SPMs+Reflections+on+February+16

I have to admit, I left class less than satisfied last week. I was unhappy with what I was able to glean from the chapter, which indicates I need to reread and look for the useful take aways. I don't usually struggle to find interesting and useful information in a text, but this one has me stumped, and I need to find a better way to approach the information and analysis.

When I think about the Case Sudy, it seemed like we went in circles trying to develop three scenarios to illustrate and teach the value of objectives and not really achieving that. Thankfully, I truly believe that the best learning comes when things are hard to do. Those lessons seem to be the most dear and the ones that stay with me.

Linda's summary addressed the propensity of students to seek affirmation from professors, and though I have a tendency to be oblivious to those around me, I do strive to achieve what I think is required. After all, regardless of our maturity (what we do outside of the classroom, whether we are raising children, or managing other people) we all tend to seek the approval of our professors - they grade us, and good grades tell us they approve, which is an indicator that we are making progress on our goal.

One of Linda's final comments was that we should consider how what we read impacts the Case Study design, and also how it impacts what we think about our models. This jarred me out of my complacency about what we are working to achieve with this class.

And I spent the week thinking about this. ..

Kim's reflections were spot on, and I appreciate the way she broke the process down, and it made me realize that part of the problem is that I don't truly understand the learning goal of the Case Study. We started with a set of learning scenarios designed to teach TA's things that are important, but I realized, I never asked what the learning goal(s) of the Case Study are. I just accepted the packets of scenarios without ever asking any questions about the overarching goal(s). How on earth can I expect to come up with valuable scenarios if I really don't understand the purpose. I didn't do a learner analysis, I don't know that much about TAs and their interactions with professors. I don't know how they interact with students or the content of their course. I realized I've been plugging away at this at a very granular level without having the pieces I need to design something effective. It may be that someone already did the learner analysis, and I only need to review it. Or, maybe not.

So, in looking deeper, this behavior parallels the behavior of asking for approval. I blindly accepted we had all the information we needed to create a solid scenario, and I didn't apply what I was reading, didn't think to ask what else I needed, all because I implicitly accepted that we must have all the information necessary to complete the task at hand.

Interesting lesson.