Learning from the Challenges: Integrating Technology Resources into Doctoral Student Research Post-Pandemic

Streamed Session

Brief Abstract

This presentation will explore the importance of technology, post-COVID-19 pandemic, in creating student communities, developing student-faculty mentorship relationships, and conducting dissertation research. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for the next steps in the inclusion of innovative and accessible technology integration in doctoral curriculum to best support students.

Presenters

Extended Abstract

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, online doctoral programs, like so many other fields and organizations world-wide, turned to technology to maintain educational communities, student connections, and academic growth. These technological solutions were at first assumed to be temporary, however, many have become permanent, useful, and even necessary, in the day-to-day operations of a doctoral program (Adams & Jeter, 2021). For example, while once a fear or source of discomfort, many faculty are now reliant on and comfortable with utilizing Zoom to meet with students to answer course or program questions and to develop and maintain a mentor relationship. Zoom and other meeting space platforms, such as Teams and Gather, continue to be utilized for not only one-on-one meetings but also program-wide presentations and webinar sessions that may have once been held in person. These online meeting spaces provide greater flexibility and accessibility for students of varying learning, financial, location-based, work schedules, and other unique individual needs.

Capello et al. (2021) noted the importance of providing students with pathways and support toward degree completion, specifically noting the need for revisions with dissertation practices because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, Capello et al. (2021) emphasized the importance of doctoral programs to produce quality dissertations and support students throughout this challenging process. Similarly, our online doctoral program also needed to support students as they pivoted with their original dissertation plans throughout the pandemic, including the collection of data using virtual methods. Particularly, many students were no longer able to collect data in classrooms or found participants unwilling to meet for interviews in-person. Thus began an influx of collecting data using Zoom and other online approaches. Post COVID-19 lockdowns, we continue to educate students on how to recruit participants and collect data using social media, online meeting spaces, and other virtual methods. These initial challenges provided a learning curve for both students and faculty but have also afforded new and exciting learning opportunities for everyone involved in the dissertation process.

This presentation will highlight the use of technology throughout the pandemic and how it can continue to benefit doctoral programs and students. We will explore the importance of technology in creating student communities, developing student-faculty mentorship relationships, and in dissertation and research work. The presentation will conclude with questions and suggestions for the next steps in the inclusion of innovative and accessible technology integration into doctoral curriculum to best support students and faculty and to further enhance the credibility and rigor of online doctoral programs.

This virtual presentation will seek to meet the following learning objectives:

  1. Briefly define how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted doctoral programs and specifically the dissertation process.
  2. Describe the opportunities to use innovative technologies to support doctoral students.
  3. Outline the benefits of online research practices through participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis.
  4. Share specific tools that faculty or doctoral programs may consider to provide accessible learning communities, engage diverse learners in the research process, and support students toward dissertation completion.
  5. Explore the potential for technology’s impact in the future, including ethical uses of artificial intelligence in doctoral writing and research.

References

Adams, A. & Jeter, G. (2021). Creating community in EdD Programs During COVID-19: Challenges, strategies, and opportunities. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice. 6(2), 1–4. Web.

Capello, S., Gyimah-Concepcion, M., & Vandover Billimack, V. (2021). An unexpected affordance of program design for dissertation writing during COVID-19: The embedded dissertation. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice. 6, 16–20.