Doan's survey of current students about BUILDING AN ACADEMIC BASED COMMUNITY
In order to find which factors are important for building the community and what kinds of support are necessary for strengthening the community, I sent a questionnaire to current students of CCT and Vietnamese Students Association in U Mass, Boston and Cleveland State University, Ohio who are about to graduate. Here below is the analysis of the answers of 32 students.
Knowledge Assumption
Students have more time to meet and share with others, strong connection is formed between them. The urge of meeting others now can serve as a good inspiration for them to maintain or form post graduation communities later.
Questions
i/ If you have time, do you come to the class early to meet your classmates?
A. Yes B. No
ii/ Do you miss your classmates or often talk to ( or contact) your class fellows when you are at home?
A. Yes B. No
iii/ Do you want to have more opportunities to meet the fellows outside classrooms?
A. Yes B. No
Actions
Through the answers, find the urge and the chances they meet and contact others.
Find some more actions need to be done to build up the community.
Findings:
i/ If you have time, do you come to the class early to meet your classmates?
Yes : 30 No : 2
Almost all students like to come to the class early to meet their classmates. That is a good sign. If time for classes and meeting with classmates is wonderful time for them, then in the future they would be happy to keep the relationship. Why there are two answers “No” here? I think they are so busy, they always have personal programs (beside some compulsory tasks) that are more important than the activities with students’ communities
Further actions : How can the community attract the attention of all the students?
ii/ Do you miss your classmates or often talk to ( or contact) your class fellows when you are at home?
Yes : 18 No : 14
Time in the class and in the university campus is limited. If they have urge and need to exchange with others that must be done at home. If now, they feel the need of sharing with others about many things in their lives then the relationship must be maintained or strengthened after graduation.
Eighteen students answered : “Yes”. This is not as many as expected. The rest who answered : “No” must solve all the academic problems by themselves and their relationships with classmates are not close enough to feel easy to share all the things they concern.
Further actions: Observe the interaction of those who answered : “Yes” and those who answered : “No” in classes and notice the differences. Pay attention to their answers to other questions in the questionnaire to see why they answers : “Yes” or “No”
iii/ Do you want to have more opportunities to meet the class fellows outside classrooms?
Yes :25 No : 7
Most ( 25/ 32) of the students answered : “Yes”. They don’t have enough time to contact each other in classes and don’t feel convenient to contact others at home. They need more opportunities to meet the class fellows outside classrooms. After graduation, post graduation communities can provide ideal opportunities for them.
Why seven students answered ; “No”? They may have enough opportunities but not enough time to avail these opportunities or they don’t care about the opportunities.
Further actions : Introduce and describe some opportunities and activities of the communities to them. Test to see what types of opportunities or meetings that attract them.
Knowledge Assumption
Those who care to build up good and long lasting relationships must know other members well. Knowing others well can help students to get many benefits and decide what types of contact one should have with particular members.
Questions
How much do you know about your classmates?
A. Very much B. Something necessary C. A little
Actions
Through the answers, find how much they already know about their classmates
Find the relationship of their answers and their behaviors, actions in classes or communities.
Findings:
How much do you know about your classmates?
Very much : 8 Something necessary : 14 A little : 10
Those who answered “Very much” are very active in classes and engage in activities in classes and the communities well, those who answered : “Something necessary” just care to engage to discussions in classes or and some activities in the communities that are obligatory or have clear benefits for them. Those who answered : “A little” just follow types of activities in the classes of other groups with the instructions of the Instructor or when other people approach them. They just care to discharge studying tasks and don’t care about the people.
Knowledge Assumption
Multi purposes in making friends spring many bounds and help much in strengthening the relationship among members of the community even after graduation.
Questions
Do you have other purposes (beside for studying ) in making friends with your classmates?
A. Yes B. No
Actions
Through the answers, find whether they have multi purposes in making friends and relationships in the communities.
Find the relationship of their answers and their behaviors, actions in classes or communities.
Findings
Do you have other purposes (beside for studying ) in making friends with your classmates?:
Yes : 23 No : 9
I see that some of the nine students who answered : “No” are over 40 years old and they have good careers. Their lives are stable, learning the program just adds something to their lives or careers. So, they are tied with their tasks and their living activities. The students who answered : “Yes” want to explore many aspects of life. They have many topics to talk and share with each others. They can find many common interests among them. The moments of meeting each other are happy and impressive to them. That is good for keeping them as members of the post graduation communities when the purpose of sharing studying tasks no longer exists.
Knowledge Assumption
Among their multi purposes of making friends, they must have at least one of the followings : Education, Career, Fun, Living experience.
Questions
If yes, which of the followings is your most concern when dealing with the community?
A. Education B. Career C. Fun D. Living experience
Actions
Through the answers, find what they care most in making friends and relationships in the communities.
Find the relationship of their answers and their behaviors, actions in classes or communities.
Basing on answers, we know how to plan for the programs or activities of the communities.
Findings:
If yes, which of the followings is your most concern when dealing with the community?
Education : 11 Career : 7 Fun : 5 Living experience : 9
Their main purposes in joining the communities are different depending on their situations, interests, characteristics, … Their activities are motivated by their purposes. The communities must have different programs and provide attractive activities for diverse members to participate. Strong relationship is based on the concern and the benefit they get from the community. The members themselves should feel good to remain in the community to satisfy their concerns.
Knowledge Assumption
There must be some main factors constituting to strong communities without them the communities or organizations can’t last long. They must be by the faculty, schooling memories, the need of keeping oneself in come organizations ( better than alone at home?), or the needarising from life and they find that their previous classmates can help them for long.
Questions:
Which of the following factors do you consider the most important for continuing or strengthening post graduation community after graduation :
- Efforts, management, and arrangement by the faculty
- Good memories from the graduates that motivate them to maintain relationship in the community.
- The post graduate students want to keep or join more and more organizations or communities.
- The need arising from life forces them to resort to the previous sources and maintain post graduation community for solving all possible problems in their lives.
Actions
Through the answers, find what factors are essential in strengthening the communities.
Basing on answers, we know how to plan for the programs or activities of the communities.
Findings
Answers : A : 5 B : 11 C: 2 D : 14
Their goals of joining the communities are so realistic, for keeping good schooling memories or solving the problems of lives.
The programs of the communities should be planed for building up more impressive, long lasting memories, , especially for chances of expressing and sharing knowledge and experience useful in solving problems in life. Good memories can nurture trust and hope for good relationship. The need arising from life is complicated, unexpected and enormous. Academic sources, the experiences of problem solving together are valuable and inspire them to keep in touch with the communities.
Knowledge Assumption
If they are still members of communities of previous schools, they must have experience what is meant to them and how to keep the communities last long. They will have a good choice of joining or not joining the communities after graduation.
Questions
Are you still a member of communities of previous schools?
A. Yes B. No
Actions
Through the answers, find whether they care about such kind of the communities.
Basing on answers, we know how to plan for the programs or activities of the communities.
Findings
Are you still a member of communities of previous schools?
Yes : 7 No : 25
The majority of students don’t belong to any post graduation communities. Why so? Communities of previous schools do not exist or can’t satisfy their wishes, expectations, demands? This community must address clear objectives and activities so that can attract the students and it lasts long only if the members feel it so dear and important to them.
Knowledge Assumption
If the students are willing to join post graduation communities then they will be active members and contribute to the communities. Their purposes may be different but they must like to join the communities.
Questions
Are you willing to join post graduation communities after graduation?
A. Yes B. No
Actions
Through the answers, find whether they have internal motives or urge to join the communities.
Basing on answers, decide whether to set up the communities or not.
Findings
Are you willing to join post graduation communities after graduation?
Yes : 32 . No : 0
Great news, all are willing to join the communities. Post graduation communities would be successful if they have good planning and programs.
Knowledge Assumption
The members of graduation communities can contribute to the communities in one of the most important fields as knowledge, management, meetings, seminars, entertainments.
Questions
Which type of activities of the community do you like to participate most ?
- Exchange information, knowledge
- Planning and management for the activities of the community
- Meetings, seminars,…
- Interests, entertainment, fun
Actions
Through the answers, find strong points and what things members can contribute when joining the communities.
Findings
Answers : A : 13 B : 3 C : 10 D : 6
Different activities should provide to the members.
Basing on the answers, the communities can allot members with proper tasks and encourage or train more personnels to be good to fill the vacant fields.
REFLECTION PAPER
This CCT 693 course is important because it provides us tools and trains us in making designs and carrying out action researches. It equips us with skills for evaluation of changes in educational practices and policies in schools, organizations, and informal contexts.
All of us are caring for our education, personal development and careers.
We engage in a project of searching for and participating in support communities for our future plans after graduation. It is work on the three-week Action Research project “
Helping each other prepare for the post-CCT future in which each of you attempt to create supportive community for your professional and personal development" ( as described in class 1 of CCT 693 class)
I start with a real matter
: building an academic based community. Such a community is good for our studying in the present and preparing ourselves for the future . I attempt to explore all favorable conditions and important factors constituting an academic based community. In the present when students are studying in Universities or Colleges, if students choose and join one or some good academic based communities like students’ organizations, youths’ groups, literature – groups, linguistic clubs, regular participants of seminars, workshops on sequence of selected themes,… such communities would help students to share knowledge, have good moments together, give them supports, make them more active, effective and happy when learning. After graduation, if post grad students join post graduate organizations, keep contact with the alumni of the University, join support groups for their professions,…
This community includes members who share some same grounds of academic knowledge that can help them in studying, discharging and improving their profession, personal development.
In action research the goal is very practical and clear. But at first, we don’t know If all the current students are willing to join an academic based community and what benefits that those who are already members of academic based communities have. So, whether we join in such an academic based community or not, if yes, then should join in an already established community or we search for good communities and how can we prepare ourselves or which activities can we take after joining? All these questions and more would be answered through the action research.
It is in accordance with the definition of
Stephen Corey regarding action research :
“Action Research is the process by which practitioners attempt to study their problems scientifically in order to guide, correct, and evaluate their decisions and actions.”
[1]
The process of action research :
Calhoun suggests the first step in action research cycle as
- Select area
In my research, I select to search for information and contact with people and organizations as : current students in U Mass – Boston, current students in Ohio, Vietnamese community in Boston, Vietaid Boston,
Vietnamese-
American Civic Association, the Unified Buddhist Congress of Vietnam in US
Having clear goals and area of research, the next steps must be :
- Collect data :
The first source of data is from interviews with the classmates of CCT Program and other students who are going to graduate. I conduct a "systemic inquiry that is collective, collaborative, self-reflective, critical and undertaken by participants in the inquiry" (McCutcheon and Jung 1990)
The interviewees concern about the issue as much as I do. They look deeply inside themselves, reflect about their personal experiences before giving the answers. Their answers are valuable source of information.
I contact with some of my neighbors who are working for Vietaid,
Vietnamese-
American Civic Association, Boston, I get the materials and information about them. Also, I contact with the most Venerable Monk Thich Giac Duc – the vice president of the Unified Buddhist Congress of Vietnam in US who is staying in Boston.
I have other sources of data as students’ organizations, post graduate students,
books, magazines, internet sources,…
I use the frame KQAF (
Knowledge Assumption, Questions, Actions, Findings) to prepare the questionnaire composing of ten questions to get ideas of current students and post grad students about academic based communities.
- Organize data
- Analyze and interpret data
Lewin describes process in action research as
“ Planning starts usually with something like a general idea. For one reason or another it seems desirable to reach a certain objective. Exactly how to circumscribe this objective and how to reach it is frequently not too clear”. [2]
From my knowledge and experience, I have some assumptions, then I make questions to get data and to test the validity of the assumptions. Based on the answers and the analysis of the data, I make plans for actions and then we have some corresponding findings. These findings again combine with my knowledge and experience to help giving direction for further research.
The interviews are means to get collective problem solving because their ideas contribute to the establishment of the support communities. Then I collect data from other sources to go further with the research.. Action and critical reflection take place in turn. The reflection is used to review the previous action and plan the next one.
The data would be meaningful if organized, analyzed, and interpreted in proper ways. Some outcomes may be unexpected.
CEDAC in “Our Economy, Our future” proposes the steps of strategic planning process as follows
- Vision
- Underlying obstacles
- Strategic directions
- Action plans
In carrying out the action research, I also make use of the above process
With knowledge and personal experience, I have assumptions as initial vision, then through questions and answers and other sources of data, I explore underlying obstacles, get strategic directions, then make action plans. During the time of doing action research or having done action researches, the researchers’ vision is getting wider and better.
Through the answers of students to my questionnaire of ten questions and the above mentioned sources, I explore the most important factors for building a strong academic based community and the obstacles in the way of building it. These factors include the readiness and willingness of the current students or grad students, chances, time, opportunities to meet, know and share with other members, their purposes of joining the communities, which groups are good for them, proposed activities of the communities once they are set up…The information is gathered with the goals of gaining, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in U Mass environment and in society to improving my and other students’ outcomes and the lives of those involved.
In the process of an action research, the researcher continuously
Vision à planning à action --> review à critical reflection à vision --> planning --> action
In this schema, first sequence :
Vision à planning à action -->
- Vision : I assume that joining in Academic based communities must have good changes for my study and self development.
- Planning : I must find the answers for my self :
If we together can establish some good communities?
Should I join in some already established communities?
What parts, roles, should I take after joining?
What benefits can I get?
What I can prepare now?
- Action : contacting with current students, post grad students, support groups, relevant organizations, materials, internet sources to get the needed information to draw the direction and conclusion.
- Review à critical reflection : I must look back and review the collected data with frequent critical reflection to narrow down the scope of my research, generate short and effective ways, come closer to the goals.
- Vision : having taken these steps my vision is wider and clearer, concrete, aiming at goals.
- Planning : the researcher drops or adds some areas, themes of research.
- Action : continue to work according to new plans.
So, during the action research, the researchers continuously revise the vision, discuss, negotiate, explore opportunities, assess possibilities, examine constrains, rethink, reflect, discuss, monitor, revise plan, evaluation, take actions
Within the limitation of time, I can get some conclusions. The more I engage in the action research, the clearer sight I get over the matter. I am willing to join post graduate organizations, keep contact with CCT alumni and the support communities I decide to join and work for are
Vietnamese-
American Civic Association, the Unified Buddhist Congress of Vietnam in US, Buddhist communities in Boston and Ohio. I will continue preparing myself for my roles in these communities.
It is important for me to learn the methodology and have experience of an action research.
[1] Emily F. Calhoun,
How to Use Action Research in the Self-Renewing School, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Virginia, 1994, P - 20
[2] Emily F. Calhoun,
How to Use Action Research in the Self-Renewing School, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Virginia, 1994, P - 16
(original page by dvt)
