2009 Dissertation Progress Report

1/5-1/9         Qualifying Exam taken

1/20             News of Passing on Qualifying Exam

2/20             Dissertation Proposal Submitted (accepted)

3/13            Paper presentation 2009 CCCC in San Francisco “Researching Rhetorical Reflection” –involved updated review of research

March-May        Review and Preparations for Engaging in Grounded Theory Research
                          (see blog for posts)-- http://thespeculum.blogspot.com/

5/15            Slice 1 of data analysis completed

5/31            Slice 2 of data analysis completed

6/13            Slice 3 of data analysis completed

6/15 – 8/4          Work on Lit Review

8/5-8/15            Slice 4 data analysis Phase I

8/15-10/7          Work on Lit Review

10/7-11/9            Slice 4 data analysis Phase II (completed)
--completion of Open Coding and identification of categories and properties near complete

11/10-            Return to Work on Lit Review

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Additional professionally related tasks:

Spring 2009—acted as peer reviewer for two articles submitted for publication to Voices in the Middle

Spring 2009—revised and resubmitted Writing Program Profile accepted by Composition Forum twice. Article finally accepted and published in the June issue.

June 2009—published “The Activist WPA in Action: A Profile of the First-Year Writing

            Program at Eastern Michigan University.” Composition Forum 20, Summer 2009. 

July 2009—led 1-week Open Institute on College Readiness for the San Antonio Writing Project (19 high school teachers attended)

Summer 2009—textbook chapter accepted and draft written for Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing (Edited by Charlie Lowe): “What is Writing? What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” Draft available
Dec. 2009--peer reviewed article submission for CCC

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Details on Lit Review and Research Work

Literature Review progress

As of 12/21, I will have completed my review of scholars and research on rhetorical reflection OUTSIDE of Composition/Rhetoric. These include the work predominantly of Dewey, Moon, Mezirow, Boud, Schon, and King and Kitchener. The draft of this section of my literature review is approximately 35 thousand words.

Beginning promptly on 12/22, I will begin my review of the scholarship and research on rhetorical reflection within the field of composition/rhetoric or writing studies broadly speaking. The general areas I will cover are reflection and composition, cognitive views of the writing process, student self-evaluation/assessments, and revision.

Projected completion date for Lit Review Draft #1:  March 15^th

Research Work progress

For now, I plan to focus on the lit review. If I bog down earlier, I may take a break by focusing on Slice 5 analysis, but in all likelihood this analysis will begin in Mid-March. This last slice of open coding will a “draft cycle” view for eight to twelve “cycles” containing these items: draft #1, peer responses on draft #1, Writing Review of draft #1, draft #2 (or it could be between draft two and three).

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Projected Timeline of Work

Goal: To have my lit review and open coding completed by May Seminar. Focus on May Seminar for Axial Coding and revision plans for Lit Review. It would be nice to have the data analysis completed earlier, though.  The projected timeline is deliberately conservative.

Late Spring-Early Summer: Complete research data analysis (Axial/Focused)

Summer: Submit draft chapters of Dissertation

Fall: Drafting and revision of chapters

Late Fall 2010-Early Spring 2011 Dissertation Defense