Using Collaborative Autoethnography (CAE) to Reflect On and Examine Doctoral Mentoring
Location
3030
Format Type
Paper
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2016
End Date
January 2016
Abstract
Collaborative autoethnography (CAE) “focuses on self-interrogation, but does so collectively and cooperatively within a team of researchers” (Chang et al., 2013, p. 21). CAE allows multiple authors to participate in collective and cross-analytic questioning, in order to both encourage multi-vocality in reflection and collaborative process in self-analysis. Through this process we were able to each examine our practice of “teaching through feedback,” explore our relationships with our students, and find the nuances of relationship dissatisfaction. We then brought those examples to the group. We shared our thoughts and reflections on these examples. In each group session, as we listened to each other share our cases, we questioned and empathized with similar situations and feelings. We also expressed where our experiences differed, or suggested alternative reflections on the meaning of the experience.
All of us are dissertation chairs who mentor doctoral students who use a variety of research designs and methods in their dissertations. Often we, as chairs, have more expertise with certain methodologies than with others. In this presentation, we chose to explore the use of a new methodology—CAE—to achieve two purposes. First, we discuss how we used the method to reflect on and understand our mentoring with respect to relationship deterioration; and, second, we set out to learn some of the important nuances of the method in order to mentor students who might want to explore and implement CAE. We provide implications for those who teach research methods in doctoral programs.
Using Collaborative Autoethnography (CAE) to Reflect On and Examine Doctoral Mentoring
3030
Collaborative autoethnography (CAE) “focuses on self-interrogation, but does so collectively and cooperatively within a team of researchers” (Chang et al., 2013, p. 21). CAE allows multiple authors to participate in collective and cross-analytic questioning, in order to both encourage multi-vocality in reflection and collaborative process in self-analysis. Through this process we were able to each examine our practice of “teaching through feedback,” explore our relationships with our students, and find the nuances of relationship dissatisfaction. We then brought those examples to the group. We shared our thoughts and reflections on these examples. In each group session, as we listened to each other share our cases, we questioned and empathized with similar situations and feelings. We also expressed where our experiences differed, or suggested alternative reflections on the meaning of the experience.
All of us are dissertation chairs who mentor doctoral students who use a variety of research designs and methods in their dissertations. Often we, as chairs, have more expertise with certain methodologies than with others. In this presentation, we chose to explore the use of a new methodology—CAE—to achieve two purposes. First, we discuss how we used the method to reflect on and understand our mentoring with respect to relationship deterioration; and, second, we set out to learn some of the important nuances of the method in order to mentor students who might want to explore and implement CAE. We provide implications for those who teach research methods in doctoral programs.
Comments
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you! Beth Wetzler