WHERE IVE BEEN

Where Ive been and Where Im Going: An Epistemological Journey in the Curriculum
and Instruction Ed.D. Program at Marshall University

Harley Walden

Reflection Paper submitted for

Residency Requirements
at Marshall University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

Doctor of Education
in
Curriculum and Instruction

Committee Chair: L. Eric Lassiter, Ph.D.

Lisa A. Heaton, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D.
Clyde Ellis, Ph.D.

South Charleston, West Virginia

2015

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Table of Contents
Underpinnings: An Introduction................................................................................1
Question 1: (Coursework) What does it mean to take a curriculum focused approach to school
case studies and how do historical approaches bear on the pedagogical concerns I have about
education, as it relates to educational theories of action in Appalachia and beyond?.................2
Question 2: (Collaboration) What are the different roles and meanings of collaboration between
and among faculty and students in this Ed.D. program and how do these relate to my own
understanding of collaboration as I go forward in my studies?...........................................8
Question 3: (Scholarship) What does it mean to take a curriculum focused approach to school
case studies?...................................................................................................... 11
Question 4: (Research) What are the different roles of education in Appalachia and what does it
mean to be educated here?..................................................................................... 20
Question 5: (Conclusion) What are the implications of carrying out a historically-focused
dissertation within the framework of an Ed.D. program?................................................23
References......................................................................................................... 26

Where Ive Been and Where Im Going: An Epistemological Journey in the Curriculum
and Instruction Ed.D. Program at Marshall University

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Underpinnings: An Introduction
The events of the past never occur in a vacuum. This is why the discipline of
history has always interested me, and its why I pursued a Masters degree in the field, as
well as a teaching license in Social Studies. After completing my teaching program, one
of my professors, Dr. Stan Maynard, suggested that I enroll in the Ed.D. program with an
emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction, mainly because he knew I always wanted to be
an educator on the college level. Because of my history background, I am using five
epistemologically-based questions to frame this paper. Here I define epistemology as the
process of knowing how you know what you know. This paper explores the points where
the philosophical and professional foundations of history and education intersect to form
my main research interests, which are the history of education more generally, and case
studies of the histories of particular schools, more specifically.
The five questions offered below guide my two years journey in the program and
the rationale behind my coursework, collaborative efforts with colleagues and mentors in
the program, and my research and scholarship. Importantly, they have framed my
preparation to research and write my dissertation. In what follows, Question 1 focuses on
my coursework and the knowledge associated with historical approaches to pedagogical
concerns that I have about education, especially as it relates to educational theories of
action in Appalachia and beyond. Question 2 broaches the depth of my collaboration with
others (classmates and professors) and addresses the roles and meanings of collaborative
work. Question 3 chronicles scholarship and how this intersects with applying curricular
theories with school case studies. Question 4 addresses research and the implications of
carrying out historically-focused research in education. And Question 5 serves as a

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reflective conclusion and addresses the different roles that education serves in
Appalachia, as I prepare for researching and writing my doctoral dissertation.
Question 1: (Coursework) What does it mean to take a curriculum focused
approach to school case studies and how do historical approaches bear on the
pedagogical concerns I have about education, as it relates to educational theories of
action in Appalachia and beyond?
The nature and content of my coursework shaped my worldview concerning
education and issues regarding curriculum and instruction. My life as a West Virginian
made me sensitive to issues regarding Appalachia, especially the school system I have
attended since Kindergarten. During my time in the Ed.D. Program, I had the fortuitous
opportunity to take many excellent classes with caring and knowledgeable faculty
members. These experiences prepared me to articulate and engage in discussions with
classmates and colleagues about the current trends and historical roots of Appalachian
education. I feel as if the classes I took and my experiences with assignments in these
classes broadened my intellectual horizons and focused my research interests, especially
as they relate to how educational issues of the past still have important ramifications and
implications for current and future trends in educational policy reform. My coursework
has exposed me to educational concerns and theories, which I plan to apply to my
dissertation research in the form of a school case study seen through a historical
Appalachian lens.
EDF 615: History of Education in the United States (Spring 2014)
Once I noticed that EDF 615: History of Education in the United States was going
to be offered during the spring semester of 2014, I jumped at the chance to enroll in a
class that I knew would be essential to my future dissertation research. Dr. Elizabeth
Campbell taught the course online and this was my first time taking one of her classes. I

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was excited about what I had heard about her being a master educator from my fellow
classmates. This class did not suffer from being online because Dr. Campbell provided
students with engaging and thought-provoking discussions and encouraged active
participation with one another on cornerstone and sometimes even controversial
educational topics.
The course used a text written by Urban and Wagoner (2009) titled American
Education: A History, which provided students with an exhaustive chronicle concerning
the development of education in America. Although this class was optional for me, I feel
as if this is an essential course that all Ed.D. students enrolled in the program should take.
The text covers the beginnings of the public education system in the United States and
continues to cover all of the major developmental stages in education, from the
Progressive Era to the Essentialists and ending with a discussion of current educational
trends.
This course provided me with a strong knowledge base for the history of
education and why this is essential to understanding the current trends in the field and
discipline. The courses final assignment was the historical research paper (see EDF 615
Final Research Paper, available in my online portfolio portal). I chose to explore Native
American schools that were located on or near Indian reservations, with a particular
emphasis on the different assimilation policies used by the federal government in various
contexts. This assignment afforded me the opportunity to explore what was at the time an
extremely engaging and foreign topic to me. It also provided the opportunity to explore
the implications that the history of education holds for contemporary issues, including
those like high-stakes standardized testing, different approaches to teaching diverse

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learners, and recent developments in educational policy reform dealing with Social
Studies textbooks containing whitewashed versions of history. A key text for this research
paper was Dr. Clyde Ellis (2008) book, To Change Them Forever: Indian Education at
the Rainy Mountain Boarding School, 18931920, which chronicled the history of a
southwestern Oklahoma school via a combination of historical and archival documents
and oral histories. This book was instrumental in developing the idea in my mind that I
might be able to accomplish a similar case study with a coal camp school in Appalachia
and I plan to incorporate these methodologies into my own dissertation research. All told,
this course broadened my perspectives regarding the complexities of US education
through time and allowed me to see where and how historical approaches bear on the
pedagogical concerns that I have about education, especially as it relates to educational
theories of action in Appalachia and beyond.
CI 702: Curriculum Theory (Summer 2014)
Before I took CI 702: Curriculum Theory-another of Dr. Elizabeth Campbells
classes-I was not aware of the existing body of knowledge concerning the different
ideological branches of curricular theory. But after reading the courses texts and
engaging with my fellow classmates in open-ended classroom discussions about the
readings, I now feel as if I could confidently speak to that body of knowledge from a
historical and experiential base of reference. Educational theory is a rich and deep field of
study in its own right and holds a strong importance for educators in the classroom, as it
creates and forms the underpinnings upon which the entire discipline of education rests
itself. Although we explored many different theorists and families of theories in this class,
the two that struck me to the core were William Pinar (2011) and Paulo Freire (2000).

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William Pinars (2011) book, What is Curriculum Theory, provided a nuanced and
historical perspective of curriculum and how it functions. Of particular interest to me was
the way he framed the issue of the current national obsession with high-stakes
standardized testing and the cram school mentality where educators are forced to teach
to the test. Whereas some found it bland, I feel as if Pinar (2011) shines a light on what is
currently happening in the education system, as educators perspectives are being
devalued and undermined by out-of-touch policymakers and politicians.
In conjunction with Pinar (2011), I found Paulo Freires (2000) Pedagogy of the
Oppressed, to be revelatory. Freire (2000) framed the book as a dialectic conversation
between teachers and students and the oppressed and their oppressors. In opposition to
what he calls the banking approach to education, where information is simply
deposited in students minds by teachers, Freire (2000) argues instead that human
existence cannot be silent, nor can it be nourished by false words, but only by true words,
with which humans transform the world (p. 88). So it is up to educators to take an active
role in social justice and activism in their community to really make a difference. I
strongly believe in social justice issues and activism and see Freire (2000) and Pinars
(2011) unique takes on curriculum theory as extensions of my own interests and passions
regarding education in Appalachia.
Near the end of this course, I was challenged to put my own personal theories of
curriculum into words and to see what it would look like in action on the ground. In
researching these different educational theorists, I articulated my own personal theory of
curriculum in the final class assignment (see CI 702 Personal Theory of Curriculum,
available in my online portfolio portal). Dr. Campbell challenged me on a deep

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intellectual level with this assignment by not just providing which theories or theorists
resonated with me as an educator and student, but to combine that knowledge with my
own experiences in the classroom in order to fully create a conceptual framework for
what students and educators would be doing in such a learning environment of my own
design. The learning environment of my own design would emphasize the use of digital
archives for Social Studies curricula that contain primary source documents, as opposed
to textbooks that often provide inaccurate depictions of history and neglect the
sociocultural contributions of minorities. Also, I would include a strong element of social
justice where students could choose a topic important to them in their community and
research it via these digital archives and through dialogues with their teacher.
EDF 625: Qualitative Research (Fall 2014)
Having never taken a qualitative research class before, I did not know what to
expect when I walked into Dr. Linda Spatigs EDF 625: Qualitative Research class in the
fall semester of 2014. I had heard the terms qualitative and quantitative before in terms
of research studies and articles, but I never actively engaged with them in a first-hand
manner. That changed very quickly, however, through engagement with two enthralling
texts and a challenging, yet simultaneously rewarding final reflective essay. I feel as if
this course allowed me the opportunity to get experience with qualitative research by
going into the field to record observations and fieldnotes, conduct interviews, analyze the
data from these activities via coding and grouping responses, and finally by reflecting
back on my journey from being a complete novice with qualitative research to gaining
some experience as an ethnographer and educational researcher.

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Dr. Spatig and her excellent co-instructor and fellow graduate student, Bobbie
Seyedmonir, assigned the class to read Bogdan and Biklens (2007) book, Research for
Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods, and Spatig and Amerikaners
(2014) book, Thinking Outside the Girl Box: Teaming Up with Resilient Youth in
Appalachia. The Bogdan and Biklen (2007) text provided me with a strong and
approachable first look at qualitative research as a discipline and field of educational
research. One of their key pieces of advice that resonated with me the most was their idea
that without a touch of passion, you may not have enough to sustain the effort to follow
the work through to the end or to go beyond the ordinary (p. 56). I started brainstorming
what my research interests were and how would I would connect educational theory and
practice with my love and experience with historical research. Their step-by-step guide to
forming a qualitative research project helped me form a better understanding for how
these research interests intersect at school case studies in an ethnographic format.
The second text for the class, Spatig and Amerikaners (2014) book, Thinking
Outside the Girl Box: Teaming Up with Resilient Youth in Appalachia, provided me with
another example for how qualitative research can be conducted in a meaningful and
engaging manner seen through historical and educational lenses. Their book, which
chronicled the establishment and ultimate collapse of the Lincoln County Girls
Resiliency Program, weaved theory and qualitative research together in a seamless and
approachable way that made the text flow masterfully from one major segment to another
portion of the book. This text also included thick, rich details culled from interviews and
fieldnotes that made the Appalachian setting of the book appear as a character itself.
Interestingly, the book was organized with each chapter being representative of a person

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or a group of people that were representative of the theme being conveyed in that chapter
of the text. Using Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot and Jessica Hoffman Daviss (1997)
ethnographic framework of portraiture, this organizational schema influenced me a great
deal and I hope to include it in my research and writing for my dissertation.
After reading both of these texts and engaging in a small-scale qualitative
research project of my own, Dr. Spatig and Bobbie Seyedmonir had the class write a
reflective final essay describing our respective journeys associated with qualitative
research that semester. My qualitative research project was comparing the quality of the
tutoring services provided at a university for the entire student body with the tutoring
services provided at the facility serving only the universitys student-athletes. I organized
my reflective essay along the theme of learning how to swim (which I ironically do not
know how to do). This assignment required me to reflect back not only on my
experiences with the fieldwork of interviewing and writing up fieldnotes, but also to
reflect on the important texts we read along the way. This essay afforded me the
opportunity to connect my research interests with the discipline of education in a
meaningful way for me as a student totally new to qualitative research (see EDF 625
Final Reflective Essay, available in my online portfolio portal).
Question 2: (Collaboration) What are the different roles and meanings of
collaboration between and among faculty and students in this Ed.D. program and
how do these relate to my own understanding of collaboration as I go forward in my
studies?
My own understanding and relationship with collaboration functions on several
different levels. In one sense I have collaborated with faculty at Marshall University on
various projects during my time in the Ed.D. Program, through my individual coursework

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and also through professional academic presentations I gave at conferences. In a different
sense, I have also collaborated with fellow students along the way on class presentations
and group papers. But if we take collaboration to mean joint intellectual effort (as it is
often defined in most dictionaries), then my experience with co-teaching CI 677: Writing
for Publication with Dr. Campbell in the spring semester of 2015 stands out. As I
describe below, my own understanding of collaboration before this enriching co-teaching
experience was somewhat superficial, but after this experience, my understanding of
what it truly means to collaborate with others in a united intellectual pursuit came into
focus and prepared me well for my upcoming dissertation research.
CI 677: Writing for Publication (Dr. Campbell-Spring 2015)
After taking this class with Dr. Lassiter, I knew that I wanted to co-teach this
course when the time came because of the improvement I had experienced as a struggling
writer. I ended up co-teaching CI 677: Writing for Publication with Dr. Elizabeth
Campbell in the spring semester of 2015 (see CI 677 Syllabus, available in my online
portfolio portal). I had taken three previous courses with Dr. Campbell prior to this coteaching experience and felt as if this would be a great opportunity for me to learn from
an excellent educator versed in the theory and practice of writing as a craft and
profession.
Prior to the beginning of the spring semester of 2015, Susan Malinoski (the
second co-instructor) and I had a meeting with Dr. Campbell to address the parameters
and expectations of our involvement as co-instructors in the course. We discussed our
own experiences as students who had taken the course and what meaning we made of
writing for publication. This was an excellent opportunity for me to learn from two

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excellent educators, who are both very experienced in the theoretical and classroom
applications of the discipline. We decided that Susan and I would facilitate class
discussions every week based on the readings from the Zinsser (2006) and Jalongo
(2002) texts. We also negotiated the classroom schedule along the idea that students
would write a book review for their publication piece in order to keep everyone on a
similar page and task. However, this idea was fluid, because over the course of the
semester some students voiced a desire to write a best practices piece and submit that
to an appropriate educational journal or website. We adjusted the schedule accordingly
and carried on with our portions of the course.
I was very fortunate to have Susan as a second co-instructor in this course, as we
collaborated on every discussion prompt and assignment in order to get the most out of
the readings while we sought to gauge what the students took away from their readings of
the texts. Because Ed.D. students were not in the majority in this class, we decided to
vary the discussion prompts that included an element of individual choice (see CI 677
Discussion Prompt, available in my online portfolio portal). Through facilitating these
weekly discussions, I feel as if I learned how to process and interpret student feedback
regarding what they perceived as being the most important concepts from the selected
readings.
Also, Susan and I participated in several writing workshops meant to serve as
opportunities for revision and feedback for two of their assignments in the course. Over
the course of the semester, the students worked on Literacy Autobiographies and, of
course, their pieces for publication. In my writing workshop group, I learned how to
successfully communicate with students about their writing, which can be a particularly

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emotional topic for some given the nature of vulnerability involved with sharing your
writing with peers. Dr. Campbell imparted ingenious ways to frame helpful criticism
regarding students work that resulted in improving the quality of the writing without
sounding sanctimonious or harsh. I worked with two students over the term of the course
and I feel as if I was able to provide helpful feedback that accomplished the goals set
forth by Dr. Campbell at the first pre-class meeting (see CI 677 Writing Workshop
Example, available in my online portfolio portal). Utilizing these important skills of
being able to critique students writing will benefit me with appropriately framing
feedback in a constructive manner. Also by facilitating weekly reading discussions, I will
be able to create meaningful prompts for my students that draw from the texts and result
in an exegesis of the selected reading. I feel as if my different experiences with coteaching relate to my own understanding of collaboration as a shared intellectual pursuit
and will help frame my dissertation research, as I go forward in my studies.
Question 3: (Scholarship) What does it mean to take a curriculum focused approach
to school case studies?
Building on my coursework and the collaborative opportunities in which I have
participated during my two-year journey in the Ed.D. Program, I was able to also take
advantage of four opportunities involving scholarship that took a curricular focused
approach to school case studies. The knowledge and experience that I acquired from
these collaborative, scholarly endeavors helped shape the curricular focused approach to
school case studies that I plan to incorporate into my dissertation research.
CIEC 700: Technology and Curriculum (Fall 2013)

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The first opportunity that presented itself was a result of my coursework in CIEC
700: Technology and Curriculum, taught by Dr. Lisa Heaton. I was apprehensive at first
about taking a technology-centered course in the program, but Dr. Heaton made me feel
comfortable and proficient with the different tasks and assignments that we worked on
using technology. It is imperative for educators teaching in the modern classroom to
utilize all of the technological resources that they have available in order to make their
lessons engaging and deep in content knowledge for their students. One of the assigned
texts for the class that resonated with me was James Gaul Gees (2007) book, What Video
Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy.
In the book, Gee (2007) explores the concept and importance of gamification in
the classroom and how students activate prior knowledge about video games and utilize
that passion and expertise to excel in technology-based lessons. Dr. Heaton constructed
the class so that everyone could build their knowledge base from assignment to
assignment and progress without any fear of failure or penalty, as long as they
resubmitted following her directions and suggestions for improvement. This portion of
the class operated much like a video game and was known as Charm School, where
badges and icons were awarded upon the completion of an assignment. The final
assignment was a paper that addressed a topic related to educational technology that was
meaningful to each of us. I chose to look at the importance of using archives containing
primary source documents in Social Studies curricula.
After the conclusion of the class, I received an email from Dr. Heaton asking me
if I would be interested in presenting my paper as an individual presentation and as a
member of a panel discussing our experiences as doctoral students using Charm

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School. My paper, Roads, Where Were Going We Dont Need Roads: The Use of
Digitized Archives and Primary Source Documents in Social Studies Classes to Bring the
Past to the Present and the Future, offered me an invaluable opportunity to present my
research at an international education conference in front of both peers and other
professionals, who were interested in teaching and learning in higher education. This was
one of three individual papers from Marshall University submitted and accepted at the
25th Annual International Conference on College Teaching and Learning that took place
in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL during March of 2014 (see Roads, Where Were Going We
Dont Need Roads: The Use of Digitized Archives and Primary Source Documents in
Social Studies Classes to Bring the Past to the Present and the Future, which is available
in my online portfolio portal).
As mentioned above, I was also able to participate in a collaborative panel
presentation discussing my experiences as a doctoral student using the Charm School
program. The panel presentation entitled, Welcome to Charm School: Master Concepts,
Earn Charms, was comprised of Dr. Heaton, Bobbie Seyedmonir, Jennifer Hoffman, and
me. This opportunity allowed each of us to express our perceptions of the course and the
meaning that we each found as students using gamification in a doctoral program in
education (see Conference PowerPoint, Conference Program for session 1 and 2, and
Conference Picture, are all available in my online portfolio portal). The experiences of
presenting both individually and as a panel certainly engaged us in a scholarly process,
but it also was the beginning of several other opportunities made available to me through
my coursework and collaborative efforts with fellow students peers and faculty.
CI 677: Writing for Publication (Spring 2014)

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After presenting with Dr. Heaton, I had an opportunity to write a piece for
publication as part of another course. Having the opportunity to take CI 677: Writing for
Publication with Dr. Eric Lassiter during the spring semester of 2014 was one of the most
transformative experiences during my two years journey in the Ed.D. Program. I had just
started the program the previous summer and was still anxious about taking new
professors and challenging classes, but that initial uneasy feeling quickly transformed
into a sense of comfort and security due to the courses texts and the professors skills as
an educator and a mentor. I chose the thesis-writing path for my masters degree in
History and had some experience with writing for an academic audience prior to
beginning this class, but the discipline of history is very different than what was expected
for an academic audience of educators. This is where the courses texts helped ease me
into this new endeavor without a great deal of stress or hesitation.
Dr. Lassiter used William Zinssers On Writing Well (2006) and Mary Renck
Jalongos Writing for Publication: A Practical Guide for Educators (2002) as the primary
texts for this class. Zinssers (2006) approach to writing is from a non-disciplinary
perspective focused on the mechanics and components of writing in an efficient and clear
manner. This book had a profound impact on me as a student and as a writer because of
the way that he infuses humor with addressing the issue of analyzing your own writing,
which can be a very personal and sensitive issue for many students. One of the most
important pieces of advice from Zinsser (2006) that I incorporated into my own writing
process was his call to avoid clutter and the point is that you have to strip your writing
down before you can build it back up (p. 18). This sage advice required that I break my

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thoughts and sentences into small, direct statements conveying similar thoughts contained
in a paragraph, which is something with which I still struggle, by the way.
Jalongos (2002) book also helped me improve as a writer in a more specific
manner. A specific piece of advice that resonated with me was her statement that any
writer of real distinction is, first and foremost, an avid reader who reads for style and
structure as well as for content (p. 54). This was especially true for me because Dr.
Lassiter reinforced Jalongos (2002) statement by advocating that we read our favorite
authors while working on our book reviews. I read John Steinbecks (2006) novel,
Grapes of Wrath, during this time because it has always been one of my favorite novels.
The masterful way that Steinbeck (2006) describes the American landscape during the
Dust Bowl era is an iconic representation for what I want to incorporate into my own
writing. I just wanted to let Steinbecks writing style influence me while I was reading a
case study of a native Hawaiian charter school. Through reading Steinbeck, exploring
school case studies in the form of ethnography with Dr. Lassiter, and being exposed to
Zinsser (2006) and Jalongo (2002), I improved as both a writer and as a researcher.
For my book review I chose Neolani Goodyear-Kapuas (2014) book, The
Seeds We Planted: Portraits of a Native Charter School. Goodyear-Kapuas (2014)
book takes the form of a case study for a native Hawaiian charter school. GoodyearKapuas (2014) book is comprised of oral history interviews from former teachers and
students at the school, as well as a historical look at the body of literature concerning the
charter school movement in the United States. The text also manages to take a close look
at the impact that the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act had on Hlau K Mna (HKM) and
other culture-based charter schools. Goodyear-Kapuas (2014) case study was created

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as an attempt to argue against the settler-colonial school system prevalent in the United
States and foster social activism in Hawaiis youth, but it also successfully makes clear
the need to consider indigenous perspective when creating curricula and the role that
educators play in creating inclusive learning environments for all students.
Writing a scholarly review of this book seemed very intimidating. But Dr. Lassiter
eased the class into the publication process, with step-by-step instructions and ongoing
drafting and re-drafting of our pieces. Through his and co-instructor and fellow graduate
student Kathy Bialks diligence and patience, I was able to successfully submit my
review to the Oral History Review. It was published in their summer/fall 2014 edition
(see CI 677 Book Review, available in my online portfolio portal). This opportunity
allowed me to explore and engage in an intellectual conversation with a school case study
framed by an ethnographic and historical approach.
CULS 610: Seminar in Appalachian Culture (Summer 2014)
After completing two conference presentations and a published book review, I
began to think about ways that I could translate my area of emphasis (Appalachian
Studies) in the doctoral program into other scholarship opportunities. When I enrolled in
my first Appalachian Studies course, CULS 610: Seminar in Appalachian Culture, I was
introduced to Appalachia as a conceptual framework by Dr. Lassiter for the first time
through the dense body of literature that exists about the region. One of the most
important things that I learned in this course was that Appalachia is as much an idea, as it
is either a people or a region.
One of the assigned texts for the course, John A. Williams (2002) Appalachia: A
History, provided me with an engaging and insightful look at my West Virginian home

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that I had never previously considered before. Williams (2002) emphasizes the fact that
for most of Appalachias history, it has been negatively impacted by the absentee
ownership of industry, such as the wealthy coal barons from the northeast, who mined the
valuable natural resource from the ground and then subsequently shipped it out-of-state
for a large profit. Prior to reading this book, I did not connect the economic exploitation
of the past to the economic challenges that Appalachia currently faces. Also Richard
Straws (2006) description of Appalachia as a region rich in resources, yet a land of
great poverty (p. 21) is a compelling and unfortunately accurate one, in light of the
larger economic and educational issues facing the region right now. As part of this course,
we were to conduct an ethnographic-centered project that was focused on some aspect of
Appalachia. I chose to look at coal camp schools and interviewed a former student, who
attended a coal camp school, and a former educator, who taught at a two-room country
schoolhouse that served a small, rural mining and timber community. I interviewed Dr.
Stan Maynard, who attended Holden Central School, which was owned by the Island
Creek Coal Company. I also interviewed my grandmother, Wilda Walden, who taught at
McCommas Creek Elementary School.
The paper that resulted from these interviews, Miners and Mentors: Memory and
Experiences in Coal Camp Schools in Appalachia, provided me with an opportunity to
not only research Appalachian school case studies and ethnographies, but to also focus
my research interests and begin thinking about a possible dissertation research topic. This
research also allowed me to engage in scholarly efforts associated with the Appalachian
Studies Program, as I was able to present my research with the constant support and help
of Dr. Lassiter (see the paper, titled Miners and Mentors: Memory and Experiences in

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Coal Camp Schools in Appalachia, available in my online portfolio portal). I presented
this paper at the 38th Annual Appalachian Studies Conference in Johnson City, Tennessee
in March 2015 (see Conference PowerPoint, Conference Program for session 1, and
Conference Picture, in my online portfolio portal). This second conference presentation
allowed me to sharpen my presentation skills and add to my existing knowledge of
Appalachian education by exploring the literature and utilizing recent scholarship
concerning the still emerging field of rural education. Importantly, though, by researching
a topic that was meaningful to me, I was able to collaborate with Dr. Lassiter, Dr.
Maynard, and my grandmother in a scholarly endeavor that I will never forget.
EDF 626: Advanced Qualitative Research (Spring 2015)
After completing several scholarly efforts, I enrolled in the second qualitative
research class offered in the Ed.D. Program, taught by Dr. Lassiter. Dr. Lassiters
approach to this course was to challenge us to reconceptualize how we think of
qualitative research as a field of research. One of the primary questions we were asked to
address at the conclusion of this course was: What makes qualitative research an
advanced form of research? This question required a nuanced and new philosophical
explanation that I was eager to explore throughout this class. In fact, I believe that what
makes qualitative research an advanced form of research is the researchers ability to try
and make a connection with others because it is a very worthwhile endeavor. I also view
the different components of qualitative research as a complex and multi-faceted process
of advanced research, both in terms of conceptualization, but also in practice as a student
new to the field. Another important consideration is the ability to think beyond
methodologies in favor of a differentiated praxis where the confluence of theory,

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methodology, and practice meet to create the area of praxis where true meaning and in
this case reflection is created.
The assigned text for the course, Campbell and Lassiters (2014) Doing
Ethnography Today: Theories, Methods, Exercises, provided me with a new and engaging
way to conceptualize ethnography and research as a collaborative act. This is central to
the idea that doing and writing ethnography itself rests on an analogous idea, that direct
participation and genuine engagement in the day-to-day lives of others can provide
unique insights into how various and diverse ideas and activities generate meaning
(Lassiter & Campbell, 2014, p. 56). This was a new way for me to view the potential for
what I could do with a qualitatively based dissertation topic. Before reading this text, I
thought that most dissertations had to be researched and written from either a quantitative
or mixed-methods approach, but now I am more informed about different ethnographic
and qualitative techniques, such as autoethnography. I also now understand the
importance of collaborative ethnography and plan to use it in my own dissertation
research by striving to ethically record my research collaborators perceptions and
creating a lasting text that represents our shared journey of research and scholarship.
Another important component of this course was the selection of an ethnography
chosen in collaboration with Dr. Lassiter, and one aligned to our research interests in
terms of possible dissertation topics. I chose Mara Casey Tiekens (2014) Why Rural
Schools Matter, which provided me with the opportunity to explore this emergent field of
literature concerning school case studies in rural regions of America. Her book was part
historical chronicle and also part oral history, but managed to still focus on major themes
and issues concerning rural schools everywhere and their symbiotic connection to

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surrounding communities. After discussing the possibility of turning my book summary
into a publishable book review with Drs. Lassiter and Campbell, I submitted my final
draft to the Internal Sociological Studies in Education Journal. They have agreed to
publish my book review with the volume and date of the edition for the journal
forthcoming (see EDF 626 Book Review, available in my online portfolio portal).
By presenting at two different academic conferences and having the opportunity
to also have two published scholarly book reviews, I feel as if all of these efforts are the
direct results of my coursework and collaborative efforts with peers and faculty members
at the Ed.D. Program. Without the help of Drs. Heaton, Lassiter, Campbell, and Ellis I
would have no published scholarly reviews and no conference presentations, which are
all requirements for the program, as well as being a professional researcher in academia.
My ultimate goal in this program is to create a dissertation that accurately captures the
memories and perceptions of my research collaborators, while also adding to the existing
body of knowledge concerning Appalachian school case studies and ethnographies. In
short, I hope to become an educator in the footsteps of all my mentors and collaborators
with whom I have worked along the way.
Question 4: (Research) What are the different roles of education in Appalachia and
what does it mean to be educated here?
I was initially very hesitant to consider the implications of researching with
faculty in the Ed.D. Program because unlike many others in the Program, I did not
personally know any of the faculty before I enrolled. I now think abut the different roles
of education in Appalachia and what it means to be educated here, in part because of my
research with the faculty.

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CI 706: Multicultural/Diversity Issues (Summer 2013)
Back in Summer 2013, I had my first face-to-face seminar, CI 706: Multicultural
and Diversity Issues, with Dr. Nega Debela. I was completely new then to issues
concerning multiculturalism and diversity in terms of education, but was excited for the
opportunity to learn about different ways to address these issues as an educator. The
assigned text for the course, Banks and Bankss Multicultural Education: Issues and
Perspectives (2012), was an anthology that included many different essays concerning
issues of multiculturalism and diversity that were important to consider in the postmodern classroom. I learned about issues concerning current trends in education, and in
the context of seminar discussions, I discussed with my fellow graduate students
important and controversial topics in an engaging and respectful manner. As a class, the
final assignment required that we select a topic collaboratively with Dr. Debela that
received IRB approval. I had not previously had an interaction with Marshalls
Institutional Review Board, so this process, while enriching, also prepared me for future
research opportunities that would require IRB approval.
For my final IRB approved research project, I chose to interview an international
student-athlete at Marshall, who played mens basketball. As I am a Graduate Assistant in
the athletic tutoring facility at the university, this was an excellent opportunity for me to
become acquainted with scholarly research in a manageable way, mainly because I had
easy access to my targeted population. The paper that resulted from my research project,
Out of bounds: A Case Study for the Cross-Cultural Expectations of the American
College Experience, broadened my own understanding of diversity and multicultural
issues for diverse students, which included the challenges they face and the biased high-

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stakes standardized tests they are often forced to take (see CI 706 paper titled, Out of
bounds: A Case Study for the Cross-Cultural Expectations of the American College
Experience, available in my online portfolio portal). I also became familiar with the IRB
review process and the rationale behind the boards existence.
CI 704: Social and Political Determinants of Curriculum Development (Spring
2015)
I conducted further research with Dr. Debela during the spring semester of 2015
when I enrolled in CI 704: Social and Political Determinants of Curriculum
Development. This course was unique in the fact that it did not have an assigned textbook
and that instead every student in the class was considered a teacher. We were divided into
groups for the duration of the course, as we presented three group presentations and a
final group research project. This research makes me reflect back on how I initially
perceived collaboration and how that radically changed from the beginning of my
experiences in the Ed.D. Program during the summer semester of 2013 to the way I now
think about collaboration during the summer semester of 2015. The final group research
project was also required to be IRB approved, which meant that Dr. Debela would be
collaborating on it as well.
My group included Bobbie Seyedmonir and Susan Malinoski. We elected to
examine teachers perceptions regarding how others viewed them as professionals, and to
what extent they believed that their considerations were acknowledged in the
development of educational policy reform. This topic was influenced by the research of
Tyack and Cuban (1995) and Diane Ravitch (2013). We wrote individual papers based on
our group research project, which included a survey instrument aimed at measuring their
perceptions.

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The resulting paper, Teachers Feelings of Efficacy and Value in Curriculum and
Policy Change: How Teachers View Their Self Worth and Effectiveness in the Eyes of
Others, taught me that teachers perceptions are crucial in combatting the current trend
of neglecting educators in the development of educational policy reform (see CI 704
paper titled, Teachers Feelings of Efficacy and Value in Curriculum and Policy Change:
How Teachers View Their Self Worth and Effectiveness in the Eyes of Others, available
in my online portfolio portal). Through collaborating with my peers and faculty, I feel as
if collaboration is essential to being truly educated because no one can persist without the
help of others. I also think that being educated in Appalachia means the ability to utilize
what you have learned from coursework and then being able to put it into action through
scholarly activities that enrich and add to the existing body of knowledge in your local
community, which in my case is West Virginia, in an effort to combat the inaccurate
stereotypes of the region as being intellectually and educationally stagnant.
Question 5: (Conclusion) What are the implications of carrying out a historicallyfocused dissertation within the framework of an Ed.D. program?
My epistemological journey in the Curriculum and Instruction Ed.D. program has
explored and addressed issues of coursework, collaboration, scholarship, and research all
in an attempt to justify how I know what I know and why the answers to these questions
prepares me for researching and writing my dissertation. I plan to carry out a historicallyfocused dissertation within the framework of the Ed.D. program via the case study of a
particular Appalachian school and its surrounding community. The shape and substance
of this particular school case study is still somewhat fluid, given the emergent nature of
academic research, yet I hope to provide the Ed.D. program with a unique dissertation

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model that others can look to as they form their own research interests.
Question 1 addressed issues of coursework related to my epistemological journey
in the program. I discussed how several courses that I had the pleasure of taking enriched
my understanding concerning the foundations for education and qualitative research and
how history is involved with education as a discipline. I think that the courses I took
show the meaningful connections that I made between History, Education, and now
Appalachian Studies. All of these different and often unnecessarily divided disciplines
can be intersected in a meaningful way through efforts similar to what I hope to
accomplish with my own dissertation research.
Question 2 addressed issues of collaboration and what it means to truly
collaborate on an intellectual pursuit. By examining my experiences with co-teaching CI
677: Writing for Publication with Dr. Campbell and Susan, I think that I now better
understand the different levels of collaboration that go on between peers and faculty
members within the Ed.D. Program. I learned how to successfully facilitate weekly
discussion, provide constructive feedback to students about their writing, and explore the
context of collaboration through my coursework and research with fellow classmates in
an intellectual pursuit for learning.
Question 3 addressed issues of scholarship and what it means to take a curricular
focused approach to school case studies. By presenting at academic conferences and
being able to publish book reviews in scholarly journals, I was able to engage with the
scholarly aspect of my Ed.D. experience. I learned what it takes to submit a piece for
publication in a scholarly journal and that book reviews really do perform a great service
to the academic world by advising others about the quality of ethnographies of schools

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via case studies. I was also able to identify a new body of knowledge that will prove
useful to me as I research and write my dissertation. I learned how to present at an
international and national academic conference and improve my public speaking skills
during this process. I believe that by taking advantage of these opportunties, I have set
myself up for future research in the academic world by showing that a non-traditional
student in the Ed.D. Program has something to say and that with help from others, I can
add something to the conversation.
Question 4 addressed issues of research and examined the different roles of
education in Appalachia and what it means to be educated here. By collaborating with
faculty members, I have realized that I learned a great deal about the IRB review process
and the importance of engaging in ethically and sound research strategies. I have
participated in several in-depth and hands-on research opportunities that I feel have
prepared me for the upcoming journey of researching and writing my dissertation. In the
process, I have sharpened my research foci and can succinctly articulate what I hope to
accomplish with my transition into the candidacy stage of my Ed.D. Program experience.
After addressing all of my epistolemogical questions in this reflective paper, I
believe that I have explained how I know what I know and as an extension of that pursuit
also explored why I am ready for the next portion of my Ed.D. Program, which is to
begin my dissertation research by collecting data and writing about Appalachian
education through a historical lens. By combining coursework, collaboration, scholarship,
and research, I believe that my epistemolgical journey of questioning can also progress
into a philosophical engagement with texts and others, creating a hermeneutical dialgoue
that would result in a conversation regarding the history of Appalachian education and

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the implications and ramifications resulting from such an inquiry through doctoral
research.

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Campbell, E., & Lassiter, L. E. (2014). Doing ethnography today: Theories, methods,
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Ellis, C. (2008). To change them forever: Indian education at the rainy mountain
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Ravitch, D. (2013). The reign of error: The hoax of the privatization movement and the
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