Theory Cluster

This cluster was started in Spring 2006 when conversations with graduate students revealed a need for a research cluster focused primarily on Graduate student works-in-progress. It is intended as a way for graduate students and interested faculty to get together and engage issues of Theory across various methods in relation to communication and critical theory. We focus on the process of research and in providing feedback to each other from and through multiple frameworks for research while creating an awareness of scholarly location and the implications that arise from the encounter with the site for research. We do this while maintaining an atmosphere of productive critique and learning. The goal is to think through theory and practice connections critically while talking about various theoretical approaches in our research and also to make a link to scholarship of engagement.

In addition to the monthly meetings, we carry on discussion through the blackboard based community. As our research cluster activity continues we anticipate putting out working papers and developing other collaborative projects for co-authoring, grant-writing and so on – all with a primary focus on graduate student research needs.

Cluster Facilitator - Radhika Gajjala – http://personal.bgsu.edu/%7Eradhik/index2.html

If interested in participating, email me at radhika@cyberdiva.org

Meets every 2nd Friday 1.30 to 2.45 pm in Fall 2006

In Spring 2006, we had one graduate student presentation by Natalia Rybas, entitled “Participating in an online course: How students and instructors do distance education.”