Into the Labyrinth : A PhD Comprehensive Portfolio

Scholarly Tasks

     The Joint PhD Handbook outlines recommended items to include in the comprehensive portfolio to illustrate a deep understanding of concepts, theories, and issues in a field of study. These include an extended literature review, peer-reviewed publications, conference proceedings, funding proposals, and other scholarly products. I have reflected and selected items that I feel exemplify the specific criteria and requirements for this comprehensive portfolio. The step by step impact of these documents to my academic and scholarly abilities will be reflected in the rationale for inclusion, with explicit links made to my proposed research and dissertation actions.
     The extended literature review and the extended theoretical, conceptual, and methodological analysis will be explored in the next section of the comprehensive portfolio. Using the labyrinth as a metaphor for this PhD provides a logical stopping point for reflection at the center of the labyrinth as arriving “at the center is the opportunity to commit to the new phase, the return commences it” (Senn, 2002, p. 137). I envision these critical documents as my reflection from the center of the labyrinthine journey since they are key to my positionality and research plan prior to beginning my dissertation research. These will directly link and support my research proposal, and as such, will outline my readiness to begin the outward journey from the center of the PhD labyrinth.
     In this section of the comprehensive portfolio I outline the scholarly tasks that provide evidence of deep understanding of concepts, theories and issues in my field of study - Cognition and Learning. In the scholarly tasks I have selected for submission, I will reveal my ability to analyze, synthesize, and critique research literature within the four technological types posited by Foucault (1988) – technologies of production, technologies of sign systems, technologies of power, and technologies of the self.
     The documents I have selected include: a) peer-reviewed publications, b) conference contributions, and c) funding applications. Other scholarly products that provide evidence of critical thinking include: d) teaching and learning contributions, e) service to the Faculty of Education (FoE), f) membership and volunteer service work, and g) professional experiences and development as presented in my curriculum vitae. As I share these scholarly tasks, I will draw links and connections to my proposed area of study for this PhD research. Guba and Lincoln (2005) suggest that visual, verbal, and aural representations can create messy texts that break the boundaries and de-center conventional social science narratives. It is in this messiness that I will model my ability to “experiment with narratives that expand the range of understanding, voice, and storied variations in human experience” (Guba & Lincoln, 2005, p. 211).

References
Foucault, M. (1988). 
Guba & Lincoln
Senn


 

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