I wanted to talk about the influence of last class's reading assignment on my perception of the field study experience as well as some of the things I think the Ghana Field Study class can do to better empower and improve the performance of students.
Something that struck me about the Ophelia Syndrome reading was that it correlated well with what the Field Study Program adopts, a process of "individualation" and "self-learning". Individualation was defined in our readings as a process of self-discovery and uniqueness and a process where you discover what distinguishes you from others. There were plenty of methods he shared about ways to discover ourselves and our thoughts. I kept thinking about ways in my life I've done those things, and ways in my life that I've displayed symptoms of the Ophelia Complex. What I realized was that there is a fine line between those two moments, it's a challenge to foster an environment that escapes that complex and inspires individualism. While assignments with few guidelines and high expectations foster stress and uncertainty, they are often the assignments that push my mind and creativity. The Field Study Prep class has encouraged individualism and self-discovery, and I'm grateful for that, but I was recently considering the ways that this program might keep that focus but reduce stress.
I'm a big believer in the fact that the more information a person is given, the more empowered they are to take that information and act wisely. There are some questions that must be worked out individually with this field study experience, but there are also ways that I think the program could foster greater individuality and creativity by providing more information.
Like we discussed in my section on Wednesday, I think workshops would be a great way to give students more information on the topics they have the most questions about. It's different for every student, so answering questions outside of class but making that information available for anyone that has those questions would be empowering and decrease stress. Here are some of the ideas I had for workshops:
Travel Preparation advice (ticket purchases, getting a passport/visa, immunization recommendations/advice)
Blog training/assistance
Tips on how to find good sources or do research
Topic Development
Financial Aid/Scholarship/Grant opportunities we should be applying for
Professors (who to ask to be mentors/contract professors, how to use them, how to help them help you)
Developing Methods (new and different options, challenges to be aware of with each method, important skills/supplies to have on hand for each method)
These topics all qualify as things that have caused me stress and uncertainty this semester. The brilliance of a workshop is that the student selects things that will cater to their needs AND the information empowers them to do what they were going to do better and more easily.
With preliminary interviews for example, I went into those meetings expecting more information about Field Studies--mostly because I had barely heard of Field Studies a week and a half before entering the interview process and had little information to operate on. I found that the information given me was sparse and the focus instead was on what I wanted to do; I wasn't looking for someone to hold my hand and tell me what to do, but I didn't have enough knowledge about field studies to make what I felt was an informed or acceptable decision. If during those meetings information had been given to me to help me fit my idea within the context of what was acceptable and feasible, I would have felt less stress and more empowered to act and create my own individual project. The most helpful thing I can think of would be if information was (physically) given to me for each topic we covered in the interviews.
If the first meeting was about ideas for my project, perhaps a sheet of paper with information about topics and studies could have been offered. It could have included a list of topics students have done in the past in the area considering, the benefits and attributes of certain topics for other locations, a definition of the type of study that most students do (ethnographic instead of data-collecting), and why those studies work, and some of the resources in the community or in other community locations that they could consider when choosing a topic. Still stress that this project is to be whatever they want and not restricted to the list's factors, but that would have given me a GREAT idea of if my project was on the right track, if I should choose a different location based on what will be in each community, or if my project is doable with what study types and resources are available and suggested. I really believe that list wouldn't have ultimately influenced my project development, instead it would have given me valuable information that would reduce my concern and self-doubt about what I decided to study.
Again, for the meeting where we discuss professors and course contracts, let people know when those deadlines would be for having a faculty mentor or contracts made, give them the number of credits they'll be required to take or a pamphlet explaining course contracts, and write during the meeting on the piece of paper professors you'd suggest--especially if they are interested in fields you guys know well. That information, on a piece of paper would have helped decrease my stress levels about something I've never encountered during University life, it would have given me a time frame that would allow me to make personal plans to fulfill those requirements and find good teachers in subjects I'm interested in. I still will find those teachers, and I'm on the right track already, but it took a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Yes I lost sleep over this, its not an exaggeration, sadly enough.
For the interview where the topic is ethics and IRB, give them a list of IRB restrictions students commonly encounter, expectations from the ISP, ethics to consider--I loved when Ashley asked me the question "How would you study that in Ogden?" it helped me see how to approach what I really wanted to study in a way that was appropriate and informative. These lists would have been really valuable to me, because they give me information, it's recorded so I can refer back, and I feel empowered and know more of what you'll expect/accept. I remember when I finally decided I wanted to study poverty. I didn't know how to phrase that any better than that word, but I was so proud of my topic when I came into my last meeting and couldn't wait to share the choice I'd made. Right away the topic I suggested (because I was poorly educated on development and my idea wasn't well formulated yet) made the facilitators and program director concerned. I appreciated that they expressed that concern, but I remember how confused I was that what I had decided I really wanted to study wasn't acceptable; I was also frustrated because I didn't know what the guidelines or boundaries were they saw me crossing with the topic. I wasn't wanting to do anything ethically unsound like interview people and ask how they felt about being poor, but having a list of guidelines would have given me confidence that what I wanted to study was within those guidelines, and I think I would have had more confidence explaining how the study I wanted to do on poverty was still ethically sound.
We definitely want to avoid developing the Ophelia Syndrome in field studies, but I feel I've demonstrated how more information can be provided in the program while still avoiding that pitfall; in fact sometimes information can be a powerful source of confidence in independent thinking.
What are your thoughts?
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