Planning a Defence

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The next step in the process toward completing the PhD program is the defence of the comprehensive portfolio. I have begun thinking about what this needs to look like, how it will be constructed, what should be included, and how to prepare for the event. Since this may be scheduled within the next 6-8 weeks, I need to begin now in order to be prepared. Looking back over my notes from previous portfolio defences I have attended, reviewing the Joint PhD handbook, and revisiting the portfolio will be some of the first steps I take in order to plan and prepare for the defence event itself.

The secondary question I need to answer, is about making this defence presentation itself an open event – why/why not? What difference would this make to my work or the work of others? Does it need to be an open event OR can it just be shared openly after the event is completed? When being conducted using Zoom or other video conferencing tools, are these events recorded for reference? How would this impact the committee members if the questioning period is also recorded and shared publicly? Should it be? What difference would that make to the flow of the event?

A few thoughts about the agenda for the defence (as shared on a previous blog post – Portfolio Defence):

  • agenda and introductions
  • a deep understanding of concepts, theories, and issues in the field of study
  • knowledge of current literature and research methods
  • ability to analyze, synthesize, and critique research literature and related research paradigms
  • review of scholarly tasks – extended literature review, peer reviewed publications, conferences (poster and presentations), culminating project, additional relevant certifications and roles. ( I could include ones I’ve acquired like the Ontario Extend badge(s) and the CC Certification)

And a few thoughts about the content for the defence:

  • include the idea of paradox; living and learning in paradox; not as a binary concept but as form of liminality; balancing within a range or on a continuum
  • consider the use of measured steps to ‘becoming’ – can’t be open; can become open; transitional, negotiated, ephemeral, multiple, temporal (tied to post-phenomenology) and ‘crystallizing’.
  • make sure to mention the variations on OEPr conceptualizations – not just the act of teaching and learning; looking at the whole person; bringing professional work into the classroom work; connecting the personal into the professional
  • prepare a map of the research plan – similar to the one done by Catherine Cronin in her dissertation pg. 6
  • describe the decisional process to creating the portfolio as exemplifying analysis, synthesis and critique – deciding the theme/metaphor; examining research on labyrinths for connections to the purpose of the portfolio; examining each course for insights toward the purpose of the portfolio
  • make explicit references to the field of cognition and learning; link to those found in the portfolio; connect to the research I hope to conduct
  • be explicit about contentious areas in my research e.g. connectivism is not a theory; open is contested space; surveillance capitalism and algorithmic AI will influence my biases; cognitive load and long term memory are brain busting barriers
  • “We became who we are as a species by mastering tools, making them a living, evolving extension of our whole bodies and minds. What first seems tedious and repetitive develops into a skill — and a skill is what gives us humans self-esteem and mutual respect.” (Sullivan, n.d. as referenced in this First Steps blog post, written on Jan 4, 2018)

With this in mind, I will plan a schedule of tasks to complete in order to work toward the portfolio defence event – taking it one step at a time, day by day, week by week. In this way, I will fulfil the requirements for this next phase of my Joint PhD work, and realize the goal of becoming an open, educational, resource, and a PhD candidate in the field of open education.