My Personal Philsophy within Curriculum Development

          Wagner (2012) speaks to the skills and qualities innovators possess by saying, “perseverance, a willingness to experiments, take calculated risks, and tolerate failure, and the capacity for “design thinking,” in addition to critical thinking” (p.12). These skills illustrate the ways I see curriculum development, by providing students and professors the chance to learn and grow from one another. The purpose of the reflection is to inner weave my philosophy through self-assessment, making connections between course work, combining personal experiences, and major themes.

Self-Assessment

            Self-assessment within curriculum development is essential to me as I think about what kind of student affairs professional I am/want to be. It is important that I assess the work I do regularly in order to receive feedback and grow as a professional. As important, I want to make sure my students are receiving the best mentorship possible. Wagner (2012) says, “there are three interrelated elements to intrinsic motivation: play, passion, and purpose” (p. 26). I believe these motivational elements are the same reasons I am in the field of higher education. I want to help students grow personally and professionally.

            In order to complete the above elements, it was essential that I examined my developmental process throughout the semester. As a learner, I was open to trying new things, which helped me learn more about myself. My learning this semester expanded because I looked to learn in different ways and take risks. For example, my approach to prepare for assignments and other course work looked different. Usually I would ask the professor to speak about the details of each assignment early on before it was due. We did not take this approach in class, and while I was nervous at times, I trusted the professor and his process. In the end, this method worked wonders for me and I am proud that I was able to recognize that I learn in multiple ways.

            Along side this example, there are two areas of strength that have attributed to my philosophy, including receiving feedback and learning from others. These two strengths provide me with the opportunity to live in the moment and keep an open mind. Through working with others, I have been able to learn to create the best solutions to a problem as a group. For example, our Marquette project has many pieces to it and while I am knowledgeable in some aspects, I am able to depend on my partner’s for clarification in some areas. We all have the same common goal and it is important that we work as a team. This scenario is similar when talking about curriculum development. In student activities, we all have the same goals as a department and by working together we are able to create everlasting memories for students.

            Even with strengths, one major area of growth for myself is finding connections to curriculum development within the classroom. I want to ensure that the knowledge and material learned inside of the classroom follows me as I begin my first professional position. One reason I worry about not using these skills in my work is because in our day-to-day lives we are not intentionally using these skills to assist others especially when doing a lot of administrative tasks. It important that I am able to merge the gap of what I know and what I can do (Wagner, 2012) because I know I will be a more efficient professional in the process.

Connections Between Course Readings, Group Projects, and Assignments

            “To me, empowerment means students can go out and apply what they’ve learned to the problems that they’ve never seen before with parts that they’ve never used before” (Wagner, 2012, p. 50).  Within the last two years, my journey through the higher education program allowed me to personally reflect and understand the path I take when working with students. Our curriculum development course put a large indent into my development as a professional and personally. When I initially decided to take this class, I thought about my impact in student programming and work that takes place in a student activities office. What I did not realize is that I would learn much more about what curriculum development looks beyond the on-campus experiences.

            One of the most beneficial assignments I have completed is the course syllabus. This assignment is something I am truly proud to have finished. The ability to build a conceptual framework using Nilson (2010) to assist in increasing a students’ knowledge, ability to serve others, and their leadership style was very impactful for me as I think about my journey through my own curriculum development. Furthermore, through my own experiences I recognize what a strong curriculum looks like and how the time you take to develop your curriculum highly impacts the students in your classroom. In return, by providing a strong curriculum my hopes are to empower students to love what they are learning.

            Through the development of my philosophy of curriculum development I recognize that while student needs are important, faculty members also have needs that should be met (Fink, 2013). Before entering this class, my awareness of faculty problems related to curriculum development was not strong and I felt that the focus was only on the students. This thought has now changed as I see how important time, resources, students, and awareness must be addressed in some form for faculty (Fink, 2013). Additionally, within curriculum development I find it extremely valuable to allow evaluation and assessment to take place. Not only should students evaluate the professor, it is valuable that students assess their own educational goals and progress (Fink, 2013).  In doing so, critical thinking and innovation takes place where students have the chance to tell their own story.

Connections Between Personal Experiences

            Curriculum development has not only connected to my course work within the class, but has also contributed to my personal experiences. Within the last two years, I have three very significant learning experiences, which have attributed to my philosophy. The first moment is my work in my student activities office, working with student programming and advising registered student organizations. Curriculum development within student activities functional area is essential as students look to take ownership of their work. Wagner (2012) speaks to the set of skills and habits an educator must consider when providing significant learning experiences for students; these set of skills include being, “nurtured, taught, and mentored” (p.16). As a student who worked in a student activities office, I found the ability to build self-efficacy and work as a team. My hopes are that students use the different tools around them to find that significant learning experience.

            My second personal experience comes from my leadership course where Twitter played a large role in our classroom experience. Fink (2013) speaks to the interactive nature of significant learning. I think this learning can happen everywhere and happens constantly. For example, in leadership we engaged in Twitter conversations throughout the week where integration, learning how to learn, and application played a major role in our learning. This assignment helped build my philosophy where I learned to better appreciate learning because it is something I like to do versus something I had to do. In addition, it provided me with the foundation to become a “self-directing learner” (Fink, 2013, p. 36) where my engagement in Twitter conversations related to higher education topics did not stop once the course ended. With such a strong presence in  engaging in dialogue, I am unsure if I would have been able to contribute if I had not taken the time to learn about myself and tell my own story.

            The final personal experience attributing to my philosophy is my ability to understand the value of evaluation and assessment. Although this was a course within the program, we spent much of our time outside of the course and in the community. Through this project I was able to learn about myself, changing my idea of my self-image (Fink, 2013).  Working in my own community at Loyola provided me with the opportunity to connect with those around me. In return, I understand the reasoning behind the structure of curriculum development and the motive for wanting students to leave the classroom.                  

Conclusion

            Throughout my paper I have provided personal experiences, connecting course assignments and outside of the classroom practices allowing myself to understand what my philosophy in higher education looks like from my perspective. In reflecting upon my experience and narrowing my philosophy I find curriculum development to be essential for students to gain significant learning experiences. I also think my philosophy of development may change as students change and develop. It is important that I remain flexible as a practitioner and allow students to live their own life experiences. In doing so, students will come to find their own solution’s to problems and integrate their own experiences inside and outside of the classroom.

            Curriculum development truly involves a diverse amount of experiences and perspectives. When working with students I want them to be able to speak about what they value in terms of their higher education. While it is important to learn skills, facts, and display competencies, it is just as important to create your own path. Curriculum development allows for that path to be created. It is my hopes that high-impact learning plays a major part in a student’s development as well as assessment. It is important that we recognize that we are all learners and will continue to learn in every lived experience.