I am not sure I am applying the learning and instruction paradigms correctly but these are my thoughts as I began to read chapter 11.
As I read chapter 10 and got into chapter 11, I stopped and did some quick self reflection. I found that when I was in undergrad, I was in the instruction paradigm mindset. I did everything surface level. The thought, "I wonʻt ever need to know this again" constantly ran through my head in core courses. My mind was completely focused on getting a good grade so that I could pass in order to get my degree.
It was not until my senior year where I was able to do a senior project in which I worked hands on with an industry rep to produce a software product usable by my client. This opened my eyes to the real industry and what it would be like as a computer scientist. While the experience in itself was the first experience I had that really showed true value in the work field.
For me, I did most of my growth outside of the class, another thing mentioned by Tagg. I was a Resident Assistant in the halls and my boss was my professional mentor. The RA position was a live-in position and while it was not a curriculum enforced institution, the growth and experiences I got from that position with her guidance is what has driven me into the Educational Admin department at UHM.
Not only did my reflection indicate to me that my undergrad was an instructional paradigm, but also that my grad school experience is definitely a learning paradigm. Now while the curriculum and course I am in are not building the curriculum necessarily around a learning paradigm, I am making conscious decisions that make me feel as though I am. For instance, each project that I am assigned in a course, my undergrad thought process would be to do it the quickest and fastest way. This is completely opposite of my thoughts on approaching projects today.
Nowadays, if I get to interview someone or do research or write a report, I think long and hard about what topic I can choose in order to further my knowledge in some place of my OWN interests. For instance I work in student housing, in my research course right now I will need to write a research proposal. The first part is to simply choose what you would like to research about. For me this is an instance where I want to incorporate my experiences and my interests into my work to apply the classroom work to my community and to my own professional growth.
Do you think that it is possible to reach this state of mind or appreciation for learning in undergrad? What can we do in high schools to prepare to transition into such an environment?
How do we construct this type of mindset? Is it something that an equation can be created to produce?
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Week 3 Ch. 10-12: How do I remember the case studies?
When I first started to read the Part IV reading, A Design For Learning, it gave an overview of the readings for the next six chapters. From that and from the first few paragraphs of Chapter 10, the thought on my mind was how am I going to remember all of these case studies. You see, for the first few weeks after self-reflection and thinking about how I have been part in the Instruction Paradigm, I began to get frustrated and really wanted to make a change. Like an instant change...
Then when I got into reading the Part IV section and the beginning of chapter 10, I realized that Tagg was going to tell me. He has made it clear that there is no equation that we can put our individual variables into and out pops a result. He discussed how he would like to look at all types of Universities, four-year, community colleges, etc., to try and give a broad view. But as I read through all of these different ways that institutions are trying to move into the Learning Paradigm, it was really overwhelming to hear each of the case studies.
Case after case after case, expressing how this community college took this approach and this research institution took this approach. I enjoyed the content very much, I would highlight all the information that I thought would be useful to remember. But there was SO MUCH info. So from that I wanted to know if there is some sort of organized visual aid that perhaps lays out the different types of institutions and the different techniques used by them to move towards the Learning Paradigm. I have begun to construct my own "flow chart" in the mean time of these cases.
Really thinking about how I want to make a difference in the University I end up working at, I think that books such as Taggʻs are a valuable thing to have. I think that he doesnʻt give in-depth details of how the University functions (because that I can find on my own) but he doesnʻt an excellent job of skimming the surface and really pointing me in the direction of where to look in Universities to see who is using or trying to implement the Learning Paradigm. I think that if there existed an accessible diagram of some sort that outlines the different institutions approaches, this would be a very valuable resource. Perhaps even creating a universal system in which the diagram would be constantly accessible and editable.
Then when I got into reading the Part IV section and the beginning of chapter 10, I realized that Tagg was going to tell me. He has made it clear that there is no equation that we can put our individual variables into and out pops a result. He discussed how he would like to look at all types of Universities, four-year, community colleges, etc., to try and give a broad view. But as I read through all of these different ways that institutions are trying to move into the Learning Paradigm, it was really overwhelming to hear each of the case studies.
Case after case after case, expressing how this community college took this approach and this research institution took this approach. I enjoyed the content very much, I would highlight all the information that I thought would be useful to remember. But there was SO MUCH info. So from that I wanted to know if there is some sort of organized visual aid that perhaps lays out the different types of institutions and the different techniques used by them to move towards the Learning Paradigm. I have begun to construct my own "flow chart" in the mean time of these cases.
Really thinking about how I want to make a difference in the University I end up working at, I think that books such as Taggʻs are a valuable thing to have. I think that he doesnʻt give in-depth details of how the University functions (because that I can find on my own) but he doesnʻt an excellent job of skimming the surface and really pointing me in the direction of where to look in Universities to see who is using or trying to implement the Learning Paradigm. I think that if there existed an accessible diagram of some sort that outlines the different institutions approaches, this would be a very valuable resource. Perhaps even creating a universal system in which the diagram would be constantly accessible and editable.
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