advanced research method short course day 2

we learned about formulating statement of problem, research questions and research objectives today, presented by PM Dr Zaidatun Tasir. she's really good, energetic, and we had some meaningful activities to enhance our understanding of the topic. she showed us step-by-step how to produce not only ordinary but unique RQs & ROs. she also touched on theoretical framework, conceptual framework, and research/operational framework, and showed how those frameworks look like.

later in the afternoon, we learned about theoretical & conceptual framework, by another speaker. (i couldn't concentrate because i was so sleepy and i thought what the speaker told us was similar to what the previous session has done. and i think the previous speaker did it way better.

i also met some other teslians and am i glad to know that i'm not lonely! now i've got some circle of friends to talk to, discuss, and share things (academically, of course).

ok.. tomorrow is for quantitative research lessons. i really look forward to that ;)

advanced research method short course day 1

what a long day today! yeah, this week will be fully occupied with the short course for all research students in the faculty of education. since i'm only in my first semester, i need to attend this course. today, the first topic was the overview of the research, presented by Prof Dr Rashid. It's early in the morning but he has successfully made all of us wide awake with his style of presentation. no ppt slides. no use of projector. no notes that he referred to. 'chalk and talk' was his approach, but WOW! it was really good. i learnt a lot today from his 2 hour session. he showed us how mindmapping could help research students in producing all the important components in the proposal. he also showed the 'funnel' way to organise the background of problem, review of literature, statement of problem, research questions, objectives, and significance of problem.
one simple question - who is the reader of the proposal?

after the break, the 2nd topic is about plagiarism. i've attended this talk previously by the same speaker. frustratingly, he used the same slides today and his previous talk. and the content was the same. the style was the same. frankly but sorry to say, i did not learn anything new in this session.

after lunch, the topic is 'literature review', presented by Prof Ismail Kailani. He's my lecturer in Leadership class, and today, he looks really different. Leadership class is on Friday so he puts on baju melayu, but today, he's in formal attire, without songkok :). this topic is important, but probably because it's in the afternoon, and everyone is full, the class was a bit quiet. and Prof mentioned it clearly, that he knew the topic is boring and all looked bored. hmmmmm.....

besides that, i also met Dr Yusof to get the supervisory book for my SVs. then I met Dr Mahani and we talked about the conference in Spain. I also had the chance to discuss with other students about their research, and they said they want to learn more from me (which made me LOL!)

but, one of the sweetest things is that, i dont drive today. my dad, yes, my dad sent me to the uni. it feels like when i was still a child when my dad sent me to school. and yes, he fetched me up when i finished at 5, and he was still in his Imam's attire! terima kasih, Papa!

i look forward to tomorrow's session ;)


 

finally!

alhamdulillah, finally i completed the first draft of the proposal. sent it to my SVs. also, filled in the 1st semester progress report. what's next? submit abstract to a conference in Spain. deadline is 7th December. Allahuakbar!

email from SV

yes, early in the morning, i received an email from my respectable SVs! normally i am the one who send email to them. what does it mean? i've been pretty quiet for some time, that's why. but that doesn't mean i did not do any work. i do. ;)

ok in the email, of course, the important message is that i have to work on something for a forthcoming conference - deadline for abstract - 7th December! can make it or not? a week from now. fuhhh....!!!

'Ya Allah, tidak ada kemudahan kecuali sesuatu yang Engkau permudahkan, Engkau menjadikan kedukaan itu mudah sekiranya Engkau kehendaki.'

Amin.

the SILVER, that is!

i participated in the respectful research & innovation competition (R&I Compete 2011) organised by the Office of Research, Innovation, & Commercialisation (oricc) of my workplace (23rd-24th Nov). my poster was under the category of research, sub-discipline of Humanities, Social science, and mathematics. there were about 20 entries for this category. i presented about my research, funded by the short-grant given by the university, here's my poster:

panel no. 61

and here's what i won:

silver medal

and hamper - the larger one

silver is mine, bronze in my husband's

presented by Dato' VC, and Deputy VC of R&D

my husband also participated, his was under innovation category, sub-discipline of fundamental science. he won bronze, but, there was no silver or gold winner in that category. in my case, there was no winner for gold, which implied, (i could have been the gold winner, instead!).

this is my first time joining such event, and i was thrilled. and the most memorable part is i won!. i will surely do much better next time, and congratulations to my hubby too!!

self-managed teams

this is the topic that my partner & i must present for our leadership class. it went well, we had group activities for about half an hour, and another half an hour we reflected and gave some theories underpinning the activities. i personally was impressed with the groups' commitment and they showed high competitive level to complete the task within the limited time. here are some photos of the event.

team 5 - the 'top management'

team 4 - the 'research group'

team 3 - the 'writing centre'

team 1 - the 'technical group'

our respectable lecturer - Prof Dr Ismail Kailani

team 2 - the 'postgraduate committee members'

those photos were during meetings that they have to conduct. the following photos were during presentation: (note: the photo upload did not work at the moment, so i may insert the photos later).

and i also ordered breakfast for the whole class! happy faces!

important dates

the latest information from FP (miss Herda) is that the deadline for the SV to submit progress report will be on 15th January 2012, which means I have to submit it earlier to my svs.
on 14-15th December, i need to attend EDUPRESS, the faculty of Education postgraduate research seminar. on the 7th is the deadline to register.
on 23rd December, i have to give a short talk about leadership.
by 3rd January 2012, i have to submit portfolio for leadership course.
hmmmmm.......