“Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the everyday things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.“

— Booker T. Washington

During my learning and professional development at the University and Georgia, I wish to accomplish two separate things: the first thing is to recollect, summarize, and condense all of my past experiences and knowledge to form my philosophy and concepts about online learning, and the second thing is to learn, practice, and experiment with new knowledge, research skills, and instructional designs that are related to the new thinking and trend in the learning technology field. I hope my research studies can contribute to the social learning theory in online education, helping instructors with or without online teaching experiences to formulate courses incorporating engagement in every aspect. Currently, my short-term goals are to:

  • Develop a conceptual framework for designing and integrating collaborative activities in the online learning environment;

  • Further, enhance my qualitative and quantitative research skills and knowledge;

  • Publish a literature review of the development of engagement-oriented instructional design in online learning;

  • Present at the AECT convention in 2024 (proposal submitted)

  • Gain knowledge that is necessary to my academic career, such as grant writing, research reports, etc.

Research

My research began with my proposal from EDIT 8100E and my assistance on the research project under my advisor Dr. Janette Hill. Coming from a background in qualitative research, I have some experience in conducting a variety of research projects that followed a more humanized way instead of pure statistics. However, based on my initial ideas for my research and questions, I am considering using mixed methods for my data collection. Therefore, I would like to continue learning about quantitative research methods with related courses:

  • Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences in Neuroscience (NSURE) - longitudinal research (2023-2025)

  • EDIT 8390E - I have learned a new mixed method methodology Q methodology, and this could be my primary research method used for the dissertation.

  • EDIT 8900 - I have learned different ways to analyze and critique a published article as well as learned characteristics of well-written, organized, and powerful articles.

  • QUAL 8400 - I have learned foundational theories in qualitative research as well planning, designing, and piloting interviews.

  • ERSH 6300E (planned from Summer 2024)

  • EDIT 7520E (planned for Summer 2024)

  • GRSH 7770 (planned from Summer or Fall 2024)

  • QUAL 8410 (planned for Fall 2024)

Teaching

In comparison to my other colleagues, I have less experience in teaching in a higher education setting or course planning. To gain more experience in academic teaching, I hope to deal with this issue with a combination of theoretical learning and field practices as a TA or instructor for several courses. In that way, I can not only gain first-hand experience and perspective about the difference between classrooms and students, but I can also have an opportunity to implement my instructional design to gain valuable information that would aid the completion of my research and dissertation. Therefore, I would like to start my preparation for a teaching assistantship by taking the following courses:

  • EDIT 7520E (planned for Summer 2024)

  • GRSC 7770 (planned for Summer 2024 or Fall 2024)

Service

Being a scholar is not only about being an expert in my professional field, but I also need to be ready to contribute my knowledge and practice back to my community. When I was studying in my previous program, I had an opportunity to give back my knowledge to support other people as a volunteer English teacher. Continuing this spirit, I seek to further extend this belief of giving back. During the first semester of my doctoral study at UGA, I had a wonderful opportunity to serve as a graduate research assistant under Dr. Janette Hill in one of her ongoing research projects for NSURE, and I also volunteered for the AECT convention which was also my first academic conference. Both of those experiences enabled me to become an active participant in the learning technology field, and my actions would support other people and programs to improve and benefit more generations to come.

  • Participated in the NSURE 2023 evaluation project team with Dr. Janette Hill and Dr. Lehong Shi;

  • Volunteered for the Association for Educational Communication and Technology Convention in October 2023 in Orlando, FL.