Appendices - Learning Theories
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Masters of Education Portfolio of John Inman |
Reflection
Note: If you would like to review my learning theories projects before reading my reflection, please go to the bottom of the page.
Learning Theories was second only to the rigor in our leadership class. Learning Theories challenged me in every way. I was instructed in everything that I had not learned in my management and operational career, and the course was just what I needed to provide a foundation for the rest of the masters program.
Learning theories was the course where we started the journey to the production of our learning philosophy, included individually in this portfolio. Choosing our base learning theory and then writing a synthesis of that theory was just as important to me as a new student to learning theories. I worked so hard in the learning theories course. The stretching that I did was without measure. There was so much to learn that I did not even begin to fully understand my own learning theory for another year. The more I read, the more the pieces begin to fit together. I am still learning how all of this fits together. Without being a lifelong student in this field, I will be hard pressed to learn how it all fits together.
In writing the learning theories synthesis, I began to see the foundation for my work. The conversations that I had with Don were an immense help in coming to grips with my work and how it fit philosophically into the field of theory. As I prepared my portfolio, I reread my learning theories synthesis and again learned more from what I had written two years ago. There are so many nuances to the field and so much to learn. As I develop my practice in conversational learning, I will continue to reflect on this original work that has provided me with the understanding and importance of theory for my work.
The writing of the lesson plan was a critical outcome for me and helped me bridge the intense study of theory with the use of the theory to produce curriculum. Without the work involved in writing a lesson plan, it would have been very easy to leave theory as theory without an understanding of how to apply it to real life settings. I refer back to my first lesson planning process and use it to insure that I am true to my theoretical framework as I produce programs and curriculum.
The work represented below in combination with my learning theory provide me with the filter through which I screen all of the work that I do. The work involved in this course could not have been any more important to me and the timing of the work was excellent. It has truly taken me over two years to begin to assimilate this work into who I am as a leader in adult education.