Scholar-Practitioner and Learning Teams within the Ed.D程序

We are in our second semester as students in the initial cohort of the 欧宝体育app入口's new Executive Doctor of Education in Organization Leadership and Innovation. My experience with this program has been extraordinary.  我想回到我的 母校 after forty years with a bit of trepidation. Not so much about returning to “College among the Pines” for graduate education, 而是, why would I undertake a rigorous 研究-oriented degree program at this point in my career? The answer lies in my undergraduate experience.  During my time at Saint 弗朗西斯 College, I became a life-long learner and an adult. I developed, and still have, life-long friendships from those memorable days.  在那里, I grew from a youth to a young adult, 学习, 采用的信念, and understanding morality and faith.  我意识到这个过程还在继续, as there will always be more to learn and understand about myself and this wonderful world.  进一步, wherever my life’s journey will take me, the 弗朗西斯can-Christian values absorbed and adopted from my Loretto days, including service for the common good, 指引我.

During our first residency at the school’s 咖喱创新中心 last August, I met my cohort, my 学习 team, our Program Director, and 欧宝体育app入口的第一位教授.  The cohort was diverse and welcoming, with many coming to the program like myself – established professionals in various fields, 谁想继续学习, going deeper and broader into leadership, 道德, and innovation as it applies to their respective fields and areas of interest.  Coming from a commerce background, it is energizing to listen to others whose fields are distinctive and complementary.  我的学习团队, 四人组四人组的子组, included three other individuals from different demographics, 位置, 和职业.  We were in higher education, health care, information technology, and insurance.  We were all connected to SFU in some unique way and found our paths to this program from various aspirations.

We were immediately introduced to the concept of being a scholar-practitioner; that is, our 学习 and work are focused on the practical application of scholarly knowledge.  在这个节目中, we engage in doctoral-level 学习, 对话, 研究, and writing while at the same time, we keep our work grounded in the pragmatic and the immediate, drawing upon our professional and personal experiences and applying our knowledge to real situations.   Dr. Tricia McFadden, our program director, and Dr. 帕特里克·克劳福德, 欧宝体育app入口的第一位教授, reminded us that completing the degree includes scholarly and empirical 研究 leading to the completed dissertation.  然而,, what we do in this 学习 will also avail itself to the immediacy of our daily employment and professional lives. 

This was true for me even in that first week. Dr. Crawford introduced us to Charles Schwahn’s 1998 book, 总领导人, which begins with two fundamental axioms: 1) strategic design requires both strategic direction and strategic alignment, and 2) we could be leaders if we were life-long learners 太.  That concept stuck with me deeply.  I returned to my office on the following  Monday, where I had to “pitch” a new project to my boss and her direct report group – my colleagues – focusing on developing a customer-facing portal to facilitate access to a new product.  My presentation incorporated both these concepts from 总领袖, convincing my audience that the design of our project needs to rest securely on the direction and alignment of our values and resources. We need to name those values, and align the resources appropriately.  进一步, we want to keep 学习 about our customers, stakeholders and competitors for success.  对我来说, this was a scholar-practitioner moment, even from the very first week. This work applies to my professional development and resonates with my hope to lead for the common good.

As we move through our second semester, I am reminded daily of those first days.  We are building, each week, upon the prior week and the prior course’s 学习 objective.  即使是在学习的过程中, I have some fear of the final project, I am hearted by those initial relationships forged with my 学习 group friends.  We have committed to one another to share and support, 共同学习，共同成长, and to remain a 学习 team through finishing that first course, (实现, 是的!) and continuing to the future dissertation completion moment.   对我来说, this is the un-heralded value of the Executive Doctor of Education program at 欧宝体育app入口: here, 太, are new life-long friends with me on this 学习 journey.