Remembering this Moment

It’s done! I finished and then stopped! Not that there won’t be more editing to do, or yet another read through to be done. I know it’s not every fully finished, but I’ve reached an important milestone! The PhD Comprehensive Portfolio has been turned over to my supervisor and the committee. The paperwork has been signed and the portfolio defence will be scheduled. After four months of working diligently, with definite breaks for other tasks and commitments along the way, I find myself revelling in this feeling of accomplishment.

I’ve shared the portfolio link with my MAG8 girlfriends who have positively responded to the work. I’ve shared the link and a private Hypothes.is group with some critical friends who provided insightful comments and probing questions. I used these for some strategic edits before finalizing the document. I’ve share the finished document with the GO-GN network members, many of whom have taken a peek and some are drilling down into the reference listing for new finds! Now I can breath a bit before beginning again, once the committee has had a look.

There are a few concerns that are sitting a bit uneasy in my mind, but that will pass. I know this work I’ve completed will push the boundaries of traditional academic work. For that reason, I made some concessions in form and function within the document that I may not have otherwise made. I had to let go of a few things, one of them being a stickler for APA 7 formatting. While I worked within APA parameters, there may be some question about this in the upcoming defence.

So as I remember this moment, I can look forward to another moment that will feel a bit like this one, in the coming years – when I complete the final version of my PhD dissertation and hand it off to my supervisor and committee for review. Wonder how that moment will compare to this moment? With this blog post as a record of my feelings of relief, satisfaction, amazement, and accomplishment, I can look back from my future, to revel in both moments simultaneously.

The image I selected for this post represents my work with the comprehensive portfolio. Even as I, represented by the buddha statue, appears to grasp the document, this is an illusion. It has totally escaped my grasp, has grown away on it’s own and has taken root in many places I never foresaw. Rhizomatically, this comprehensive portfolio may lead to new and interesting discoveries, and new trees that emerge from this tangle of roots, but here I stand, in ignorant bliss at having wrangled this portfolio to the ground!

Here’s to many more moments of entangled entanglements!

Image attribution: Photo by HJ.DeWaard

After-word:

Here is the outline I used to plan and prepare for this portfolio. This may be helpful to others who are venturing into this part of the process.

Comprehensive Portfolio – from the Joint PhD Handbook (Notes)

1. Overview/Synthesis
   • As part of the overview/synthesis, students describe their academic growth to date as experienced through their courses, research activities, and other relevant scholarly experiences in the program.
   • Students also are required to provide a rationale explaining how the scholarly tasks included in the comprehensive portfolio provide evidence of the evaluation criteria listed below and prepare them to engage in the doctoral dissertation.
     • Review and critique of concepts, theories and issues in the Field of Study [Cognition and Learning] with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic.
     • Review and critique of research methods with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic.
     • Special considerations as related towards completion of the dissertation and/or exploration of the dissertation topic as relevant.
2. Scholarly Tasks
   • Students work with their doctoral committee to establish evidence of scholarly activity. The following are some examples of scholarly activity:
     • Extended literature review(s) focusing on the dissertation topic.
     • Extended theoretical, conceptual, and methodological analyses within the Field of Study, with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic.
     • Peer-reviewed publications.
     • Conference proceedings, research, and technical reports.
     • Other scholarly products that provide evidence of critical thinking. (Note that course papers do not count as scholarly tasks unless they have been revised and submitted for publication or presentation at a scholarly conference)
3. Supporting Documents
   • The following documents are required as supporting evidence of scholarship:
     • A brief description of research associated with dissertation topic.
     • A curriculum vitae.
     • SSHRC and OGS applications

• Evaluation Criteria for Comprehensive Portfolio
  • The criteria used by the supervisor and committee members to assess and evaluate components of the comprehensive portfolio as well as the presentation and defence of the portfolio are as follows:
    • deep understanding of concepts, theories, and issues in the FOS with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic;
    • knowledge of current literature and research methods in the FOS with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic; and
    • the ability to analyze, synthesize, and critique research literature and related research paradigms in the FOS with the possibility of forming links to aspects of the FOS that are relevant to the dissertation topic.