The way I see it…
There is no one way of learning or teaching. Students and teachers both learn, teach, explain, and process information differently depending on their backgrounds, thoughts, and perceptions.
As someone who prefers to utilize my abilities to be in a surrounding and interact with the course content, I connected strongly with Gardner Campbell’s Networked Learning as Experiential Learning article and his perspective on how experiential learning provides opportunities for learning that are beyond that of “schooling”. Experiential learning is defined as studying abroad, internships, service learning, and undergraduate research. I was afforded the opportunity as an undergraduate in Biology to do research in the current field, Food Science, that I am pursuing a doctoral degree in. Being able to integrate knowledge learned in the classroom and apply it in complex ways rather than on an exam was something I loved. The practicality of what I was doing made the concepts learned in class easier to understand.
The TedX Talk “What Baby George Taught Me About Learning”, brings an awesome and valid point on the current educational system not allowing for failure. If you don’t know the information, you might be screwed out of a class for the semester. Learning from your mistakes is something we are taught in grade school. In some classes, there is not an opportunity to learn; rather, the material you are being asked about is on one or two exams for the year. Personally, I am not a fan of exams as a way to gauge knowledge. There are many perks associated with it like time-saving and convenience. Some people, like me, are not test takers. Regurgitation of information can only go so far in the “real world”.
I am excited, yet nervous to be blogging this semester. I loved blogging in the past having had experience with blogging through writing for sports websites. Obligatory shout-out to my D.C. sports teams! (#Wizards #Redskins #Capitals #Nationals). Let’s hope that I can take some of those blogging skills and apply it to the Contemporary Pedagogy class.
My old P.I. was excellent at controlling his digital identity and developing himself on social media, specifically on Twitter and a blogging site. I want to increase my openness for what I do research-wise. My goal for this semester is to develop my writing style. I want to be able to discuss my opinions and thoughts with others while also understanding their perspective better. I hope that I can express and articulate my thoughts fluidly on the topics this semester.
Thanks for taking time to read my post. I hope that we can engage in some meaningful dialogue.
MDD.
