Course Reflections

Given this opportunity I would like to share with you what I have learned and how it will change my career in the future.  While pondering what the question “what I’ve learned, how will it affect my future career,”  I reflected back over these last eight weeks and considered the discussions, reading texts, and video presentations.

Throughout this course one of the most surprising things for me has been my gaining an understanding of my learning theory.  Gaining this knowledge has deepened my understanding of the way in which I study, learn, and work.  Within the U.S. Army there are plenty of learning opportunities, being able to study and learn effectively will affect on our missions and the way we conduct them.  The Army always says that its people are its greatest asset.  After going through this course that statement means so much more to me now. 

With this knowledge I will be able to draw on this skill of understanding how I learn and share with others I work with some ideas to lead change within themselves and our unit and as I progress up the chain of command educate others about my experience and knowledge of learning theories to teach and train our younger soldiers.  As I currently serve as the executive officer, my primary responsibility is to see that the needs of the soldiers are cared for within my unit of 100 plus personnel.  Understanding how people can learn effectively helps me structure our training.  It is important to be able to assess both the internal and external environments and the needed changes in each along with being able to understand the core beliefs and values that are shared, and then guide the actions on behalf of the soldiers.  Hopefully, the goal is to then to promote this effective learning style training for the soldiers and to help others to accept this vision and to design a plan for the future to accommodate this type of training. 

In cautioning us about labeling a singular learning style on a learner, Gilbert and Swanier suggest that the most effective learning can come from the situation and the style and material on hand, and thus continuing to study learning styles and the knowledge of them as a leader will help train the greatest soldiers in the world.   Understanding the learning abilities of all those that I lead I will better understand how best to deploy my soldiers based upon what guides them to do what we do. Doing the job that we do requires some sacrifice on our behalf, and knowing how to read into their understandings of learning theories and how to better train them will help me plan and implement how we will execute our missions based upon the needs of the soldiers I have from a team within a squad up to a company sized mission.  Meaning I will be better able to place my soldiers where they will be most effective.  Currently I am part of a unit that is deployed oversees and has left a reserve back to train and replace soldiers to the forward element as needed.  It is up to me to ensure that the soldiers here are prepared to continue the forward elements mission should they be called up.  Knowing how to prepare and ready this reserve of men is not only my job but is my responsibility to the families.

In short, after having completed this course I have learned many things that will aid my efforts as a leader in the United States Army.  Many of the things I will experience in my career I will be able to view based on a new perspective that I would not have had I not completed this course.

Resource:

Gilbert, J., & Swanier, C. (2008). Learning styles: How do they fluctuate? Institute for Learning Styles Journal [Vol. l]. Retrieved from http://www.auburn.edu/~witteje/ilsrj/Journal%20Volumes/Fall%202008%20Volume%201%20PDFs/Learning%20Styles%20How%20do%20They%20Fluctuate.pdf

Learning Threory Matrix

At the beginning of this course I was unsure how I best learned.  Having not stuck to one specific style and jumped around, I found that it was harder for me to learn under conventional methods and to be honest, I often wanted to give up on learning -- new methods seemed overwhelming.  Never the less as I push forward with my education and finding myself studying this topic have found some relief.  Nearing the end of the course and having worked through the Learning Theory Matrix I am convinced more than ever that I am ever that I learn best with the Cognitive Learning Theory.  I feel that it is more in line with the way I think about things and logically try to process the information and store that information in my mind.  By taking in new information and combining it with the existing knowledge I already possess building off of it to gain a greater understanding of what I am learning is exciting to me. 

In the army we have training courses that focus on team building and creative thinking, commonly known as FLRC Lanes (Field Leadership Reaction Course), in these you are given a mission to complete with limited supplies and specific guide lines to follow.  An example could be a wall that you have to get over without touching the ground using two poles.  Logic and creative thinking is required to achieve this task. 

In what way will this technology play in my learning in the future?  I am finding that the way I study has changed before I would read texts books or worked on assignments without stopping to logically apply the information to my life.  I think now and from here on out I am trying to change that when I don’t identify with the information I am studying trying to develop my thought process and the way I store the said information will change the way I study and learn.  I am grateful have found this and look forward to it use in my life.  Having learned about the other styles I am finding that I can better relate to those I work with as I observe their learning styles. 

Respectfully,

Jeremey Willson

Mind Map Reflection

The network that I have developed has undoubtedly affected, and even more accurately shaped, the way I learn, in that I have discovered a multi-faceted arena of knowledge available to me in my different pursuits.  My ‘network’ is somewhat all over the place depending upon whether I am focusing on my military education or my civilian education.  However, in creating my mind map, I have discovered that the sources in which I seek knowledge, advise, and enlightenment all have one distinct thing in common – they are available to me, at my convenience, to help me achieve my goals and overcome my road blocks.  I have learned to call upon resources I would have never thought to seek out, and I have learned to build educational relationships with people who have advised me in my efforts to better myself – and in return, I have been able to properly and succinctly share my knowledge and advise others, which has made me a better educator.  It has given me the opportunity to express myself outside of a traditional classroom setting and taught me that there are other ways of learning.

I have found that the resources available when I have questions are boundless when you are involved in a network.  Search forums, online databases, chat rooms, discussion links, blogs, email, and social network tools are available when I need assistance, and through these means I am able to not only find the answers I’m looking for but develop my knowledge base beyond the additional queries I had.  My personal learning network is a means to support the tenets of connectivism in that, if I were unable to have access to the materials I have, I would not be able to educate myself to the degree that I think is possible.  I rely heavily upon all of the branches of my network, and find great comfort and excitement in the knowledge that they are there, and have many more things to share with me. 

Jeremey Willson

Connectivism - Mind Map

Here is my mind map - I used Text 2 Mind Map to create it.