Becoming a PhD

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After scanning several readings about becoming a PhD, I’m no more prepared for this marathon journey, but I’m better informed. Just as I did when preparing for my first half marathon, I prepared by becoming a ‘runner’ in my mind, as I also prepared physically to become a marathoner. This is preparation before ‘being’ a PhD, or being anything you set out to BE.

The facets that I’ve read about can be categorized into a graphic image of an ‘ideal type’, an abstract construct or description of the PhD student/candidate. I’ll use the image from the Simon Bates graphic of the anatomy of the 21st century educator as a beginning point for my own remixed imagining, as a combination of all the elements from these varied readings. Since I’m ‘becoming’ a PhD, this will help me compare and contrast my ‘self’ as I mentally, emotionally, and physically shift into ‘becoming a PhD’.

Here’s the graphic – remember, it’s an ideal type, not a reality, an accentuation of points from the given readings, and a synthesis of many discrete qualities and characteristics.

Reading

  • read a book in 30 min or less – by applying  SPE (Structure-Proposition-Evaluation (SPE) methods (from Adler)
  • make sense of the readings by getting to know the author, feel of the work, how you’ll read (with a pen or without one), be able to tell the main idea, what kind of book its, where it fits among other books of it’s kind, the approach used in the book
  • read to understand – tone, type of communication, purpose, audience, style
  • don’t skip the abstract or introduction
  • find the author’s blueprint – look at the big picture, structural outlines
  • highlight key ideas; thesis statements & revealing phrases
  • look for concrete examples and evidence
  • read in small doses, skim through, and move on
  • take note of the “poetically and powerfully worded” passages that “could not be said another way”
  • find the “concepts, passages, and stories” in what you’re reading but remember it’s not Harry Potter!

Writing

  • use the 4-Sentence-Summary technique – state the assumption or problem; point out a flaw, weakness or gap; identify purpose of article/study; outline its  significance
  • full list of do’s and don’t from Gerald Graff are in course materials but key points include – be explicit; make a claim; build a metatext within the essay; be dialogic; make one claim at a time; be bilingual (use academese sometimes); try explaining it to your grandparents
  • Lewkowich (2017) shares ideas when writing for publication – see it as a creative task of “arrangement for significance”; “find appropriate sites for recognition and creative invention” (p. 209); find a fit for your piece; find your tribe or community in the journals; write for this audience; be open to the desire to write, when love of writing happens; find your cave and rituals for writing; workshop your papers at conferences; “experiment within and articulate a world of shared meaning” (p. 214)
  • Helen Sword’s research reveals a house or ‘shape’ to the habits of writing – behavioural, artisanal, social, and emotional
  • a review of Sword’s work shares that there is a ‘sweet spot’ when writing – somewhere between productivity and pleasure; themes of possibility, permission, flexibility, and satisfation
  • track your resistance to make sure you DO what you want to do and should do
  • take rejection in stride – walk away for a while, then return and rework; redesign based on feedback and critical reviews
  • its a conversation with reviewers – seek to understand, consider their concerns
  • experiment in the world

Community

  • become a community member with your cohort, they are your tribe, don’t become solitary, see them as colleagues not competition, seek wisdom from upper-year students, link to others outside your specialization
  • share with others, think digitally, be proactive, don’t wait to ask questions
  • maintain ties to family, friends, former colleagues, networked others
  • serve as a bridge builder and relationship initiator with communities outside of university settings to “exchange ideas, build dialogue, work together” (Beltran, 2018).
  • become a scholar activist to support external communities where you have close ties

References

Barkley, D. (2018, April 10). Finding your community in graduate school. University Affairs. Retrieved from https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/graduate-matters/finding-community-graduate-school/ 

Beltran, G. (2018, Jan 10). Publicly engaged PhDs shift the notion of the ivory tower. University Affairs.

Lewkowich, D. (2017). To linger on the edge of bad feelings. McGill Journal of Education 52(1), 207-216.