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Reflecting on My Learning
Reflection is a critical, but often neglected, component of the learning process. The everyday context of teaching leaves little time for extended, serious contemplation of teaching practice. Of course, teachers reflect on what happens in their classrooms every day. They think about which activities “worked” or “didn’t work.” They assess their learners’ learning in a variety of ways, but the kind of systematic thinking that results in powerful new learning is often neglected in place of more practical concerns.
Take this opportunity to devote some time to an in-depth study of your learning, to
enhance the teaching in your classroom.
Step 1: Blogging My Journey
At the end of each module of the course, you reflect on the key concepts addressed in this module in your own personal blog. Blogs, short for weblogs, are used to share information and opinions with readers and to solicit feedback and discussion. They often take the form of a journal and are regularly updated with new entries.
In this activity, you first review the guiding questions and key points of the module and then reflect on your learning in your personal blog
- Open the blog site provided by your facilitator.
Note: Additional websites that provide free blog space (for use with learners) are listed in Blogging Sites in the Collaboration section on the CD.
- Tag or bookmark the site.
- Log on and create a new blog site.
- Write down the URL of the blogging site, your login, and password in the Login Information document available in your temp_folder (if previously saved) or in the About This Course section on the CD.
- Review the guiding questions and key points for Module 1 Summary
- Create a blog entry titled Module 1 Reflection, paste the following prompt into your blog, and write your response:
This module has made me think about my role
as an instructional designer in the following ways
 Note: If you are having intermittent connectivity issues, you may want to type your blog offline in a word processing document and then paste it into your blog. An
alternate method of ensuring you do not lose your work is to copy your blog entry text into the temporary clipboard before you click submit. (See Word Processing Skill 2.6.)
- Write about any other insights, questions, or concerns you want to address in your
reflection.
 Classroom Tip: Consider how “reflection” activities like this one—which will occur
regularly at the end of each module—could enhance learner learning if learners make it a part of their daily lives to reflect on how and what they are learning.
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