This course serves as an introduction to the dissertation process for all Cambridge College doctoral students. It provides an opportunity for students to explore both the big picture of what it means to be a doctoral student and the specifics of the doctoral process at Cambridge College. This course is meant to complement doctoral coursework in general and the doctoral seminar in particular. Readings, seminars, and online coursework (individual and collaborative) will provide the student with the opportunity to develop a solid grounding for future research, reflection, and action in their doctoral studies. This includes issues such as how to develop a focused and effective dissertation topic, how to structure a dissertation proposal, conduct a literature review and theoretical analysis, choose a methodological method, and propose an analysis and expected outcomes. Additionally, this course will introduce the student to the wider field of educational research, prepare the student for the ethics of fieldwork and submitting a proposal to the Institutional Review Board, and begin to ascertain their dissertation within the framework of their own professional future and the larger field of education.
Syllabus EDL 900 (summer 2007)
Class Agenda
Session I - Online-prior to coming
Topic: Becoming a doctoral student
Required Readings:
-
David Labaree, “The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Educational Researchers”
Session II - June 27, 2007
Topic: Developing a dissertation proposal
Required readings (to be done in class):
-
Read the executive summaries from the first cohort group available in My CC.
-
Read Cambridge College Doctoral policy documents, available in the Ed.D. Dissertation Writing Resources Group in MyCC.
Session III - July 7
(NOTE: This is a Saturday, since the Wednesday class falls on July 4)
Topic: Developing a Dissertation Plan
Required Readings (prior to class):
· Excerpts from Butin, D. W. & Bridwell, S. D. (forthcoming). The 1-Year Dissertation: The Key to Completing a Time-Efficient and Academically-Rigorous Doctorate in Education. New York: Corwin Press.
o Chapter 1: Introduction: Successfully Completing Your Dissertation in Just One Year
o Chapter 2: Dissertation as Praxis: The Adult Learner as Doctoral Student
o Chapter 3: Your Roadmap to Success from Start to Finish
Session IV - July 11
Topic: Forming a dissertation committee; the framework and conventions of dissertation writing
Required Readings to be done in class:
-
Familiarize yourself with APA style: http://www.apastyle.org/; http://www.liu.edu/cwis/CWP/library/workshop/citapa.htm
-
Familiarize yourself with issues of plagiarism: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.pdf
Session V - July 18
Topic: Moving Towards the Dissertation Proposal
Required Readings:
-
none
Session VI - July 20
Topic: White Paper Presentations
Required Readings:
-
none