Introduction:

During this semester I took two classes which were 5389- Professional Learning, and 5318-Instructional Design. I was enthused to take Instructional Design because that is a profession that I would like to explore more in dept. However, my excitement for professional learning was not necessarily there because I was not sure what to expect and how it would tie into the corporate setting since I no longer teach. Both classes pushed me more to learn, think about others who are receiving the instruction, and to activate my creative side.

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Areas of Improvement:

It may seem like I’m emphasizing the same area of improvement for each course, but I’ve noticed a recurring gap in connecting the material to the corporate setting. While I understand this is a master’s program in education, Lamar promotes it as beneficial across multiple fields, including corporate environments. Throughout the program, I’ve often had to draw on my past teaching experiences to maintain a high standard in my work. Moving forward, I believe it would be valuable for students to also receive instruction and examples from a corporate perspective to strengthen the program’s versatility and real-world application.

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Brief Summary & Reflection of each assignment:

5389- Professional Learning

The Call to Action assignment was truly eye-opening for me. As someone who typically participates in professional learning rather than leads it, I had not fully considered the various elements involved in effectively presenting to an audience. I learned the importance of moving beyond the traditional “sit and get” approach to create sessions that promote ongoing learning, communication, and engagement over time.

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By exploring professional learning through this assignment, I was able to design an Alternative PL approach for professional development. In my professional outline, I intentionally incorporated the Five Key Principles of Effective Professional Learning, ensuring clear connections between learning goals, activities, and assessments. This process helped me think critically about how participants prefer to receive information, which guided me in fostering active engagement throughout the session.

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Finally, the Connecting & Communicating Ideas component allowed me to express my creativity through developing the initial slide deck for professional learning. I discovered the balance between avoiding information overload and keeping the presentation visually engaging and dynamic.

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5318- Instructional Design

I really appreciated having the creative freedom to design my own project for the Instructional Design assignment. For this task, I developed a five-week course aimed at supporting adult, newly graduated college students in building confidence, knowledge, and advocacy skills to make informed decisions about their education and career paths. The course outline included weekly objectives, activities, and assessments to support learner growth and engagement.

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The next step, the Implementation Overview, was one of my favorite parts because it allowed me to bring my course to life using Canvas. Although it felt overwhelming at first since I had never worked with a learning management system before, with the help of Google and YouTube, I quickly learned how to navigate it and successfully developed a five-week course filled with meaningful and interactive activities.

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Finally, the Usability Testing & Reflection assignment gave me the opportunity to present my course to friends and classmates. Their feedback helped me identify areas for improvement, evaluate how user-friendly the course was, and assess whether participants were truly learning from the content. This experience was both rewarding and insightful, as it allowed me to refine my design and gain a deeper understanding of effective instructional practices.

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Contributions to the Learning Community

Throughout both courses, I was able to collaborate effectively with my classmates using GroupMe, which included everyone who signed up. In addition to that, I maintained separate group chats for each class to foster closer collaboration. In EDLD 5389, our WhatsApp group included Angela Rios, Kevric, and Paula. We used this space to share ideas, clarify instructions, and review one another’s assignments. For EDLD 5318, my group consisted of Angela M. and Ines. We frequently exchanged ideas, discussed technology tools such as Screencast, and even held phone conversations to ensure we fully understood the assignments.

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I also made it a priority to engage regularly and promptly with my peers through discussion boards, providing feedback, encouragement, and support, especially when classmates felt discouraged. Additionally, I consistently revised my work based on instructor and peer feedback, which helped strengthen my overall assignments since many of them were interconnected.

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For instance, in my Call to Action assignment, I wasn’t initially satisfied with my grade. However, after watching Dr. H’s feedback video and implementing the suggested changes, I was able to improve the organization and clarity of my ideas, which significantly enhanced the final version.

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Justification of Score

Based on my level of activity, timely submissions, consistent engagement with classmates, and ongoing revisions, I believe my overall grade should be a 90/100 for EDLD 5389 and a 95/100 for EDLD 5318. I successfully met all key requirements, including completing weekly readings and discussion boards, applying APA formatting, and supporting my peers through regular communication and collaboration. While I recognize that I still have areas for growth, particularly with in-text citations, I believe my overall performance, effort, and contributions are accurately reflected in these proposed grades.