Summer is coming to an end and as I wrap up both my own courses and the course I’ve assisted in this summer semester, I thought I would pause to reflect and identify places for moving forward on this journey. I blogged a bit this summer about my own growth as a researcher, which was… Continue reading Phd update: reflection and goals
Author: Andrea Z
Writing things for school
Loosely based on my recent experiences with writing a research proposal as a requirement for my program: 1. Discuss idea with mentors. 2. Write things. 3. Send writing to mentors. 4. Get feedback. 5. Write again. 6. Feel stupid. 7. Delete things. 8. Weep. 9. Delete more things. 10. Have breakthrough! Feel smug. 11. Write… Continue reading Writing things for school
Thar’s gold in them thar hills
If you’ve been following along on this blog lately, you already know that right now I am in the inception stage of plotting my research practicum: a study that I will conduct during this second year of my program. This is seen as sort of a “mini-dissertation” complete with a round of convincing a committee… Continue reading Thar’s gold in them thar hills
You can’t shoot lasers at children
Right now, I am in the throes of the UGLY WRITING. Namely, I am attempting to craft a research proposal. At the beginning of my writing process, I had a major family medical emergency (everyone is fine now), but it was one of those life-encompassing, make-you-realize-what’s-important kind of moments that make you hug all of… Continue reading You can’t shoot lasers at children
Reading in 140
The thing I love most about reading is just how social it is. Often, reading is seen as a solitary activity: the cliche of the reader, curled up in a corner, apart from the world, absorbed in a private activity of taking meaning from a text. Always reading has had at least two participants: the… Continue reading Reading in 140
And so begins the second year
It is an exciting and bittersweet time for me in my program. We began the second year of our program this past Monday with staggered synchronous Skype calls with our instructors. I am a member of the hybrid EPET cohort, you see, so we have folks all over the world and all of us are… Continue reading And so begins the second year
Festival of Awkward: First Committee Meeting
According to my handbook and my advisor, an initial gathering of my committee would have a few, relatively painless elements: I would discuss my career goals, talk about my research interests, and end up with a plan of courses I pledge to take over the duration of my program. So in the past weeks, I… Continue reading Festival of Awkward: First Committee Meeting
Introducing the Festival of Awkward Series
As my loyal readers know, I am currently participating in graduate program. When I began said program, I had hoped to use this blogging space to discuss the things I am learning and thinking about, as well as some of the ways I have figured out to read better, write better, or work better (also… Continue reading Introducing the Festival of Awkward Series
Social Needs and Learning
I have been reading up on theories about social needs, and my favorite one so far is Baumeister and Leary’s 1995 article” The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation.” It is a tad long, so be forewarned. What Baumeister and Leary do in this article is to survey the… Continue reading Social Needs and Learning
How to Hack it on Twitter
by Andrea Zellner and Leigh Graves Wolf (cross posted on each blog) Recently we have had conversations with fellow grad students about the value of Twitter. This post is targeted towards those of you who may have a foot in the stream, but aren’t quite sure how to navigate the waters. One colleague tweeted [approximately]… Continue reading How to Hack it on Twitter
