The article was my third to be published since 2017, not counting an article in the Phoenix Scholar (2019),  and was a continuation from the first two articles regarding virtual and augmented reality in teaching and learning (Johnston, Olivas, Steele, Bailey, & SmIth, 2017; Steele, Johnston, Lawlor, Smith, & Lamppa, 2018),  This third team was composed of new members, with the exception of one individual from the first team I joined in the Research Hub (CEITR) in 2016.  For this third article, it took a few weeks to settle into a rhythm with those who were committed to the process. We proceeded to determine each member’s primary role in preparing a scholarly article for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.  The following are a few additions of focus to enhance group interactions and understanding of subject matter, and, hopefully, to increase percentages of published scholarly articles:

It is good to be familiar with the subject matter:

Having been on previous teams researching aspects of virtual and augmented reality and pedagogical foundations, as well as evaluating potential for cognitive and creative thinking skills with integration of Studio Thinking Framework (STF) for teaching and learning (Winner, Goldstein,& Vincent-Langrin, 2013) helped to communicate various goals of our study.  Being familiar with the subject matter was most helpful, not only because of the increase of interest and understanding of the subject we were studying , but also because of the increase of relevant sources collected and available for reference.

It is good to be familiar with the scholarly journal ahead of submitting:

Because we had accumulated a good number of sources on the subject, we took note of those authors in our sources who also appeared in References of the journal we were considering.  Also, examining sources in current articles in the journal of interest gave  ideas for further sources we might consider checking out.

It is good to be on a team with previous teammates and new members: 

For the first team, Dr. Liston Bailey’s  excellent annotations of the literature solidified the outline for our study, and in third, his broad understanding of content led to the revelation for the key to the study, a conceptual framework.  For the third team,  Dr. Cheryl Burleigh’s brilliant informational skills kept us organized and demonstrated her excellence as researcher and writer, and Dr. Margaret Kroposki’s eye for details, delving deeply into the subject matter and retrieving nuggets, as well as understanding writing flow, left me with a supervisory role to connect the dots and guide through data analysis.  Ultimately, we all participated in analyzing data and writing and proofing the article.  Our team gave vibrant meaning to the term “cooperative group.”

I am privileged to be a part of a great team, enthusiastic, determined, diligent, producing a quality article that moved the journal’s editor to thank us for submitting.  Our article was accepted for publication this month (October 2019).

This blog is dedicated to our fearless leaders, Dr. Mansureh Kebritchi and Dr. Elizabeth Johnston for their tireless efforts not only to organize a hub that produced many quality scholarly articles for publication in scholarly peer-reviewed journals, but also who inspired us all with enthusiastic determination to continue toward that goal.  Their insight and determination to  create a place of scholarship, leadership, and encouragement is second to none.  And for the rest of us, oh, we will continue doing what we do, looking for ways to inspire with the goal of encouraging learners to go further we do, researching, discovering amazing insights that create a love of learning.

 Thanks, everyone.  You are the best!

Dr. Patricia Steele

References

Johnston, E., Olivas, G., Steele, P., Smith, C., & Bailey, L. (2017). Exploring pedagogical foundations of existing virtual reality educational applications: A content analysis study. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 46(4), 414–439. doi:10.1177/0047239517745560

Steele, P. (2019, Summer). How to publish within a year: From fear to fun. Phoenix Scholar, 2(3), 28-29.  https://research.phoenix.edu/sites/default/files/files-content/scholar_2.3_1.pdf

Steele, P., Johnston, E., Lawlor, A., Smith, C., & Lamppa, S. (2018). Arts-Based instructional and curricular strategies for working with virtual educational applications. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 47(3), 411–432. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239518803286

Winner, E., Goldstein, T., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2013).  Art  for art's sake?: The impact of arts education. Paris, France: OECD Publishing