Self-analysis & Critique

             True to the purpose of transcribing the video of my class session, it was this process that showed me flaws in my facilitation. I spoke with far too many “uhs” and “ums,” and I noticed that I sometimes stuttered or repeated myself as I struggled to formulate a concise way to convey my thoughts. I know that I am a very reflective person, so I am not completely surprised by this habit. However, I think additional run-throughs of the presentation (and more sleep the night before) would help to ease this tendency. Aside from this, I assume that my excessive hand gestures may have been distracting to students, and I should have stopped lecturing more often to ask for questions. On the bright side, the first step to correcting a problem is acknowledging its existence.

My knowledge of learning theory and instruction benefited the most from teaching the topic to others; this is the basis of experiential learning. It reminds me of Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience, which incorporates aspects of learning theories and instructional design. He argued that reading, hearing, or seeing new information produces much lower retention rates than “direct purposeful experiences” (Garrett, 1997, p. 131). The opportunity to put my theoretical knowledge into practice, especially since this theoretical knowledge dealt directly with the task at hand (the facilitation of learning), was perhaps the most valuable experience I’ve had in this program. This would not have been possible without the foundation of learning from coursework and engaging instructors.