Edward J. Sheehan
Learning Statement
I find it difficult to write a reflection on this class. The class itself had many hurdles to overcome. Personally, I pulled a lot of information out of the class, but at the same time I found myself floundering and spending inordinate amounts of personal time getting back on track or understanding the aims of the class. As time passed, the class became more interesting, but the workload became increasingly difficult as well. Class should be difficult, this particular class was intimidating.
The intimidation began on the first day of class and continued throughout the semester. By class two or three, it became apparent that the class was far different from many others at Johnson. The true aims of the class became clouded by proper writing skills and format needs. The class appeared to be a class in proper English writing skills, with a touch of research attached. The aims of the class did become clearer over time, but the intimidation would not lessen. Sometimes when people are challenged or asked to step outside of their comfort zone, the confusion and loss of confidence becomes an inhibitor. I saw and spoke with lots of students who had zero confidence in the work they were doing. This lack of confidence makes learning a real struggle.
In my student teaching forum, I found myself looking for understanding, not necessarily knowledge or the correct answers. Some children are able to give a correct answer without knowing its meaning, I am more interested in the answer from the child who thinks he knows, exhibits some form of confidence and is willing to go out on a limb and explain his perception. Regardless of the answers validity, I was more interested in how the student came to the conclusion he or she did. I have always found that I learned the most when I was challenged.
I learned a lot in this class because of the challenges presented, and the utter fear of failing. I still don’t really know where I fall in the grade end of things, but regardless I learned a lot about practioner inquiry. The class projects were a challenge. There were no layups or easy assignments. Even this short essay I’m finding a challenge due to the amount of time I spent on the practioner inquiry project I just completed.
As far as APA goes, it was nice to revisit the correct way to put together a paper. At 43 years of age, with very little interest in publishing any of my own thoughts or work, I’m not sure the validity of the exercise was necessary. However, it was nice to revisit the proper way of writing and submitting documents. With the advent of the Internet, and websites like Hub Pages etc… the art of writing properly and referencing material is a lost tradition in mainstream America
The research exercises were fun. I enjoyed finding answers and information from various sources. I think my own personal understanding and knowledge increased tremendously. I even shared some of my findings with my mentor/teacher and his team.
My vision of Education is to continuously improve and improvise methods to make sure I am reaching the largest audience possible. Different strokes for different folks, but ultimately one’s approach needs to meet the vast numbers daily. The research projects we conducted in class are applicable daily in the classroom. Regardless of submitting them for publication, they can be used regularly to improve standards and efficiencies in the classroom setting. So my vision statement is to be more efficient in the classroom by employing my own studies along with the work of others in making an evolving classroom the best place it can be for both students and educators.
