Mentoring and Student Support in Online Doctoral Programs

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapna Kumar ◽  
Catherine Coe
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Student Support ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs

Summer Mentoring Experiences for Students in Online Doctoral Programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 109-131
Author(s):  
Julie Smit ◽  
Elizabeth Jones ◽  
Michael Ladick ◽  
Mellinee Lesley
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
University Faculty ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs

University faculty created the Llano Estacado Writers' Alliance (LEWA) in response to improving the quality and rigor of online doctoral programs. The goal for LEWA was to promote meaningful academic writing and transform doctoral students' identities as agentic academic writers. After LEWA's inception, the authors incorporated the perspectives of their alumni and advanced doctoral students to help address students' needs. This chapter documents the four-year journey of forming LEWA and developing new approaches to mentoring online doctoral students. Specifically, the authors recount the evolution from the faculty-led, week-long summer intensives that addressed students' anxieties and uncertainties about the doctoral program to the writing intensives that were more student centered, responsive, and primarily focused on the mores of academic writing. Results demonstrated the benefits of professor-led and peer-led networks in developing students' sense of belonging, sense of accountability to their peers, and a sense of self-worth as capable academic writers.

Doctoral Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship

2016 ◽  
pp. 178-192
Author(s):  
Katherine Emmons
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Cognitive Apprenticeship ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Online Strategies ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs ◽  
Cloud Technologies ◽  
Practical Implications

This chapter discusses the role of cloud technology tools in helping build mentoring relationships in online doctoral programs, drawing on examples and experiences observed in the author's 15 years as a PhD dissertation chair. Ideas of cognitive apprenticeship and learning communities together provide a framework for identifying methods and skills that are helpful in the development of emerging scholars. The author describes the steps of modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration in the context of helping doctoral learners through to completion. Practical implications of using cloud technologies such as web conferencing, folder and file sharing, scheduling tools, and learning management systems are discussed through examples. The author also considers online strategies for fostering of one on one mentoring relationships for doctoral research and writing, as well as establishing and maintaining communities of doctoral peer groups.

Improving the Online Dissertation Writing Process

2014 ◽  
pp. 352-371
Author(s):  
Libi Shen ◽  
Irene Linlin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Structured Learning ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Dissertation Writing ◽  
Educational Paradigm ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs

Online doctoral programs have been developed rapidly over the years due to the advance of technology, and educators are seeking a new educational paradigm and innovative instructional strategies for online doctoral programs. This study presents cases of doctoral learners and dissertation mentors in online dissertation courses. The goal of this case study is to raise awareness for the need of an interactive mentor-mentee relationship in online higher education and to provide pointers and guidance for both mentors and mentees in navigating the maze of ill-structured learning. The findings of this study imply that social presence in distance education affects doctoral learners’ learning, course satisfaction, and faculty-student relationships in the dissertation writing process. This case study has implications for instructional designers and educators in infusing faculty-student interactions with technological support.

scholarly journals Accessibility Matters: Universal Design and the Online Professional Practice Doctorate

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Lindsey A. Chapman ◽  
Amanda M. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Universal Design ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Student Perspectives ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs ◽  
Practice Doctorate ◽  
Doctoral Programming

Online doctoral programming geared toward working professionals can provide unprecedented flexibility in terms of time and place that affords greater access to a broader student demographic. At the same time, online learning poses its own unique set of challenges and limitations for students with and without disabilities. Universal Design (UD) is a framework built around the idea of proactively identifying and removing barriers to learning in the environment, pedagogical practices, and materials. In this essay, we highlight the necessity and relevance of UD to online doctoral programs and share insights related to its use in our program from faculty and student perspectives.

Mentoring Dissertation Students in Online Doctoral Programs

2017 ◽  
pp. 118-135
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Halupa
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Transactional Distance ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face ◽  
Doctoral Work ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs ◽  
Dissertation Process ◽  
Improve Student Learning

Mentoring doctoral students in online programs can be even more challenging than mentoring in the face-to-face educational environment. Factors such as geographic and transactional distance can result in student isolation and attrition during the dissertation process. Students often are not prepared for the intensity of doctoral work and the discipline required to complete a dissertation. Effective mentoring techniques can decrease transactional distance boundaries to enhance the online dissertation process. Dissertation chairs must understand how mentoring can improve student learning. Rather than mentoring students based on personal beliefs or past experience, online dissertation chairs must familiarize themselves with best practices in mentoring throughout the dissertation process to provide a quality educational experience for their students, as well as to decrease attrition.

Developing Dispositions of Collegiality and Professionalism in Online Doctoral Programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Lee S. Duemer ◽  
Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Graduate School ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Hidden Curriculum ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs

In this chapter, the authors make the argument that online doctoral students need opportunities to develop scholarly dispositions, particularly dispositions associated with collegiality and professionalism. They make that argument by first defining what they mean by dispositions, then by making an argument for a dispositional standpoint of care and analysis, then by describing dispositions of collegiality and professionalism. They then articulate an understanding of how to support the accrual of these dispositions in online doctoral programs. They do this by attending to the hidden curriculum of graduate school, and then by arguing for making parts of that hidden curriculum more visible and explicit.

Design Considerations for Online (and On-Ground) Programs

2020 ◽  
pp. 82-86
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Programs ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Interpersonal Interactions ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Support Mechanisms ◽  
Course Experiences ◽  
Online Doctoral Programs

This chapter examines design considerations for online doctoral programs. Although the methods of course delivery and interpersonal interactions are different, the rigor of the online programs must equal those of the on-ground programs. Interactions among classmates, fellow doctoral students, and the faculty members must be purposefully designed and supported in order to attain the same enhancements that those equivalent interactions in on-ground courses support. Support mechanisms for encouraging and facilitating beyond course experiences must be created and periodically assessed.

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