FINAL REFLECTIONS
August 8, 2011 Reflection on Myself (my first post made in the MALT program)
“For a couple of weeks now I have been reading everyone's comments and blogs and I am amazed at how intelligent and reflective everyone is. I felt intimidated. Reflection is NOT easy for me so I have been trying to figure out why. Over the weekend we were at a high school reunion and I was sharing that I started the Pepperdine program. Out of nowhere I started to express to my girlfriend that for most of my life I have always tried to be what I thought everyone expected me to be, a good mother, a good wife, a good daughter, a good friend, and so on. Even when I went back to school at the age of 40, I became the student that I thought the instructors wanted me to be, trying to come up with answers that I thought they wanted to hear. So what does this all mean... it means that this is a struggle. It means I am learning who I really am, my thoughts, standing up for my beliefs and most importantly struggling with trying to figure that out. Don't get me wrong; I am a strong woman, I just don't know why! Sharing these thoughts and this process with you all makes me feel vulnerable. But I am going to go for it. I am curious to see how I will learn, grow and become a voice.... my voice.
I share this with all of you because some of my posts may not be all that riveting as many of yours are. But they will be my understanding of the process. I look forward to your input, ideas, and suggestions.”
Debbie
Final Reflections
When I started my action research a year ago, I had been recently hired as a part-time faculty member. As a new hire, I spent a lot of time observing my new teaching environment and became energised by my colleagues and the students. There is a weekly faculty discussion thread where the director provides opportunities for participation, inquiry, dialogue, and reflection. I had a lot of questions but I didn’t ask them; maybe, it was fear as demonstrated in the post above, or I assumed I was supposed to know the answer. What I observed on the discussion thread was the director posting questions and asking for thoughts from the faculty. The responses were limited and usually they just confirmed what the director was stating without contributing to the conversation.
As noted by Piaget, the success of education ultimately lies with individual instructors and their capacity, individually and collectively, to implement “new ways of doing things” during their day-to-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment interactions with students. During the MALT program I began to understand the importance of collaborating with my peers. I started to contribute to the discussion thread regularly with my own thoughts and ideas. Although most faculty did not participate, the conversations between the director and I provided me with different perspectives; I learned so much more than if I had to sort out these situations on my own. I no longer feel vulnerable, I find joy and stimulation in the daily dilemmas of teaching and I am intrigued by the challenges of improving our program.
As I reflect on this process, I have come to realize that I have changed in so many ways. When I started teaching I became cognizant of the challenges in learning styles. The traditional teaching method I was using, of spoon-feeding the students, placed too much emphasis on memorization. The students were prepared for test but I did not prepare them adequately to transfer what they learned into the real-world or the clinical setting.
Over the summer, I began toiling through books on learning theories and related research to explore how this knowledge can be used to enhance learning in my Preventive Dentistry class to first year students. One stream of this research that aligns with our program is focused on the concept of constructivism, where the student through his or her own learning experience constructs meaning. I decided that I would change my style of teaching for my action research project. I knew I had to build communities for constructing knowledge, but I wasn’t sure how or what to implement. When we began researching and discussing distributed learning in MALT, my role became clearer.
In cycle one, I implemented the discussion board to increase understanding of the material presented and two learning activities that allowed the students to apply what they were learning. The students did not embrace this shift in the classroom with open arms. They wanted the traditional classroom environment where the teacher is standing center of the stage and constructing their knowledge for them. I stood firm and major changes started to take place during cycle one. The students enjoyed the learning activities and embraced the video project where they got to act, direct and write the scene. The most obvious change was the impact of the design and environment the students demonstrated increased understanding.
In cycle two, the wiki was implemented in the second semester for the Medically Compromised Patient course and was embraced by the students. “There is a need of forming a theory of experience in order that education may be intelligently conducted upon the basis of experience” --John Dewey. The students’ were utilizing resources outside of their textbook to post pictures and concepts to further generate knowledge. I started having the students’ go up on stage to share what they had learned. One student shared,
"Although it may have been hard to talk in front of he class at times I feel like doing so has helped my learning. Doing all that we have done through this semester has allowed me to gain more knowledge and I am now able to explain certain diseases in my own words and I feel so good about it. Thank you for helping me to feel more comfortable speaking in front of others. This class has been so fun and I have learned so much."
Cycles two and three ran concurrently. In cycle three, my focus changed from the students to the faculty. I worked along side the faculty on assessing and evaluating the junior class with their understanding of oral hygiene care attained in Preventive Dentistry. During cycle one and cycle two I was thrilled with the students increased understanding and knowledge building demonstrated on the discussion board, wiki and learning activities. From cycle three, I am learning that the educational strategies I implemented did not accomplish my expected outcome of the students being able to transfer what they have learned into patient care. The faculty response was low and I am partially to blame. I should have involved the faculty earlier on the purpose of my research. Conducting two cycles of research at the same time resulted in cycle three being somewhat disorganized because I concentrated more on the students cycle. However, the director’s comments were very insightful and helped me identify things that I can change in my teaching practice to produce different student outcomes.
I see my role as a teacher evolving. I have learned to apply the theories and experiences from my studies in ways that are valuable and authentic to my own practice. In everything I do, I am guided by my values and shall give it my interest, my enthusiasm, and my passion. I want to maximize the potential of technology to develop students’ understanding, stimulate their interest, and increase their proficiency in dental hygiene. I want to move students towards being expert learners who are able to transfer their skills. Cycle three was a humbling experience. I realize that I need to make adjustments in my curriculum so students are able to transfer their knowledge into clinic during patient care.
I have taken on a new role. Recently, I applied for a full time teaching position that became available within our program and was offered the position. I am excited for this amazing opportunity and I am committed to making a difference. At the end of the year, the graduating students gave out faculty awards. I received the Miss Congeniality award. Reflecting on this, I realize that I do not want to be remembered this way. I came across this quote by William Ward. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” I have learned through this process that I want to be remembered as the teacher who inspires all those around me.
At the conclusion of my action research I have come full circle. I have answered my questions by discovering who I am, developing my own voice, and I am no longer intimidated into silence by others. I have become open to learning and understanding the major dimensions of learning in schools: the learning of students, learning of colleagues, learning of self, and learning of my community where I practice.
The final performance of my action research project still needs rehearsing. Departing from the traditional pedagogy where I stood center stage, I have implemented a student-centered classroom where the students stand center stage constructing knowledge for themselves as they learn. Sharing the stage has created not only more successful students but a more successful teacher and learner as well who will continue to focus on improving my practice by continually questioning, changing, reflecting and growing professionally and personally.
“For a couple of weeks now I have been reading everyone's comments and blogs and I am amazed at how intelligent and reflective everyone is. I felt intimidated. Reflection is NOT easy for me so I have been trying to figure out why. Over the weekend we were at a high school reunion and I was sharing that I started the Pepperdine program. Out of nowhere I started to express to my girlfriend that for most of my life I have always tried to be what I thought everyone expected me to be, a good mother, a good wife, a good daughter, a good friend, and so on. Even when I went back to school at the age of 40, I became the student that I thought the instructors wanted me to be, trying to come up with answers that I thought they wanted to hear. So what does this all mean... it means that this is a struggle. It means I am learning who I really am, my thoughts, standing up for my beliefs and most importantly struggling with trying to figure that out. Don't get me wrong; I am a strong woman, I just don't know why! Sharing these thoughts and this process with you all makes me feel vulnerable. But I am going to go for it. I am curious to see how I will learn, grow and become a voice.... my voice.
I share this with all of you because some of my posts may not be all that riveting as many of yours are. But they will be my understanding of the process. I look forward to your input, ideas, and suggestions.”
Debbie
Final Reflections
When I started my action research a year ago, I had been recently hired as a part-time faculty member. As a new hire, I spent a lot of time observing my new teaching environment and became energised by my colleagues and the students. There is a weekly faculty discussion thread where the director provides opportunities for participation, inquiry, dialogue, and reflection. I had a lot of questions but I didn’t ask them; maybe, it was fear as demonstrated in the post above, or I assumed I was supposed to know the answer. What I observed on the discussion thread was the director posting questions and asking for thoughts from the faculty. The responses were limited and usually they just confirmed what the director was stating without contributing to the conversation.
As noted by Piaget, the success of education ultimately lies with individual instructors and their capacity, individually and collectively, to implement “new ways of doing things” during their day-to-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment interactions with students. During the MALT program I began to understand the importance of collaborating with my peers. I started to contribute to the discussion thread regularly with my own thoughts and ideas. Although most faculty did not participate, the conversations between the director and I provided me with different perspectives; I learned so much more than if I had to sort out these situations on my own. I no longer feel vulnerable, I find joy and stimulation in the daily dilemmas of teaching and I am intrigued by the challenges of improving our program.
As I reflect on this process, I have come to realize that I have changed in so many ways. When I started teaching I became cognizant of the challenges in learning styles. The traditional teaching method I was using, of spoon-feeding the students, placed too much emphasis on memorization. The students were prepared for test but I did not prepare them adequately to transfer what they learned into the real-world or the clinical setting.
Over the summer, I began toiling through books on learning theories and related research to explore how this knowledge can be used to enhance learning in my Preventive Dentistry class to first year students. One stream of this research that aligns with our program is focused on the concept of constructivism, where the student through his or her own learning experience constructs meaning. I decided that I would change my style of teaching for my action research project. I knew I had to build communities for constructing knowledge, but I wasn’t sure how or what to implement. When we began researching and discussing distributed learning in MALT, my role became clearer.
In cycle one, I implemented the discussion board to increase understanding of the material presented and two learning activities that allowed the students to apply what they were learning. The students did not embrace this shift in the classroom with open arms. They wanted the traditional classroom environment where the teacher is standing center of the stage and constructing their knowledge for them. I stood firm and major changes started to take place during cycle one. The students enjoyed the learning activities and embraced the video project where they got to act, direct and write the scene. The most obvious change was the impact of the design and environment the students demonstrated increased understanding.
In cycle two, the wiki was implemented in the second semester for the Medically Compromised Patient course and was embraced by the students. “There is a need of forming a theory of experience in order that education may be intelligently conducted upon the basis of experience” --John Dewey. The students’ were utilizing resources outside of their textbook to post pictures and concepts to further generate knowledge. I started having the students’ go up on stage to share what they had learned. One student shared,
"Although it may have been hard to talk in front of he class at times I feel like doing so has helped my learning. Doing all that we have done through this semester has allowed me to gain more knowledge and I am now able to explain certain diseases in my own words and I feel so good about it. Thank you for helping me to feel more comfortable speaking in front of others. This class has been so fun and I have learned so much."
Cycles two and three ran concurrently. In cycle three, my focus changed from the students to the faculty. I worked along side the faculty on assessing and evaluating the junior class with their understanding of oral hygiene care attained in Preventive Dentistry. During cycle one and cycle two I was thrilled with the students increased understanding and knowledge building demonstrated on the discussion board, wiki and learning activities. From cycle three, I am learning that the educational strategies I implemented did not accomplish my expected outcome of the students being able to transfer what they have learned into patient care. The faculty response was low and I am partially to blame. I should have involved the faculty earlier on the purpose of my research. Conducting two cycles of research at the same time resulted in cycle three being somewhat disorganized because I concentrated more on the students cycle. However, the director’s comments were very insightful and helped me identify things that I can change in my teaching practice to produce different student outcomes.
I see my role as a teacher evolving. I have learned to apply the theories and experiences from my studies in ways that are valuable and authentic to my own practice. In everything I do, I am guided by my values and shall give it my interest, my enthusiasm, and my passion. I want to maximize the potential of technology to develop students’ understanding, stimulate their interest, and increase their proficiency in dental hygiene. I want to move students towards being expert learners who are able to transfer their skills. Cycle three was a humbling experience. I realize that I need to make adjustments in my curriculum so students are able to transfer their knowledge into clinic during patient care.
I have taken on a new role. Recently, I applied for a full time teaching position that became available within our program and was offered the position. I am excited for this amazing opportunity and I am committed to making a difference. At the end of the year, the graduating students gave out faculty awards. I received the Miss Congeniality award. Reflecting on this, I realize that I do not want to be remembered this way. I came across this quote by William Ward. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” I have learned through this process that I want to be remembered as the teacher who inspires all those around me.
At the conclusion of my action research I have come full circle. I have answered my questions by discovering who I am, developing my own voice, and I am no longer intimidated into silence by others. I have become open to learning and understanding the major dimensions of learning in schools: the learning of students, learning of colleagues, learning of self, and learning of my community where I practice.
The final performance of my action research project still needs rehearsing. Departing from the traditional pedagogy where I stood center stage, I have implemented a student-centered classroom where the students stand center stage constructing knowledge for themselves as they learn. Sharing the stage has created not only more successful students but a more successful teacher and learner as well who will continue to focus on improving my practice by continually questioning, changing, reflecting and growing professionally and personally.