Educational Studies Course Reflection

Educational Studies Reflection

During this course, I had the opportunity to combine my everyday work with my graduate class, and then take both to a whole new level of understanding and commitment. This application of knowledge was reassuring to me that this was the right choice for me to further my education. The inquiry project was immeasurably helpful for me to gain perspective and gather additional feedback from peers. I looked forward to the check-in times so that I could bounce ideas off of my classmates, as well as David McGough. It was evident that with our varied jobs and backgrounds that there were a myriad of experiences and knowledge that each student brought to the table. The highlight of this course, in addition to the application based project, was having the experience of so many different people who are all on different major tracks. Although as I and my peers move forward, we will begin to focus on our chosen fields, having a broad array of graduate degree seekers in our first course sections was reiterated by many as the most important aspect of the class.

The legalities of special education and the specifics of simply being in a school in general, is so extensive that it can be overwhelming. One of my goals this semester was to learn more about the laws that have created positions such as mine, and how the laws affect my everyday work. I felt satisfied that my goal was met when we had the chance to speak with a principal at a local school who broke down the different regulations and implications of following regulations. Although there is always debate on whether or not the laws are doing more harm than good, it became more clear the reason behind their existence.

One of my major worries as a new graduate student, was around figuring out APA and proper citation. As a science major in my undergraduate, I was surprised that my prior standard MLA format was not the best suited for "scholarly" work. David reassured me that learning APA would not be my downfall and took the time to explain the basics.
Overall, my main goals for this course, were to learn more about educational theorists and their influence on today's educational philosophies, as well as identify my own beliefs. I also aimed to learn more about special education laws.  I can confidently say that I learned much more about the theorists than I originally believed I would. Having the perspective of how learning theory affects our teaching philosophies allows for me to better deconstruct and reconfigure my beliefs and how I can continue to adapt and grow them for the future. In regard to the legal knowledge growth, I know much more than previously, but still have so much more to discover.