This content was provided by Shiva Mohsenian.
This summer, Fordham’s Graduate School of Education hosted its annual Community of Inquiry immersion, a cornerstone of the cohort experience. Grounded in the Carnegie Project’s Education Doctorate (CPED) framework, the immersion allows Ed.D. students in the Leadership, Administration, and Policy program to step away from their everyday demands and engage with their Dissertations in Practice (DiPs), research that blends academic rigor with real-world challenges in education.
For first-year students, the central focus was on defining their Problems of Practice, the persistent, equity-related issues that anchor their dissertations. Second-year students presented early prototypes of potential solutions and received constructive feedback from Fordham peers, faculty, and alumni. Together the immersion served as a widespread brainstorming session, full with ideas, collaboration, and inspiration.
Learning the Language of Leadership
“The ways in which this experience is preparing me for my future career, for example, is in the way I consider a Problem of Practice,” said current Ed.D. student and New York Public Schools district literary specialist Maziel Concepcion. “This was language that didn’t exist for me before this program. Now, I can’t stop looking for them in the real world.”
The multi-day immersion combined workshops, cohort breakouts, and a graduate panel. Sessions introduced its first-year students to the CPED model of the Ed.D., with its emphasis on equity, justice, and the scholar-practitioner identity, while providing second-year students with a platform to showcase how theory and inquiry may be synthesized into applied solutions.
In breakout groups, students shared drafts of their Problems of Practice or solution prototypes. Faculty mentors guided the conversations, while peers offered feedback grounded in their own professional contexts. The structure encouraged cross-cohort dialogue, ensuring that even first-years saw the trajectory of what their work might become.
“I cannot name a time when I did not feel supported by the faculty here,” Concepcion reflected. “I’ve met with professors one-on-one to clarify and refine my Problem of Practice, and in those moments, I felt seen and invested in. And, my cohort is amazing, we really feel like a team.”
Equity in Action
Equity remains the guiding thread throughout the Ed.D. experience, and the immersion amplified that focus. Students’ Problems of Practice ranged from addressing inequities in literacy education, to improving support for immigrant students, to reimagining student leadership preparation.
For Fausto Salazar, a retired high school principal now serving at Fordham’s Bilingual Education Regional Network, this connection to real-world inequities is what drew him to the program.
“As a high school principal, we deal with situations on a daily basis. I didn’t want a program that felt disconnected from that,” he explained. “Fordham’s doctoral program begins with your situation, because it’s about tackling real-world problems. That’s what convinced me that this was the right program for me.”
Salazar added that the immersion reinforced his belief that the program’s applied nature is what sets it apart from others. “The skills I’m learning here are so valuable, and I already have in mind all of the problems that I want to tackle in the future. This immersion helped me hone my focus.”
Community That Sustains
While the academic rigor was clear, students consistently emphasized the sense of community that makes the immersion, and the program more broadly, so meaningful.
Deborah Montes, a vice principal and Ed.D.student, highlighted the way the program’s small, intimate structure creates space for authentic collaboration.
“Fordham GSE feels like a community because of the small class sizes,” Montes said. “We have an open relationship with our professors, and I’m able to network not only with classmates but also with leaders across the city. Every time I’m immersed in a class or collaborating with my peers, I learn something new that I take back to my staff.”
During the immersion, Montes connected with peers from other boroughs and districts, exchanging strategies for building more equitable learning environments. For her, the program’s design affirms her belief in lifelong learning. “We learn from each other, and then I use those experiences to reflect on becoming a better school-building leader every day.”
A Path Made Clear
The event also featured a panel of Ed.D. graduates, who shared candid reflections about their journeys, from defining their Problems of Practice to defending their dissertations. Panelists described the balance of professional life and doctoral work, the unexpected turns in their research, and the ways their DiPs continue to shape their careers.
Students described the panel as both grounding and motivating. Hearing alumni reflect on challenges similar to their own reminded them that the path is rigorous but attainable. It also underscored Fordham’s mission of preparing leaders who are both credible practitioners and thoughtful scholars.
For many students, the immersion helped sharpen their understanding of how the Ed.D. is directly shaping their professional practice. Concepcion noted that her lens as a literary specialist has transformed.
“Before this program, the term ‘Problem of Practice’ wasn’t in my vocabulary. Now, I think about issues differently. The way I approach a problem in my district is through inquiry, reflection, and systems thinking. And that’s all because of this program.”
Montes echoed this shift, emphasizing how her learning is now immediately actionable. “I’m able to network with assistant principals, share strategies, and apply what I learn in real time. That’s been one of the most valuable parts of my Ed.D. journey.”
For Salazar, the immersion reinforced his sense of purpose. “I came to this country as an ESL student. Now, I support immigrant students and families through my work. This program helps me focus on their needs, and the immersion reminded me that I have the tools and community to address them.”
Investing in Impact
While students acknowledged their financial commitment of doctoral study, they consistently described the return on investment as significant. “It is scary to commit to a program like this,” Concepcion admitted, “but the return on investment is huge. There is support from Fordham to offset costs through grants and scholarships, and I don’t regret committing to this program one bit.”
Salazar agreed: “The cost of the program isn’t the most important part. The important part is your goals and what you want to accomplish. In the end, this education is rewarding, financially, personally, and professionally.”
At its core, the Community of Inquiry immersion represents Fordham’s vision for the Ed.D. doctoral program as a space for scholar-practitioners to define urgent problems, collaborate on innovative solutions, and remain rooted in equity. Students leave the event not only with clearer DiPs, but also with a renewed sense of confidence in their ability to lead schools, districts, and communities through complexity.
As Montes put it, “Every time I engage with my cohort or professors, I grow as a leader. This experience is helping me become a better school-building leader every day.”
The immersion is more than a milestone; it is a testament to the power of community, inquiry, and justice-centered leadership, which are values that define the Fordham GSE Ed.D. program and the leaders it prepares.
