Expectations presentation.

Remember to do the intext citation and references

For this discussion, share insights you have gained from readings, and create a plan to share the final draft of your DPP Part 1 with your mentor.

• Some strategies for preparing for and managing change were suggested in this week`s What You Need to Know section below.
• Which three strategies to prepare for and manage change resonated with you? Why did these three seem important?
• Which strategy seems least helpful to you, and why?
• Differences between didactic course rooms and the capstone course room were described in this week`s What You Need to Know section.
• In comparing the two, which aspect of the course room will be most different from what you are used to?
• What can you do to become more familiar with it?
• When you start your first capstone quarter, you will need to share your DPP Part 1 final draft from this course with your mentor.
• How will you describe your project with your mentor?
• What details will you provide to your mentor on your background?
• How will you relay the amount of time and energy you can devote to your capstone each week?
• If your mentor suggests devoting more or less time and energy, how will you manage making changes?
• It will be important to summarize the instructor`s feedback on your DPP Part 1 drafts.
• What steps will you take to ?update your mentor on your progress in refining your DPP Part 1?
• How will you prepare for receiving your mentor`s feedback on your DPP Part 1?

"What You Need to Know"

• Preparing for and Managing Change
• Didactic Courses Compared to Capstone Courses

As you have come to learn in this keystone course, the format for working on your doctoral capstone project is very different than the standard didactic courses you are familiar with. In the keystone, the weekly discussion activities and scholarly work focused on completing a draft of your DPP Part 1, which was a constant, progressive, and regular task.

In the capstone courseroom, it is expected that you will continue to have frequent discussions, but this time, with your mentor, instead of your instructor and fellow learners. You will be accountable for maintaining consistency in communicating with your mentor. You will have assignments in each milestone that you will need to complete, but they are not scheduled on a weekly basis, with Sunday deadlines. Rather, you will have time spans of weeks before an assignment is due. The biggest difference is that you are responsible for maintaining a schedule of constant, progressive, regular scholarly work on milestone activities for your capstone project.

You will complete a Plan of Action (PoA) each quarter, and your mentor will meet with you the first week of every capstone quarter to ?discuss your PoA. Your mentor will provide feedback on the activities you anticipate completing in your PoA in terms of how feasible and realistic they are in maintaining your consistent progression toward achievement of milestones. Your participation in the courseroom is tracked through the discussion forum and submitted assignments. At the end of the quarter, you will complete an End of end-of-quarter progress Report to summarize the progress you have made on PoA activities. The PoA activities you outline must be completed. Your assignments are graded by the mentor, using scoring guides, and you and your mentor will meet to discuss feedback on a regular basis.

You may find the following resources to be helpful as you move forward:

• Managing Your Journey?.
• NHS Doctoral Program Journey.
• Strategies for Preparing for and Managing Change

Be clear about your own desired outcomes. Preparing for change is not limited to changes in the courseroom or how you` are accountable for your continued work on milestone activities; it also applies to preparing for your own desired outcomes. Think back to the beginning of this course and recall your reflections on the why, what, and how questions: "Why are you in this doctoral program? What do you hope to contribute? How will you accomplish your goals?" The capstone is where the rubber hits the road, in terms of being clear about the outcomes you desire relative to these questions, and making them happen.

Conduct your own SWOT analysis?. Just like you would do for an organization in a strategic plan, conduct an analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Scan your environment and identify potential barriers, as well as facilitators of success. If there are potential barriers, identify steps you can take to manage those now, before your capstone starts. If you have identified weaknesses in your own writing or communication skills, make the effort now to address and improve them, so you will be successful in your capstone. There are many resources available on campus, as well as academic advisors that can help to mitigate or remove potential barriers.

Strengthen your assets. Feel confident that in conducting your own SWOT analysis and scanning your environment, you will identify strengths and opportunities. Now is the time to take an inventory of the assets you bring to the table and to strengthen and showcase them in your capstone. Your assets have helped you progress in your doctoral journey, so be sure to embrace and celebrate those you haveidentified, and keep strengthening them as you move forward. Chances are, you will discover additional assets as you do.

Create contingency plans for possible obstacles. As mentioned above, take steps to manage or prevent barriers to success so these potential barriers do not get in the way. Creating contingency plans is another great way to prepare for possible obstacles. Sometimes things do not happen quite the way you anticipated. To minimize risk and avoid a crisis, it is? important to identify potential risks and have strategies in place to handle them. Oftentimes, you can treat risk as an opportunity to outline plans and strategize to manage the unexpected.

Maintain balance. Maintaining balance looks different for everyone. We all have different needs, different variables to consider, different levels of tolerance for imbalance, different resources available, and different ways of looking at the world and discerning balance. It is not just work-life balance now; rather, it is work-life-academics balance. Setting priorities will be quite helpful as you get started on maintaining balance. Decide what you need to do, and limit distractions and time wasters, so you are efficient at your tasks. Draw a line between work, home, and academics, so they do not become enmeshed. Most importantly, make time for yourself.

Take the lead. There are many leadership characteristics, qualities, traits, and competencies that will be helpful to embrace in your capstone. It takes time and dedication to learn how to achieve the goals you set and how to inspire others to do the same. Everyone has different ways of doing this, and there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for being a leader. Your leadership is required in your capstone, because it is your capstone, after all. A capstone is, by nature, a collaborative project. You will need to be resilient, flexible, courageous, mindful, present, accountable, and responsible. Part of being a leader in your capstone is executing strategies to prepare for and manage change.