I discovered that I’ve never really stated that I want to approach this PhD as a design problem, looking at education and other things (like IxDA) as a service.

so

• if IxDA, education etc are a service, what behavior is that service supporting?
• How can I turn the light of IxD research on itself?
• How can you use the process and methods that interaction design employs to better understand what it needs as a field?

This really interests me because it sits at the intersection of academic and practical understandings of IxD practice.. 

…so to help us answer the question: what does it mean to be a member of IxDA? 

Maybe we need to first answer the question: what does it mean to be an interaction designer?