Having spent all my life in educating and practising business, the PIDP journey is an unchartered territory for me. Terminologies, methodologies and reading materials all seem so remote and foreign. It is as if I am learning a second language. Perhaps this fear of unknown, walking in students' shoes help me to remember and better appreciate "what it feels like to learn something new and difficult" (Brookfield, p. 269).
As I explore the field of education, I have decided to let my guard down and enjoy this journey for once in my life, taking risks by integrating imagination and creativity in some of my assignments. Perhaps not knowing what exactly the outcome would be kept me engaged and stayed alert throughout this journey. Amazingly some of these ideas paid off well while others fell flat in my face. I must admit that the initial blow of failure was not an easy pill to swallow. However, over time, I have come to accept that such mistakes are learning opportunities for me while in the past, I would have simply recognized as failure on my part and could not see past this. Also, there were times when I grieved and craved for "old ways of thinking and learning" (Brookfield, p. 272). However, I realized I was not alone feeling this way. Some students in the PIDP journey expressed the same sentiments. Their support - directly and indirectly - certainly helped to carry me through this journey. Furthermore, their occasional disrespectful disagreements also helped me to hone in on my critical and writing skills. When I first started on this journey, my "teaching tool box" was empty. There weren't any standardized models and approaches I could rely on other than just my wealth of experience in the corporate world. As this is my last course before the Capstone project, my tool box is now fully loaded with instructional strategies and techniques that I can now utilize. However, given the dynamics and diversity of classroom or workforce, no one tool can be applied to all people in all settings. In order to help students to learn, the first step is gaining some "insight of what students are thinking and feeling" (Brookfield, p. 22). By doing so, I will be able to select the appropriate tools in order to create a safe, engaging learning environment for students. I am so looking forward to using my new "tools" and sharing my business expertise in the academic field.
Reference
Brookfield, S. 2015. The Skilful Teacher. Jossey-Bass.