I would summarize my e-portfolio as a documentation of my growth through the educational journey that I have taken. It starts with the discovery of myself and how much I needed to learn and grow as a person and as an educator. My e-portfolio ends with me utilizing what I have learned about myself and adult education in my current role.
One of the biggest surprises that I encountered was reflecting upon, and then selecting of an artifact from the R521 course, Instructional Development. When I think of this project, many negative thoughts flood my mind as it was one of the worst group experiences I have had throughout my entire academic career, including high school. However, I gained a lot of valuable information from this project. It was one of my first attempts at planning a training program for adults and was a good trial for me. It required me to collaborate with others, and I gained a lot of valuable knowledge about instructional design. But it also afforded me valuable experience in working with adults from other backgrounds and cultures that I had never previously had. It showed me how much our experiences and differences shape how we can sometimes communicate and work with others. There was also a bit of a surprise in realizing just how far I have come. I could tell I was growing and changing as an individual, but not until I had really taken a step back and looked through my artifacts and reflected on them and myself have I realized my true growth. I had affirmed, and expanded upon my philosophies of teaching and how I believe all learners should be treated. I was also able to increase my self-efficacy. Through my artifacts I display a growth in the confidence I obtain in my ability to be an adult educator, as well as the experience I gain from D521 and a final display of this confidence in my last artifact that I can be a successful adult educator.
The idea of self-efficacy is a new concept that really stuck with me throughout the program. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to accomplish a goal or succeed with something you are undertaking. The more self-efficacy that and individual has, the higher the likelihood that they will succeed, and while this seems obvious, I feel this concept goes widely unrecognized. It gave me a new factor to include in the environment I create when I train or teach. I need to make it positive and give learners encouragement that they can achieve what they are setting out to accomplish. I also had my mind and knowledge base broadened to how adults learn in general, as well as all of the theories and philosophies that go along with how they learn. I have had experience teaching adolescents and young adults so it was both eye opening and interesting to obtain a better understanding of how adults learn.
As a professional I would like to get a position in agriculture extension education as this position will meld together my passion for agriculture along with my excitement for education. In an extension education position I will be interacting with both adolescents and adults which will also allow me to use knowledge gained from both my undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Learning is one of my strengths, and I will be a lifelong learner until the day I die. I can easily envision myself taking classes to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby. I will also use reading materials such as journals and articles. Currently for professional development I attend any webinar or in person training that covers different uses of Canvas, ways to incorporate technology into teaching, and in depth looks at specific types of technology such as Zoom. I will continue to seek out these types of learning opportunities, as well as any others that I come across.
I have been able to learn a lot about myself in the three years I have been in this program, one of the greatest is I am more capable than I previously believed myself to be. While I had taught other adults at Ivy Tech, most were only a few years younger than myself, very few were the same age or older. I was always a little hesitant when I worked with older adults, but I now am less intimidated by a potential age gap, I am able to interact with and facilitate learning for all which I feel I exemplify with my last artifact, my Canvas Training material. This is something that I adapt for the audience like faculty or undergraduate teaching assistants because their uses of Canvas vary.
One of the biggest surprises that I encountered was reflecting upon, and then selecting of an artifact from the R521 course, Instructional Development. When I think of this project, many negative thoughts flood my mind as it was one of the worst group experiences I have had throughout my entire academic career, including high school. However, I gained a lot of valuable information from this project. It was one of my first attempts at planning a training program for adults and was a good trial for me. It required me to collaborate with others, and I gained a lot of valuable knowledge about instructional design. But it also afforded me valuable experience in working with adults from other backgrounds and cultures that I had never previously had. It showed me how much our experiences and differences shape how we can sometimes communicate and work with others. There was also a bit of a surprise in realizing just how far I have come. I could tell I was growing and changing as an individual, but not until I had really taken a step back and looked through my artifacts and reflected on them and myself have I realized my true growth. I had affirmed, and expanded upon my philosophies of teaching and how I believe all learners should be treated. I was also able to increase my self-efficacy. Through my artifacts I display a growth in the confidence I obtain in my ability to be an adult educator, as well as the experience I gain from D521 and a final display of this confidence in my last artifact that I can be a successful adult educator.
The idea of self-efficacy is a new concept that really stuck with me throughout the program. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to accomplish a goal or succeed with something you are undertaking. The more self-efficacy that and individual has, the higher the likelihood that they will succeed, and while this seems obvious, I feel this concept goes widely unrecognized. It gave me a new factor to include in the environment I create when I train or teach. I need to make it positive and give learners encouragement that they can achieve what they are setting out to accomplish. I also had my mind and knowledge base broadened to how adults learn in general, as well as all of the theories and philosophies that go along with how they learn. I have had experience teaching adolescents and young adults so it was both eye opening and interesting to obtain a better understanding of how adults learn.
As a professional I would like to get a position in agriculture extension education as this position will meld together my passion for agriculture along with my excitement for education. In an extension education position I will be interacting with both adolescents and adults which will also allow me to use knowledge gained from both my undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Learning is one of my strengths, and I will be a lifelong learner until the day I die. I can easily envision myself taking classes to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby. I will also use reading materials such as journals and articles. Currently for professional development I attend any webinar or in person training that covers different uses of Canvas, ways to incorporate technology into teaching, and in depth looks at specific types of technology such as Zoom. I will continue to seek out these types of learning opportunities, as well as any others that I come across.
I have been able to learn a lot about myself in the three years I have been in this program, one of the greatest is I am more capable than I previously believed myself to be. While I had taught other adults at Ivy Tech, most were only a few years younger than myself, very few were the same age or older. I was always a little hesitant when I worked with older adults, but I now am less intimidated by a potential age gap, I am able to interact with and facilitate learning for all which I feel I exemplify with my last artifact, my Canvas Training material. This is something that I adapt for the audience like faculty or undergraduate teaching assistants because their uses of Canvas vary.