The Mann Cave Blog

It has been awhile since I’ve been able to post an update, but I wanted to do one quickly as I have started the first research cycle that will lead to my dissertation. It is a very exciting time for me as I have finally been able to begin interviewing participants in order to better understand their experiences and wisdom. I am not able to share the data that I have gathered, or what I have learned about my topic at this point, but I wanted to share a little about how things are progressing for me.

• About the Project: First I wanted to share a little about the context of my project. I am studying the barriers that exist which limit or prevent the practice of collaboration between special and general educators in the area of curriculum and instruction development as well as what can be done to improve practice. This is an area that I am very passionate about. As a special educator, I have often had a very difficult time collaborating with my general education colleagues, and as such, have often felt as though I was on an island within my own school. While I wanted initially to study the curriculum resources available to special educators, I realized pretty quickly after reviewing literature that I was more interested in the collaborative process. I believe that increased collaboration will provide both special and general educators with more educational resources as well as improve each group’s working conditions. To this end, I am studying the experiences that general and special educators have collaborating with one another and their insights. At this time, I have completed roughly half of my required interviews before I am able to write my final field report.
• Interviewing Skills: While I can’t share what data I have found from my interviews yet, I can share that I have found the entire process very enjoyable. After each one, I am able to listen to the transcript and critique my own interviewing skills. I have found this to be one of the most powerful learning experiences that I’ve ever had in my educational career. As I’ve listened to each recording during transcription, I’ve often thought to myself, “oh, I wish I would have pressed this topic a little more,” “oops, I should not have interrupted them at this spot,” or any other self-critiques that I believe are leading me to become a more skilled researcher. I recently read the transcript to my first interview while conducting some preliminary analysis and I almost wish I could interview that participant again. It is humbling to be this close to the end of a terminal degree but still feel as though you have a great deal to learn about yourself and a long way to go in developing your skills. However, reading the transcript of my latest interview made that humbling experience worth it as I was able to glean a great deal of useful information. I am excited to see what I uncover as my interviewing skills increase!
• Working with my Chair: Last week I had a meeting with my dissertation chair. I was a little unsure of an aspect of my project, so I reached out to clarification. Looking back I am very glad that I did. While the question that I had ended up being a small thing that was easy for her to answer, we were able to have a much larger conversation about my project and what information I needed to target in my interviews. What started as a question that probably could have been an email, led to a full on discussion about what I had learned. During this conversation, she challenged me to think more deeply about what I had gathered and I was able to make some connections that I’m not sure I would have made prior. This conversation, I believe, directly led the success of my latest interview. I would recommend anyone engaged in this process to reach out to their chair on a regular basis if for nothing else than to share what they’ve learned.
• Next Steps: I am very excited to finish my interviews, but I am slowing up a bit until I can finish my next major assignment in this research course. My hope is that this time spent pumping the breaks will allow me more time to digest and analyze the data that I have collected so far. One of my weaknesses as a students is that sometimes I charge headlong into assignments and therefore miss little details which may have had a large impact. I hope by taking my time I am able to better absorb and digest the information I have gathered so far so that my analysis is as accurate and objective as it can be.