My ATPI Portfolio & Presentation: Look Ma’, Now I’m A PhD Candidate!

After an early morning presentation and Q & A about my ATPI Doctoral Portfolio – I am now a doctoral candidate in the ATPI Program (here’s the NEW PhD Portfolio Requirements). I am now able to start my dissertation hours in the Spring 2013 semester. Yay!

Professional Overview

The Applied Technology and Performance Improvement (ATPI) doctoral program has supported my growth as a scholar, professional, and consultant. Throughout my interdisciplinary course work in Applied Training and Development, Management, and Educational Psychology and Research, I have been able to develop and enhance my critical thinking, improve upon my research analysis and research perspective over the last three years of my doctoral program. Beyond the degree course work, the ATPI faculty and the Department of Learning Technologies has supported my efforts towards presenting, publishing scholarly works, improving my instructional skills, and augmenting my service scholarship. My ATPI doctoral portfolio will demonstrate my scholarly development and illustrate my contributions to the learning, computing, and performance field.

During my last three years as a doctoral student, I have sought and participated in a number of research opportunities and academic experiences to support my development as a scholar. Through my involvement in collaborative graduate writing groups, professional associations, and academic partnerships with faculty, I have improved upon my scholarly research, honed my writing craft, and advanced my editorial skills. My publications include the topics of formal and informal learning, personal learning networks, learning and performance innovation, and technology needs assessment and implementation to be utilized for education. Beyond research and publications, I have been invited to consult, train, and speak to a number of public and private learning organizations nationally and internationally about my research interests, learning pedagogy, and instructional design.

As the founding student editor for the Learning and Performance Quarterly (LPQ), an open access, peer-reviewed journal within the Department of Learning Technologies, I have gained a vast amount of insight in reviewing manuscripts, working with a diverse editorial board, supporting online distribution, and partnering with a number of contributing authors and academics. Both reviewing and editing for the LPQ and other academic journals, has improved my research and how I critically analyze academic publications. Being the editor has also not only challenged me to consider style and format, but has compelled me to assess other research methodologies.

As a connected and open learner, I have attempted to apply knowledge from the classroom and knowledge from scholars in the field of learning and performance. My ten years’ of experience in the field of Student and Academic Affairs in education has come from employment in the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and the United States. My professional experiences in education include teaching (higher education and K-12) , academic advising, tutoring services, supplemental instruction, career advising, campus activities, first year experience curriculum, orientation programs and housing and residence life. With my education, I haveattempted to integrate my student and academic affairs experiences with my scholarly objectives. In doing so, I have shared my eclectic learning and PhD journey via a variety of social spaces. You can often find me blogging, tweeting, taking photos, or sharing my research developments and professional experiences online. Being an open and digital scholar has presented me with a number of opportunities you will see presented in my ATPI portfolio.

Currently, I am an academic counselor and instructor with the Office for Exploring Majors where I help undergraduate students explore their major and career goals. In this position, I have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with various departments on the UNT campus to integrate assessment with program design, create innovative learning initiatives, and provide training and development for our staff and faculty. As a member of the Global Community for Higher Education (NACADA) and connecting with learning technology associations, such as EDUCAUSE and the Sloan Consortium, I have had the opportunity to enhance my mix my service scholarship disciplines to consider new models for learning and performance. As an active member and leader within my professional affiliations, my service has valuable developmental experiences, including mentoring relationships, planning conferences, consulting contracts, and supporting research for the organizations.

My professional goal is to secure a tenure-track faculty position at a research university while consulting for training and development on the side. I have had a number of excellent experiences in higher education in the area of advising, teaching, and service and I believe that I will be a talented candidate for any institution seeking a dedicated research scholar. There are a number of complimentary research opportunities in the field of learning technology, and I would expect to remain involved in research, consulting, and learning in higher education as it evolves in the future.

My research interests lies in the understanding of informal, online learning networks for professional developments and how these digital communities of practice influence and impact professional and trade associations, such as American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). I am interested specifically in analyzing how social media and online applications affect the formal processes and the structure of training and development.