Earlier today, around 4 p.m. after having given a perfunctory glance over the approximately fifty pages of "rough" draft if I dare call it, I uploaded it and then emailed Dr. Major that I submitted the prospectus. When I sent the email to Dr. Major, I felt really good. Because I did get my feet soaked into the dissertation process, and there is no way I could not finish it.

I was telling my husband that I am actually enjoying working on my dissertation. I think it is because I can see it all laid out and that I have done the first three chapters, that all I have to do is to work step by step in the process, waiting for feedback from Dr. Major before I can take the next step. No wonder why I have been hearing that dissertation chairs have told my peers to get the lit review done. Because really, it is the lit review that bogs down the process of getting the dissertation done.....at least in my own perspective.

Or is it because I knew long time ago what I wanted to do with my dissertation? That it was only the matter of figuring out the specific research topic and theoretical framework. Now I have the research topic figured out, a perfectly fitting theoretical framework, and the lit review should be fulfilling enough that covers all angles of what I want to know: exploring student perceptions on writing pedagogy as significant learning experience.

What an adventure this dissertation is turning out to be! I am glad to have taken the big step of submitting my prospectus.

Now waiting to hear from Dr. Major.....and it's Labor Day tomorrow.

Sharing Post-thoughts about my dissertation journey

SEE the Writing -- has multiple meanings.

SEE are the initials of my former married name (Sarah Elizabeth Eiland), and even though the marriage chapter in my life has ended, I still carry "See the writing" perspective lens into what I believe about writing and its effectiveness for my teaching style.

It is during my marriage that I taught Orientation 101 at Gadsden State Community College (2008-2015). Thus, I conducted research with the intent to see what students thought of my writing pedagogy, the writing prompts, as an all-encompassing tool to succeed both in the classroom and in life.

On a side but very important note, I am hearing impaired. Subsequently, I share how writing helps with my reaching out to the students sitting in my classroom.

Autoethnography is the research approach used to explore how writing over time has helped with the development of my pedagogical content knowledge.

Lee S. Shulman's (1986, 1987) pedagogical content knowledge is the theoretical framework for my autoethnographic research. Not only do I refer to PCK, I also touch on several other theories including Dee Fink's (2013) taxonomy of significant learning, Schlossberg's (1989) theory on mattering vs. marginality, Mikhail Bahktin's theory of addressivity, and Jacque Lacan's theory of interconnectedness.

I concluded my autoethnographic research with five findings:

1) individualism within diversity

2) variability

3) persistence

4) competence

5) responsiveness.