Question

Explain what the phrase “taking ownership of your learning” means to you.

2. To complete this assignment address the following using your own experiences.

Explain how you set personal educational goals and monitor your own progress.

Are you self-motivated to learn and understand; not only driven by grades or external praise?

Do you push yourself to think deeper about issues and draw connections to your personal, academic, and professional lives?

How do you view the instructor? Do you view the instructor as a guide, but yourself as the pursuer of deeper understanding? Do you consider the instructor the expert and you as the novice?

Do you see a value in collaborative learning, pursuing knowledge through peer engagement and feedback? Do you see a difference in how deeply you explore a topic when you are alone vs. when you're working in a group?

What is your understanding of the scope of the University, its departments, and its learning philosophy and approach?

Explain the importance of applying the knowledge learned in the classroom to continued personal and career development potential.

Answer 1

Taking ownership of learning means that, I am personally responsible for what I learn, how I learn it and in what way I utilise what I have learnt. It denotes independence and responsibility and accountability for my decisions and actions. I've become solely responsible for my development through learning, whether it is to master a skill or to gain knowledge of a particular subject. Joi Ito, the director of MIT Media lab, very tightly stated in his Ted Talk "Education is what people do to you, and learning is what you do to yourself".

Self learning for this reason becomes easier of the two options, as it clearly requires ownership of learning right at the onset along with responsibility for ensuring results and efficient utilisation. Learning like any other process whether personal or business requires a proper plan for achievement of set goals through implementation of the plan with monitoring and control processes embedded within the plan. For example for attaining a certain level of expertise in a subject, or a certain grade, I formulate a plan of study and allocate time to each chapter based on my personal requirement. I set small goals and targets, with adequate buffer wherever required so as to ensure that in case of deviations sufficient allowance is available, to not render the goal unachievable. I simply modify the plan and march on.

Yes, I am self-motivated as I believe that is the single major factor for achievement throughout life, grades may be, episodic indicators, while self-motivation if inculcated can change our lives by providing value to our personality. Even when we undergo education within an educational institution our professors and teachers, can only provide guidance and determine in what way the knowledge is to be imparted for a specific skill set, to ensure learning is easily facilitated. However, any institution and educator can only facilitate the learning process and not ensure it. It is clearly evident from the vast variation in the level of acquisition of the skill set by different students of the same professor, due to inclination and self motivation. Unless an individual is intrinsically motivated true the desire to acquire the given skill and knowledge, it becomes difficult to alone efficiently and optimally. Learning essentially should have a proper plan meaning an individual should be well aware of how and why a skill is required as also, where it will be utilised and finally how it will benefit the individual.

I strictly believe that every single thing that we take in as an individual is an input which produces a simultaneous output in the form of thought, speech or action. This may be an input in the form of words or action from another. Hence, even where learning is concerned, I feel that every input receive in the form of knowledge find application in different ways within our personal professional, as well as, academic lives. It is very misleading to say that knowledge that we acquire only impacts a professional life as it intrinsically changes us as individuals and modifies our output in every sphere.

I view the instructor as a guide who makes the path to my goals easier, by providing a roadmap which gives me information on various obstacles present, how to overcome them, as also the easiest route to my goal. I feel that I am responsible for the level of learning I am able to achieve within an institution, as the instructors responsibility is to teach well, where as mine is to learn, no instructor however would a teacher can ever force learning. I consider the instructor as having mastered a skill set which I desire to acquire through his guidance. The instructor is the expert at the beginning and I may be the nervous but when I leave the course I would hope to achieve adequate skill to be termed a master.

Collaborative learning through peer engagement and feedback, may be variable in its utility what different individuals, as no two individuals are similar, given that for an introvert this kind of group activity search to only highlight the individuals lack of confidence or communication skills. On the other hand collaborative learning can be very useful as alienation it provides a variety of inputs in the form of various angles on the same thought enhancing our perception, thinking and knowledge of the topic. It is similar to a brainstorming session with diverse group members providing exceptional solutions. It helps to develop the right approach to a problem by understanding that it can be analysed in numerous ways, and more than one viable solution can exist for a single problem.