Final Entry!

Path of inquiry:  What books did you read and how did it relate to the research mentoring experience?

 My book was Community, Violence and Peace, by A. L. Herman, explores the concept of community and the belief that it can resolve the problems of violence and insufficient peace in the twenty-first century. A. L. Herman examines four visions of community exemplified in the works of two Western thinkers, Aldo Leopold and Martin Luther King, Jr., and two Eastern thinkers, Gandhi and Gautama the Buddha. The relationship between the individual and the community was the most agreed upon concept amongst the identified thinkers.  Herman states, according to the four thinkers, that the relationship between the individual and the community is a symbiotic one; this essentially is an exemplified explanation of my mentor-mentee relationship experience.  I found this to be the most poignant of themes throughout the book pertaining to this class.

This has been reiterated throughout the course, as my peers have discussed in class, the learning happened equally across the board; and as Christina expressed, the feeling of belonging to an academic community was of the most valued attributes of this class.  

So I've been somewhat negligent of my blog, because of chaos ensuing in my life. However, the last contact I had with any of my mentees was editing one paper a few weeks ago.  This was my mentee that I had never met and we had a somewhat off-putting experience in the beginning, so ironically enough she was the only one who pursued me for an editor.   

Week 7

Path of inquiry: When you step back for a moment to look at the whole what does academic research look like?  What are you learning from your mentees?  What does it mean to you now to engage in a collaborative learning process?

In the reading, it states, " That they know there are moments in time, even preceding defeat, where people learn more about themselves, and feel a greater sense of inspiration from what they're experiencing".  This was discussed thoroughly in a class session, about the definition of failure and what it means to each of us.  There was a common consensus that when one fails, it does not mean that nothing was gained. The experience of failing to achieve a goal only sets the stage to improve and/or change one's method(s) for succeeding. 

Academic research looks like using databases and narrowing your search by utilizing tools such the sidebar (limiting to peer reviewed resources), it includes a lot of shifting through material and knowing how to navigate through websites such as our library homepage.

I'm learning that my mentees are all very different, and communicating effectively, with no expectations is optimal -one I haven't even met, and am editing her paper for her (which I received just yesterday), two of the others are more intrigued by what I have to offer, and have verbally expressed that they appreciated the library resources I shared with them, and the last seems to be very self-sustained.  So they have really taught me the value and difficulty in a engaging in a collaborative learning process-which has taken on a prominent meaning in my life. It has really come to light the importance in collaboratively learning-to work together, to communicate and listen, this process illustrates that perfectly, from within the classroom to the relationship with my mentees.   

Week of 10/26

Path of inquiry: What are some free Internet resources that we might use in the research process?  What are some techniques to critically analyzing Internet resources?  How are they different from the databases we used last week? 

Some free internet resources include: Google scholar, Google docs, zotero, easy bibs, Wikipedia, and I'm sure there are more.  Some of my professors in the past have specified to only use websites with .org .gov or .edu, never .com! This rules out Wikipedia-however Wikipedia shouldn’t be your main source anyway.  Other than that, I would think that checking the credibility of the source is important; such as if it published, what is the objective or theme of the website (is it from a university or scholarly article or is someone's blog?). The databases we used last week, all derived from our university's library page are guaranteed to yield scholarly resources and are reliable-hence why you need to be a part of this academic society in order to obtain a lot of the resources. Free internet resources are available to everyone-and with the case of Wikipedia are subject to anyone's opinion-which makes it more intriguing as well as more susceptible to error.   

I was lucky enough to acquire one more mentee, whom I had met in the beginning, but our attempt to contact each other had been lost in translation. We met at the library on Thursday and did the tour-while explaining the reference desk, one of the experts was there (I forget his name) and was willing to show us an effective way to locate an encyclopedia on her topic. He was even willing to show us the location of the book, but I thought it would be productive for me and my mentee to locate it.  It was very pleasant meeting with her; she seems to express a real passion for her topic (because it’s directly related to her heritage) and also was confident in her progress.  She explained to me that her strength when writing papers resides in grammar proficiency and she lacks in sentence structure and making the paper ‘flow’.  This is great for me, one, because I’m the exact opposite and two because she expressed what she wants from me! I told her to email me with any questions/comments/concerns.    

Week 5

Path of inquiry: What is the difference between a database and the free Internet?  What is the best way to find an appropriate database to search?  What are the best practices for developing a database search strategy?  What database search tools and features might you use to improve your searches?

On Tuesday we had a very informative guest speaker come in, Elizabeth Stephan. She explained to us that a database is essentially a filtered version of the free Internet. Where as the free Internet is accessible and open to any type of information, a database is limited to information that has been reviewed and accepted by a group of knowledgeable (expert) individuals.  I find that starting at the library home page and using EBSCO (academic search complete) is a fairly effective way to commence.  You can then narrow your search within EBSCO via the many different sub-databases covering genres and subjects that will directly pertain to the information in which you desire. I think to develop a database search strategy include starting with a simple description of your topic (the fewer the words, the more results) and continue to refine from there. On the side bar and in advanced searches you can specify what you do and do not want to show up in your results.  Considering a lot of my classes have called for ‘peer-reviewed’ information I find that limitation feature very helpful. 

My mentees didn’t respond last week, leaving me with the assumption that they are busy and didn’t need my assistance. I did, however run in to one of them; and she seemed quite confident in the direction that her project was taking. 

Week 10/12-10/14

Path of inquiry: What are effective ways to plan for a research project?  

Our guest Roberta Kjesrud, Director of the Writing Center gave us many techniques to plan a research project, or any assignment for that matter.  One of the concepts that struck me was 'managed procrastination', which I appreciate, being guilty of such a stigmatized process myself.  Some of her suggestions for research planning were: to read the assignment early, ask for models of the paper/presentation, put the assignment in your own words, and to understand that you have the agency to shape your assignment in a way that intrigues you. I liked how she mentioned that within essentially any assignment you can manipulate it to incorporate your interests. 

I am very excited to put these methods into practice for my own use and with my mentees. 

I wasn't able to meet with my mentees this week in person but was able to discuss their topic choices over email and texting. This seemed beneficial just so I could be a 'sounding board' for their ideas. 

I only have two mentees, due to one of them never getting in contact with me, so if anyone else needs help with theirs, I'd be more than happy to assist.

Week 3

This week I had some initial difficulties collaborating with my remaining two mentees, I experienced frustration and very minimal communication with one and the other was quite successful.  I met with the 'successful' one on Friday and felt as though my knowledge base and confidence level had increased dramatically since my last mentee meeting a week ago.  Just from those two guest speakers and the wonderful discussions in class I had gained a broader insight regarding tips on the mentee-mentor dynamic, and library resources that are available. The mentee I had met with is a sophomore and was very eager to absorb the information I had for her. She had not delved too far into the library and was very appreciative of what I shared with her.  I very much look forward to the progression of my relationship with her.

How has our thinking about information resources evolved?  What tools and techniques have we found useful working with our mentees?
Our thinking about information resources has evolved in way in such that almost everything seems to be instantaneous, with the internet, information is pervasive and very accessible.  This changes a lot about how we do our research, one being there is more room to procrastinate because of the ability to obtain information is easier and it's more plausible to represent all angles of any such story/event.  So I suppose technology can be a double edge sword.
I have found that as far as contacting my mentees that using texting is very effective, which I think is a common theme throughout my peers. When I met with my last mentee, she was really interested in using the library website to locate materials.  Website navigation skills seemed to be of highest intrigue to her.

Path of Inquiry

These topics were discussed thoroughly in class with our guest speaker, whom was very informative and I really appreciated her enthusiasm.  To serve others, I think would be the act of discovering what others need and honestly (to the best of one’s ability) attempting to fulfill those needs.
Kyle and I came up with a pretty satisfactory definition for service learning, something along the lines of; to actively engage simultaneously as teachers and students, pursuing an enriching goal of bettering the community as a whole. 
I have had experience in doing research predominately in the sociology field; ranging from country reports to qualitative and quantitative research. 
I do believe students would be more likely to complete their university degree with confidence in their research skills.  Like the article states; “While universities struggle to deal with transition and retention issues, they also continue to cope with serious concerns regarding the information literacy skills of students entering and graduating from their institutions. Can it be argued that there is a correlation?” I think they poise this as a rhetorical question, that there is a correlation. 

First meeting session

I was only able to meet with one of my mentees on Sunday, I felt the repercussions of not initially exchanging contact information with my mentees and therefore time was compromised and chaos ensued. So I would stress the communication factor, and more specifically, exchange numbers! Like many of my peers have expressed, email has proven to be somewhat of an unreliable communication device.

Despite a rocky start, I do feel confident in being in a position of leadership now. My meeting on Sunday was successful. My mentee, a senior who is graduating this winter and has been at Western longer than I have seems to be well versed in accessing the library's resources and has accomplished many research projects.  With that being said, we went ahead with the full library tour and I was able to provide her with some new info, such as the new 24/7 computer lab, the sound proof practice rooms and the basement ‘over-sized’ section.  She also shared with me her love for the videos that are available in the media library. We mapped out a rough weekly meeting schedule, melded around her deadlines. This was definitely an equal exchange of knowledge and I look forward to future meeting dates with her and the other mentees. 

Week 1

I think the course mission is feasible and poises as a progressive continuance from the position that I am already in-that being a western student, and belonging to a scholarly knowledge society.  However, to meaningfully engage within this society is the more crucial part to me.  Because of the hands-on, service learning aspect  I believe there is more meaning and weight to my participation in this academic community (as compared to a solely individual based academic endeavor)
The course goals and outcomes seem honest, plausible and all encompassing of achieving a complete learning experience. I really like how the mentor-mentee relationship seems to be a symbiotic one; we will be learning from each other simultaneously. This is even more exemplified due to this class being experimental, which is a very exciting thought to me; the process of learning should be an ever-evolving one, so this class is very epitome of that.  I hope to increase my leadership skills and expand my academic network while providing guidance to my mentees.
I took this class because I feel somewhat disconnected from WWU and the student body, that I have not been utilizing this institution to its fullest. I think this class will poise as a building block towards achieving a more cohesive and meaningful experience.