Self Evaluation and Reflection

It’s become difficult to make sense of my learning process without considering it within the context of a whole. I see this itself as a product of my learning: I seek points of connection as a way to make individual learning experiences more meaningful and relevant. Along with this idea, I find that part of my learning process is to be consistently reflexive about the work I am doing, which seems to make it more difficult to go through this process at the end. However, for as often as I felt like I was writing and reflecting, I am disappointed that it seemed so hard for me to put these thoughts up on Serendip. I think in this way, I did not allow myself to utilize Serendip to it’s full potential for teaching and learning.

I don’t know what I would have done without this 360 looking back I'm not sure if I'll ever have the chance again to get to critically explore my own identity in the classroom. Ann Balay challenged that we do not bring our bodies into academia. We did that the semester by talking to ourselves but also with the art but we did with Riva. And wasn't it scary? Usually in class we talk about theory but we don't get the chance to put it in practice. I'm so glad that we got to go to Camphill. I don't think that our discussions about disability and representation would've been as productive, personable, and ethical if we didn't get the chance to see what we were talking about in action.

Rebecca Cook

360 Cluster: Identity Matters

December 17, 2014

Self Evaluation and Reflection: Rebecca Cook

I’ve been putting off writing this reflection because it means I’ve come to the end of this incredible experience. But seeing as it’s due in a couple of hours, I guess I should begin the end. Wow… I’m sitting here tearing up. Good lord, you guys are always making me cry.

How do I even begin to express my gratitude?

When I first saw the topic “changing our story: shifting identities, altering environments”, I was confused. “Identity” and “environment” are two familiar topics that we talk about in everyday life. But I have never thought deeply into the two topics, especially the relationship between identity and environment. At first, the readings are more focused on identity and social environment, about how the person’s identity is shaped by the environment and the inner motivation. Later, the notion of environment was expanded to the nature environment, and the more focused on the interdependent relationship between human and nature. The topic was something that everyone was familiarized with but seldom digs deep into it.

The first day of classes was a little intimidating, mainly after a year out of school and in a class focused mainly on Humanities, when all my life I’ve been from the Sciences area. As the time went by, I noticed that despite my lack of formal knowledge in Philosophy and Sociology, I could still contribute to a better class environment.

Silvi Shameti
Ed 270, Fall 2014
Self Evaluation and Reflection

Sydney Huff

ESem Paper #14

December 19, 2014

Writing Evaluation

Reflecting on this 360 has been an almost daily part of my life since the semester started. I came into this course cluster with many preconceived notions about myself, the professors, the course content, and how it would all play out. Most of the ideas I had constructed were not immediately proved wrong and therefore this semester has involved a constant exercise in adjustment. I knew that the courses would feel very personal for me but I had confidence in my ability to operate as an academic within our dynamic. As a sociology major I spend a lot of my time deconstructing oppression and dissecting cultural structures, often these structures play out in my personal life as well. I did not expect to be so triggered by classroom discussions, texts, and group dynamics.

This class has not only allowed me to explore identity in relation to educational access but has also allowed me to explore that in the context of my own skin. I was able to understand identity, access, and innovation in myself through the discussions we talked about, articles we read, and through my praxis placement.  Experiences I have encountered younger in educational settings finally made sense to me. Before this class, I never really thought about the purpose behind why certain models, programs, restrictions, curriculums, polices, or acts exist in education. I never questioned why they were there, how they were formed and when they were incorporated. I never challenged if these things are actually impactful in a strong/ positive way to the student body, vice versa.