Time for Feedback and More Transforming.

Chapter 5

Today’s class brought the cohort teams some feedback about our residency projects. As a learner I have always greatly valued feedback. I learn a great deal when I have other people discussing and reflecting about my work. Today it became clearer to me that sometimes the answer to a question may be right or wrong depending upon the perspective from which the question was viewed. Everyone has different models of reality. Not everyone that reads a question will interpret it in the same way. So one person’s answer to a question may be different than another’s based on their perspective, or the way they understand the question. To truly answer certain questions correctly you must first be able to explain the question clearly the way you see it. Then, when you answer that question you need to make sure to support your interpretation of the question, then explain it using valid and believable data. This is a part of critical thinking. Do we always need to be told what the question means? Or, do we learn more by investigating the questions meaning for ourselves and learn to support and validate our answers from our perspective of the question.

This way of thinking is a bit uncomfortable for me. I work in a world where very specific outcomes must be achieved. I ask questions that must be very clear so the intended outcome (the correct answer) will be achieved. I have now added a different world to my life. For this world I am realizing that I need to deconstruct my way of searching for an answer. I need to reconstruct my process of looking for an answer adding more self-reflection and critical thinking and less fact finding from a textbook.

This leads me to think about the rubrics and marking guides that I use when I instruct courses. My students use them as a guide to clearly define what is being asked of them and to guide them to the correct answer. It is a very effective way to help them achieve the desired outcome, but am I just spoon-feeding them. Is there possibly a way I can add reflection and critical thinking into the process to create a better overall effective learner?

Today was the last time we will sit in the “face-to-face” classroom as the 2009 MALAT cohort. It was a pleasure to learn and grow with this group, and it is something I will treasure always. I look forward to moving into the online classroom with a better awareness of my classmates. They now have faces and personalities that will fill my mind as their names appear on my computer screen. See you in cyberspace!

I am Transforming!

Chapter 4

The first week of residency is now complete. Monday morning finds me feeling more confident about myself as a learner. I took Bill and Judith’s advice and did not do any course work on Saturday. I took some time for myself and also socialized with some of my cohort. This morning I sat in class feeling refreshed, almost comfortable. What a big difference from one week ago. So how did this change occur? As I reflect on this question I see myself (the learner) identifying with my readings. I am making some connections… I am transforming. I realize part of this transformation has come from interacting with the members of my cohort. Engaging in face-to-face discussions and blogging with different classmates. We were able to share our unique perspectives about the different classes and the way that we are learning. We shared our frustrations and fears, but we also shared our strategies for success. The context for all the discussions was encouraging and supportive. I have come away from these interactions feeling empowered and supported with more confidence in my capabilities and myself. Thanks for the support cohort! (Hey, that rhymes).

Assignment Time!

Chapter 3

The assignments have started and we are working in groups more than I expected. I pictured that we would be working individually more, being singled out to expose what we did and didn’t know. The MBTI test told me something I already knew, ISFJ, a sensing introvert. So here I sit collaborating in a group as a sensing introvert who really needs to learn how to write at the graduate level. It makes me anxious but it’s the perfect place for me to learn. Alone I would be learning slowly if at all. Here is my chance to be the sponge and to learn from my team. This is why I am here, to learn and to grow. But what do I offer my team? My offerings seem small in comparison to my teammates. But as long as I keep my impute positive I will consider it a contribution towards our success as a team.

Off to Class We Go!

Chapter 2

Well residency classes have started and I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the details. Now that I am here with the others I can tell I am not alone with these feelings. I find myself thinking of my first year student’s on orientation day, everyone handles it differently, who am I most like? But it’s time to put those feelings away now, there is no time for that. I had pictured that there would be a more intense learning atmosphere waiting for me. Part of me thought there would be individual desks and instructors that would call on me for answers from the pre-reading. Instead I find a very relaxed setting with desks in groups and a very interactive lecture style. I had found the pre-readings difficult to do in one sitting. I was always putting them down to take a break and refresh. They were hard for me to get the “big picture”. I am finding the lectures to be like taking “Claritin”. Maybe I do get this stuff, …it’s getting clearer.

A Time to Reflect on Me!

I am finally here at RRU. I have been waiting for this to happen, to start. Now that I am here I find myself asking, “What am I doing here?” I am feeling uncomfortable, unsure and to some degree unworthy. I have been battling these feelings ever since my acceptance into the MALAT program. Now that I am in residency I also add the fact that I am away from my family, my boy’s, my world. Why have I started this journey? What was I seeking that brought me here? Why have I added one more thing to my already full plate? I worked hard to start all of this so I guess the real question is what am I looking to gain and where do I want to end up at the end of this journey?

The answer lies partly in my job and partly in myself. I have been an instructor at NAIT for 7 years. I love my job; it is like a dream come true for me. I still remember being a student of the program and thinking what a great way to earn a living, to give, to teach in such a respectable setting. Yes, it also crossed my mind how wonderful it would be to have a long summer break. After graduation I worked hard in my industry, always pursuing continuing education course, always trying to learn more. I was always the one who trained the new staff that arrived at the lab. I loved sharing what I knew, making them feel comfortable and confidant. I also worked to take my registration exam. I challenged all four components of my professional registration exam and earned my RDT (registered dental technologist designation). All of this paid off when I applied to NAIT for a position in the Dental Technology program. So there I was an instructor! But I felt like an imposter. I knew my profession and my trade but did that make me capable of teaching others? NAIT did a great job to support me and build my instructing skills but there was only so much they could give as a technical school. I felt I needed more to become worthy of my position, worthy in my eyes and in the eyes of my students.

So I am on this journey to learn and to grow as an instructor. I would like to feel confident that my instructing skills are effective for my learners. My program is a two year diploma program and those two years never seem like enough time to properly prepare my learners. I want to gain instructing skills that will make the most of those two years. I feel through understanding my learners and incorporating new technologies into my instructional process I will be able to maximize the potential knowledge sharing within those two years. I also feel and hope this will finally make me feel worthy of my position as an instructor. This is page one of a record that will reflect on my journey to acquire knowledge and confidence, both the highs and the lows of it. Oh how part of me wishes I could skip to the end and read the conclusion! To be continued…