What Makes for a Successful Dissertation Advising Relationship? Adviser and Advisee

tell AllCandyce Reynolds, PhD

Ryan Palmer, EdD

• What are the common challenges you face in advising your doctoral students?

Your "Problems in Practice"

• Background• Long history of non and slow completers• Lots of support at the beginning, little support at the end

• 3 years and done

PSU's "Problem in Practice"

Re-envisioned programPost- mastersEdD not PhDSplit offCohort basedCommitment to high quality examinations of problem in practice

PSU's "Problem in Practice"

Meet Ryan Palmer, MFA

• MFA to to medical education course administrator to EdD in 3 years• Award-winning, high-quality dissertation in practice• With great prospects for the future

HOW????

Meet Candyce Reynolds, Ph.D.

• Post-secondary specialization faculty• Worked with 4 advisees in the new cohort• 3 of the 4 students finished in 3 years

Story of Our Journey together

• Selection Process• Picky

• Making sure this was the right program for student..Higher Education Leadership• Disposition—commitment to success

• Matching faculty/student interests

What we did as a Program

• Early Contact and Availability of adviser• You will be DONE in 3 years…

What we did as a program

• Cohort structure• Curriculum structure—focus on Problem on Practice• Everything built to the dissertation

What we did as a Program

• Nag• Be his biggest fan

• And then…

What I did as an Adviser

• Started working on Problem in Practice in first term• Skill development

What I did as an Adviser

• Second year:• Small cohort—my advisees• Focus on writing proposal: Anatomy of Dissertation

• Fall, Chapter one• Winter, Chapter two• Spring, Chapter three (and you are ready to defend your proposal!)

• Third Year• Friendly, supportive competition• Cohort writing structure

What I did as an Adviser

• Made sure he was ready.

What I did as an Adviser

• I kept my eye on the prize- "Perfect is the enemy of done."

What I did as an advisee

• Stayed focused and sought guidance• Based dissertation on my work

What I did as an advisee

• Facebook page• Cohort—encouraging each other

What I did as an advisee

• Good email communicator• Not an perfectionist• Ideas versus details

What I did as an advisee

• Program Structures make a difference• apples make applesauce• cohort model• skill and idea development embedded in curriculum

Lessons Learned

• Ongoing support of adviser• Creating context for success• Goals change over time but still a focus on finishing

Lessons Learned

• Tenacity trumps brillance• Early and ongoing contact• Build the relationship--working and personal• Asked for what I needed

Lessons Learned

No Excuses!

Never lose sight of the goal

• How do you take these lessons learned and apply them to your "problems in practice?• What have you found that works in your advising relationships?

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