Susan H. Kenney                                                        March 10, 2007

EDUC 805: Doctoral Seminar                                    Dr. Joan P. Isenberg, Ed. D., Associate Dean

Mid Semester Reflection                                                        

Through the professor’s presentations I have witnessed the impact one person can make!  Even though concentrating locally as Dr. Galluzzo espoused, his influences have reached coast to coast! Through developing new knowledge and through publishing effective research, like the “Shot heard round the world,” the effect can permeate the globe and become golden nuggets of new knowledge that can change lives!  We can develop wings and become instigators of change by recognizing and owning the problem, bolstering the confidence to do something, using collaboration skills effectively, becoming empowered to act and finally by taking action! From Dr. Ndura’s Burundi, Africa, I learned that no beginning is so humble as to be able to squelch true passion for learning or hide a question too small to be asked! She helped me realize and embrace the miraculous inspiration of puzzlement!  Dr. Kevin Clark’s insight that, “the best studies are simple,” resonates the message that I can tackle research previously categorized as daunting!  Another idea he espoused was to “use technology for what it is good for but balance it with real experiences.”  That statement was an important reminder that technology is not an all encompassing panacea but can be an important solution to difficulties experienced by those with special needs!   Dr. Anastasia Kitsantis, helped me realize the importance of incorporating self-regulated learning, meta-cognition, and helping learners become true participants in their own learning.  The presentation about reflection based inquiry by Dr. Stephen White and Dr. Rebecca Fox, was insightful!  Transitioning portfolios from scrap books of activities and projects to reflection about “my” process and growth was a remarkable approach!  I wondered where my reflections would have fallen had they been included in the study.  Realizing the difference between my first collection of wonderful ideas and projects and my current PhD portfolio filled with reflections was startling!  Practicing and modeling the reflection process with my own professional growth and with the teachers I serve, will be added to my repertoire.      

In my life filled with over 50 years of devotion to education, I could not have imagined a more exciting, fulfilling, integrated educational experience than this first year in the PhD program!  Each class and experience has been the ultimate, yet more amazing experiences continue to follow!  The horizons continue expanding at an exponential rate, filling me with thrilling hopes and dreams unimagined before!  To positively impact the lives of students has always been a goal, but now I realize that the impact can reach much farther than one class of students per year!