The Path
IN THE BEGINNING
A little over two and half years ago in February of 2016, I stopped teaching to become a program manager at my adult education organization in Providence, Rhode Island. As a teacher, I usually worked with about 60 adult students per year trying to help them improve their literacy skills, so they could eventually attain their high school credentials. In my new role of program manager, I was now responsible for Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) programming for approximately 1,200 adult learners per year. The purpose of my work and the size of the audience that I served expanded.
The transition into a leadership role after having taught for eight years served as a catalyst for me to look into graduate programs that suited my academic needs and professional aspirations. I had considered returning to school for many years while I was teaching, but I had been hesitant to do so. Finally, I felt that it was necessary for me to take the leap.
After doing a great deal of research, I chose a cautious, but concrete, path. I elected to pursue a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning from Michigan State University (MSU) that commenced in the summer of 2016. I felt that this would be an appropriate test to make sure that I was ready and equipped to handle the rigor and requirements of graduate school. It turned out that I was more than ready, and, in fact, I was starved for knowledge and yearning for the academic challenge. Before I knew it, the year of study was coming to an end and I was certain that I had to continue with my education by pursuing a Masters of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) at MSU. I immediately applied to the MAET program, and to my delight I was accepted to resume with studies in the fall of 2017.
A little over two and half years ago in February of 2016, I stopped teaching to become a program manager at my adult education organization in Providence, Rhode Island. As a teacher, I usually worked with about 60 adult students per year trying to help them improve their literacy skills, so they could eventually attain their high school credentials. In my new role of program manager, I was now responsible for Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) programming for approximately 1,200 adult learners per year. The purpose of my work and the size of the audience that I served expanded.
The transition into a leadership role after having taught for eight years served as a catalyst for me to look into graduate programs that suited my academic needs and professional aspirations. I had considered returning to school for many years while I was teaching, but I had been hesitant to do so. Finally, I felt that it was necessary for me to take the leap.
After doing a great deal of research, I chose a cautious, but concrete, path. I elected to pursue a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning from Michigan State University (MSU) that commenced in the summer of 2016. I felt that this would be an appropriate test to make sure that I was ready and equipped to handle the rigor and requirements of graduate school. It turned out that I was more than ready, and, in fact, I was starved for knowledge and yearning for the academic challenge. Before I knew it, the year of study was coming to an end and I was certain that I had to continue with my education by pursuing a Masters of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) at MSU. I immediately applied to the MAET program, and to my delight I was accepted to resume with studies in the fall of 2017.
Late in 2016, I happily realized that because I had just left teaching and was now actively serving as an administrator, I had the unique opportunity to develop new departmental policies by applying my prior experience and combining it with my new learned knowledge. Furthermore, the MAET program allowed me to gain confidence in exploring the various facets of the administrative role. I felt encouraged to use my new platform to be innovative and creative about finding solutions. I felt a deep satisfaction in being able to employ my new knowledge with my prior experience to enhance my mindset as an administrator.
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This year, I was promoted to be the Assistant Director of the Education and Training Department at my organization. I felt that this was a product of my prior experiences combined with, and enhanced by, the leadership training and knowledge that I gained throughout the courses at MSU. Advancing in my career, put me in a unique position to view, hear, and discuss the decision-making process at my organization. I was privy to conversations, thoughts, and ideas that were being considered to give overarching direction to the organization. I felt lucky because this all happened while I was simultaneously enthralled by readings and discourse at MSU that meticulously addressed the facets and concepts of leadership and change management. I felt inspired and obligated to critically analyze and clearly define the values that I considered fundamental. Consequently, this has had the most conspicuous impact in my professional practice, but also in my extended career path since I believe I will use these self-identified values to guide and evaluate my long term decision-making.
Undeniably, this program has been a catalyst for immense growth and change in my life. And, now, this writing process has allowed me to reevaluate how I have evolved. So, in the following sections, I highlight the overarching changes that I have experienced since the onset of the program. These items have evolved naturally through the multifaceted experiences that I highlighted already, but they are also a deliberate byproduct brought on by specific courses or experiences (which I will attribute) from my academic journey at MSU.
PERSPECTIVE
As an educator, I have always valued education and the positive impact it can have for people and their lives. I have considered myself a lifelong learner, yet I believed following a more formalized and traditional path of education was too expensive and not always necessary according to one’s professional experience. In hindsight, and in all honesty, I had not realistically considered pursuing a masters degree prior to the certificate program at MSU. I was the first in my family to go to college, and I was not sure that another degree was a manifest option for me. Looking back now, I cannot believe how quickly the last two and a half years have passed and how much everything has changed for me including my view of pursuing more education.
If any one trait has altered for me, it is my perspective. I feel that I view my roles as an educator, administrator, community member, and learner more clearly and in a more disciplined fashion now. I have made a proactive effort to increase my knowledge, expand my abilities and skills, and to elevate my critical thinking. I have invested time, effort, and energy for the last three years to train my mind to guide my decision-making. In committing myself to this goal, I feel that I have strengthened my belief in myself and enhanced my confidence in what I know and can do. I have even started contemplating the idea of pursuing a doctorate degree. My perspective on the benefits of continued formalized training have enhanced the way in which I view my future.
The catalyst for this change was the first course that I took at MSU, CEP813: Electronic Assessment. From the get-go, this course pushed me to upgrade my understanding and my way of thinking. I was exposed to evidence-based theories that translated into promising and exciting methods of practice for assessment and evaluation of learning. The beauty of this course was in the presentation of the content, so it could be applied into practice for almost any field.
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I found that this course embodied all of the concepts it taught, and it became the excellent standard of instruction that I came to expect from all of the courses. I immediately shared and applied the learned concepts that resonated with me into my practice. It altered my way of thinking and how I viewed the expectations of my role as an educator and administrator. It also indicated to me the amount of rigor and work that would be required from the ensuing courses. For example, I designed and managed my first website and researched and wrote more than I had in years. This course lit the fire of curiosity in me to drive me to continue the journey to advance my formalized education and my applied practice.
LEADERSHIP
While all of the courses that I took as a part of the MAET program influenced my way of thinking, I did not anticipate the significant and career altering impact that the course CEP815: Technology and Leadership would have on me. The course’s focus on leadership was eye-opening and instrumental in guiding me to envision my own path of practice for the future to come. By analyzing leadership styles, types and characteristics, we were given the opportunity to assess and evaluate our own understanding of expectations for leaders in all fields, but especially for those in the field of education. This course inspired me to analyze decision-making in a critical fashion and to feel obligated to hold myself and people in leadership positions accountable to their actions.
Immediately after, and as a result of what I learned in CEP815, I was able to explore and research the concept of leadership in more depth in CEP822: Approaches to Educational Research. This course allowed me to apply my learned skills towards a topic that I felt passionate and interested about which enhanced the experience of research even moreso. In general, I learned the steps required for researching a larger topic, and I explored in depth the skill set that might be required for effective and good leadership. More importantly, I was able to research the required mechanisms for ethical decision-making and the, less oft addressed, characteristics and traits indicative of bad or poor leadership.
I found these concepts pertinent for me to explore in more depth because of what I was experiencing in real time, while the course was simultaneously in session, as an administrator. I became aware that as my organization evolved, the new leaders, myself included, and their leadership styles varied according to their individual beliefs and experiences. Through trials and tribulations I began to evaluate a person’s fitness for decision-making in my organization by considering their intentions, experiences, and leadership training. It was increasingly clear to me that leadership is a skill that must be developed and practiced for mastery.
More significantly, from CEP822, was my recognition of the key idea that bad leadership can be real and present. Once this idea was fortified, it revolutionized my thinking about leadership. I already understood that leaders are not created equally because every person in a position of leadership has different strengths and weaknesses. But, by recognizing that there are leaders that display extreme and deliberate flaws, it reinforced my belief that leaders must be held accountable for their actions, especially if their actions are of inauthentic origin or cultivate dysfunction. Furthermore, I came to believe that any person in a position of leadership, myself included, must be deeply committed to ethical and authentic behaviors, and they are obligated to hold themselves and others equally accountable for embodying those traits.
While all of the courses that I took as a part of the MAET program influenced my way of thinking, I did not anticipate the significant and career altering impact that the course CEP815: Technology and Leadership would have on me. The course’s focus on leadership was eye-opening and instrumental in guiding me to envision my own path of practice for the future to come. By analyzing leadership styles, types and characteristics, we were given the opportunity to assess and evaluate our own understanding of expectations for leaders in all fields, but especially for those in the field of education. This course inspired me to analyze decision-making in a critical fashion and to feel obligated to hold myself and people in leadership positions accountable to their actions.
Immediately after, and as a result of what I learned in CEP815, I was able to explore and research the concept of leadership in more depth in CEP822: Approaches to Educational Research. This course allowed me to apply my learned skills towards a topic that I felt passionate and interested about which enhanced the experience of research even moreso. In general, I learned the steps required for researching a larger topic, and I explored in depth the skill set that might be required for effective and good leadership. More importantly, I was able to research the required mechanisms for ethical decision-making and the, less oft addressed, characteristics and traits indicative of bad or poor leadership.
I found these concepts pertinent for me to explore in more depth because of what I was experiencing in real time, while the course was simultaneously in session, as an administrator. I became aware that as my organization evolved, the new leaders, myself included, and their leadership styles varied according to their individual beliefs and experiences. Through trials and tribulations I began to evaluate a person’s fitness for decision-making in my organization by considering their intentions, experiences, and leadership training. It was increasingly clear to me that leadership is a skill that must be developed and practiced for mastery.
More significantly, from CEP822, was my recognition of the key idea that bad leadership can be real and present. Once this idea was fortified, it revolutionized my thinking about leadership. I already understood that leaders are not created equally because every person in a position of leadership has different strengths and weaknesses. But, by recognizing that there are leaders that display extreme and deliberate flaws, it reinforced my belief that leaders must be held accountable for their actions, especially if their actions are of inauthentic origin or cultivate dysfunction. Furthermore, I came to believe that any person in a position of leadership, myself included, must be deeply committed to ethical and authentic behaviors, and they are obligated to hold themselves and others equally accountable for embodying those traits.
CORE VALUES
In this last year, I have defined a baseline of values to assess my work environment and to hold myself and others accountable for our work. For instance, I now recognize that my core values must align with, both, the work that I do and the culture supported by leadership at my workplace. It is important for me to align my professional purpose and objectives with my own core values in order for me to remain passionate about my day-to-day work. It is vital for me to work in a place that prescribes ethical and responsible leadership from those people that make decisions. Therefore, I must be willing to hold myself and others accountable for our actions and decision-making. I also recognize that I need to spend my days in a workplace that values the human relationships that enhance the purpose of the work. Generally, and lastly, I realize that I had underestimated the value of leadership training because I undervalued the true merit of leadership as a skill set.
In this last year, I have defined a baseline of values to assess my work environment and to hold myself and others accountable for our work. For instance, I now recognize that my core values must align with, both, the work that I do and the culture supported by leadership at my workplace. It is important for me to align my professional purpose and objectives with my own core values in order for me to remain passionate about my day-to-day work. It is vital for me to work in a place that prescribes ethical and responsible leadership from those people that make decisions. Therefore, I must be willing to hold myself and others accountable for our actions and decision-making. I also recognize that I need to spend my days in a workplace that values the human relationships that enhance the purpose of the work. Generally, and lastly, I realize that I had underestimated the value of leadership training because I undervalued the true merit of leadership as a skill set.
MOVING FORWARD
In the last few months, I have realized that it is possible to take steps forward. By acknowledging that leaders can be trained to enhance strengths and to manage flaws, I have come to give credence to the idea that it is important to know what I stand for, and what my weaknesses are, to use as a reference for professional guidance and growth opportunities. In committing to my own growth, I must invest in consistently reevaluating my core values and how I have actively aligned these in the various facets of my personal and professional personas. It is necessary for me to commit to lifelong learning and the pursuit of more education to keep growing in my practice.
There is no question in my mind that the MAET program has been a catalyst for positive change in all facets of my life, but this is especially true as it relates to my professional practice and future aspirations. I feel empowered to take the future into my own hands because I have a vision, training and a skill set to support that path. Funnily enough, I originally applied to the MAET program because I wanted to pursue a career in instructional design.
In the last few months, I have realized that it is possible to take steps forward. By acknowledging that leaders can be trained to enhance strengths and to manage flaws, I have come to give credence to the idea that it is important to know what I stand for, and what my weaknesses are, to use as a reference for professional guidance and growth opportunities. In committing to my own growth, I must invest in consistently reevaluating my core values and how I have actively aligned these in the various facets of my personal and professional personas. It is necessary for me to commit to lifelong learning and the pursuit of more education to keep growing in my practice.
There is no question in my mind that the MAET program has been a catalyst for positive change in all facets of my life, but this is especially true as it relates to my professional practice and future aspirations. I feel empowered to take the future into my own hands because I have a vision, training and a skill set to support that path. Funnily enough, I originally applied to the MAET program because I wanted to pursue a career in instructional design.
I know that this journey has helped me achieve that goal because after eleven years at my prior work place, I was recently hired to begin a new position. I just started my first week of work as an instructional design specialist at Roger Williams University in Providence, RI. I am excited about this next journey and I relish the opportunity to guide and lead others in their practice by utilizing what I have learned. But, I am also hungry to continuing my own learning in this burgeoning field. As I look forward, I feel that this professional evolution is just at the onset.
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References
A. (2014, January 27). ASCD Author Jay McTighe: Greatest Lesson Learned. Retrieved November 25, 2018, from https://youtu.be/KUtzbJtS1aY
O. (2014, June 18). Adult Basic Education. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/adultbe.html
Adult Education and GED. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2018, from http://www.ride.ri.gov/StudentsFamilies/EducationPrograms/AdultEducationGED.aspx
Heathfield, S. M. (2018, October 12). Do You Know Your Leadership Values and Practice Ethically? Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/leadership-values-and-workplace-ethics-1918615
Instructional Design & Technologies. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.rwu.edu/academics/academic-affairs/instructional-design-technologies
A. (2014, January 27). ASCD Author Jay McTighe: Greatest Lesson Learned. Retrieved November 25, 2018, from https://youtu.be/KUtzbJtS1aY
O. (2014, June 18). Adult Basic Education. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/adultbe.html
Adult Education and GED. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2018, from http://www.ride.ri.gov/StudentsFamilies/EducationPrograms/AdultEducationGED.aspx
Heathfield, S. M. (2018, October 12). Do You Know Your Leadership Values and Practice Ethically? Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/leadership-values-and-workplace-ethics-1918615
Instructional Design & Technologies. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.rwu.edu/academics/academic-affairs/instructional-design-technologies