Tough Decisions

Tough Decisions Sign

Tough Decision

The Decision Making Process

We are all faced with making decisions in our lives.  We make decisions that are immediately necessary:  driving, emergencies, and work.  We make decisions that require more thought than instinct:  school, lifestyle, and career choices. 

The contemplation or impulsive responses we chose come from experiences, beliefs, and knowing oneself.  The later being the most important because if we do not know our likes and dislikes then we will be prone to making poor decisions for ourselves. 

Once we understand what we like and what we do not then we can move forward toward the decision making process as I have outlined below.

Step 1:  Define the Decision Clearly

Going back to college to complete Masters Degree while working, being married, and raising teenagers

Step 2:  Consider All the Possible Choices

Online Degree

Accelerated Online Degree

Wait and complete Masters Degree

Step 3:  Gather All Relevant Information and Evaluate the Pros and Cons of Each Possible Choice

Possible Choices	Pros	Cons
Online Degree	No in-class time Complete assignments when I have time More flexibility with schedule	Limited class interaction (through posts, group assignments, etc) Timeframe too long Cost
Accelerated Online Degree	Complete my degree quickly No in-classroom time, allows schedule flexibility	Commitment to assignments Must have time & organization Cost
Wait to complete Masters Degree	Kids will be grown up and gone, more time to focus on degree Cost is less now	Prevents me achieving academic goals as soon as possible Cost will keep going up

Step 4:  Select the Choice That Seems to Best Meet the Needs of the Situation

I will chose to wait & complete my Masters Degree once my children are grown up and gone because:  both are teenagers now & it will allow me the time I need to focus on my Masters Degree.

Step 5:  Implement a Plan of Action and Then Monitor the Results, Making Necessary Adjustments

I will continue to monitor colleges for the Masters Degree program that interests me; once the kids are grown up and gone I will begin my Masters Degree; I will start saving money now to help pay for my Masters Degree.

Personal Development Journal

Learning Styles

Strength:  The strongest learning experience I have had so far is found in the entire book, Learning Style Perspectives 2nd Edition, along with the researched articles:  Adult Learning Theory, Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory, and Creating Learning Centered Classrooms. 

I am amazed at how many learning styles, theories, and methods are out there for teachers and educators to use to reach all students with any learning style preference.  The unfortunate information that I learned while studying and researching this subject matter is that very few instructors and educators know their own learning style.  If we do not understand our own learning style how can we educate others and reach them through their preferred learning style? 

I now recognize that my main learning style is visual.  I do have tendencies toward tactical or kinetic learning but this is minimal.  When I am putting together my lesson plans I find that I want to connect with all the students in my class and this is a hidden strength that I now understand and I will be certain to accentuate as I continue to teach in the future.

Improvement:  I can improve my learning and teaching in the future by being open to suggestions and more learning. 

As an educator my learning will not cease when my classes end.  I have signed on for a lifelong of learning as a teacher because "The only source of knowledge is experience."  Albert Einstein.  As I become a student along with the pupils in my class we will all gain knowledge through our time together.

I will provide opportunities that create experiences for the students to add to their own educational toolboxes.  My hope is that they will reflect back on these experiences and understand how deep their knowledge is because of the newly learned skills.  

Insight: I find that the information I gleaned regarding learning styles in the book, Learning Style Perspectives 2nd Edition, along with the research I found in Adult Learning Theory, Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory, and Creating Learning Centered Classrooms, to be powerful educational experiences and ones that can add depth and strength to my lesson plans and classroom to help educate the students who participate in my class.

I will be able to provide a variety of methods to meet the needs of all students, yet use one lesson plan.  How?  The lesson plan will be about how to put on a sterile gown properly.  I will incorporate a PowerPoint for the visual learner.  I will lecture and provide an outline for the audible learners.  I will break the students into groups to experiment with the newly learned material and have a chance to put on a sterile gown while I am there to assist the students. 

And this all begins with me learning what my ideal learning style is and stretching my learning to encompass all learning styles for all of the students that pass through the doors of my classroom. 

Education

Albert Einstein

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." ~Albert Einstein

Is it possible that Einstein meant that the way he was educated interfered with his education?  I believe it does.  If we consider another quote from Albert, "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education" I believe it reveals that education that prepares students for learning information only to test is on its way to being phased out and becoming replaced with the "curiosity" of Einstein and the critical thinking and life skills for the 21st century classroom. 

How many of us learned in an educational environment that promoted curiosity but stifled it because the teacher had a certain way that they taught the lesson?

Critical Thinking Skills

I know I did.  As I think back to the education I received in public schools and early college experiences.  The 20 to 30 years ago public school classroom was set up to for the teacher to instruct by lecturing, the students did paperwork and then were tested over the material for a final grade and an analysis of knowledge gained.  The early college classrooms and teachers that stick out in my mind seemed to have the teacher in mind that had their own agenda and used lecture time to present their take on the subject matter.  The rest of the work was done by me, the student, as a self study to answer the questions over the material presented in class and retrieved through self study the way the instructor wanted it answered.  It is amazing to me to think that I retained any information at all although I know I did because of teachers who dared to be different.

The teachers that stand out to me were the teachers, who in their time, thought outside the box by incorporating more than just lecturing, more than just studying to take a test, and more than just telling me their version of what they thought I should know.  I remember my 3rd grade teachers:  One who took a T.V. show called PM Magazine and used it to teach us life skills such as team work, research, and communication skills.  We re-enacted and created our own version of the show called AM Magazine.  One of my classmates grew up and is a director of KM3TV news in Omaha.  I dare to say that this teacher's environment created life-long learning! 


My other 3rd grade teacher played Around the World-State Capitols and to this day when I recall what the state capital of a certain state is I remember how we learned the state capitols.  She made memorization fun and presented the state capitol lesson several ways so all the students in her class would learn and remember each and every one! We were a fortunate group of 3rd grade students because we were taught and allowed to be curious about learning.  Our 3rd grade education did not get in the way of our curiosity…..wouldn't Albert Einstein be proud!

As I study learning and teaching styles I find myself curious; curious to know how I will teach my students.  What kind of educational environment will I create?  I struggled a great deal with this blog post because I know what I want for my classroom and students but it is difficult to put into words.  I believe this final Chinese Proverb quote sums up my feelings, "Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand."