Efficacy Building #doctoralpursuit

Just me, making my way through this thing called life.

Here is another progress update. I missed my May update. I got busy with life/work balance again. A lot has happened since April. As I sit here and reflect, I am truly proud of myself—professionally and personally—as I continue learning, living and leading.  I just had a birthday (insert birthday dance). I am a 48 year old woman and I feel like I am truly beginning to live (I think I say that every year).  I have just completed my 20th year as an educator. I am an educational specialist with a wealth of knowledge to share. I am looking forward to the next 20 years of having an impact on student academic success via working to build teacher self efficacy in every educator I come in contact with. 

I have knocked down two more courses which brings me closer to end of coursework.   . I hit a bump in the road, when I miss calculated how many classes I had left to take, but I had to remember that I am not trying to rush the process,  I am having to pay close attention to the courses I register for, because I am close to the end and other doc students have had issues with taking courses not needed and/or taking courses again without knowing.  This summer I will get a break (July) because the amount of courses I need is shrinking and there is no available course for me to take in the summer II session.  I was temped to take two tough courses this term because this would have allowed  me to finish a semester sooner. I was advise against it for my sanity's sake and I am glad I listened. I am trying to keep moving at a steady pace to maximize my learning along the way. It is working and I am able to apply what I am learning in practical ways in all aspects of life. I continue to try to get my writing published and keep getting feedback that tells me to "revise and resubmit". I do expect that, and I know feedback like that will help me focus my writing and help the dissertation process become much smoother when the time comes.

On to statics, I am in the place in my pursuit where I am working through courses that will help me build the skill set necessary to be called Educationis Doctor (EdD). Statistics is one of the first of those courses. I had/have anxiety about this course because I fear working with numbers and I fear not being successful in my pursuit. Week one is over and my anxiety has subsided (just a little). Like my sister told me: "The last quarter is always the gut climb". I am understanding that this course is set up to prepare me to use, understand, and interpret the data that I gather when I conduct my own research. I am excited to be this close to the finish of my pursuit. I will be fortunate enough to have a break in course work to rest, refresh, and work on making sense of all the courses I have taken thus far. 

I have big things coming this year. Stay tuned to see what happens next. Thank you for reading..