Tips for Writing Article from your Dissertation

I have been receiving questions about recommendations for how to get started when writing an article from your dissertation or a research project. Here’s a few tips to get started:

I highly recommend the book, “Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success” by Wendy Laura Belcher. This is a book I used when teaching graduate courses focused on writing educational research courses and continue to recommend to colleagues. The chapters are set-up to walk you through all the steps and can help structure and guide you through the writing process.

I also recommend deciding where you would like to publish. Select a journal in the field with scope and aims that align with your topic. Read current articles and get accustomed to the style and structure commonly used in the journal. Look at the submission requirements (length, style, etc.) to find a good fit for your work. A reminder to check with your supervisor for more advice as this is also dependent on the type of dissertation (e.g., manuscript based).

Another suggestion is to review how another author wrote an article from their dissertation. I often share an example from one of my research collaborators.

Example: Dr. Christy Thomas wrote about one of the findings and expanded on this from the dissertation in the following article:

Article in International Journal for Leadership in Learning (Thomas, 2022)

https://leadershiplearning.ca/index.php/ijll/article/view/5/55

Dissertation: Exploring the impact of professional development partnerships on teaching and learning (Thomas, 2016)

https://prism.ucalgary.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/70ed8cb2-fbe7-42af-87a0-dc804b8d5341/content

Here’s one more example showing how a conceptual framework was used in my doctoral study:

Brown, B., & Jacobsen, M. (2016). Principals’ technology leadership: How a conceptual framework shaped a mixed methods study. Journal of School Leadership, 26(5), 811-836. https://doi.org/10.1177/105268461602600504

Dissertation (Brown, 2013): How Principals Cultivate Technology Integration and Use Professional Learning Networks https://prism.ucalgary.ca/items/ec61fbec-1617-4341-ab6a-20d4a198bb21

I hope these tips are helpful to get started with sharing your research! This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of tips and may not apply to all types of research projects. Be sure to connect with your supervisor for more advice.

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

I had the opportunity to present research at the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference (ISSOTL23) – https://issotl.com/issotl23/ conference at Utrecht University, which was an exhilarating experience. The research I shared comes from a project funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, which explores online pedagogies to foster social connectedness and professional collaboration (Presentation Slides & Publication List). As the principal investigator, working alongside my collaborator Dr. Christy Thomas, and with the support of two doctoral research assistants, Amber Hartwell and Bruna Nogueira, we delved into how teaching and learning experiences can cultivate online professional collaboration skills.

SoTL, or the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, is a field I’m deeply passionate about. It’s an interdisciplinary venture that scrutinizes post-secondary teaching and learning, aiming to improve educational practices and outcomes. This scholarship is crucial because it underpins the quality of teaching and learning, offering insights that can transform educational experiences.

More about the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) and future conferences- https://issotl.com/

Related article from December 4, 2023:

4 letters everyone should know: SoTL. Interview with Gillian Edwards, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary. https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/news/4-letters-everyone-should-know-sotl

AI Prompts for Moderating a Panel Presentation

I will be moderating a panel discussing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education at an upcoming session that is part of the #ETMOOC2  Artificial Intelligence and You mini MOOC. Free Registration – https://sites.google.com/view/etmooc-two/

This blog post provides information about how I used Chat.openai.com to help plan the panel presentation.

I started with the INPUT PROMPT:

Improve the following promotion message for a panel presentation about using artificial intelligence in educational contexts: Join us for a conversation about the possibilities for using artificial intelligence in educational contexts. Panelists will discuss perspectives around ethics, equity, and accessibility. They will share ideas about the issues and questions that are commonly asked about using AI, global trends, tenets and guiding principles and will showcase some grassroot applications for prioritizing equity, diversity, and inclusion in learning designs.

Chat.openai.com generated OUTPUT:

Looking to explore the exciting possibilities of using artificial intelligence in educational contexts? Join us for an engaging panel presentation featuring leading experts in the field. Our esteemed panelists will delve into the key ethical considerations surrounding AI, as well as issues of equity and accessibility in educational settings. From global trends to tenets and guiding principles, our experts will share their insights and offer actionable strategies for leveraging AI to prioritize equity, diversity, and inclusion in learning designs. Whether you’re an educator, a student, or simply curious about the potential impact of AI in education, this is an event you won’t want to miss. So mark your calendar and join us for a thought-provoking conversation that promises to inspire and inform! (OpenAI, 2023)

Here’s my revised version based on the ChatGPT-generated output (OpenAI, 2023):

Looking to explore the exciting possibilities of using artificial intelligence in educational contexts? Join us for an engaging panel presentation featuring leading experts in the field. Our esteemed panelists will delve into the key ethical considerations surrounding AI, as well as issues of equity and accessibility in educational settings. From global trends to tenets and guiding principles, our experts will share their insights and offer actionable strategies for leveraging AI to prioritize equity, diversity, and inclusion in learning designs. Whether you’re an educator, a student, or simply curious about the potential impact of AI in education, this is an event you won’t want to miss. So mark your calendar and join us for a thought-provoking conversation that promises to inspire and inform on May 3, 2023 at 7pm!

Registration Link – https://sites.google.com/view/etmooc-two/home?authuser=0

Next, I started crafting questions for the panelists and a timeline/plan for the panel. Once I had a working draft, I thought it might be helpful to try a new prompt to see if I missed any key questions or if there was anything I should consider as the moderator.

INPUT PROMPT:

Provide a plan for the panel presentation with questions the moderator could ask three panelists. One panelist is an expert in global trends, research and ethics, and misconduct. The second expert has a focus on teaching and equity, diversity and inclusion in a faculty of education. The third expert has expertise in assessment and accessibility. (I realized that I spelled accessibility incorrectly in my prompt and this did not impact the output).

Chat.openai.com generated OUTPUT:

Panel Presentation Plan:

I. Introduction

  • Welcome and brief overview of the panel presentation
  • Introduce the panelists

II. Panel Discussion

  • Moderator poses questions to each panelist
  • Panelists provide their insights and responses
  • Moderator encourages cross-panelist dialogue

III. Q&A with the Audience

  • Moderator opens the floor to questions from the audience
  • Panelists provide responses and insights

IV. Conclusion

  • Moderator provides a summary of the key takeaways
  • Encourages further discussion and exploration

Moderator Questions:

1.         For the panelist with expertise in global trends, research, and ethics:

  • How do you see AI shaping the future of education on a global scale?
  • What are some ethical considerations that must be taken into account when implementing AI in educational contexts?
  • What are some examples of AI-related misconduct in educational settings, and how can they be prevented?

2.         For the panelist with a focus on teaching and equity, diversity, and inclusion in a faculty of education:

  • In what ways can AI be leveraged to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in education?
  • How can educators ensure that AI tools are accessible to all students, regardless of their background or ability?
  • What are some challenges that educators may face when integrating AI into their teaching practice, and how can they be overcome?

3.         For the panelist with expertise in assessment and accessibility:

  • What are some examples of AI tools that can be used to improve assessment and evaluation in education?
  • How can AI be leveraged to make educational resources more accessible to students with disabilities?
  • What are some potential drawbacks or limitations of using AI in assessment and accessibility, and how can they be addressed? (OpenAI, 2023)

I reviewed my questions and added some of the ideas from the output (OpenAI, 2023) to the panel presentation plan. Next, I shared the questions with the panelist to seek feedback and plan to continue working with the panelists to refine questions up to the date of the panel. I hope you can join us for the panel on May 3, 2023 for the #ETMOOC2 AI and You mini MOOC and ask your questions too!

Reference

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Apr 3 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Note: Format for citation and reference based on APA Style “How to cite ChatGPT” blog post https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

Are you interested in starting a Master’s degree in Education in Summer 2023?

Start your Master’s degree (MEd Interdisciplinary) at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. Apply before March 1st 2023! Take 4-courses each year while you work and finish your degree in three years!

Here’s some complementary 4-course topics that might interest you for your first or second year in the program:

Leading and Learning in a Digital Age (Fully Online)

Be a Leader in the Digital Age!

Join us in the award winning, fully online Master of Education program, Leading and Learning in a Digital Age acknowledged with a UNESCO Open Education Resource (OER) Implementation Award in 2021! Digital innovation and learning in multimodal contexts have become a global focus. Explore the complexities of inclusive and high-quality digital learning environments using online pedagogies. This four-course topic in Learning Sciences is fully online and designed with flexibility for working professionals. Learn alongside instructors and invited guests who are internationally recognized in the educational technology field and experience a highly interactive online learning experience with zero textbook costs (ZTC). New topics will include discussions around artificial intelligence!

Take risks and learn how to use innovative technologies, develop your social learning network, and critically examine the literature and research in the field. Plan to make a difference in your work context to help others navigate the complexities of living and working a digital world. This program attracts teachers and professionals in educational environments as well as professionals in other fields and disciplinary areas, world-wide.

For more information about this program, contact Dr. Barbara Brown[email protected] 

Collaborative Creativity for Social Innovation & Strategic Design (Fully Online)

Be a Changemaker!

Become a cohort member of this transformative four-course, fully online graduate program in education for those wishing to develop collaborative cultures of creativity in their professional workplaces, classrooms, and across connected networks. Learn to engage in interactivity and empathetic and generative communication in a way to achieve high levels of collaboration that leverages the strengths of each group and community member to achieve what would be difficult or near impossible as individuals. All courses are online and highly interactive!

A central feature of this program is continual collaborative engagement in contextual personal and professional creative problem solving across a wide range of real-world contexts from the United Nations Sustainable Global Goals to the classroom or professional workplace. This is supported by action and literature-based research in creativity, collaboration, and human-centred design. The Collaborative Creativity for Social Innovation & Strategic Design graduate program will help you develop and empower your creative and collaborative potentials and those around you.

For more information about this program, contact Dr. Robert Kelly – [email protected]

Dynamic Design in Education (Fully Online)

Dynamic Design in Education sponsors an immersion into the sciences underlying learning to help educators and leaders understand the strengths and benefits of good learning design and the many challenges that teacher designers face. As you engage in this cohort-based learning experience, you will come to appreciate designs for learning and assessment for learning, collaborate with your peers to create new designs for learning and research, and develop new insights and competencies in the evaluation of learning and learning environments – for learners and for teachers. For those new to design thinking, this graduate certificate engages you in recognizing yourself as a designer of learning in your subject of expertise to transform your students’ learning experiences across different learning environments (formal and informal; online, face-to-face, and blended). The Dynamic Design program is fully online!

For more information about this program, contact Dr. Michele Jacobsen[email protected]

Learn more about the MEd Interdisciplinary Program and other topics offered for Summer 2023!

Book: Engaging in Educational Research-Practice Partnerships: Guided Strategies and Applied Case Studies for Scholars in the Field

Save 20% using discount code ASM11 until January 31, 2023

Description:

Engaging in Educational Research-Practice Partnerships guides academic researchers into forming mutually respectful, collaborative, and scalable partnerships with school practitioners. Despite robust theoretical and conceptual planning, research on learning is often removed from real settings and generates findings with limited practical relevance, yielding frustration for K-12 stakeholders. This book provides invaluable resources to researchers seeking to work with practitioners as they solve problems and improve outcomes while answering fundamental questions about who gets to generate knowledge, from where, to whom, and in what contexts. A range of illustrative case studies and strategies explores how to apply appropriate theories and methodologies, negotiate agendas that ensure mutually beneficial goals, determine the role of pracademics, establish institutional supports, policies, and procedures that amplify impact and sustainability, and much more.

Follow the link to the book – https://routledge.pub/Engaging-in-Educational-Research-Practice-Partnerships

Abstract: What is it like to do community-engaged research? Lessons learned from university researchers’ perspectives.

Abstract:

Community-engaged research calls on us to rethink ourselves as researchers and to address lopsided researcher-researched relationships. As a group of university researchers, we participated in a research-practice partnership that included a research-intensive university, an internationally recognized professional learning network, a ministry of education funder, and a school district in Alberta, Canada. Despite the long-standing, collaborative relationships between these organizations, a spin-off research partnership slid into traditional research practices that limited the project’s potential. To critically reflect on these events, we engaged in eight cogenerative dialogues and three semistructured interviews to examine key moments in the partnership more closely. Our findings highlight how limitations in our fields of view as well as significant changes at crucial points in the partnership affected our ability to engage in sustained community-engaged research. We discuss critical learnings about this partnership in particular and offer recommendations that will help future research-practice partnerships assess and sustain their collaborations in meaningful ways.

Follow the link to read the full article – https://doi.org/10.54656/jces.v15i1.444

Abstract: Design-based professional learning: A promising approach to continuous professional learning

Friesen, S. & Brown, B. (2022). Design-based professional learning: A promising approach to continuous professional learning. International Journal for Leadership in Learning, 22(1), 218-251. https://doi.org/10.29173/ijll10

Abstract: Collaborative professionalism engages teachers and other educators in the processes of documenting and presenting evidence arising from their practice, engaging in deep and demanding dialogue with colleagues, seeking and receiving constructive and productive feedback, and engaging in continuous collaborative inquiry. A design orientation that engages educators in such a process is design-based professional learning. While the overall design of the professional learning is consistent across contexts, three key features are unique to each design—situativity, the cyclical nature of learning and change, and agency. These three features are used to describe two cases of design-based professional learning in two different contexts. Based on 715 teachers, and school and district leaders’ learning engaged in design-based professional learning, we conclude that design-based professional learning provides a promising approach to professional learning.

Follow the link to read the full article – https://doi.org/10.29173/ijll10

Looking for a Graduate Supervisor?

Are you thinking about starting a graduate program in education? I created the following notes for prospective students interested in working with me for either a master’s or doctoral degree. First, I will begin by briefly explaining the different degree options for four programs that I am currently involved in:

  • MEd Interdisciplinary Degree, Learning Sciences Special Topic – Leading and Learning in a Digital Age – This a course-based program (non-thesis route) and you do not need a supervisor. Read more about the program that I coordinate (blog post). You can apply the 4 courses from the Learning and Leading in a Digital Age towards the MEd Interdisciplinary degree. Application deadline is usually every year, March 1st
  • MA Degree, Learning Sciences specialization – Consider this Master of Arts program in education if you are looking for a thesis route for your master’s degree. This program requires a supervisor and the supervisor will be assigned to you when admitted into the program. Application is yearly, Dec. 1st
  • EdD Degree, Learning Sciences specialization – Are you a working professional? Complete this doctorate with a combination of summer residency courses and online courses throughout the year. This program requires a supervisor and the supervisor will be assigned to you when admitted into the program. Application is usually every two years, Dec. 1st
  • Phd Degree in Educational Research, Learning Sciences specialization – This is a residency program with most courses offered on-campus. This program requires a supervisor and the supervisor will be assigned to you when admitted into the program. Application is yearly, Dec. 1st

All of the programs are highly competitive and if you would like to work with me as your supervisor, then you might consider the following:

  1. Review the profiles for scholars in the Learning Sciences specialization to find a good fit for your research interests. I recommend reviewing publication lists (e.g., see my Google Scholar profile, institutional profile). You can also connect with me in Twitter (@barbbrown)
  2. Prepare your CV and Admission Portfolio and be sure to include previous degree information, thesis (if applicable), reports, peer-reviewed and professional articles, curriculum documents, conference presentations, awards, research grants or scholarships. Publications should be listed in APA 7 format and include the name of the journal and doi number if available. You can also include links to digital sources, and evidence of prior learning.
  3. Prepare your Statement of Intent and connect your study proposal and research interests to literature in Learning Sciences and to your rationale for requesting specific supervisors.
  4. Select two referees who can comment on your research abilities. Students usually select previous supervisors from undergraduate or graduate research projects or other course instructors and faculty who are familiar with their work and research-based skills.
  5. Submit your requests early on for ALL official transcripts from post-secondary institutions you have attended.
  6. Note: Supervisors are normally appointed at the time of admission so there is no guarantee that you will be admitted into a program or that you will have the supervisor you requested.
  7. This is not intended to be a complete list of requirements and only a starter list so you can start to prepare early. Check the faculty of graduate studies website for more details about the application requirements.

I hope this information is helpful for you as you consider applying for a graduate program in education!

MEd Summer 2022 Programs

Are you interested in starting a Master’s degree (MEd Interdisciplinary) in Education in Summer 2022? We are hosting an information session on January 25, 2022 at 6pm MT.  Register for the session – here

Here’s a couple of programs that might interest you:

Leading and Learning in a Digital Age (Fully Online)

Be a Leader in the Digital Age!

Join us in the award winning, fully online Master of Education program, Leading and Learning in a Digital Age acknowledged with a UNESCO Open Education Resource (OER) Implementation Award in 2021! Digital innovation and learning in multimodal contexts have become a global focus. Explore the complexities of inclusive and high-quality digital learning environments using online pedagogies. This four-course topic in Learning Sciences is fully online and designed with flexibility for working professionals. Learn alongside instructors and invited guests who are internationally recognized in the educational technology field and experience a highly interactive online learning experience with zero textbook costs (ZTC).

Take risks and learn how to use innovative technologies, develop your social learning network, and critically examine the literature and research in the field. Plan to make a difference in your work context to help others navigate the complexities of living and working a digital world. This program attracts teachers and professionals in educational environments as well as professionals in other fields and disciplinary areas, world-wide.

For more information about this program, contact Dr. Barbara Brown – [email protected] 

Collaborative Creativity for Social Innovation & Human-Centred Design (Fully Online)

Be a Changemaker!

Become a cohort member of this transformative four-course, fully online graduate program in education for those wishing to develop collaborative cultures of creativity in their professional workplaces, classrooms, and across connected networks. Learn to engage in interactivity and empathetic and generative communication in a way to achieve high levels of collaboration that leverages the strengths of each group and community member to achieve what would be difficult or near impossible as individuals. The first two courses are both online, week-long courses, in July 2022 allowing cohort members to complete half of this program in a short time window. Courses 3 and 4 are totally online in the fall and winter semesters.  All courses are highly interactive!

A central feature of this program is continual collaborative engagement in contextual personal and professional creative problem solving across a wide range of real-world contexts from the United Nations Sustainable Global Goals to the classroom or professional workplace. This is supported by action and literature-based research in creativity, collaboration, and human-centred design. The Collaborative Creativity for Social Innovation and Human-Centred Design  graduate program will help you develop and empower your creative and collaborative potentials and those around you.

For more information about this program, contact Dr. Robert Kelly – [email protected]

Learn more about the MEd Interdisciplinary Program and other topics offered for Summer 2022!

UNESCO OER Implementation Award for Excellence 2021

Open Education Award Badge

Congratulations to our team for presenting a session at the Open Education Global Conference 2021. The online conference was from September 27 – October 1, 2021.

Awards for excellence recognize contributions and in 2021 our team including myself (PI), Verena Roberts, Michele Jacobsen, Christie Hurrell, Nicole Neutzling and Mia Travers-Hayward, along with conference presenters received the UNESCO OER Implementation Award for Excellence for collective impact of the community.

Our slides from the presentation can be accessed here.