Proposal Insights

Finally, my proposal is complete...for the most part.  I presented my proposal yesterday to classmates, and it was an informative experience.  It was another good practice run for my prospectus defense (scheduled for Monday!) in terms of knowing how to pace myself and read body language on which topics need clarification without having to ask questions.  It was also a unique experience to practice presenting my project and my specialty, special education, in an interdisciplinary way.  Since class a few weeks ago, I've been quite proactive about making my research more interdisciplinary because I want it to extend to many fields and be readable and interesting to different professionals.  I've come to the conclusion that being interdisciplinary=helping more people.

becoming interdisciplinary

The biggest feedback I received on my proposal presentation was that I need to make it more clear whether or not I will be implementing an intervention with the actual residents at the home.  This answer to this is: I will not.  I will simply be providing a thick description of the current situation at Karuna Home and participant observing to determine capability levels and instruction while volunteering at Karuna.  So this is something I need to adjust in my (a) presentation, (b) prospectus, (c) IRB application, and (d) ISP proposal.  Something I've found rather annoying through this process of being a graduate student with a prospectus and a student in an international study prep course is making sure all changes happen on all documents.  There are so many!

Overall, I'm happy to see the progress being made in my project.  I'm only getting closer to a real product, which is exciting.  I've spent all of my time researching literature and methods, and a little time was reserved for cultural research, but now I really get to dive deeper into the actual location I'm going to in more logistical ways.  Here's a better way of saying that sentence: it's time to pack.  I can picture the trip as something real now, which only adds motivation.  Before it was too overwhelming to seriously expect myself to write a prospectus, proposal, IRB app, fellowship app, and so on in addition to going to a foreign country and actually carrying out my plans.  Now that I've completed a lot of the big steps, I can face the bigger picture with more reasonable anxiety and excitement.
Proposal complete.