2nd Research Class DONE!!!!

I came out of my second research class alive with a 93 as my final grade!  I have to say that I have truly been challenged the last two classes.  I appreciate it because I was beginning to think this program was too easy.  I didn’t go back home after working the month of September, I actually taught two classes in the Associate degree program and was rehired for part-time status.  This is great for me because I get to work but I still get home early enough to get homework and cooking done.  I also got the opportunity to teach the career development course, which enhances my skills and looks impressive on my resume.  I always need to remember that God is in control not me.

My final grade for the research class is a 95!  Yeah me!  I can definitely say that I earned that grade.  I am now in the second research class and it is just as much work.  I have a paper due tomorrow night and I haven’t even started yet.  I’m getting off to a great start……yeah right!  All I have to do is read two articles and answer a few questions but I am not feeling it right now.  I went back to work last week and I was very tired every night, I’m surprised I got my discussion questions done as fast as I did.  I’m going to try it again this week, only this time I want to complete my portion of the group assignment and my paper before the weekend.  Hopefully work won’t be as frustrating as it was at the beginning of last week.  Now that everything is pretty much organized, things should go smoothly.  I’m only working for one month and then I will be back at home, which will give me more time to concentrate on this class.  Keep me in your prayers.

One research class down......

Wow!  Can I say it again….Wow!  I set a goal for myself this week and I have actually obtained it.  The last week of my first research class started today and I have already completed all of the assignments.  Yeah me!  Now why can’t I do this throughout all 8 weeks of class?  That remains a mystery.  Now I can spend the rest of the week applying for jobs and focusing on my career as a writer.  I know one of my biggest issues in my writing is grammar errors!  For some odd reason grammar is my kryptonite!  Knowing this, I went to Borders (because they are closing and have major discounts) and bought some books on English and grammar that I hope will refresh my memory.  Now if anyone knows of any FREE English/grammar classes I can take, please let me know.  Once I receive my grade for this class, I will post again.  I’m hoping I can maintain my A average, right now I am at a 93…Yikes!

Assessments

I have known for the last seven weeks that I have eight computer assessments to complete for this research class.  I was deliberately avoiding them because we had to take a pretest at the beginning of the course and it was awful!  My highest grade was a 46.  Now waiting until the last week of class to complete the assessments could be considered a bad idea, especially since I didn’t know the format.  Well today I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the first assessment.  I had to read some information and then answer questions regarding that information.  I took a huge sigh of relief.  I have completed three of them and I have five more to go.  I probably could have finished them today but laziness, thunder and lighting slipped in and I was “forced” to shut the computer down.  I definitely have plans to complete my paper and the assessments tomorrow.  Oh so far my grade is 100 on the three assessments, I have to have a grade of 80 to pass.

Research Class

To say that I have been a little stressed is an understatement.  I was laid off on July 6, 2011 and I started this research class on the same week. This class is no joke!  This is the first class that I have actually had to sit down and concentrate on what I was doing. Guess what?...There is also an assessment that we have to take at the end of the course and pass with at least an 80. Now on the practice test, my highest grade was a 46!  There are 2 ½ more weeks left in the class and I have yet to start the other assessments. I can say getting laid off at this time in my journey actually worked out because I need every minute I can spare to complete this class. My grade in the class so far is an A but if I do not pass these assessments, I will not pass the class. I need prayer and study time!

Papers! Papers! Papers!

I have been writing papers every week!  I feel like I am about to pull my hair out. In my previous classes we only had to write two papers at the most and in this class I have had one every week. If that isn’t bad enough, my academic counselor called today and informed me that the next class does not have the two reading weeks. This means that I have to get to work right away. I look forward to having that week off and then two reading weeks to mentally prepare myself for the class. Oh well I guess that is the price you pay for earning your doctorate degree.

Pathway

This week I concentrated more on trying to do my assignments ahead of time. I posted my discussion questions and I also did research for my team project. I tried to take advantage of free time that I have during the day but I found myself becoming very sleepy between the hours of 1230 and 5. I even tried going to the library. While I was in the library I felt like the walls were closing, I couldn't get comfortable, I was cold, and I could not find a seat next to the window by the sun. After all of that frustration, I decided to just go back to the school and try to get as much work done as I could before the five o'clock class started. Just as I was getting used to my new schedule, one of my coworkers feel and broke her foot. Now it looks like I will go back to working my regular 8 to 5 shift. I have been trying not to get my hopes up because I did that earlier in the week and that dream was snatched from me. The weekend came and I had plans to do my homework, finish my team assignment, and work on quick books and excel. How much of that have I gotten done? Well I just finished my last set of discussion post. I did finish my part of the team assignment on Saturday and I have been waiting on the final revisions from our team so we can post. I did feel myself going into procrastination city saying to myself well If I do not do it tonight I can do it tomorrow but I did not want to put myself into a hole. I spoke to one of my classmates and she needed some encouragement, by encouraging her I also encourage myself to complete some of the task I had assigned myself. I knew going on this journey will be a struggle but I am managing to find balance. I did not count on the schedule change at work but that is a lesson learned. I will take the hits as they come and I will make sure I do not let anything get in the way of me obtaining my doctoral degree. Until next time. Good night.

So much to do...So little time!

Well this week is just flying by... Well reading is going slow for me but that is always the case on the first couple of days of class. I enjoy reading other student's bios because I like to see the range of experience in the class and I look forward to learning from others experiences. We are coming to the end of the term at work, so I'm having to create my test and grade all of the assignments that the students are turning in. It is funny how I tell my students not to wait till last minute to do things, but I'm always waiting till the last minute to complete my assignment. That is one of the flaws that I tell myself each semester and I'm going to work on. I have been doing better but I can still use some improvement. I am definitely going to use this dragon software when I'm writing my papers. I can dictate instead of type and I can move around the house completing my chores while I'm completing my homework. I actually bought the software for my laptop but I'm having trouble loading it, so I will spend sometime this weekend trying to figure out how to get the software loaded on my laptop. For now I will use software on my iPod. Well it's officially 11 o'clock and time for me to go to bed. I hope you all have a good night....bye!

New Class...

Well classes started today and I must admit I am a little nervous. I went on the website today and post to my bio but somehow I missed two mistakes on my bio. The city I was born in and the city that I live and now, I put Washington Georgia and Atlanta Georgia but for some reason the space in between the two words was not there anymore. Well the professor for this class is not only calling you out on your mistakes but she is doing it in the chat forum. Now I'm not embarrassed about the mistakes I've made, but some students may not appreciate those type of comments in chat forum, they may prefer to have those comments in their individual form. I learned from my very first class, that professors are not calling you out on your mistakes to hurt you, but to make you a scholarly writer. This class just started that I am realizing that I must step up my game and be on point with my writing. I am a bit nervous, but I am going to do my reading and look ahead at the assignments to see what I can start on and ask any questions I may have. Wish me luck!

Staying on Track

I am already on the right track, even though class does not start until next Tuesday I have already downloaded my e-books and saved them to my USB drive. I'm trying to stay ahead of the game. The first two weeks of class are reading weeks so I decided if I get my reading done early I won't have so much do during those two weeks and I can focus on assignments for the other weeks. I hope I can keep up up with this trend, but with  work and home life it is hard sometimes to stay on track. I think I am only teaching one class next month so this should make my load a little lighter. Nonetheless I will keep you all abreast of what goes on throughout my doctoral journey. If anyone has any suggestions for me please feel free to leave a comment and I will make sure I respond.

Year One Residency Grade

I checked my grade for year one residency and I received a 94.  I am happy that I received an A but I was not very happy about the grade on the paper I wrote for the last assignment.  I did not clearly state one of the components in the instructions so I lost points.  Otherwise I received great comments for the rest of the paper and my participation at the residency.  The lesson I learned in this is to make sure I go over the instructions and my work with a fine tooth comb to make sure I have touched on all points.  Funny...I thought I learned that same lesson in our first group presentation!

The Beginning....

I just finished my year one residency with University of Phoenix. On day five I decided that I wanted to start a blog on the rest of my journey through the doctoral program.  Thinking back to the conversation I had with my enrollment advisor back in October 2010, it seemed like I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this degree.  Naturally I was very nervous and skeptical about going back to school because I have four degrees already but after much prayer I said why not go for the gusto?!  In order to be accepted into the doctoral program students have to pass COM705, this is a very riguous course!  I say this class "seperates the men from the boys!"  I can honestly say I have never been challenged like that before, not even in the Masters program.  I can honestly say I earned that B+.  I don't think I received a B in a class since my Bachelors from Brenau in 2004 but it was a learning experience and I appreciate it.  The simple mistakes I made, lowered my grade, at the same time increased my need to become a scholarly writer.  I hope this blog will serve as a release for me and other doctoral students or anyone going through a similar journey. SO LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN....