Contribution to my learning and my learning community

Reflecting on these past eight weeks, I realize that I continued to learn, to gain new knowledge, and to develop new skills that will help me in the future.

In EDLD 5303 - We continued to develop the ePortfolio that we started in EDLD 5302. I learn why using an ePortfolio is so convenient in so many ways, both in the classroom and as a professional.

I come from a graphic designer background and I always used a digital portfolio to showcase my work. However, I never used it as a tool to reflect, to build upon and to further my learning during my career. Using it as a tool of pedagogy has been an eye-opener for me.

During my recent learning experience over the past weeks, I have had to get used to listening to my voice and expressing it as it emerges from my e-Portfolio. Being able to listen to my own voice through my work is a key objective of the e-Portfolio exercise. While the e-Portfolio is not yet complete, I feel that I have made a lot of progress. I feel that I have developed new skills and knowledge from building my online e-Portfolio.

Concerning the e-Portfolios of my colleagues, I also feel that I have learned a lot from my peers in the class. I am impressed by the many varieties of styles and formats, the different colors and presentations that they make, and how the ideas and discussions reflect their different identities and personalities. Every e-Portfolio is innovative and unique even though most of us are in the same profession. The diversity in the class itself is a benefit to me and it helps me build understanding and new points of view.

I enjoyed how the EDLD 5313 course evolved and how much I learned in it. Today's education systems do not seem to view learning as a process in which passion, imagination, and limitations are central. Therefore, it is our responsibility as educators to create environments that enable passion and curiosity in our students, engaging them to develop a passion for learning the subject, allowing them to rethink things differently in a way that could reshape their mindset and thinking,

We responded to the reading A New Culture of Learning and outline how we will move towards creating new and uniques learning environments. Thomas and Brown stated that students naturally learn through play. Therefore, learning through play seems a good way to engage them in learning. They emphasize the importance creating significan learning environments in our classrooms and how well designed learning environments help students develop their imagination, apply what they are leaning, and see themselves as a resource for personal and collective growth.

In addition, we also studied how people learn and went through the different learning theories. Learning theories can provide conceptual and theoretical guidance to our learning. We develop our Learning Philosophy where we outline and discuss our beliefs and practices about leaning. I consider myself constructivist and cognitivist. I believe that people learn by doing things themselves, and I also believe that well-presented and organized material helps students remember, understand better, and achieve their learning goals. I also believe that by enabling problem-based learning, students will have a better sense of how to use and apply what they learn.

Moreover, we also learned how to design an integrated course working in a systematic way. We then created our course map and aligned those outcomes to activities and assessments - see the 3 Column Table. Finally, we expand the knowledge and develop the Understanding by Design approach - UbD.

Both of the above were based on the backwards design principal, meaning that we started where we wanted our learner to go and worked backwards to get them there. It is important to notice that this is an ongoing process to allow learners to continue improving after seeing what it is working and what is not.

Finally, we revisited and updated your plan for developing, promoting, and supporting a growth mindset in your learners. When we introduced our students to significant learning environments where they can have choice, develop ownership, and gain a voice in authentic learning opportunities, they are creating the perfect environment to develop a growth mindset. In relevant learning environments students will be able to apply what they learned, and their learning effort will be rewarded.

Being part of a support group has been great. All the members in our group support and help each other. Their support was very helpful when I changed the focus of my project. Knowing that I am not the only one who has changed projects or who is working alone in a particular course has given me support and confidence.

The members of my group are: Naima Bagot, Angela Upshaw, Herman Bibbs, Rajalique Mccowin, and myself.

Given what I have said above, I feel that I deserve a score of 45/50, 90/100