Week Four: Reflection

Week Four Assignment:  Reflection

EDLD 5399

Lisa Ferguson

It has been a career goal of mine to become a licensed superintendent for many years.  I just could not find a way to take that first step to put this goal in motion and then one day I opened my email and there was Lamar University offering an opportunity that was convenient and affordable.  So, I took a chance. 

I had never taken a course online.  For that matter, I had not taken an official course for many years since professional growth points could be used to renew a license in Indiana.  I had a lot to learn.

In our first course, we were asked to establish a blog.  We were asked to post our reflections on this blog.  If you look at my first entry on June 6, 2013 entitled,  Wiki's, E-books, and Blogs, oh my!  I know I am not in Kansas anymore, Toto!: 

I love technology.  Right now, I could reach out and touch an iPad, a Kindle Fire HD, Chromebook, mini laptop computer, a document camera, a flipcam, iPhone, or my desktop computer.  I use technology in so many publishing aspects of my work yet had not considered the communication possibilities each tool offers.  It seems so obvious now.  I feel like the scarecrow that just got a brain!  As long as the device has internet access, I have the ability to reach out to others through a blog.

I am the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Seymour Community Schools in Indiana.  I have been an administrator for 25 years.  If I have learned one thing, it is the fact that communication is key to success.  Once particular communication strategies have been successful for us, we tend to stick with them. Sometimes adhering to such habits can freeze us in time...like the tin man.  Joining this class and having the opportunity to "oil" my process, has started my wheels turning.  I currently publish a newsletter monthly to all staff.   This publication is called, The Beacon. I use it to communicate information to all staff members about standards, best practices, district policies, and initiatives. I scan the documents and post them on a Moodle page.   After building my first blog, I realized the Moodle posting is one way communication.  If I just have the courage to build a blog and use it as my communication structure, I can establish ongoing, two-way communication with staff about standards, strategies, and pedagogy.  In the past, if folks had questions about items in The Beacon or wanted to share information on the effectiveness of a particular strategy they tried, staff members were unable to do so. The collaboration potential of this tool meets a great number of needs for my corporation.

When I first read our week one overview and saw all of these things listed, I felt like I was being tossed and turned in a tornado.  I had never done many of these things before and found myself on some unsteady ground.  In building the blog, I learned that the process is very easy to follow.  It is user friendly from both the user and creator point of view.  The directions for building a blog can most certainly be shared with others.   I've looked behind the blog curtain and like what I see.  Here I was scared of the new land I'd discovered only to realize I had the brain, courage, and flexibility I needed all along.  Click, Click, Click....

As you can see, I get my point across about what I learned but I thought I had to be clever about it.  I wanted a “hook” to pull the reader in to my writing.  As I read more about reflection and had the opportunity to read other student’s reflections, I learned that perhaps this was not the intent of writing reflections.  Reflections should further my thinking and guide next steps.  Reflection is intended to “hook” me not the reader.  I soon began to write differently.

The reading assignments helped me understand that reflection should be used to look back on an experience or event to tease out just what was learn from it.  Reflections include information on your reactions, feelings, and ideas.   The Lamar Program provided not only opportunities for written reflections but also opportunities for reflection through speaking and listening.  Each week, in most of our courses, we participated in web conferences.  This time was so valuable to me.  I came to understand that much of my reflection happened as I listened to classmates describe their experiences and contributions to their respective school districts.  The dynamics of conversation stimulated reflection for me.

 I read that reflection involves answering three questions:  What?  So What? and Now What?  I think this is especially true of the SBEC Self Assessment and reflection we completed.  Writing the first reflection for this activity gave me the opportunity to answer these questions.  It was the “Now What?” of that first reflection that helped me identify specific areas of study for me in the courses to come.  It was the repeat of this activity in our last course that gave me the opportunity to identify just how much growth had occurred since our first course in June.

Another example of the effective application of reflective practice was found in the opportunity to read other student’s reflections.  Reading others work helped clarify the expectations of various assignments.  Being from another state, reading an explanation of the maintenance and operation fund by another student really helped with an assignment we were given in September 2013 during our Finance Course.   I would say that both completing personal reflections and reading reflections of others helped me effectively process all of the information presented in our courses these past few months.

Most importantly, I found the reflections completed for the 38 activities that related to the competencies to be a crucial element in my preparation process to become a superintendent.  Reflecting on each progressive activity helped shape the next experience.  Making reflection part of my daily practice, at this point, just made sense.  It also helped me keep on top of the mounting responsibilities and assignments as I progressed through the classes. 

In summary, I have learned the importance of taking time to reflect.  Reflection does not always have to take place in written form.  I’ve learned listening, speaking, and interacting with others has a place in the reflection spectrum.  It is a professional practice that will serve me well in not only the role of superintendent but in any educational setting.