently have a strong research proposal that we can use for future opportunities.

Overall, I believe the class was successful because throughout the process I learned more about self-management, the SPIN process, how to write a HSRB proposal application, and how to write and submit a grant proposal. At face value it would appear there were more failures than successes in this self-study class, but sometimes the best lessons are learned through failures rather than successes. The most important lessons I learned through this course was sitting down and working with Dr. King-Sears one-on-one throughout the process. If a graduate student has an opportunity to sit down with an experienced research professor on a regular basis for a project, the experience is invaluable.
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EDIT 772
Electronic Portfolio
Dr. Priscilla Norton
Summer 2009

EDIT 772 (Electronic Portfolio) is an elective course designed to help Ph.D. students create and organize a web-based learning portfolio through the creation of a website. Each Ph.D. student is required to present three portfolios throughout their coursework before being allowed to start their dissertation. The portfolios are used to make sure the student is on the right track to completing their Ph.D. requirements. EDIT 772 helps the student create and set-up an electronic portfolio that can be updated on a regular basis and used in presenting what they have completed in the program.
 
In addition to creating our electronic portfolio, Dr. Norton helped guide us in the design and feel of our web-based portfolios, the writing of our first set of course reflections, and our curriculum vitae. Much of the class was designed around learning while we worked. Dr. Norton would demonstrate basic principles in web page design or publishing techniques and then each student would work independently on their portfolio. Dr. Norton would assist each student based on their skill set and need level.

The end result of the course and the only artifact of the course was the completion of a working shell of my electronic portfolio. As of right now my electronic portfolio has all of the necessary pages and links required for the program. As I progress through the Ph.D. program I will include additional artifacts, reflections, and writings as they become complete.

During the class, I was under the impression that when the class was complete I would have a portfolio ready to present to my doctoral committee. However, that was not the case. There were still many components of the portfolio I had not completed. There is no one to blame for this mistake, it only needs to be fixed. As I look back, I should have taken more responsibility and read through the Portfolio Guidelines: Ph.D. in Education document while taking EDIT 772. If I had read through that document, I would have been able to ask Dr. Norton or my committee chairperson why certain sections of the portfolio were not completed in class.

As I am continuing to learn, the Ph.D. program is a different beast than a Master’s program. In a Master’s program, there are requirements, a person completes them, and then they get a degree. However, the Ph.D. program is much more self-directed and managed. Yes, there is a program structure to follow, but a large portion of the program is directed by the students own self-drive and independence to solve problems and complete tasks. Which makes sense, because as a Ph.D. student we are being groomed to think and act differently than those who have not taken this giant step.
EDUC 897
Survey Development
Dr. Margaret King-Sears
Summer 2012
 The EDUC 897: Survey Development class was a self-study course with Dr. Margaret King-Sears.  The purpose of the course was to give me the experience of developing and piloting a research survey.  The data collected during the development and pilot of the survey was not and will not be used in any publication for general knowledge. 

During the Fall 2010 semester I completed a qualitative research study to explore the barriers that school administrators may have towards implementing a contemplative practice in a public school.  From the findings of that study I developed the idea to create a survey to measure if there are any school-based barriers to teaching meditation in public schools.  After an extensive search of the literature I found one inventory that had been developed by Williams, Dixon, McCorkle, and Van Ness (2011), titled Determinants of Meditation Practice Inventory (DMPI).  The inventory was developed to measure any barriers that an individual may have to practicing meditation.  The inventory consisted of three domains that would indicate what barrier a person may have to practicing meditation.  Those three domains are a) perceptions and misconceptions, b) pragmatic concerns, and c) sociocultural beliefs. 

With permission from Williams, et. al, and two stipulations, I was allowed to modify the questions of their current inventory to measure the barriers that school personnel may have in teaching meditation in a public school.  The first stipulation was that I use a different name for my survey tool.  Therefore, I developed the name, School-Based Meditation Barrier Survey (SB-MBS).  The second stipulation is to share the results of the development process with Williams et. al. 

The Williams et. al inventory consisted of 17 questions.  The SB-MBS version has been expanded to include 25 questions and a fourth domain called academic concerns.  The Williams et. al inventory consisted of a Likert scale to measure the participants responses.  At this time I have not finalized the scale for each question.  Some of the questions consist of the same Likert scale as the Williams et. al inventory; however, some questions may have a different rating scale. 

Currently (July 2012), I have not had an opportunity to administer the survey to a sample population to determine the effectiveness of the tool.  I plan to complete this stage of the development before the end of the summer.  I hope through this survey tool I will be able to answer the question why school officials are apprehensive to implementing a meditation program in public schools.  With that information I believe a researcher could then develop a meditation intervention to address the barriers that are identified through the SB-MBS. 
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EDUC 994
Advanced Internship in Education
Dr. Margaret King-Sears
Summer 2010
 As stated in the internship proposal to work with Dr. Erica Sibinga, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the major learning objective was to assist her research team in analyzing data from a recently completed quantitative study.  The reason for proposing to work with Dr. Sibinga was because of the nature of her quantitative study.  The study was going to assist her research team with implemented an intervention using Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).  The study was a quantitative research design, with MBSR implemented over the course of eight weeks.  The participants were urban students who were at-risk for school failure, and the intervention occurred in a school-based setting.  The dependent variables used to determine MBSR’s impact on participants included instruments that measured students’ emotions, stress levels, and sleep patterns.

As stated in the Dissertation Plan of my Portfolio, my focus is the impact of MBSR techniques with students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) in relation to their (a) control of emotions, (b) increase in academic achievement, and (c) social interactions.  Therefore, the relevance of this internship for me was that I would acquire more experience with the design and implementation of research that focuses on the effects of MBSR with a student population.  With this experience I hope to apply what I have learned to my dissertation research question on whether MBSR may be an effective tool that enables students with EBD to more appropriately and effectively manage their own behaviors and actions in a school environment.

During the course of the internship, I was asked to complete four learning objectives.   Those four learning objectives were:

1. Describe each of the dependent variables, and identify their purpose(s) and other relevant characteristics (e.g., reliability, validity, norm population).

2. Apprenticing with a statistician to analyze individuals’ pre and post-program data to determine how the independent variable of how MBSR impacted the dependent variables.

3. Begin an educational “position” manuscript on the need to look at alternative approaches for students with EBD.

4. Assist the research team in writing the Data Analysis and Discussion portion of the research manuscript, with an emphasis on educational implications for the Discussion and Future Research sections.

Over the course of six weeks during the summer and several weeks into the fall semester, I assisted Dr. Sibinga and her research team in entering data collected from eleven different measurement tools, cleaning the data, and developed descriptive statistics based on the data collected from the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation – Checklist (TOCA).  I used my experience as a Graduate Research Assistant with Dr. King-Sears and my classroom experience from EDRS 811: Quantitative Methods in Educational Research to help me develop and write up the descriptive statistics for the TOCA data.  Lastly, I met with Dr. Sibinga on a weekly basis to discuss the research study, data collection process, and the current research on MBSR. 

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to complete the second objective and apprentice with a statistician to analyze the data collected from the study.  In the Research Experience and Competency sections of the Portfolio, I explain why this occurred. 

I accomplish the first objective by utilizing what I learned in Dr. Brigham’s EDSE 841: Intervention Research in Special Education class to develop a spreadsheet to organize and identify the purpose of the eleven dependent variables Dr. Sibinga used in her study.  Through the use of this spreadsheet I was better able to understand the purpose of the assessment, what sub-domains each tool measured, the norm population, and the reliability and validity of the measurements.  With this information I was able to discuss with Dr. Sibinga why she chose the measurements and why some measurements overlapped in the data being gathered.  The most interesting aspect of the project was learning that the study only implemented one tool to measure mindfulness.  Upon questioning Dr. Sibinga, she believed it was more important to show that MBSR lowered anxiety, stress, and hostility, as opposed to showing how mindful the student becomes.  As a high school special education teacher I can understand how showing a reduction in stress and anxiety would carry more credibility than showing how mindful a student has become. 

Lastly, using what I learned in EDSE 844: Current Issues in Special Education, I completed an educational “position” manuscript examining current interventions used with students with EBD and if it is time to try MBSR.  I started off the manuscript by providing brief statistical data related to students with EBD from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), and the National Adolescent and Child Treatment Study (NACTS).  I then synthesized several meta-analysis that examined the used of behavioral management systems, social skills training, and anxiety on the effectiveness these interventions had with students with EBD.  I concluded the manuscript by providing current research data based on the use of MBSR with adolescent populations.  Lastly, I included a model developed by Dr. Sibinga that shows how mindfulness training can improve the appraisal and coping mechanisms, reflection, and self-regulation processes; in order to positively change a person’s psychological symptoms, mood states, and interpersonal functioning, which is supported by Reibel et al.’s findings that MBSR contains therapeutic elements that improve the physical and mental health of participants. 

Overall, the Johns Hopkins University internship was an excellent opportunity for me to further my research and planning for the dissertation process and a great learning experience.  I wish I had an opportunity to apprentice with a statistician to better understand how to analyze quantitative data; however, I do have a better understanding of the research study process.
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Secondary Concentration: Special Education Leadership
EDSE 657
The Inclusive Classroom
Dr. Margaret King-Sears
Spring 2011		 The purpose of EDSE 657: The Inclusive Classroom was for students to be introduced to the instructional procedures to provide inclusive instruction for students with disabilities in general education settings.  The class primarily focused on research-based strategies for creating curriculum materials, designing instructional procedures, and evaluating students with disabilities.  The course content was delivered through lectures, small group activities, and individual assignments.

Even though I teach in a public school setting and have instructed inclusive classes I had a difficult time with this course.  During the class sessions and small group activities I felt that I was engaged and understood the material.  However, I had a difficult time completing the written assignments accurately.  I believe in this class my best written assignment was the Curriculum Design for Differentiation paper.  For this assignment I was tasked to pick one standard of learning (SOL) objective to develop a differentiated curriculum to teach that standard.  I used the Virginia Algebra SOL objective A.8 to develop a standard lesson with accommodations, adaptations for minor and major modifications, and an overlapping activity. 

The most difficult assignment in EDSE 657 was the School Analysis Plan.  Through this project I was able to demonstrate that I can research the current Department of Education website to analyze the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) data.  Through analysis of this data I was able to determine why Freedom High School (FHS) did not make AYP for the previous two school years.  However, instead of developing a Professional Development plan to increase the chances of FHS meeting AYP the following school year.  I developed a School Improvement Plan. 

Overall, I feel that I learned a lot of practical experience in researching and analyzing data that is available on the Virginia Department of Education websites.  I also have a better understanding of how to create a differentiated curriculum for a classroom with a diverse learning group.
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EDSE 701
Legal Issues and Special Populations
Dr. Susan Bon
Summer 2010
 The purpose of EDSE 701: Legal Issues and Special Populations was for students to be introduced the impact of legislation and litigation on the education of special populations.  The class primarily focused on the impact of IDEA and Section 504 in relation to special education services in school systems.  Dr. Susan Bon discussed the importance of landmark court cases related to disabilities and legal updates on policies and procedures for students with special needs.  The course content was delivered through lectures, small group activities, discussion of case briefs and scenarios, and individual assignments. 

Personally, I found this course very difficult to understand and comprehend.  Throughout the semester I understood the importance of IDEA, 504, ADA, and NCLB, and how these laws apply to special education.  I also understand how these laws came about and help to structure the current special education system.  However, what I had the most difficult time with in this course was researching case law.  When it comes to researching studies and journal articles I usually do not have trouble finding the information I need.  With legal issues and case law I felt very lost in finding the information I needed to successfully write my papers. 

One artifact in particular I enjoyed researching and writing was a group paper on the use of seclusion and restraint in local educational agencies.  My partner and I found six court cases outlining the use of seclusion and restraint related to education.  We provided a critique of each court case and identified the significant impact each of these cases has on the current issue of seclusion and restraint.  I believe the reason I enjoyed this assignment the best was because of the current implication seclusion an restraint has on my current position as a special education teacher working with students with EBD.

At the time of taking this course I was still exploring the idea of educational advocacy as a potential career.  However, as stated in my Professional Experience section of my Portfolio in describing my experience with the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Summer Educational Leadership Seminar, I do not believe this is a field of work I want to explore as a full-time profession.  I have not completely closed myself off of the idea of advocating for students with EBD and I believe EDSE 701 and the CASE Seminar provided me with learning experiences that will enhance my ability to bring about necessary change for students with special needs.
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EDSE 702
Managing Resources for Special Education Programs
Dr. Suzanne Jimenez
Fall 2010
 The purpose of EDSE 702: Managing Resources for Special Education Programs was for students to be introduced to the development and delivery of specialized programs for students with disabilities.  Some of the topics covered in the class consisted of implementing Individualized Education Plans through Universal Design, resource allocation and management of financial and human resources, effective supervision and evaluation of employees, and documentation of student outcome.  The course content was delivered through lectures, small group activities, and individual assignments.

The most beneficial project of this course was the Individual Case Study that allowed me to examine in depth the special education program of a current school.  My utilizing the data from the Virginia Department of Education and a current high school, I was able to develop a better understanding of the staffing requirements for that school.  As part of the project I was also required to develop a budget for the school to learn how to distribute financial resources.  

There were aspects of the course that were repetitive to other courses I had taken in my Masters program.  However, the hands-on experience of analyzing the data from the Virginia Department of Education and developing a school budget were valuable skills that I have continued to use throughout my Ph.D. program.
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EDUC 897
Grant Writing
Dr. Margaret King-Sears
Spring 2012
 The purpose of EDUC 897: Grant Writing was for students to identify grant funding sources, describe grant components, develop grant budgets, and write grants.  The course content was delivered through lectures, small group activities, development of an IES grant, and peer-review activities.

I was tasked to write a mock Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Goal 3: Efficacy and Replication grant.  The specifications of the project were for me to assume I was in my fourth year as an assistant professor with proven research experience.  The Goal 3 granted required me to provide a developed intervention that had already been tested on a small group of individuals. 

I created a meditation-based intervention that would help students with EBD learn how to manage their emotions and behaviors.  With that topic in mind, I moved forward on writing the Significant section of my Goal 3 IES grant.  Within the Significance portion of the grant, I was tasked with creating a Theory of Change model.  The purpose of the Theory of Change model is to explain how the intervention may potentially change the current course of action.  For example, by providing a comprehensive meditation program to a student with EBD to teach them how to manage his or her emotions.  The student may see a decrease in his or her stress and anxiety levels, which will possibly increase his or her academic success. 

In the Significance portion of the grant, I provided research aims and questions to be answered by the results of the intervention.  The research questions I developed came from the professional experience as a special education teacher, coursework, and experience in my internship. 

In the Research section of the Grant, I outlined the meditation intervention I developed.  I was able to describe
  • the design of the study,
  • the data sources to be collected throughout the study
  • the dependent and independent measures,
  • the setting of the study,
  • the participants of the study,
  • the material used in the study,
  • the group selection of the treatment and control groups,
  • the phases of the intervention,
  • how fidelity of the intervention will be measured, and
  • the means to measure the social validity of the intervention.
Lastly, for the Research section of the grant, I describe the type of analysis and comparisons that would be conducted on the data collected through the measurements of the study.

Finally, in the Budget section of the grant I created a three-year budget to conduct the proposed intervention outlined in the IES Goal 3 Grant.  At the conclusion of the project we submitted the final product to our peers.  Our peers in the class reviewed our IES grant and provided helpful feedback on how to improve on what we created.

By completing this project I developed the confidence to move forward towards my dissertation because I have a better understanding of how to analyze what I know about research and create something meaningful.  I also have a higher level of confidence to integrate what I have learned from coursework, my internship, as a GRA, and professional experience to ask meaningful research questions. 
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Portfolio
Portfolio 1
Academic Committee
Fall 2009
 The required documentation for completion of Portfolio 1 can be found on the Artifacts page of the Portfolio.
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Portfolio 2
Academic Committee
Fall 2010		 The required documentation for completion of Portfolio 2 can be found on the Artifacts page of the Portfolio.
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Portfolio 3
Academic Committee
Summer 2012		 The required documentation for completion of Portfolio 3 can be found on the Artifacts page of the Portfolio.
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Dissertation