Reflection has played a consistent role in how I develop course work for my students. However, I have not necessarily engaged in using a formal model for reflection. For me to continue to evolve as a professor or as teacher/learner, formal reflection makes sense. OpenLearn UK’s course on Succeeding in Postgraduate Study (n.d.) asks us to “consciously think about and analyse what you are doing, what you have previously done, what you have experienced, what you have learned and how you have learned.” I have applied these reflective pieces to my work as a professor, however, as a post-graduate student, I have found reflection to be more of a challenge. Re-reading and re-working my submissions take a great deal of self-discipline and focus which are skills that I struggle with. While I easily understand and agree with reflective practices in terms of what I offer my students, as a post-graduate student, reflection has not come easily because at this level we are expected to take full responsibility for our learning. Being an autonomous learner bears heavy responsibility and calls for a learner to lean into oneself and observe what needs improving. (Open ed, n.d.). Looking at Reflective writing from Wilfrid Laurier University (n.d.), I found myself agreeing with the list of obstacles: I’m Not Sure What I’m Doing, I Don’t Have the Time, I Don’t Feel Confident, I Can’t Find a Place to Reflect, and, Personal Biases.

Moving forward, while I appreciate and understand the benefits of reflection, I must force myself to sit down, slow down, make notes, create a journal of sorts, and organise my thoughts. To that end, (I am an analog thinker in a digital world) I have created a journal, old school, where I write everything down in one spot. Appointments, ideas, things to shop for, items for my todo list and anything to do with MALAT. I understand the benefits of reflection. “It leads to the development of new ideas which can be used to plan the next stages of learning” (OpenLearn n.d.). I understand the importance of reflection. “It helps you to understand the issue and scrutinise your own values, assumptions and perspectives” (OpenLearn n.d.). Neither of the aforementioned makes the reflective process any easier!

As I work toward my final digital resource, there may be some hope. During my time so far in LRNT 527 I have enjoyed the sharing of my work and comments from my Professor, colleagues, and stakeholders in my context. An example would be that I use the flipped learning model where students view videos relating to a specific item and come to the next class ready to apply the practical skills highlighted. However, as I reflected on research and my human-centred assessment, I discovered that using agile learning and constructivism, organising my content into more focused modules, with short video content and other items as mentioned in my prototype, would benefit teaching and learning in my course. I learned that I have all the pieces on the board, I need to move them around so they are beneficial to the learner.

In terms of MALAT, my remaining courses and my upcoming applied research project, parenting, teaching, learning and almost every role in my life, the design thinking process is widely relevant and the willingness and ability to think critically, to analyse and synergise, to question and revisit will not only benefit myself as a life long learner, but also those I care about both professionally and personally. Hopefully I can get that slow down and focus piece down!

References

Kearney, S. (2013) Improving engagement: the use of ‘Authentic self- and peer-assessment for learning’ to enhance the student learning experience. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(7), 875-891. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.751963

OpenLearn. (n.d.). Succeeding in post-graduate study: Session 2 – reflective thinking, reflective learning and academic writing.

Wilfrid Laurier University. (n.d.). Reflective writing. Write online.