Skirting the Edge of Chaos: Maintaining a Community of Practice in a Doctoral Program

• In Event: 41.084 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 41.084-19 - Self-Study From the Start: Journeys of Novice Teacher Educators

Abstract

After participation in a graduate seminar, three doctoral students committed to maintain their community space as they continued on their doctoral journey (Authors and Colleague, 2016). Over the course of the next year, they purposefully sustained their burgeoning community of practice as they engaged in self-study scholarship and continued their transition from teacher to teacher educator. This collaborative self-study documents the ongoing struggles and accomplishments experienced in their distinct roles of doctoral student, professional colleague and familial member. This paper presents the challenges these students faced while maintaining an ongoing community of practice as well as the benefits of the group as a space to navigate their conflicting and evolving identities.

Authors

• Mark M Diacopoulos, Old Dominion University

• Kristen H. Gregory, Old Dominion University

• Angela Branyon, University of West Georgia