Collecting Dissertation Data during COVID 19

Authors

  • Matthew J. Sroka Ed.D. Student at Salisbury University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2021.166

Keywords:

Dissertation Data Collection, Doctoral Student, English Teachers, Teachers as Readers, Learning Communities, Participatory Action Research

Abstract

This essay describes my personal experience as a doctoral candidate collecting data for my dissertation during the COVID-19 pandemic. After providing the context for my own study, I lay out three main ideas that emerged while collecting data. These main ideas involve including participants in the decision-making process, sharing one another’s challenging contexts to understand and connect, and the importance of teacher learning communities in times of isolation. My essay highlights some of the challenges and opportunities of collecting data during difficult circumstances and discusses the importance of professional learning communities to assist teachers with long-term coping within an unexpected context.

Author Biography

Matthew J. Sroka, Ed.D. Student at Salisbury University

Matthew Sroka teaches English at Queen Anne’s County High School in Centreville, Maryland. He is currently pursuing a doctorate of education at Salisbury University. The focus of his research is on the reading lives of secondary English teachers.

References

Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2015). The action research dissertation. Sage.

Kerkhoff, S., Broere, M., & Premont, D. (2020). Average and avid: Preservice English teachers' reading identities. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 19, 197-215.

Rubin, J.C. & Land, C.L. (2017), “This is English class”: Evolving identities and a literacy teacher’s shifts in practice across figured worlds. Teaching and Teacher Education, 68, 190-199.

Scholes, R. E. (1998). The rise and fall of English: Reconstructing English as a discipline. Yale University Press.

Trust, T., Krutka, D. G., & Carpenter, J. P. (2016). “Together we are better”: Professional learning networks for teachers. Computers & Education, 102, 15-34.

Trust, T., Carpenter, J. P., Krutka, D. G., & Kimmons, R. (2020). #RemoteTeaching & #RemoteLearning: educator tweeting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 151-159.

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Published

2021-04-30

How to Cite

Sroka, M. J. (2021). Collecting Dissertation Data during COVID 19. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 6(2), 21–24. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2021.166