Our team of nine GSEP PhD students collaboratively built a website to embody our collective exploration of Cognition, Metacognition, and Critical Learning as we help each other circumnavigate our dissertation journey. Curated tabs were created to address the essential components of cognition (understanding complex theories), metacognition (sharing of self-reflection on learning the dissertation processes), and critical learning (evaluating and synthesizing information we each had) to take place as we worked together to research, design and create the shared space. This structure allowed us to share resources, such as tools for research and writing, collect theories we can draw from, discuss relevant models in leadership, aggregate conferences and publishing opportunities to support each other and define the collaborative knowledge base tools that might be most helpful. Recognizing the challenges and complexity of writing a dissertation, we designed a digital environment where each member could access all the above information and tools, add to the learning environment, share further insights overtime on an open-source platform and offer a community of support.

Learning happens in context, activity, and with tools, and engaging in this project connects the theoretical knowledge of learning theory and collaboration in situ amongst peers.