Graduate Showcase
Over the course of my graduate work I have improved in many areas. The courses provided me with vital resources to broaden my understanding of the historical, theoretical, social, economic and philosophical elements around the topic of higher education leadership through my context as an administrator in a complex, large scale research university. The reflective practices required for this learning has helped me revamp my initial goal for pursuing this degree through developing a newfound appreciation of higher education institutions. As a result, I have shared several artifacts here that demonstrate my journey in three distinct skill areas: Leadership, Critical Thinking, and Lifelong Learning. Please find each artifact by clicking each link embedded.
Leadership
To Be or Not To Be - The Virtual Question
Effective leadership requires a variety of skills to navigate the many obstacles that a leader within a postsecondary education institution faces. The case study “To Be or Not To Be - The Virtual Question” by Kathleen Guy, Lynne Hensel, Gail Hoffman-Johnson, and Jean Morciglio provided me an opportunity to apply some newly learned leadership principles to the case. The original case study can be found here. |
Budgeting and Finance in Higher Education
The ongoing trend of higher education becoming more and more expensive has been a common anecdote. In order to be an effective administrative leader in a postsecondary institution, one must understand various elements of higher education budgeting and finance. In this document, I showcase my understanding of the larger adverse implications of having education be too expensive for middle and lower income families for society. Through the use of evidence, logic, and reflectivity I am able to achieve a better understanding of my own positionality, perspectives and biases so I may work to better improve higher education with a social justice lens. |
Education Leadership Philosophy
Leadership as a general topic has been written about and a plethora of information exists online. The interdisciplinary nature of the subject matter meant that while the contexts varied, the principles were applicable regardless. In this artifact I developed my own leadership perspective that demonstrates my deepening understanding of what leadership means to me and where I am within my own leadership journey. |
Critical thinking
Educational Inquiry
According to Platonic dialogue, one learns from considering competing ideas, and often ideas that differ from our own. Therefore, to approach education philosophically we must take up foundational ideas about its assumptions, intentions, and practices. In this piece of analysis, I demonstrate my ability to recognize different beliefs about what is fundamental about learning in general as offered by two different views of education of John Dewey’s “My Pedagogic Creed” versus E.D. Hirsch, Jr.’s “Why Traditional Education is Progressive” articles. I am able to objectively compare and contrast the differing educational philosophies for the potential to mold my own pathway to education. |
The Power of Reframing
In "Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership" by Lee Bolman and Terrence E. Deal, the authors discuss the importance of how different framing mechanisms can influence the ways in which organizations and administration are understood by individuals and groups. Furthermore, "How Colleges work: The Cybernetics of Academic Organization and Leadership" by Robert Birnbaum outlines theoretical and applied analyses of university academic organizations in the context of leadership. In this artifact, I demonstrate my ability to critically analyze one organizational type through specific frames to understand how conceptual frameworks and theory shape organizational structures, decisions, power, and choices. |
Ethnographic Inquiry as a Participant Observer
Often described as immersing oneself in a culture, participant observation is a primary part of ethnographic fieldwork. The researcher would watch people and their activities in social situations with a critical eye to foster important and data rich quantitative and qualitative information. More broadly, the skills one gains through this type of research are valuable to honing one’s ability to more effectively assess social situations generally and discover important information. In this analysis by watching “Whale Rider” directed by Niki Caro, I was afforded the opportunity to practice ethnographic inquiry and got to practice looking and listening in order to better understand local thinking and behavior. |
Lifelong Learning
Hacking My Education
Graduate programs in American universities are generally structured with required courses. But many include a "cognate," or a small selection of courses a student uses to pursue an allied and related interest (e.g., statistics, gender studies, or the study of another culture and language). The rapid expansion of open and free (or low cost) online resources can give new meaning to the idea of the traditional cognate, depending as it does solely on conventional face-to-face credit courses. I demonstrate my ability to identify what specific skill I am currently lacking and lay out a plan to “hack” the resources available to me now to gain competency. |
Training and Development Personal Philosophy Development
Higher Education Leaders must develop knowledge and skill in the design, development, and delivery of training and professional development (TPD) programs for working adults in various occupational settings. In this artifact, I had an opportunity to reflect on my beliefs and assumptions about TPD, based on the bodies of research about the meaning, purposes, and approaches to training and professional development in different contexts and my own experiences. This reflection resulted in this statement of my theoretical perspective utilizing a personal familiar context of junior faculty development at my university. |
In Defense of the “Old” Ways of Learning
Despite the ubiquity of digital devices print remains an important technology for education and learning. There are still questions to ask about the role of print in a transitional period (or "Age") when how we use and understand media are adjusting to new technologies for communications. In this paper, I analyze the role that printing (one of the “old” technologies for education and learning) still very much has relevance in a world that seems to automatically idolize the digital age in relation to the future of technology. Through self-inquiry I identified the value and shortcomings that both types of learning can produce. |
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©2021 by Tracy Liu
©2021 by Tracy Liu