October 29 Blog

I found the discussion on experential learning very informative and beneficial. The author provided an in-depth summary of the six facets describing the teacher in this pedagogy. My role as the "project manager" within our leadership programs encompassed each of the six facets. We created the environment where I was an expert in the event planning area. Along with the various roles of the "project manager" or teacher we incorporated various leadership styles. As I read this chapter, I reflected about my role as an expert, facilitator, person, ego ideal, formal authority and social agent. In direct correlation to my role as the teacher changing each week, student interaction changed as well. It provided a very unique opportunity for students to learn from what they were experiencing and how it all came together. We found this method to be very successful and that is why I would incorporate it in my courses.

The course I am designing will utilize experential learning as students will be in a "hands-on" event planning project.

Distance education has been an integral part of both my undergraduate and graduate degree. I have had the opportunity to be in a classroom with the instructor as well as in a virtual classroom participating in the class via video streaming. With the current state of the economy, I believe distance education provides an opportunity for a large number of students to complete degrees without incurring additional expenses related to travel to and from the classroom site or use of personal time from their jobs. It is particularly important with winters in our area and inclement travel conditions. Students may go to their local high school to participate in class and have a few blocks to travel versus a lengthy commute from Fargo to their home.

I would love the opportunity to teach an adult education course at some point and would incorporate distance education into my coursse development. I believe it provides an opportunity for individuals that would like to participate that normally would not commute for the class.

I am currently enrolled in Instruction Technology/Teaching/Learning course. In a few short weeks, I have learned about virtual classrooms, social networks, mind mapping and the list goes on. I feel that technology will continue to provide virtual classrooms and it will be a challenge for teachers to keep up with the latest trends. I would incorporate this in as many of my courses as possible.

Lastly, I am excited about the mid term feedback opportunity in this class. The author provided a number of suggestions for us in methods of obtaining the feedback and I believe written feedback may be the method I would chose personally. There are times, however, as a student when I am not comfortable providing feedback based on interactions with an instructor. I believe as an instructor if I ask for feedback, I need to be prepared for what I may hear or read. The list the author provided about reading your evaluations and keeping negative evaluations in check was very beneficial and is something I will keep and use regularly. Although it is written in the context of evaluations, I feel it is a tool I can incorporate into my daily routine to keep things in check.