Final Critical Reflection Journal-Blog

Reflect upon your Online Teaching and Learning journey. What have you learned? How have you changed, both professionally and spiritually? Has this practice been beneficial to you as a reflective practitioner?

Though this specific journey began almost a year ago, in January 2022, the reality is that it started on January 4th, 1971.  That day was the day that I was born.  But even before that day, Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (NIV). However, God knew what my journey was going to look like. 

I didn’t come from a highly educated family.  I am the youngest of 10 children in a blended family.  My mom was a high school graduate and went to college for a year; my dad didn’t have more than a 7th or 8th-grade education, leaving school to work on the farm and then joining the Navy when he was 17.  They encouraged us to pursue an education if that was our chosen path and wholeheartedly supported us.  Some of my siblings chose the path of higher education, and others did not. 

My higher education journey began as a junior in high school when I was first introduced to Marion College, which later became Indiana Wesleyan University.  Before even visiting campus, I knew this was where I would pursue my college education after graduating high school.  My four years at IWU were some of the best years of my life.  I developed friendships with individuals that I still have nearly thirty years later.  They are folks who have been there for me through some of the darkest days of my life.

I was the typical college student who attended a liberal arts institution.  I did well at the things I enjoyed but not so well at what I didn’t.  Despite failing my Sr. project, the week of graduation, I graduated in four years with a 2.1 GPA.  I was done with school at that point and had no desire to pursue further education.  Seventeen and a half years later, I was given a chance to pursue a graduate degree for which I didn’t even meet the admissions requirements.  God used this opportunity as a catalyst for change in my life that led to completing two master’s degrees (an M.A. in Org Leadership and an M.Ed. in Ed Leadership) and a doctorate in Leadership-Higher Education Administration over the last twelve years. 

You may ask why I share these things with you in this post.  I do so because they are significant events in the last thirty years that have led me to where I am today as I complete this phase as I complete the Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning here at IWU National & Global.  I say “phase” because my educational journey continues into the Ed.S. (Education Specialist) next.  As if what I have done to date is not enough, simultaneously, over the next year, while I am completing the Ed.S. program, I will also be completing an MBA (Master of Business Administration) at another university.

The assignment prompt says to reflect on the following questions: What have you learned? How have you changed, both professionally and spiritually? Has this practice been beneficial to you as a reflective practitioner?  So, let me reflect on each one of them individually.  First, “What have I learned?”  My response is two-part, “what have I learned about online teaching and learning,” and “what have I learned about myself?”  Though I have taught courses online in one of my previous roles while serving as an enrollment recruiter, I have gained new knowledge and insight as to what goes into the various aspects of an online course, from how the content is developed to the multiple mechanisms involved in delivering the final product to the end user.  What good course design looks like, as well as I’ve learned about assessments and educational technology that can be used to enhance the online learning process.

The second part of the question, “what have I learned” deals with me.  I’ve learned that I have come to love the field of education.  The phrase “education is the KEY that opens EVERY door” continues to play out in all aspects of my life, unlocking doors that would have been locked to me otherwise.  I’ve learned that my educational journey has shaped who I am today and continues to shape me daily.  Finally, I have learned that I am a lifelong learner, and in the process of learning, I love to learn from others. 

How have you changed, both professionally and spiritually?  Has this practice been beneficial to you as a reflective practitioner?  I am a much better reflective writer than I am an academic writer.  One consistent comment from my committee in the dissertation writing process was that I needed to use more “academic-sounding language.”  The weekly “Virtual Salt” assignments have given me an outlet to share my thoughts and ideas.  But, beyond sharing my thoughts, I have had the opportunity to respond to and reflect on posts by classmates as they share their spiritual thoughts and insights along their journeys.  By engaging in this exercise, I have not only had the opportunity to share with others in an engaging way, but I have grown both professionally and spiritually. 

The weekly discussion prompts in the “Virtual Salt” assignments have challenged me to examine my daily walk with the Lord.  God has used these examinations as a crucible to melt me and bring to the surface all my impurities so they can be removed from my daily walk with Him leaving behind a new and transformed individual that is pure and focused on fulfilling His purpose in my life. 

The last year has truly been a transformational journey and one that continues to develop me as an aspiring educator and an individual who desires to fulfill God’s calling and purpose for my life.  1st Peter 4:11 says, “Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ” (NIV). This verse speaks to the calling and purpose that God has had for me along this journey that I have been on for the last year and continues to develop daily in my life.

As I conclude this blog post, I want to share this thought.  Ironically, I went to IWU in the Fall of 1989 to major in Music Education and teach Junior/High Band.  I quickly learned in the January Term of my first year that I did not have the patience to teach kids and didn’t even like kids.  Four years later, I graduated with a degree in Communications and Marketing.  My first job out of college was in the area of education, doing school assembly programs where you guessed it, I worked with kids daily. 

For the next twenty or so years, I worked in public education as a consultant, where I helped schools in ways that impacted their students.  Eight years ago, I transitioned into higher education, working with traditional and non-traditional-aged students, some of whom are pursuing degrees to teach and educate generations to come. 

The takeaway is that what I expected my life to be versus what I am experiencing is very different.  But God has taught me three important lessons:  1) Your plan may not be God’s purpose.  Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (NIV). 2) When you find your why you’ll find God’s purpose for your life” Acts 13: 41 says, “Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.” (NIV)  Lastly, 3) Purpose is found not in how many people serve you but in how many people you serve.  The biggest takeaway of all has been the fact that “when you discover your God-given purpose when you know why God has created you,  everything else starts to fall into place.”  My final reflection is my life verse, which is found in Acts 13:36 and says, "When David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep” (NIV).