Current Projects

I have had an incredibly busy Fall.

The Morehead Writing Project has been challenging:
~ Learning about my role and duties
~ Working with MSU, KWP, KDE, NWP to administrate grants
~ Conferences and meetings hither and yon
~ Traveling to schools all over Eastern Kentucky to visit Fellows in their classrooms
~ Planning new programs

My classes have been great although I am still working to smooth out the kinks in my redesigned Writing I and II. Technical Composition this Fall is an improvement on what I taught in the Spring (which was pretty good). Maybe by the third time I teach it the class will be perfect. The students indicate they are pleased.

My TTU classes have also kept me busy. Of course, I'm taking two classes so that is a challenge. So far I'm surviving. We'll see how I feel at the end of the semester.

In Research Methods I have focused my projects on freshman composition at MSU -- conducting a study of the types of writing assignments students are expected to write in Writing I.

In Argumentation I have focused on the intersection (praxis?) of audience and argument in composition.

Just to add a bit of spice to my life, I joined the General Education Writing Committee for my department. We don't have a writing program administrator although the chair of the GEWC could be considered to hold that position. In fact, the committee does much of the work that a WPA would do. We have a number of initiatives underway to address concerns raised with our undergoing program audit and General Education reform.

Plus, I've got two more things in the hopper but I don't want to post them here for fear of jinxing them.

Thinking about Fall projects

I'm taking two classes this Fall: Argument and Introduction to Research Methods in Technical Communication and Composition.

I've been told either I will benefit tremendously from taking these together or my brain will explode. Stay tuned!

The advice I've been given by others successfully completing two classes is to choose a topic that can serve both classes. Clearly project and papers must be written separately, but some research can serve double-duty and time spent thinking and planning can overlap as well.

Right now I'm thinking about continuing my study of the online writing workshop. I would like to frame an argument for it becoming the prevailing method of teaching composition rather than the standard lecture with papers written outside of class model that certainly is the prevailing method at my institution. (Perhaps I'm wrong about that but I'd like to find out). I will have to undertake two microstudies for research methods so I could do a faculty survey looking at how composition is taught now (time spent on lecture, group work, peer review, etc.) and how many instructors either teach online or use it to support instruction. I could also survey syllabi to extrapolate some information. I'm interested in doing some study of my online class archives but that may have to wait.

Surviving the Summer

This summer was incredibly hectic but somehow I survived.

I took a class and taught two classes. That spanned June and July.

I attended MWP's Summer Institute in June.

I attended a NWP conference in July.

I taught my first PD in August.

Somehow I survived, succeeded in my class and the one I taught, and am now looking forward to Fall.

Anyway, that explains why I lagged behind on my posts. It was all I could do to keep my head above water.

I love my subconscious

I actually practiced what I preach today.

I always push my writing students to harness the power of their subconscious (unconscious mind?) for their writing.

Today I wrote out my worries, concerns, and ideas (here) and then went on with my life and other things.

Now I'm starting to see the glimmerings of hope and focus.

I think perhaps a very good place to start would be to work on a literature review on my various areas of interest (starting with discourse and technology and any points of overlap with other topics). That I think may not only help me refine my ability and understanding of this important research tool (the lit review I mean) but also deepen my understanding of the topics and give me a better understanding of the gaps in knowledge so I can do a better job when the time comes to actually create a research project.

I feel better for having a plan and a starting point. That is what was making me so crazy -- having so many ideas and thoughts rambling (or rather pinging around like racquetballs or a game of pong on steroids) in my head.

My research interests

Discourse and Technology
Composition Studies
Writing Pedagogy

OK, so how do I come up with a magical research agenda/project/dissertation focus that covers all 3 of these?

Writing Pedagogy

This encompasses a lot of questions and topics that overlap with my interest in composition studies so perhaps I'll just lump them all here and let them sort themselves out.

I'm attending the Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute in preparation for taking over as Site Director in July. The MWP is doing some great work but the leadership team would like to see it expand its reach and programming.

Of course in order to do this we will need to know what our stakeholders need and want.

MWP Stakeholders:

Teachers
Students
Administrators
Community
Government
Writing Project Leadership

Some research has been done and I'll need to get up to speed on that as well as many other things related to WP and MWP in specific.

But I'd also like to get a better handle on what our English teachers in general need to know to effectively do their jobs (and at different levels) which has some overlap with above but may also be distinct in some areas.

I'm also interested in what writers need to know to successfully negotiate from high school to college to work which comes back to what do we need to teach our students (in college?). What specific skill sets and experiences?

I'm also really interested in process pedagogy as I think developing a unique and individual writing process is one of the keys to writing success (this is based more on my own experience as a writer and writing teacher than any research which is why I'd really like to study this hypothesis). Again this would aid my teaching but could also be of interest to WP. Definite overlap there. Heck I could even study the current fellows.

And of course coming back to the idea of discourse community. I'm really intrigued by this idea and think this could be a very key concept in terms of writing instruction as it is the community that drives so many of the specifics of writing (everything from correctness issues to genre) and it is the community that provides the audience and rhetorical situation. It is the discourse community that makes writing relevant and meaningful and real. I think this can come back and feed both my interest in writing pedagogy and composition studies.

Back full circle now. I'm so conflicted and confused. What to do, what to do...

What to do?

I am so conflicted and confused. My mind is overflowing with ideas for research projects and I just can't choose. I know I need to focus and direct my reading. In fact that was my plan for the summer but all these ideas keep creeping in.

A top priority for the summer obviously needs to be:

Discourse and Technology: Computers and Writing

as that is the class I'm taking and I have to do a paper for that:

* The first draft, of about 8-10 pages, is due by class time July 24. Awarded 10% of the course grade. Contains a developing argument, prose format (no outline), and preliminary works cited.

* The final draft of 15-20 pages is due by class time July 31. Awarded 30% of the course grade. Contains a developed argument, supported points, works cited.

OK, that's easy enough to focus on as it is also an interest area of mine (which is why I'm taking the class) as I teach online and also my chair is interested in the concept of distributed grading.

So I'm fumbling around with some ideas. At first I was thinking about doing something with building/developing a sense of community as I'm interested in the idea of discourse community but now I'm thinking along the lines of studying the benefits of using technology to teach/support writing. I think this would support the distributed grading concept as well as demonstrate the benefits of using technology to support and teach writing classes (whether f2f or web, synchronous or asynchronous). I'm teaching online this summer so I have a captive audience and probably I could coerce Steve Penn (who is also teaching online this summer) into letting me at least survey his students. If I want to do something along those lines what should I focus on? How do I research this? What background reading do I need to do?

Lots to think about...

Some thoughts inspired by Ede

Gap? What do our students "need" to know?

Composition - Pedagogy - Computers and Writing

My research agenda - what do we need to teach our writers, how do we best teach writing, how can we best use technology to teach and assist writing

For me, process helps students understand writing better so they fear and dread it less -- I can't make them all love writing but I can raise their comfort level and ease that dread and fear which can only work to raise their ability and willingness to continue working on their writing -- raising their awareness and understanding of how writing works and develops (the process) can also help them learn how to improve their writing -- more awareness translates into stronger writing.

Is there one way to teach? One way to write? NO!

Writing process is important to creation of product and limbering those writing muscles but social process is key to situating that writing and transferring knowledge from one writing task to another.

What percentage of internet to tradition...
successful completion (c or better)
breakdown (A,B,C)
enrollment

Interview with teachers -- connection to teacher and other students -- asynchronous or synchronous

Pre and post survey

confidence
ability
test score
college english grade
high school english grade
experience with genre
process/practice

Is taking an internet class a necessity or a convenience?

Study professionalism/training in comp teachers

Grant proposal to test a writing center pilot (online?)

Pilot test distributed grading

paper/project - benefits of electronic portfolios and distributed grading -- system solution

I believe (learning/teaching) process essential for developing writers (those learning or attempting "new" tasks) but experienced/expert writers have moved beyond the need for process as they have internalized an individual process that is effective for the writing tasks they face.

I wonder how many of those who dismiss process actually work with struggling/developing writers?

vignette about teaching freshman composition?

What is the real/perceived value of fyc -- admin, faculty, teachers, students

Situating Composition

I just finished "Situating Composition" by Lisa Ede and found it a really interesting book.

The book was part history and part discussion of theory and pedagogy flavored of course by Ede's unique perspective. I found much of what she said resonated with me.

She helped me work through some of my own issues in regard to process theory and helped me clarify my position.

She also gave me a lot of direction for future study, research, and reading.

I was struck by her discussion of "paradigm hope" which encourages scholars to believe the "right theory" can effect change at the level of practice. She is bothered by paradigm hope as she feels it devalues practice and distances scholars work from the scene of the classroom.

Similarly "Theory Hope" which she defines as the general hope that if we can work through an idea or issue at the level of theory it will inevitably have significance for practice.

I was also interested in her discussion of her own pedagogy and its evolution over time

Some quotes that resonated with me:

"I believe that writing needs to be understood in its "community context"

"Current focus on correctness was misplaced since what is most critical in writing are global issues of process, form, and content."

"What difference might it make if scholars in composition recognized the need for and value of multiple approaches to literacy?

"What is at stake ... our ability to enact a model of disciplinary progress that does not require the continual disvaluing of previous theories and practices."

"I have been concerned with pedagogical change and the relationship between those engaged in the practice of theory and those engaged in the practice of teaching."

"What does it mean to enact progress in a field committed to pedagogical and scholarly action."

David Bartholomae "Writing on the Margins"

Just finished reading David Bartholomae's "Writing on the Margins"

Jane Hindman's abstract: David Bartholomae's notion of "Writing on the Margins" is intriguing. He claims that good writers are those who "poise themselves on the margins in a tenuous and hesitant relationship to the language and methods of the university." This paradox is captivating because the margins serve as a place to which one is banished for not knowing the rules--and as a place from which one can earn authority for resisting the rules. Particularly enthralling are the splits--the essays that receive the highest and the lowest scores possible. These essays create gaps in the institutionally "obvious" notions of what constitutes good writing. As an example, in a submission of a feminist reading of "Gorgias" to "Rhetoric Review," two reviewers were at opposite ends of the positive/negative spectrum, one rejecting and the other offering suggestions for revision and resubmission. After submission of the revision, a second set of "conflicting" reviews were offered and a lively discussion about the essay ensued with one of the readers. Why are there not more discussions about what puts pressure on the margins of an individual's scholarly discourse, conversations about subversive practices. Ways to access the disciplinary formations and paradigm shifts that occur when new propositions or ideas put pressure on the boundaries of what reviewers and editors consider to be correct should be considered.

Jeffrey Williams says this: David Bartholomae is a leading figure in composition. But, initially trained as a Victorianist, he has stressed composition's link with literature rather than its separation, and resisted trends toward "writing without teachers" or without academic models.

Writing on the Margins: Essays on Composition and Teaching (Bedford, 2005) collects a wide sampling of Bartholomae's articles, such as his well-known "Inventing the University." See also his survey of "Composition" in Introduction to Scholarship in Modern Languages and Literatures, ed. David G. Nicholls (MLA, 2007), and his debate with Peter Elbow, "Writing with Teachers," CCC 46.1 (1995). Alongside his essays, Bartholomae has had substantial influence with his textbook, now entering its eigth edition, Ways of Reading, co-written with Anthony R. Petrosky (Bedford, 1987; 7th ed. 2005). He and Petrosky have also written the text Reading the Lives of Others: History and Ethnography (Bedford, 1994) and co-edited The Teaching of Writing: The Eighty-fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (Chicago, 1986) and Facts, Artifacts and Counterfacts: Reading and Writing in Theory and Practice (Boynton, 1987). In addition, he co-edits the Pittsburgh Series in Composition, Literacy, and Culture for the University of Pittsburgh Press.

I read this book after being told some of my ideas/thoughts were "pure Bartholomae" so I thought it would be a good idea to find out just how much that was true.

I believe as it Bartholomae does that composition should be student-centered and where learning and writing is an active experience.

He also talks quite a bit about discourse community (language of the tribe) which is what I think the above quote referred to.

However I don't agree with his methods of working so closely with literature. I'd rather focus more on the student text. I also find more agreement at times with Elbow and the process movement.

I have come around more to his way of thinking than I once was in regard to where composition should be situated in the academy. I think it should remain within the English department. I can sympathize with those who wish to move it away from literature as far too many literature folks teach writing without thinking about what writers need to learn and grow.

Some thoughts inspired by Bartholomae

I am a writing teacher but really I am a thinking teacher -- in order to be a good writer one must first be a good thinker -- too often my students have not been taught to think and question but only to memorize and listen. This can't be good for them or the future.

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What is college for?

I have three college degrees and am working on my fourth. I have taught at the college level for 9 years. Yet when my 7 year old asked me that question I couldn't answer right away.

For the undergraduate I teach, and for the general public, the easy answer -- the only answers is to provide entry or pave the way to a professional. A college degree is the price of admission to achieve the American Dream today. Without a degree my students envision a life of working service sector jobs or hard manual labor. They see struggle, poverty, and painful uncertainty if they fail to earn that degree.

Yes, college is the gate keeper for many professions but it is much more than that. College should also be about thinking, questioning, and challenging both yourself and the ideas that others force upon you. Some of those ideas may settle on your rain and other bear fruit.

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Share at least one tip you've gleaned from this exercise to help you better understand "academic writing" or writing within the academic discourse community

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Discourse is dialogue -- you are entering a conversation...continuing it...advancing it if you will. When you enter the discourse you have to ask yourself: What do you have to say about this topic? What can you add to the conversation?

Some writing in collee will be the kind of writing you do for an abstract -- condensing and spitting back another's idea in your own words. That is writing as learning but often writing in college (and indeed beyond) will require much more from you. This is writing as knowledge making. You start with someone's ideas (words) and bring in your ideas/words then synthesize these to advance (move) the conversation to a new place.

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A discourse community has its own unique rules and conventions. They existed before you entered and will likely remain unchanged by your presence. You can contribute to and challenge the discourse within the community but in order to do so effectively (to be taken seriously by other members) you need to do so within its rules and conventions.

Writing within a discourse community is like a game -- you must learn the rules in order to succeed.

A Tribute To Barb

Thanks to Barbara D'Angelo of Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus for sharing her presentation "Learning From Our Stakeholders: Using Research To Redesign A Business Writing Course" as I can see her ideas helping shape not only my dissertation topic (of the moment?) "What should we teach in FYC?" but also my work with the Morehead Writing Project.

Back To Life...Back To Reality

Now that I am back home and trying to swing back into a routine (probably will have more success with that next week) I'm setting up my goals and plans.

This summer I will be taking "Discourse and Technology: Computers and Writing" which should be interesting due to my interest in that intersection of knowledge.

I also plan to do more reading about composition theory and pedagogy as well as research basics this summer to help me think about and plan future research. I really want to develop a better understanding (and support) for what I think about discourse community awareness.

Understanding The Discourse Community and Its Implications For The Teaching Of Writing

My other self directed reading project will be developing a better understanding of the Writing Project so I can do a better job as Morehead Writing Project Site Director.

I hope that will lead into some research about the population we serve and how best to meet their needs.

That should keep me busy for the summer and equip me to better make decisions about where I want to go in the Fall.

Oh, and I plan to work up my reading list and my personal web site, Deanna Mascle, to reflect my work and research interests.

Last Day

We finished up our project for better worse and now are done with Usability Testing.

What an experience!

We finished up the May Seminar with dinner at a Japanese Steak House. It was fun and delicious.

We called it an early night as Julie has an early flight Sunday morning.

I am so excited to be going home but sad to say good-bye as well.

Presentation Day

My presentation "What Should We Be Teaching In Freshman Composition?" went well and I received some nice response. So glad that is over.

Lunch Dr. Rice shared some interesting work he is doing with chess and connecting it to reading and writing. Quite interesting.

The Quadrophonics rolled out their new name to tremendous applause. I think we were a big hit.

Usability was just brutal. This is hard work and we are not working well as a team.

Handed off our part late but done for now. Can't face salads (again!) for supper. A nice dinner at a little family restaurant away from campus.

Went for a walk when we got back and then some time chatting with others before calling it an early night.

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day -- well I can because I'm exhausted but it has flown by as well.

The Slough of Exhaustion

Today was just grueling.

Up early to attend presentations. Lunch speaker (interesting presentation from Dr. Barker about his planned research project -- made a lot of notes about activity theory which I found interesting). Class was just brutal. Trying to write. Trying to crunch numbers. Our group not working particularly well together.

When time for the drop off dinner of wraps (again!) came around we ditched it and went off campus. Bar food. Greasy hamburgers. Heaven just to escape campus and the grind.

A late night polishing my presentation but lots of fun just chatting and socializing with folks. Everyone must be feeling the same need to let off steam as people seem to be out and about everywhere -- shouting from balcony to balcony and hanging out in the laundry room. Actually a pretty fun night to cap off a not so fun day.

My birthday

My birthday today. I'm still weak from yesterday but feeling better. I wasn't up for breakfast though. Lunch was OK but dinner was a mistake (burrito?). It stayed down -- barely.

Had a great talk with Dr. Still and I'm OK even though I missed class (a big deal when there are only 12!). He says it might be a good thing that I can look at the data with fresh eyes.

Dr. Rickly did a great lunch talk today about the lessons (and successes) that can come out of failure.

Affinity diagramming today in usability!?!

Very hard to only get a happy birthday from my son on the phone. I miss him so much.

Julie took me out for ice cream for my birthday which was nice.

Elvira to the rescue

I was so sick today. I woke up just terribly sick. No classes. No workshops. Just being sick and laying down trying not to be sick again. This is test day for usability. I hope my cohort doesn't hate me!

In the afternoon housekeeping arrives to tell me that the water has been turned off. Oh no! This is not the day for me not to have water. This sickness is bad enough without being able to wash up!

Elvira calls someone and gets the water issue addressed. She is so nice and sympathetic. Very nice when I feel so sick and alone with everyone else gone for the day.

Annual Review

Whew! Annual review over!

I was nervous about the whole review. After all, there is a spot on the form about the student's fitness to continue with the program. I stayed up late slaving over my degree plan and then stopped by the computer lab early to print off the documents. As I'm printing I share my worries with Lennie and Pete (Frodos) and they tell me they have the same worries every year. That didn't allay my fears.

Then as I'm walking down the hall Dr. Still tells me that Dr. Kemp has a conflict (ironically with Pete) so he (Brian) will try to bring in Dr. Carter.

They both indicated they were pleased with my progress in the program and were interested in my discourse community research idea. They revised the fall schedule I had planned and indicated I should be done with course work next fall. Wow.

Another exhausting day planning working on our test plan for usability. Up late to finish my portion and I just can't do any more. I'm tired and I just don't feel well.

The Plan

Tomorrow I have my annual review and I have spent a lot of time planning and thinking about my future in academia.

Where do I want to be in five years?

What do I want to do with my life?

How do I want to define myself as an academic?

Where do I want my research to take me?

Those are big questions and I don't need all the answers tomorrow but I need to think about them as they shape the future of my experience in this program and my professional life.

Scrutinizing the required course work it appears I could be done with classes by next summer or fall. Then I'll need another 1 to 1-1/2 years to wrap up my comps and dissertation (theoretically) so I could be Dr. Mascle within the next 3 years. Wow.

But maybe tomorrow my committee will shoot my plan out of the water...

How do I define myself?

I'm definitely interested in writing studies. Not sure the term composition studies really defines who I am.

I'm interested in three areas beneath the larger umbrella:

* What do students need to know to succeed in academic and professional writing
* What do teachers need to know to be more effective writing teachers
* What is the impact of technology (computers, internet, etc.) on writing and the teaching of writing

A Day Of Rest

Sunday is truly a day of rest for us. Nothing scheduled. No events, meals, or deadlines. We slept in and then walked to Starbucks. As it was already late morning by the time we were done we picked up a lunch and brought it back with us. Today is Julie's birthday so we plan to take her out tonight.

Today is just about recuperating from our first stressful, action-packed week and preparing for the week to come.

Part of me hates the idea that we are already halfway done but part of me will be so glad to get home again.

Changing Faces

While four members of our cohort went to their annual reviews, Julie Davis, Chris Ryan, and myself went to Ihop for breakfast and worked on pulling together our project plan. It was a nice break.

At lunch Dr. Carter talked about Gender Identity Disorder and internal arguments for making decisions about how to live with it (or not). It was a very interesting look into future research plans as well as personal struggles.

The afternoon started out well as we pulled together our plan and worked to finalize our project plan but in the afternoon as we grew more tired and the pressure mounted we had some group tension. We managed to work through it though.

We got done much later with the project than we expected. Then I called home to discover Noah had been sick. It is so hard to be away from him and even more so when I know he is sick and I'm not there to take care of him.

Although we were dragging and tired when we got back we decided to take advantage of Joyce and Becky's invitation to an informal party at their home. It was a good choice to get away and relax as well as enjoy a beer, music, food, and conversation. Just a reminder there is life after the May Seminar.

Exhaustion Sets In

The day started out rather relaxed with a bit of fun.

No morning program as annual reviews are scheduled. But we met up with M2 Alec Hosterman to shoot some photographs of our cohort that we can use for our big name rollout. We decided to go with a "rock band" album concept and it was a lot of fun and the pictures turned out pretty cool. See Quadrophonics!

At lunch Dr. Angela Eaton talked to us about IRB protocol for research. Not exciting but interesting and important to know. Then off to class when it became clear we had a lot of work ahead of us to get our project plan in place.

After class most students gathered for a casual pizza dinner in the English Dept. and then off to our various pursuits. During dinner I had a few moments when I really missed Noah. It is so hard being away from him. But I did have a great conversation with Rich Rice about teacher research.

Our cohort decided to gather to do laundry and work on our project plan. We brainstormed some important info for our blog an then focused on the plan. After a couple of productive hours we split up to deal with our assigned tasks. Christine and I worked on the script for our test and that was actually kind of fun.

Looking into the crystal ball

More great presentations and then our Keynote Lunch Speaker Mary Sue MacNealy shared her inspiring and informative advice for career and research.

Also had a great talk with Dr. Fred Kemp and Dr. Rich Rice about my research plans.

I can see my research and my future coming together.

Coming Together

More amazing presentations from our peers that taught important lessons about their research as well as the process involved. Again, so impressive how willing people are to share their experience and lessons.

At lunch Dr. Fred Kemp shared his research plans with us.

After dinner our cohort took an off-campus break to get to know each other better, plan our project, and work on our all-import cohort designation.

Kicking It Up

Today I really started to feel my research agenda (and hence program planning) coming together.

Dr. Fred Kemp and Dr. Angela Eaton led a session discussing research questions in preparation for the dissertation. Then Dr. Sean Zdenek led a session about assembling a reading list for qualifying exams.

Their explanations of how this process works together made these daunting tasks seem much more reasonable and actually rather excited me to think about what I want to do.

At lunch Dr. Craig Baehr shared his research plans for the upcoming year.

A day filled with learning and advice and a whole lot of thinking!

I'm starting to really think about my own research agenda. I think I really want to focus on writing studies (I just don't feel that composition studies defines what I do and what interests me). Dr. Eaton stresses that you should really have 3 research areas to strengthen your position in the job market.

Writing Studies

* What do our students need to know to successfully negotiate college and professional discourse communities
* What do writing teachers need to know to effectively teach writing
* What impact does technology have on the teaching, development, and sharing of writing

We ended the day by taking a walk around campus. This really is a beautiful campus. The exercise and break was a great way to relieve the stress and refocus.

Information Overload

That is the only description for my first day in the May Workshop.

Overwhelming, awe inspiring, amazing, full -- very, very full.

We kicked off at 8 a.m. with brief meet and greet over breakfast and then launched into talks by the Director of Graduate Studies in TCR, Dr. Joyce Joyce Locke Carter, and Dr. Sam Dragga, English Department Chair.

Dr. Carter told us more about the history of the program and its ongoing development as well as how closely we had been vetted before admission. More than 75% of program applicants are rejected. Dr. Carter emphasized how much the faculty wanted the program as well as the individual students to thrive and succeed.

Dr. Dragga emphasized how closely we were being scrutinized as the pioneers in this new type of program and that how important it is that we represent TTU well now and in the future.

We then moved on to hear Dr. Ryan Boettger's dissertation defense.

Lunch included informal conversations with faculty and fellow students and concluded with Dr. Dragga sharing his research project involving the ethics of graphical images.

The afternoon was filled with Usability testing (four hours worth!)

Then dinner and more information from Dr. Carter followed by Dr. Susan Lang, Director of Composition, presenting about her research with the composition database.

This cannot even begin to convey all the tidbits of information shared by faculty and the other cohorts about classes, research, and the job market.

By the day's end we were completely overwhelmed with information.

Poor planning on my part. I didn't bring my phone and so didn't get to talk with Noah before bedtime. I miss him so much!

The Arrival

I arrived in Lubbock and am already overwhelmed by how warm and welcoming everyone is to the "newbies".

The trip was terrible. I hated leaving my boy on Mother's Day and I miss him terribly. I cried much of the flight. Usability reading got me through it (you can't stay emotional when reading that material). The connection in Dallas was nerve-wracking at best. I was on the ground about 15 minutes and ran from one terminal to the next afraid I would miss my connection. I made it but only just.

Sue Henson collected Marc Dimaggio and myself at the airport. They are both in the second cohort and were so nice and welcoming. The introductions came fast and furious after arriving on campus. Then I got to meet my roommates. I quickly bonded with Lora Arduser of the University of Cincinnati, Julie Davis of Clarkson University, and Christine Hubbell of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs over dinner and Wal-Mart shopping. We stayed up late chatting, worrying, and planning.

The Care and Feeding of a PhD Student

My name is Deana Mascle.

I grew up in Williamson, New York, and now live in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. I am married and have a 7-year-old son. I am active in the First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Sterling (I serve on the session, am a youth leader, teach Sunday School, and sing in the choir).

For as long as I can remember I have always loved writing and words. I can't actually remember a time when I wasn't writing. I am a voracious reader and possess an avid curiosity.

All these things were a great help to me in my first career as a reporter and editor for both newspapers and magazines.

If writing is my first love then teaching follows as a close second. When I completed my Master's in Secondary Education/English I truly was torn. I loved teaching high school but hated the school system organization and missed writing. I was able to fulfill my need to teach by teaching G.E.D. for years both in New York and Kentucky but it wasn't until I returned to school and earned my MA in English from Eastern Kentucky University that I truly realized I had found my niche in life. I could teach writing. I cannot imagine more fun than spending my days filled with writing, talking about writing with other writers, helping other writers find their way, and learning more about writing and the teaching of writing.

I am still able to fulfill my writing urge by working as a freelance writer. I have now transitioned from working for magazines and print publications to writing entirely for my own online publications from Squidoo to web sites to articles.

After teaching at EKU for a while, I have settled in at Morehead State University where I teach mostly Writing I and II but have also taught sections of creative writing and technical composition. I will start a new gig as the Site Director for the Morehead Writing Project this summer. I started our online general education writing classes which has given me tremendous flexibility for my schedule.

It became increasingly clear to me that to reach my professional goals I would need to pursue a PhD however my program options were limited due to the fact my job and family rooted me in Kentucky. However the Texas Tech Online PhD Program in Technical Communication and Rhetoric seemed a good fit.

Now that I am one semester in I can truly say this was a great choice. I am impressed with the faculty as well as the level of the students in the program. I am confirmed in my choice many times over.

And now we are into the May Seminar...