Running head: FINAL REFLECTION 1

Final Reflection

Andrea De Leon

Loyola University Chicago

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Final Reflection

When I was young, I wanted to be a marine biologist. In high school, I dreamed of

working for a public relations firm. In college, I studied marketing and saw myself working in

corporate America one day. It is clear that as I have continued to learn and develop, I have

changed my mind about what it is that I am called to do with my knowledge, talents, and skills.

Fortunately, it has been in graduate school where I have found my true calling. It is education.

There is something really fascinating about human development and learning. In the last two

years, I have wrapped myself up in my own learning in an effort to be better prepared to teach

others. My dream is to be an educator. In some ways, I think I have already achieved this.

However, taking a course that exposed me to the world of curriculum development has opened

my eyes to the tremendous amount of learning that I must continue to engage in if I hope to

someday successfully lead a classroom full of students.

Philosophy of Curriculum Development

One of the most impactful things I have learned throughout this course is that curriculum

development is much more challenging than it sounds. I think it is the type of project that could

be made easier, but making it easier likely means reducing the quality of the final product. I

have learned that if I want to develop a strong curriculum for a course or a program, I need to

invest serious time and attention to the process. This is because curriculum development is about

so much more than teaching content. My personal philosophy of curriculum development is that

it is a process that necessitates time, attention, and intentional planning. It is process that

requires attention to detail, ability to imagine the big picture, and a readiness to think critically.

Curriculum development cannot be done well if it is done on a whim. I have learned that in

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order to successfully design an effective curriculum, it is important to think backward, take an

integrative approach, and consider context.

Course Connections

In reading Fink’s (2003) Creating Significant Learning Experiences, I was exposed to the

importance of thinking backward when developing a curriculum. Although I had not considered

a backward approach before, it makes so much sense in hindsight. When one is able to state

what they want participants to have learned or gained as a result of engaging in the program or

course, it is much easier to then develop assessment tools, learning outcomes, and teaching and

learning activities. In describing this approach Fink (2003) said, “the designer starts the process

by imagining a time when the course is over, say one or two years later, and then asking, ‘What

is it I hope that students will have learned, that will still be there and have value, several years

after the course is over?’” (p. 71). I think this is a relatively simple step in the process, but one

that will dramatically affect the final product if it is skipped. If we, as educators, do not

understand the purpose behind the design of our courses and programs, then how can we be

confident that we are designing curricula that meet our overall goals? I would argue that we

cannot.

Second to the idea of backward design, Fink (2003) stressed the importance of utilizing

an integrated approach. This means ensuring that all components of a course or program

curriculum complement each other. Fink said, “One very important feature of this model of

course design is the proposition that the three initial decisions need to be integrated: the learning

goals, the feedback and assessment, and the teaching and learning activities must all reflect and

support each other” (p. 71). It is important to have clear connections between all three of these

components. If one connection is lost, it is likely that another will be lost, and the instructor or

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facilitator will not be able to successfully achieve all of the goals of the course or program. “A

course with two broken connections is a broken course. It will not work and cannot work

effectively because it is not integrated” (Fink, 2003, p. 74).

Through the process of engaging in case studies, a course design, and a group project, I

have been able to put to use the new knowledge about how to design curricula successfully. I

have practiced creating concise, specific, measurable, and realistic learning outcomes, and have

worked to design assessment tools and teaching and learning activities that support those

outcomes. I have practiced the backward approach and have focused on integrating the various

components of a curriculum plan. This new knowledge and these new skills are required for

successful curriculum development. However, I have also learned that it is incredibly important

to understand context, audience, and factors that influence how participants and students learn.

Nilson (2010) wrote about the importance of understanding the individuals whom you

intend to teach. In reading his work, I learned much about both how people learn and the

millennial generation and how they are unique from other generations before them. As an

emerging educator, I will be working with students who fit the description that Nilson provided,

and I am grateful for the insight that I have gained. Nilson (2010) said, “People don’t learn well

when their major learning context is teacher centered - that is, when they passively listen to a

teacher talk. Rather, they learn when they are actively engaged in an activity, a life experience”

(p. 4). This helped me understand that teaching and learning activities must be engaging in order

to be effective. Nilson (2010) also described the power of metacognition in the learning process.

“People learn when they actively monitor their learning and reflect on their performance” (p. 4).

This helped me understand the importance of incorporating reflection into every learning activity

that I developed for my projects in this course. Reflecting on learning experiences helps the

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individual to better understand and articulate what they have learned. In addressing the unique

needs of the millennial generation, Nilson (2010) said, “They are also accustomed to near-

constant interaction, so they do want to relate to us. Showing that we care about their learning

and well-being will go very far in earning their loyalty and trust” (p. 12). Knowing that I will

continue to work with millennial students in the future, it has been helpful to come to a better

understanding of their unique needs and think about ways that I, as an educator, can meet them.

External Connections

While taking this course this semester, I was able to make critical connections to outside

experiences and learning. An idea that came up regularly was the consideration of student

development and developmental readiness in student learning. Although I took a Student

Development Theory course last academic year, I still utilize the knowledge gained in my

everyday work with undergraduate students at Loyola. In directly supervising student staff

members in the Department of Residence Life, I have seen the reality that not all students are the

same. More specifically, their development varies dramatically, not just from class year to class

year, but even within the same class year. For example, I have worked with a handful of

sophomore students this year, but not one of them is in the same place developmentally. Each

understands things differently and each is at a different level of readiness when it comes to a

willingness to be challenged and pushed in their development and learning. I have learned that

considering developmental readiness is a key component of successful curriculum design. If an

instructor or facilitator challenges too much, students may foreclose and all learning that could

have been had is unlikely. On the flip side, if an instructor or facilitator does not challenge

enough, students or participants could finish the program or course having not gained any new

knowledge or skills. Somewhere in the middle is an appropriate balance of challenge and

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support, but it is very difficult to find. The best thing that I can do, as a developer of new

curricula, is assess the context surrounding my program or course and seek to understand who I

am serving.

Self-Assessment

This course has been challenging in more ways than one, and I have learned a lot about

the potential I have to someday be a wonderful teacher. In reflecting on my experiences with the

case studies, with the course and syllabus design, and with the curriculum development project, I

have learned that I have many useful strengths, but also room for growth as I continue to engage

in this meaningful work.

I have always been introspective. I am a reflective learner at heart and this has made it

very easy for me to develop reflection components as I’ve worked to design curricula this

semester. I have no trouble coming up with thought-provoking and guiding reflection questions

that challenge students or participants to dig a little deeper and understand their learning. This

strength was useful to have especially as I designed my capstone course and worked with my

group to create a curriculum for leadership development. Another strength I possess is an ability

to see the bigger picture. I am a visionary and get excited about thinking about the future and

how things could be. This was helpful when utilizing Fink’s (2003) backward design in the

creation of my course syllabus and group project. I was quick to think about what I want

participants to gain from the experience, and I was able to use that information as a guideline to

create the learning outcomes, assessment tools, and teaching and learning activities for each

project. I think that as an educator, it can be very helpful to have a vision, and I am so fortunate

to be able to readily engage in forward-thinking.

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Areas for growth did not go unseen this semester. I have always struggled with being

concise, and that did not change throughout this course. Oftentimes, it was hard for me to

develop learning outcomes that were specific, measurable, and not too complicated. It was easy

for me to make the mistake of combining two or three learning outcomes into one. I have

learned the importance of taking time to intentionally design the outcomes and am thankful for

the practice, but know that I still have room to improve in this area. Additionally, I hope to

continue learning about the actual facilitation and implementation of a curriculum. It is one

thing to design a course or a program, but another thing to actually implement it.

Ceaseless Learning

The single most important thing I have learned from this course is that learning does not

stop. A theme that I saw emerge as I continued gaining new knowledge this semester is that

learning is a process. There is no said final destination to be reached; it is on-going. Learning

can happen anywhere and at any time, and it does. As I continue to relish in my hopes and

dreams of living life as an educator, I acknowledge that I also have hopes and dreams to live life

as a learner. In order to effectively educate, I must continue to learn and develop myself. There

will never be a point in which I know and understand all that I am teaching my students. Things

change and students change. There will always be new ideas for me to consider, new

characteristics of my students to address. My learning about curriculum development and about

creating significant learning experiences cannot and does not end with this course. I am truly

thankful for the learning that’s been had, and am excited about the learning that’s to come!

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References

Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to

developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.

San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (Ch. 1 – 3)