Program Assessment

As an international student who joined the LDT family during Covid-19, I appreciate the flexibility of our program during this special time. I am thankful that I was allowed to start my program study in January due to my visa issue caused by the Covid pandemic. I was surprised to know that I am the first doctoral student who starts in Spring ever, as I did not feel that many differences that my course schedule has been well fitted in my overall program of study. The courses which were temporally turned into online format were well-designed and successfully showed the care for the safety and health of every student. I am grateful for every effort our program has made to support international students studying abroad, which means a lot to us and our families.

I am also impressed with the course textbook selection in our program. I have never enjoyed reading course-required books like so. The book, Creative Confidence: Unleashing the creative potential within us, used in EDIT 6190 and 8190 courses, helped me overcome the fear of failure at the very beginning of my doctoral study. The Design of Everyday Things is another book used in the EDIT 8190 course, which unexpectedly let me realize that the selection of a textbook can also stand for the professionality of a program. During a friend gathering, my friend, a graphic designer, was surprised that I had this book, a foundational book in her field, while a software developer told me that this book was on his booklist. The conversations with my friends made me so proud of being a member of a prestigious program and also convinced me that our program has us prepared as interdisciplinary scholars in the LDT field.

In terms of research design books, in the EDIT 8100 course, the Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.) was informative and easy to understand, which reminded me of an old saying that you can always find an answer in books. While reading it, the authors seemed to be standing in front of me, teaching me how to write a research proposal. This reading experience was undoubtedly a value-added session for me as a novice researcher.

We were encouraged to get involved in professional events and workshops to connect with the LDT learning community outside the coursework. I miss the time in EDIT 8990 course where Dr. Branch would share professional opportunities with us, and everyone would share their progress every week. I also enjoyed every Brown Bag Session as I always could have takeaways that were not covered in the course study. Thanks to these opportunities, I felt more connected with the faculty, peers, and the field of LDT during the pandemic.

Last but not least, I sincerely appreciate Dr. Knapp’s guidance and support during my first and half years in the LDT program. Meeting with her made my day every single time! I was always inspired by talking with her and gaining energy that I would overcome the difficulties in my academic learning and real life. Words cannot begin to express my gratitude for her being so supportive and empathetic. I will miss her and wish her and her family all the best.

Suggestion

I would suggest offering a course on virtual reality (VR) in learning. VR is becoming mainstream and has brought tremendous changes and possibilities to the classroom. However, as a program that is deliciated in facilitating and promoting learners’ learning, we still have not opened a course focusing on VR. As students, we may take a VR course in other departments, but I don’t think it will be as beneficial as taking one in our own program. Considering this, I am excited about Dr. Ding’s coming to our program. I believe her expertise in virtual reality will contribute to our program and students’ academic growth in related areas.