Ask Doctoral Advising

Perhaps one of the most difficult pieces of being an adult and in a doctoral program is being an adult in a doctoral program, yes?  Oh for the life of a traditional-aged school experience, where, for most, life’s responsibilities were limited in comparison.  Today, you’re older, wiser, and steeped with professional and personal responsibilities.  And some how, you reached the conclusion that despite those responsibilities, there was still room to add the demands of a doctoral program.  Fairly incredible if you think about it. 

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Have you ever stopped to think about how your contribution fits into your organization’s learning?  Admittedly, until recently, I hadn’t.  I suppose when you are surrounded by many, many, MANY bright and talented people, you easily forget an organization is learning too.  And that can be frustrating, can’t it? 

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A learner recently asked me what he should do with his books after each course: should he keep them or sell them? READ MORE

If effective reading strategies are the lifeblood of one’s intellectual development as a doctoral learner, what are they? How do you use them? And when do you know which ones to use? READ MORE

Collaborative research, like many other types of collaborations, can produce differing approaches to solving problems. Some learners labor under the misconception that topic definition, research question development, methodology selection and other aspects of the study should fall automatically into place. Doctoral learners are really apprentices or neophytes and are not expected to know everything or submit completely perfected ideas in the beginning. Their work will evolve as they experience many levels of review. More than likely, they will also receive some conflicting advice. Their job is to sort through the advice and proceed in the direction they feel is correct. If they need to redirect, so be it. It is all part of the learning process.

Sometimes in frustration, learners will say, “Just tell me what to do and I will do it.” That, of course, is the wrong approach. A significant aspect of earning READ MORE

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting a great deal on Capella’s mission and values.  Why are we here?  What are we all striving for?  How do we prioritize our work?  How do we make decisions?  How do we interact with one another?  And the like. 

In August 2008, I spoke of a pledge to greatness and the invaluable tool of owning your own contribution and this commodity of human potential – the value of honoring the potential of each person and enabling transformation. 

Today, some of my trusted colleagues and I were reflecting on a common question asked, “what is the most important piece of the puzzle needed to finish the PhD?”  The usual fare was offered: competency, knowledge of the topic, the “research gene,” a strong committee, resilience, time, etc.  But today, I say to all, what’s most important is knowing your needs and knowing your aspirations.

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Preparing for Your Comprehensive Exam from Day One

It is easy to become so focused on each course every quarter that you do not see the forest for the trees. That is to say, you put up a valiant effort to do your work. You read and post and research and write to keep up with the weekly demands and the final assignment. And yet, this is not enough. READ MORE

Disappointment is ubiquitous. Learners are disappointed about shattered dreams, unmet expectations, lost employment opportunities, and much more. Likewise, learners may become disappointed about grades, academic probation, and many more academic disappointments can debilitate them from achieving their academic goals. But, working through and not over disappointment can present opportunities for becoming doctoral. How do you begin dissolving disappointment? READ MORE

Sitting down with your morning coffee or the beverage of your choice, you skim the headlines of the local newspaper, scoot through your RSS feeds, or rush through reading summaries of journal articles before you begin the day. Or, perhaps, you mesh with multi-tasking. READ MORE

What is the place of life perspective in the writing process? In other words, how can contemplating the span of one’s life contextualize the writing process as both an accumulation of experience and an evolution of the writer’s abilities? READ MORE