The Learning Team

Date: 31 August - 2 September 2012

Venue: UTM Skudai, Pulai Spring Resort

Focus: Nnivo data analysis. Research focus and issues for Qualitative Research. Developing contents for a book based upon a Master's and PhD's work.
 

 
The participants:

There were four plus one on short stay. Target PhD. Five different focus. One vision. To acquire as much as possible from the time spent with the mentor.

The mentor:

A unique individual. Generous, extremely generous with his expertise. Hands-on. Multi-tasker. A view and time for each individual. Purposeful guide and teacher.

Participant 1:

Team leader. Stage 3. Facilitator. Organiser. Binder. Motivator. Understand own strengths and weaknesses. Exploit both to move self and others to the next level. Key to the Mentor. Focus - Counselling

Participant 2:

The technical scaffold. Stage 3. Fast learner. Steadfast supporter. Intense. Deep. Meticulous. Focus - Special Needs

Participant 3:

The moderator. Stage 1. Learning the arts. Exploring the smoother path. Focus - Professional Learning Community

Participant 4:

The supporter - outsider. Stage 1. Explorer. Flexible learner. Clearing the chosen path. Focus - Leading Learning.

Participant 5:

The supporter - insider. Stage 1. The next technical scaffold. Focus - Entrepreurship in the curriculum.


Lesson Learned:

- Do not research policy related issue. You may be stuck when there's policy reversal before completion of your research. Example evaluation research related to Teaching Science and Mathematics in English.

- Develop codes for data analysis systematically. This will enable you to maximise the use of nvivo.

- Triangulation is to support main data (data obtained from main method of data collection). There is no triangulation where there is no data from the main source. Why this reminder? Let's say our main data is collected through observation. Supporting evidence (triangulation) are from interview and document analysis. Then as we work through the supporting data, we discover themes not found in the main data. Then these themes cannot be considered as part of our key or main findings.

- Models as end-results. Implementable, usable models should be our focus.

- Minimise expected barriers. Research where barriers to access is minimum.

- Publishing our work is easy, if we know the correct process. Learn from the master publisher.

- Learning atmosphere - informal, warm and friendly, intense collaboration. emerging gaps. reworking paradigm.

Detailed route:

Day 1: am Arrived PSResort.
Day 1: UTM 3.00pm to Maghrib - P3, P4, P5 - research focus and issue.
Day 2: UTM  9.00am to Zuhr - P1 - Data Cleaning and Consolidation.
Day 2: 3.00pm to Isyak - P2 - Data Cleaning and Consolidation.
Day 3: am Departed PSResort.

Offside:

Bila bertanya direction. And you are told to make a U-turn immediately ahead. Make sure tanya - Nak buat U-turn tu ...

 "HIMPIT KE KIRI atau HIMPIT KEKANAN?"

 Will save you much fuel waste and tense moments.

Next step ...

The Conference

Leading is cool.
Learning is cool.
Leading Learning doubly cool.

Yes!
Next Step ...

Feedback Chapter 1-3: Dr M

Thank you ALHAMDULILLAH.

Today - 24 July 2012 - Had 23 precious minutes of feedback from Dr M on Chapters 1 - 3 submitted end of June.  Most importantly to note:

- flow - ada yang salah parking ... hmm

- wide coverage - need more depth

- repeating - boleh tetapi kembangkan -- ada tempat, baru nak kembang -- kuncup semula -- :)

- instrrument - untuk questionnaire -- in this case kalau buat qualitative tidak perlu ... nak kena telaah Research Methods semula

- baiknya just go dig in, interview mereka and let the data tells the story -- fieldwork - observation -- thick description, grounded theory ...

- to develop and strengthen research methods ...

- develop structure of the chapters and we work from that baseline ...

- next meeting insyaAllah after Ramadhan ...

- memangnya betul kata Dr Neil, "so articulate ... but i don't see this in the writring ... :) "

- Dr M kata ... her supervisor said the same thing ... so baiknya ... you balik ... you talk to yourself and write what you say ... great idea ...!

AlhamduLiLLAH. Solat Syukur.

Next step ...

Let me try

Yes, I know the way now!!

Even with the eyes closed.

The Killer Garden

Saturday, 3rd March 2012. The Professor entered. Greeted. "Assalamualaikum. Welcome to the killer course of your life. Research Methods"

Hmmm... Don't worry ...

Misna's Rule of Thumb ...When in the jungle...

... Stand still - get your bearing
... Listen - to the familiar and unfamiliar sounds
... Look around - mark the knowns and the unknowns 
... Observe - details and outliers
... Explore - possibilities
... Identify - requirements
... Compare - and contrast
... Search - for meaning and applicability
... Clear - enough ground for comfort
... Set - tools and shelter
... Do - the reason why you are in the jungle in the first place
...
...
...
... And hopefully, at the end of the journey, we will have an in-depth understanding of KATAK and KUDA :-)

... One from Bashō who in early 1686 composed one of his best-remembered haiku:

furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto

an ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water [1686] See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsuo_Bash%C5%8D

A New Garden

The garden gate was opened on the 16 February 2012. We entered the old garden at UPSI (Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris). Some in the PhD gardens, 4 of us; and some in the Masters gardens. This is no ordinary visitors' garden. It is a piece of land that we ourselves will have to clear, develop, and beautify and fence ... defend :) with thorough understanding of the requirements of the land. We will have to negotiate our way around this surely and bravely. Thick jungle, thorns, tigers and all...
 
The busload of us, referred to as UPSI Kohort1, were there by Allah's SWT grace. This UPSI-IPGRM collaboration was the results of various commitment and untiring effort of, particularly, the leading advisor, Dr Zailah of IPGRM, our team secretariat, Cikgu Miza and Cikgu Mustafa. May Allah SWT reward them all with His infinite blessings. And may Allah SWT ease our learning journey and that each of us complete the journey successfully and briliantly, insyaAllah. Ameen.

Appreciating Now

The search results you will get if you google the following:

^ Moving Forward - 327,000,000 results.

^ Looking Back - 2,450,000,000 results.

^ Appreciating Now - 19,500,000 results.

Hmmm. Curious thing this is. Where most of the world's population live. In the PAST ...