Contribution to my learning Network

Contribution to My Learning Community

EDLD 5305 & 5302

Dr. Dwayne Harapniuk

Jacob Montag

March 9, 2022

Score and Rationale

In this course and 5302, I believe I have earned a score of 40 out of 50. My rationale for this is that I met all of the key contributions and supporting contributions. I actively tried to maintain a growth mindset, collaborate with my team for the literature review, took the lead on editing the peer review, wrote multiple sections, frequently discussed the weekly topics in GroupMe after studying all course materials, and I met the deadlines in a timely fashion.

Developing a growth mindset was difficult and I am unsure that I can totally claim to have a growth mindset. To aide my growth, I developed a core team across both classes. Ben Branco was my closest collaborator as well as Tristan Dixon, Fred Williams, and LaDonna Green. We frequently discussed all the assignments and gave each peer feedback. I always implemented my peer feedback as they made it better. We also discussed the course materials and how we could implement true growth mindset, blended learning, what we had believed about learning (reflected in the learning manifesto), and ways we wanted to change our respective worlds (innovation proposal). GroupMe was/our primary method of communication as opposed to the Blackboard student lounge. This was much more convenient than Blackboard and allowed for a more timely response. We also held Zoom meetings and collaborated on our assignments. Zoom was very user friendly. Ben and I led the project and had extra meetings to review different aspects that needed to be improved. It truly was an inspiration to work with the others and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with them in these two classes. They were a key contributing factor into my ability to meet deadlines 24 to 48 hours (on average) before the deadlines, in both courses. Being successful in this team was quite different as Ben is a Math teacher and I teach a History/English combination class. Our different fields allowed us to put logic and philosophy together, blending our various ideas on learning. I think our grade reflects this aspect. Though not perfect, it shows how we came together; making connections between ePortfolios and blended learning.

I do believe I have grown through this course and plan to continue growing in the area of time management. I would have liked to participate more in the discussion posts, but after reading and course materials I would simply run out of time. In the spirit of having growth mindset, I believe that prioritization and collaboration should be viewed as a natural part of learning without it being a separate assignment. Needing the collaborative piece to be an assignment is reflective of the fixed mindset that is part of North American education. I would like to continue improving my skills in making revisions in a more timely manner. That will be one of the last things I have to do to change my learning from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.