As I reflect on this school year and my graduate school program, this year has been a rollercoaster to say the least. Looking back on all that I have done, especially when it comes to my collaborative group and my contributions to my learning, I embraced Fink's idea that to become a "powerful performer in life as well as [a] self-directed learner, [1] must learn how to assess the quality of [my] own work” (Fink, 2013). Reading through my previous reflection posts from my graduate courses provides evidence of my growth:
For this term, there were a few live class sessions I was unable to attend but that did not deter me from watching the recordings multiple times and reaching out to my peers for support. Posting and replying on the discussion boards is where I learned even more. Once I completed my post, I consistently reviewed the boards and replied where it felt necessary to let others know how they could improve but also validate their hard work and share that they inspired me to think deeper or from another perspective I had yet to consider. There were a few times I also editing my initial post to add new ideas or information based on the feedforward I received. The deadlines and associated requirements of two replies was something I checked off for the purpose of the grade, but that did not end the work, as I would reply after the deadline and definitely more than twice. Providing feedback/feedforward to others gives those same people permission to provide it to me, which is something I crave because I am aiming to make those tiny gains that add up. My collaborative group was vital to really pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone and think beyond the basic requirements of the courses and the programs. While we were encouraged to change the group up each term, I cannot express enough how grateful I am that we stuck together and brought another member in. What we called the "core four" of myself, Amanda Mask, Lindsay Krueger, Hillary Turnage, and then adding Katie Beauchene created a group of women who come from various educational backgrounds and are in a range of positions from kindergarten teacher to coordinator of digital learning that collectively build each other's individual pedagogy into a more global perspective that will enrich all of our students' lives. My last two courses, Instructional Design of Online Learning and the Synthesis of Applied Digital Learning, went hand in hand. The instructional design course was something I anticipated the entire program to be, about creating content-driven instructional online courses and add to them as we learn more tools. Fortunately, the exact opposite occurred because the program allowed us to experience the true effectiveness of choice, ownership, voice, in an authentic learning environment that created significant learning, so as I created my 3rd 9 Weeks of Algebra 2 for next school year, there was more to the learning besides the math. My innovation plan has always been about teaching 21st century skills in a blended learning environment through the lens of mathematics but I never saw that to fruition until now. This meant that I constantly shifted back and forth between the work because the assignments and learning relied on each other. Reflecting on the overall program in the synthesis course enhanced the materials I was creating for the instructional design course. If I were to give myself a grade on my contributions to my learning and the learning of others, I would give myself a 98/100 for both classes and also a 99/100 for the entire program. My accumulation and contributions of learning have grown and thrived over the past year and I cannot wait to see what next year has in store. References Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences : An integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass.
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My husband lovingly teases me when I reflect on my day with him and say "I learned something new today!" because he would be surprised if I didn't learn something new.
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