Some thoughts on “whole-person” July 21, 2008
Posted by Bill Colwell Jr in Inspiration, Leadership & the Self.add a comment
Whole-person is about the entire “me”. This can probably be defined in many different ways. For now, I will describe this as personal; professional; spiritual; physical; intellect; husband; and friend. The “whole” me is a full context picture.
How do I offer my best? Am I offering my best? What might be holding me back? What is my identity? Do I believe I am a liability or an asset? Am I an investment or expense? Am I defined by the accounting office? Who do I believe I am?
Quotes that caught my attention: “We manage things without the power to choose, but lead people who do have the power to choose.” “Leadership is not about control.”
One book that I think of here is “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge. From his worldview, one can never offer their best without a connection to God. To what am I called? If I offer my best I may be view as “wild” by others. I may be viewed as one who cannot be controlled. Yet, it is my best that I chose to give. In this way I give what God has called me to give. I do have a variety of roles to play in my life. Yet I am more than any one of these roles or even the sum of the roles (as if that were possible).
This means I must spend time getting to know the real me. The “me” that is whole and complete. What are some ways you do this? What are your insights and thoughts?
What is a Reflection Paper – Sylvia Gonzalez July 21, 2008
Posted by David Jeffrey in 1.add a comment
A reflection paper is a connection between theory and practice. We must apply theory in practice before we can write a reflection paper. The key is to make a link between theory and practice. Kolb’s Learning Cycle suggests that concrete experiences are followed by reflection, conceptualization, and then experimentation. (The order can be more abstract random) The principle, however, is that all of these elements are necessary to grow as a result of the combination of practice, theory, reflection and experimentation. A reflection paper shares the fruit of this cyclical, growing, experience.
The rubric for a reflection paper is in our 2008 handbook on page 29:
45% knowledge base (theory)
45% evidence of integration of knowledge base and practice
10% mechanics
4% content and organization
3% APA style/AU Format
3% grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure
We can’t reflect unless we have something to reflect upon. Reading academic literature gives us something to think about and try out in our practice. Connect the dots and write it up in a reflection paper!
David Rausch – Portfolio Development and Reflection July 21, 2008
Posted by David Jeffrey in 1.add a comment
As graduate students, our learning is to be experiential. We begin with exploratory questions, and then grounded by literature review, we explore and experience. Reflection is a powerful tool that enables us to make sense of our integration of theory with practice. The fruit of our reflection finds its way into our portfolios and serves as evidence of our learning.
Leadership participants believe that portfolios are valid assessment and learning tools. The self-directed nature of our studies, linked with reflection, strengthens the learning process. The portfolio development process is iterative and we recognize as we develop our portfolios that we work, we reflect, we improve our work, we reflect, we improve, in a continuous learning cycle. The act of preparing and presenting a portfolio is a key reflective process.
Reflection is a key element of the process, and educational programs with portfolios, like ours, must have a systematic process for assessing portfolios. Specific program outcomes must be clear before and during the graduate program so that students know exactly what is expected of them.
When writing reflection papers, it is important that we link reflection to the description of the experience, to relevant theoretical constructs, demonstrate application, and show what learning has taken place. It’s not sufficient to merely report.
What separates the excellent from the good? Reflection.
An article that studies the AU Leadership program was mentioned:
Wasley, Paula, “Portfolios are Replacing Qualifying Exams
Tag Clouds of Program Feedback July 21, 2008
Posted by Janine Lim in Evaluation and Assessment, Research.add a comment
I really enjoyed the green card, blue card, pink card activity today. Did you? The following links have the raw data and the “tag cloud” representation. Scroll down past the representation to see the raw data. The website TagCrowd was used to create these representations.
- What makes the leadership program at AU “excellent”?
- What could you do differently next year to make your program more effective?
- What could we do at AU to make your program more effective?
What did you learn from this process? What did you learn about data collection and research? What did you learn about program evaluation? Click “add a comment” above to share.
A year of changes July 21, 2008
Posted by David Jeffrey in Inspiration.add a comment
How has your year been? Shirley Freed began the 2008 Roundtable asking us that question. It’s true that statistically speaking (especially for those of us who attended the all-day Stats class), it would not be inconsistent to have serious pain and loss among us. We gather together from our different paths and with our different challenges to move together as a stronger unit.
The one constant in each of our lives is change. My life is a testimony to that truth. In the last two weeks my wife and I have travelled to her native country, St. Lucia, to adopt her seven year-old orphaned nephew. In the next couple of months we will give birth to our first child. There will be excitement, and there will be new challenges, as I seek to complete the expectations this degree has.
We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know the One who holds it. As we begin this Roundtable, and a new year, as great knights we create a legend that will endure for all time.
