{"id":35,"date":"2023-01-08T16:14:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T21:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/activelearningforrealworldinquiry\/?post_type=chapter&p=35"},"modified":"2023-03-05T16:09:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-05T21:09:58","slug":"the-windows-of-vulnerability-and-forming-identity-as-researcher","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/activelearningforrealworldinquiry\/chapter\/the-windows-of-vulnerability-and-forming-identity-as-researcher\/","title":{"raw":"The Windows of Vulnerability and Forming Identity as Researcher","rendered":"The Windows of Vulnerability and Forming Identity as Researcher"},"content":{"raw":"
Kevin MacLeod (kevin.1macleod@royalroads.ca<\/a>) is Associate Faculty in the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University, Victoria BC Canada.<\/h6>\r\n

Rationale<\/h1>\r\nWillison et al. (2017) describe the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework as presenting the skills associated with research in manner that is intentional, coherent, and sequential. The RSD features \u201ca continuum of five levels delineating the extent of autonomy \u2013 the conceptual space \u2013 that students are given or experience when using skills associated with research\" (p. 432). Autonomy may be considered as the degree of scaffolding necessary for learners to become self-directed. The five levels are as follows: Prescribed (Level 1), Bounded (Level 2), Scaffolded (Level 3), Open-ended (Level 4), Unbounded (Level 5) (Willison et al, 2017, pp. 432-433). The authors explain that \u201cshifting towards higher levels of autonomy does not imply permanence but rather is a flexible process where students may need to revert to low levels of autonomy to aid an increase in competence and rigour\" (p. 432). The RSD framework is applicable to learners ranging from early childhood to doctoral study in graduate school.\r\n\r\nResearch courses are an integral part of post-secondary programs, supporting students\u2019 continued development of research-related skills including problem solving and critical thinking. However, students may be reluctant to take the research courses in their programs (Mulvenon & Wang, 2015; Rand, 2016) based on negative previous experiences leading them to doubt their own abilities. For example, students new to graduate programs continue from where their undergraduate research courses ended. Some of these early experiences may have been unpleasant and students may need encouragement and strategies when they formally reembark upon the theoretical study of the research process. In his introductory research textbooks, John Creswell explains that students have already learned valuable research skills through their life experiences that include \u201csolving puzzles, employing a long attention span, using a library, and, of course, writing out your thoughts\u201d (Creswell & Guetterman, 2019, p. 24).\r\n\r\nStudents who are research-reluctant may be pleasantly surprised to discover they already possess the background experiences and skills to be successful in their research endeavors.\u00a0However, they will not realize this until the research courses are in progress.\u00a0At this stage, students may be receptive to new ideas and practices as they approach their research courses and examine their own misgivings about research for the purpose of realizing the full benefit of their programs.\r\n\r\nStudents may become willingly vulnerable, and this state of mind is necessary when beginning a new program of study.\u00a0Thus, post-secondary students\u2019 windows of vulnerability will be open for good purpose and this sensitivity may have a deep and lasting effect, potentially influencing the way students perceive themselves as graduate students and beginning researchers.\r\n\r\nIt is important for post-secondary students to be reminded of how identity and self-esteem are constantly evolving for people of all ages, and these may be particularly challenged at the beginning of a new program.\u00a0For example, \u201cIdentity encompasses the memories, experiences, relationships, and values that create one\u2019s sense of self.\u00a0This amalgamation creates a steady sense of who one is over time, even as new facets are developed and incorporated into one's identity\u201d (Psychology Today, 2021, para.\u00a01).\u00a0Students will be confronted with challenges in their programs of study that may test their self-esteem and confidence.\r\n\r\nInstructors can plan research courses with thoughtfully sequenced assignments and activities formulated to engage students in their interests, reinforce confidence, and encourage autonomy.\u00a0By experiencing some early successes in research courses, students may start to entertain themselves as beginning researchers.\u00a0As they start to see themselves in this light, students will need to engage with the course material, seek support from instructors, and interact with students in their programs to create beginning researchers\u2019 communities of practice, which may be another form of encouragement and support.\r\n

Overview<\/h1>\r\nThe following series of assignments presents an approach for leveraging the window of vulnerability available to instructors and is based on post-secondary students being self-directed, problem centered, and motivated to learn.\u00a0The activities are experiential, utilizing students\u2019 background knowledge, offering choices, and are relevant to their current roles as students.\u00a0Students receive constructive feedback on their assignments from other students and instructor in a supportive environment.\u00a0The beginning activities reinforce the relevancy of students\u2019 past experiences with consuming and creating research to establish a foundation for further study.\u00a0Table 1 shows the names of the assignments and relative weightings.\u00a0The column on the right-hand side indicates the level of learning autonomy.\u00a0Each assignment has been summarized in Appendix A.\r\n\r\nTable 1<\/strong>\r\n\r\nList of assignments, weightings, and placement along the Continuum of Learning Autonomy (Willison et al.,<\/em> 2017)<\/em>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Assignments<\/strong><\/td>\r\nWeightings<\/strong><\/td>\r\nLearning Autonomy<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
Online Activities<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Ice-breaker Activity<\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\nBounded (Level 2)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
1) Reflections on Research \u2013 Discussion Forum<\/td>\r\n5%<\/td>\r\nScaffolded (Level 3)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
2) Participation in Discussions (Twitter)<\/td>\r\n5%<\/td>\r\nScaffolded (Level 3)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
3) Reflections on Research \u2013 Discussion Forum<\/td>\r\n10%<\/td>\r\nScaffolded (Level 3)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
4) Research Ethics \u2013 TCPS 2: CORE 2022 (Tutorial)<\/td>\r\n5%<\/td>\r\nPrescribed (Level 1)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n25%<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Literature Review<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
5) Literature Review<\/td>\r\n40%<\/td>\r\nOpen-ended (Level 4)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n40%<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Research Proposal Assignments<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
6) Presentation of In Progress Research Proposal<\/td>\r\n10%<\/td>\r\nScaffolded (Level 3)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
7) Research Proposal<\/td>\r\n25%<\/td>\r\nUnbounded (Level 5)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n35%\r\n<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Total<\/strong><\/td>\r\n100%<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nIn this section, the two assignments that use Twitter: Assignment 2: Participation in Discussions (Twitter), and Assignment 3: Reflections on Research \u2013 Discussion Forum (Twitter) are described.\u00a0Using Twitter, a popular form of social media, can provide many educational benefits for students and instructors.\u00a0Twitter as a new literacy practice has been found to positively impact learning settings (Ricoy & Feliz, 2016), transcend classroom-based activities (Li et al., 2018), provide an interactive and collaborative space to share information (Tur et al.\u00a02017), encourage critical thinking (Abella-Garc\u00eda et al., 2019), increase student engagement (Kunka, 2020), provide a foundational technology for teachers (Greenhalgh et al., 2016), activate faculty towards taking a more participatory role (Gleason, & Manca, 2020) and allow academics a wide audience to promote their research and to stay updated in their field (Meyer, 2018).\r\n

Assignment 2: Participation in Discussions (Twitter)<\/h2>\r\nThe purpose of this assignment is for graduate students to use Twitter to interact with each other along with educators, innovators, researchers, and leaders in education and research. Tweets to the instructor and colleagues in this class should include information sources that students consider interesting and relevant for the further development of their research interests and for supporting the introductory study of research in education. In the tweets, include text along with links, images, and video.\r\n\r\nA Twitter hashtag for this assignment is provided to students by the instructor. During the two-week time frame for this assignment, students send eight to ten tweets per week to the hashtag. Franker\u2019s (2018) Twitter rubric will be utilized to assess students\u2019 participation in the assignment.\r\n\r\nGraduate students who are new to Twitter should engage the following tutorials during the time frame for this assignment.\r\n

Twitter Tutorials<\/h2>\r\nIf you are not familiar with Twitter, access the Help Center<\/a> (Twitter, 2023), then click Using Twitter. Select a few of the introductory tutorials and read documentation that addresses how to use Twitter.\r\n

Other Activities<\/h2>\r\n