Passed!

Yesterday, I passed the oral qualifying exam...It was a challenging, interesting, and fun 3 hours with 4 professors who I totally respect and admire. WOW. I gained SO much from studying, reading, talking with colleagues, meeting with professors, and devoting myself to my 3 areas.

Now I'm in relaxation mode--but will report back soon with some dissertation proposal writing ideas :)

Guacamole

This post actually has *nothing* to do with guacamole....except to say that, holy guacamole!, my orals exam is in less than three days. Three. Interesting. Hmm.

Not sure what else to say--other than I'm reviewing what I've reviewed. Am hearing my voice in my head, talking through this and that about implementation and institutional theory and reading instruction galore!! I've created summaries, matrices, diagrams, and timelines. And on top of it all, I've reflected on how and why I ended up in grad school and where could I end up in the future. Believe it or not, I'm still breathing & finding time to run and cook & crack up about ridiculous topics with J. Aww.

Bring it on!!!

A couple things

First, I wanted to announce the mini-milestone of completing my mock orals in research group. It was an adventure, for sure! At moments, I impressed myself, and, other moments were downright rocky.

Second, I've moved along to my *second* notebook. This one has an array of multicolored squares on the cover. I'm finding the tan, green, and pink squares quite inspiring :)

Third, this afternoon--after reviewing a heap of implementation readings--I realized that I really, really want to think and talk about the relationship between implementation and coupling theory. I feel that could strengthen my points about implementation. And I feel relatively confident when I talk about coupling. So, a few things to think about....Implementation always involves coordinating two elements (district policy and instruction or teacher certification and student achievement) but those two elements maintain their identity, so they are loosely coupled.

In a sense, the implementation chain that Mazmanian & Sabatier refer to are a series of couplings. And the SLB framework discusses how Street-level bureaucrats, such as teachers or police officers, are wedged between a rock (official policy) and a hard place (dealing with clients). They're coupling policy to practice left-and-right. Finally, the cognitive approach is concerned with the processes by which actors come to understand policy, so the coupling of a policy's embedded ideas with an actor. The coupling of RF policy to a principal or to a 3rd teacher might be different than the coupling of RF policy to a 1st grade teacher.

Oops! I guess that was more than just a couple things ;)

Ticker

I made a countdown ticker for my exam date. Being aware of the precious time remaining helps me prioritize what I need to do and want to do before the date, so I can show what I know. I am aware that I need to do some more reading, take some more notes, create brief summaries of pieces, practice talking about my areas with peers, meet with my professors again, and polish my paragraphs and prospectus! On top of all that, I will juggle other school, work, and life responsibilities :) I feel strongly that panicking will not help, and I think that having *some* fear is a good motivator. I also realize that I might need to ask for help and be a bit flexible---about school and home stuff. November might be a good month to eat pb& j sandwiches :P

Waking up

For the past month or so, I've been waking up in the morning with relatively delicious thoughts about my areas of specialization. There's nothing like waking up to an idea about policy implementation or institutional theory ;)

I've been trying to think more about change because implementation is about changing, while institutional theory studies stability and change.

• what changes and what doesn't? what conditions promoted or hindered that change?
• why does change happen?
• what are sources of change? People? Places?
• where does change happen?
• who causes/blocks change?

I'm noticing that implementation follows an organization's responses to a policy that asks it to change. Much of the implementation literature is trying to explain the variability in responses to policy. Why do organizations and actors respond differently when encountering and engaging with the same policy? In a way, the policy is a recipe, but different chefs concoct entirely different dishes.

I'm very interested in the ways that neo-institutionalism looks outward--to the environment--and also inward--to the cognitive mechanisms affecting actors to account for change. The environment is a source of logics, rules, beliefs, and resources, including professional associations. Yes, policy might originate in the environment, but neo-institutionalists ask us to consider the cognitive mechanisms shaping actors' interpretation of policy. If policy is interpret, it may be framed. Those frames are resources influencing organizational actions, including its implementation processes.

Bigger picture

What accounts for variation in how policy penetrates schools and classrooms to change reading instruction and improve educational outcomes in underserved communities?

• Why are schools resistant to change?
• What accounts for the stability and change in schooling and instruction and educational outcomes for poor and minority children/youth? What's happening in urban schools, and why?
• How are teachers affected by waves of instructional reform?
• How are classrooms affected by policies governing the content and pedagogy of reading instruction?
• How does reading research deal with policy and its implementation? How does reading research treat schools as organizations, teachers as workers, and the institutional elements of schooling?

Three areas, three themes

I'd like to share some of the studying process on my blog, as well as vent about the anxiety that grad studentdom engenders :O

The big three are starting to feel a bit more real to me, and I have some confidence that, by the date of the exam, my areas of specialization will feel like a pair of broken-in shoes. But I worry that I won't get to say what I really, really want to say about my 3 areas. I'd like the exam to be a time that I present some of my understandings and findings about the states of these academic fields. Below, I take a stab at a few things I'd like to say about each area.

Policy implementation

1) There are many ways to study the path from policy to practice, and it is possible to treat this path as the translation of broad ideas into concrete, discrete organizational and individual practices and behaviors

2) There are many reasons why it is hard to improve schooling--structure of schools, nature of teachers' work, relationship between federal, state, district, and individual school, what school leaders and teachers know and are motivated to do, ambiguity within policies

3) Policies contain information and ideas about structuring schools, teachers' work, and students' learning. Schools, as organizations, and people must interact with, make sense of, experiment with, and learn from policies.

Neo-institutional theory

1) There are many ways to explain stability and change--at the field and organizational level

2) The coupling of the broader environment, including policy, to the technical, core features of schools has multiple consequences--for practice, policy, and research. The contrast between loose and tight coupling of organizational structures and activities is a false dichotomy. It is possible for organizations to be simultaneously loose and tight; the organization can be loose in one place and tight in another.

3) People can act as institutional entrepreneurs who shape the nature & characteristics of institutions. People can engage in framing to manipulate and present logics in particular ways to fellow members of an organization.

Reading Instruction

1) Core reading programs are nothing new--they go all the way back to the 1800s in one room schoolhouses

2) The reading achievement gap is a critical issue

3) Different elements of literacy instruction are treated differently by policy, research, and practice. Who pays attention to phonics versus writing or spelling vs. comprehension?

I have a date!

My orals exam will be on December 1st! Yes, it took a little juggling, a lot of sweating, and enough emails to cause carpal tunnel syndrome, but I'm not complaining :) I know that the exam is a tremendous milestone, and right now I feel excited AND nervous. It seems that there are many uncertainties about the exam---who will ask what types of questions? how much will I be interrupted? how much will I talk about my own research agenda?

All I can say is that two years ago, I was just diving into stats and memoing about the studying the implementation of core reading programs. A year ago, I was collecting data on a coach's framing. A month ago, I was completing my conceptual position paper. So now is my time to read and study and think---all towards learning more and sharing what I know with my orals committee on December 1st!

The aqua notebook

All giant steps begin with a notebook. Today I purchased a notebook to officially commence studying for orals. Though I realize that every day of grad school has helped form and prepare me for orals, I also think that this aqua-colored Cal notebook is going to be put to good use. I want to record my thoughts about my areas of specialization, as well as my plans for studying in this notebook (and, who knows, there could even be a need for a second studying notebook!).

Today I made a chart with each of my three areas, and I jotted notes about the intersections between those areas. This kind of studying can reveal the gaps, both in the literature/research out there and in my knowledge! I'll definitely keep the blog updated on my aqua notebook's rollercoaster ride of studying...

Listing, listing

I dug into orals lists yesterday. It made me realize that I've read a lot of stuff about institutional theory! It also made me realize that I need to think more about what's absolutely core to my work, as well as what's seminal and what's just repetitive! Willow gave me a good tip--to start thinking about what arguments I want to be able to make in the orals discussions, so I can plan and study the citations that support those arguments. In other words, use core arguments to help prune the lists, which could help support my sanity :) I'm glad that I've been brainstorming core concepts and tensions for each area of specialization. A goal- to return to those lists tomorrow....

Milestones

Milestones are special & important moments--first year orals, friends passing qualifying exams, and completing position papers. About two years after first year orals, I got my first pre-qualifying paper signed off! It felt good to complete the empirical paper on a coach's framing.

I know that means that now I can devote my full attention to the second paper, which is even more linked to my dissertation work. Woh!

Pruning

A couple weeks ago, we noticed that our "lemon" tree had a lot of brown branches and yellowed leaves. It was close to death. For some odd reason, this very special lemon tree produces limes, which bring new meaning to the idiom- when life hands you limes, make limeade (or margaritas or gin and tonics!). So, with a pair of kitchen scissors, I did some major pruning of the tree. Today I noticed many small new green leaves and a few tiny purple buds; it's alive!

I wonder if my empirical paper needs to be pruned and focused to enable and reveal its gems that may have faded into the background...I think part of the writing process involves expansion but there is a time and place for trimming.

Call it a coach

Some food for thought and ideas to dive into!

• Why the title, 'coach'
• How is a coach persuasive versus empathetic or therapeutic
• A coach is a new role, a new position with a new title
  
• What about the authority issues of teachers, unions, districts, and coaches
• How do coaches reinforce and/or violate the norms of teacher autonomy?
  
• How similar/different are coach-related policies across the US?
• When and how did the concept of a coach arise and then spread? who was influential in pushing a coaching model (NYC, San Diego, CA RF, etc)
  

• Coaches have different types of knowledge- persuasive or motivational knowledge and content/pedagogical knowledge (Shulman).
  
• What's the relationship between MK and CK and PCK and coach's work and teachers changing their classroom practices?

What I like about

I've returned from AERA and have a few impressions to share....

• Conferences really help you understand what you're interested in AND what you're not interested in!
• My questions about presentations were very different than a year ago. Now I want to know more about methods and even coding schemes of fellow researchers...
• I feel fortunate to be a graduate student because THIS is the time to wade through theory and hash out frameworks.
• At times, I'm concerned that my research interests are too pure or basic, rather than applied to schools. I need to continue to consider the implications of my work- who will it help? how will it help policymakers, districts, schools, or teachers?
  

Pulling over

Driving home from campus after a full day of writing, my mind was flooded with thoughts and key pieces of my argument. So I looked for a safe place to pull over, got out my little notebook and pen, and jotted down the ideas. Sheesh- the brain is working so hard and generating so much, and I hope my writing can keep up with it all!

Clearer

My argument's getting clearer! A bonus is that I think it will let me discuss some really interesting things about coaching:

• a coach needs to have a good 'fit' with the environment
• a coach is continually evaluating the state of the environment, of teachers' practices and needs, etc
• a coach needs to understand how to link different practices
• a coach can be explicit about how an older practice can be the foundation for a new practice
• a coach's theory of change matters
• a coach's perception of his/her authority matters
  

When life hands you an extension

For the past 10 days, a colleague and I have been scrounging together a proposal for the National Reading Conference. In truth, we've been in chickens-with-our-heads-cut-off-mode. And then, this afternoon, approximately 3 hours (!!) before we were going submit our work to the conference's website, my colleague got an email. Apparently, the website was going haywire, so they extended the deadline...until Wednesday afternoon. And, for my crazed little gradschool brain, 2 full extra days to look at a proposal seems like eons upon eons. I think we'll get a chance to more calmly review what we've written and clarify a few points, which is never a bad thing!

Logics or not

The new Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has suggested re-branding NCLB and supports giving the law a new name. I could go crazy with metaphors, such as giving it a new coat of paint, putting a fox in sheep's clothes, but I'm really bad with idiomatic expressions (could be due to my mom being French)!! I could also brainstorm potential names for a terribly famous umbrella policy for US schools--Every child will think AND learn or A test a day keeps inequity away or....But I'd rather just mention that Secretary Duncan is acting as a strategic framer because, by re-labeling NCLB, it will shift how people view the policy--even if the nature of the actual policy isn't changed. Woh. Secretary Duncan is manipulating the broader ideas, logics, by changing a title for a policy to push for the changes he's interested in (three cheers for institutional theory!).

End of Reading First

Although the new federal budget includes a funding boost for the Education Department, Reading First will be ending. I guess I'll be able to carry my experiences and knowledge of RF into my future research, and I'll understand the RF policy era and can account for the sediment it leaves behind. Of course I wonder which structures and practices from RF will remain, and I'm curious how districts and states will choose what to do next. Will California give more choices to its districts? Will Open Court TEs gather dust in classrooms? Will teachers turn back to contextualized phonics instruction and lit circles? It seems like another policy window is opening!

How much

I think I've completed the drafting of my empirical position paper. Well, except for the conclusions- I need a nice fresh morning to finish up that section :) Overall, I feel like I could spend one day, one week, or much, much more revising this draft. The tricky part is that it all depends on what my goals are who the audience will be. Sometimes it would be nice to have crisp page limits and deadlines and sets of expectations in the land 'o' academia....On the other hand, I know I have plenty of time remaining to tie my points together and lay out/write out my arguments. It's a sentence by sentence battle.

Valentine

I've been thinking a bit more about structuration theory. And since there's nothing more romantic than the recursive relationship between action and structure, I bought myself an early Valentine's Day gift: Giddens!!

A wise coach

My high school cross country coach was my #1 mentor. He gave incredibly motivating lectures on running and racing that translate oh so well to life. He begged us runners to not be nervous about upcoming races or afraid of racing because the whole point of our tough training was to go out and compete to do our best.

Now I resolve to apply this idea to grad school: yes, there's plenty to do, but there's nothing to fear.
Getting nervous about writing papers or being afraid of orals doesn't accomplish anything. I can leave the guilt and scaredycat stuff at the door. ALL of this work is training, and the ultimate goal is to get out there and talk with people, share ideas and writing. The finish line is all about making a difference!

25 things

1) As an elementary school teacher, I was very strict about discipline issues and classroom management
2) I want to write/edit a book on instructional materials
3) I hate bringing my laptop anywhere on rainy days
4) Sometimes I do more skimming than reading of articles
5) I love 'discovering' references that other authors are citing in their work
6) Sometimes a glass of wine or a beer help me get back to work
7) While running, I imagine myself spouting brilliant arguments about education policy
8) I think I need a new suit
9) I wish that I'd taken the plunge and gotten an administrative credential before coming to grad school
10) I definitely say the phrase- "That could be a dissertation!!" far, far too often
11) I have this awful writing habit in which I write: "The teacher is trying ___" instead of "The teacher tries ___"
12) Sometimes I really, really hate my writing
13) This is cathartic :)
14) Part of me wishes I was doing quantitative research because it seems tidier and there's an 'answer' and a way to check your work
15) I think street level bureaucrats are rad--Yay for Michael Lipsky!
16) I still have a hard time defining policy
17) I'm obsessed with how teachers teach reading, but I taught myself how to read before starting school
18) I really wish I could sit in and observe classrooms from 50 years ago or 100 years ago
19) I think private schools are overrated
20) Teachers need to be paid higher salaries
21) I think sociology is sexy
22) I was so nervous before first year oral exams and walked out not so sure that I did all that well. But going to Dona Tomas and feasting on guacamole & margaritas that night helped ease the pain :P
23) If I had more hours in the day, I would be a volunteer running/track and field/cross country coach for kids in Oakland
24) I'd love to study the kitschy stuff that teachers use and display in their classrooms- like the sparkly butterflies, heart shaped cut outs, and posters with giant apples covered with proverbs
25) The best thing about grad school is that you get to discover stuff and teach yourself stuff that noone else has thought about. You have a great excuse for not doing chores. Plus you get to muck around; it's like a mud run.

Opportunities to learn

An instructional coach provides many opportunities for teachers to learn. The coach's interactions with teachers permit teachers to share and reflect upon their practices. Coaches might present information about how to teach or why particular programs should be used, and teachers can ask questions.

At the same time, coaches are on a different hierarchical level than teachers. Coaches have access to different trainings and materials, as well as people- district administrators and principals. So coaches have a different bundle of social capital than teachers do. Coaches can use their position and social capital to persuade teachers to change their instructional practices.

• Does a coach persuade teachers so teachers learn about policy and instruction? Or does a coach support teacher learning to catalyze the persuasion of teachers to shift their practices?If persuasion occurs, then it seems likely that learning is happening, too--but what kind of learning?
  

• What does the coach need expertise on so they're effective at persuading and developing teachers? Can a coach serve as an outstanding teacher of teachers without being effective at persuading teachers to change? What about the reverse- how much teacher learning can occur if the coach is not persuasive?

Under pressure

Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da - that's o.k.
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about

I'm always writing and talking and thinking about how schools are under pressure. Our education system is pressured from multiple policy levels, many different groups and individuals, and even from within its own schools and classrooms and employees. There's pressure to thrive on a small and uncertain stream of funding. There's pressure to prepare young people to make the world a better place in 50 years. There's pressure from community groups and parents to meet very specific needs. There's pressure from teachers to make schools better workplaces. And, of course, there's pressure from the kiddos to extend recess or provide a cupcake a day :>

Sometimes pressure is a good thing- a kick in the tail, an imposed deadline, a reminder that good enough is not good enough. Other times, pressure is a bad thing- surfacing conflict, leading organizations to pursue conflicting agendas, spreading efforts too thin, scaring people away. Many pressures seem tied to money and resources but the effects are personal and emotional. People interact differently when they're under pressure.

Who knows

I have some questions about teachers, teaching, and the burden of accountability. How personal is a teacher's practice? How individualized is instruction for each child? If the general public is supporting public schools, how can schools justify inconsistencies from lesson to lesson, classroom to classroom, and school to school? How much does the public know about what's happening in their schools?

I think coaches are an interesting link between public policy and the district and individual teachers and their teaching practices. Coaches can peer into multiple classrooms, determine what's going on, and maybe change things or encourage things, or bring back some information about implementation. Coaches deal with multiple pressures, from multiple sources, and juggle many teachers. Coaches may or many not reduce inconsistencies. What do coaches need to know- about instruction, about individual teachers, about the context of the school, about the nature of the policy- to fulfill their role? Do coaches have access to the information they need? Why or why not? Who could have the knowledge and capacity to change teachers' instructional practices?