A two year journey to building the
ACCESS Community
Advancing Community, Critical Thought, Engagement, Scholarship, and Success
Introduction
ACCESS Presenters
Overview
School of Advanced Studies
Our purpose is to prepare leaders who put scholarship to work as they improve their communities and build a legacy of learning.
Our vision is to be recognized by peers, students, and employers as the school of choice for working professionals to earn a practitioner doctoral degree.
Our mission is to develop scholar-practitioner-leaders who conduct research as a foundation for creative action to
influence policy and guide diverse organizations
through effective decision-making.
Essential Questions
Early 2012: Jeremy Moreland, Academic Dean of SAS asks
“How can we get more active inquiry that produces higher quality research and dissertations?”
“How can we engage and retain our entering doctoral students?”
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SAS Change Imperative
To produce agile, innovative scholar /practitioner / leaders who co-create original, innovative dissertations
(by creating / testing theory)
To do so – we need to understand the critical role of theorizing in active inquiry throughout the student experience (including the dissertation process)
The ACCESS Story
So what is the role of theorizing in active inquiry?
Theory cannot be improved until we improve the theorizing process and we cannot improve the theorizing process until we describe it more explicitly, operate it more self-consciously, and de-couple it (discovery) from validation more deliberately (Weick, 1989, p.1)
Johnston & Kortens, 20139
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De-coupling Discovery from Validation
Discovery Validation
Exploring alternatives
What if questions
Thought Experiments
Sense Making
Model building
Use of metaphor
Confirmations
Replication
Verification
Consistency
Reducing Bias
Proof
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What would we see if the (SAS) system was designed to emphasize Validation?
Element Form Produces a student experience of:
Curriculum Rigid, centralized/content driven/ activity bound,
Inflexible learning, limited application Trivial theories, undifferentiated dissertations, replicating past designs
Faculty Pedagogy
Support all assertions Passive stance, reduced opportunity to engage in critical thinking
Predominant Logic
Deductive premature closure of inquiry / creativity
Program structure
Tight, fixed, linear Anxiety, rush to completion
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What would we see if the (SAS) system was designed to emphasize Discovery?
Element Form Produces a student experience of:
Curriculum Individualized A genius of their own
Instruction Differentiated instruction Higher achievement
Faculty discourse What other angles might you consider?
Support for Critical Thinking
Predominant Logic Inductive / Abductive Epistemic Agility
Program structure Iterative Continuous improvement
Critical Reading and
Writing
3 Weeks
Critical Thinking and Leadership
8 Weeks
Critical and Creative Thinking
Residency
5 Days
Introduction to Research
8 weeks
Portfolio and CWE workshops
Critical Reading and
Writing
3 Weeks
Critical Thinking and Leadership
8 Weeks
Critical and Creative Thinking
Residency
5 Days
Introduction to Research
8 weeks
Curriculum Model
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation Ideate
Empathy
Critical Thinking
DesignThinking
Context
Concluding Questions
How can we get a more appropriate mix of discovery and validation across all of our programs?
How can our assessment model and activities support discovery?
Speaker InformationElizabeth Johnston, Ed.D,
Anthony Kortens, PhD
Shawn Boone
Reference slides
Additional slides if needed for illustration
A Mixed Epistemological Approach
Social Constructionism Positivist (+ post-positivist)
Main Benefit Enables innovation Enables standardization
Learning Model Situated Learning Cognitive model
Learning Emphasis Active, collaborative Independent, passive
Voice Dialogic Monologic
Point of focus Discovery process Validating the product
Result of Over-emphasis Over-abstraction Triviality
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Improving theorizing could afford us …
More original scholarly achievements/ contributions by students & faculty
Alignment with peer accreditation
Active/engaged inquiry by student and faculty body
Increased generative capacity for the entire system
Increased Credibility and competitive posture of SAS
Students more agile better prepared for societal impact and excellence in a competitive global environment
Achieving the SAS Mission
Johnston & Kortens, 2013
Working with visuals
Core Findings: Curriculum
Logics
DeductiveInductiveAbductive