As we get ready to start this program in earnest, I am very excited to learn. This group of students represents a wide variety of ideas and experiences, and beyond what I hope to learn from the JHU faculty and the readings we do, I am even more excited about what I will learn from others who are on this journey with me. By the end of the program I hope to have a more realistic picture of what we really know now about the brain and learning. What is real knowledge? What is conjecture and/or wishful thinking? And as we plow into the next decade of what I expect will be exciting research, what questions are getting the most attention and why?
I have enjoyed the learning activities in the orientation. The synchronous learning experiences – real-time classes – are a new experience and will add to the learning. I am especially excited about getting to know members of a small team and collaborating with them. To be successful, I’ll use many of the ideas mentioned in our live session. Checking the weekly syllabus early will be important, and planning ahead so that needed time is set aside for assignments. Taking the time to reflect – the blog will be great for this – will also be critical to make learning personal and more lasting.
I will probably need support from team-mates to broaden my perspectives on readings. I realize that I bring biases based on my experiences and beliefs. I look forward to changing my mind and reaching deeper understanding. On a much smaller front, I expect I may also reminders with APA. I will freely admit that I tend to value ideas and clear, interesting communication more than following specific stylistic conventions. I do know why they are important, however…like my students, sometimes I just get annoyed with what I think of as “little stuff,” like putting commas in or making sure the period is inside or outside the parentheses. To compile the potential problem, as a journalist/writer I absorbed and used AP conventions for so long some of those habits are hard to break. Thankfully I did okay on the APA pretest, but when rushed, I may need to take extra time to use the conventions precisely.
