A500.9.4.R​B Course Reflection​s

 

This course Leadership Foundations in Research has been life changing.  Many of the course concepts included, critical thinking, action research, conspiracy theories, concept maps, presentation design and ePortfolios. I plan to use all the concepts in both my professional and personal life.

This is my first graduate course and I found it initially very challenging. The use of various software tools required to upload assignments, the use of “The Brain” software to develop concept maps, reading and responding to the opinions of other classmates. I I was also required to express my opinion on topics that I, in some cases, was not familiar with.

I found the concepts of quantitative research a bit challenging. It was a new concept and more detailed instruction explaining the process and how it is done would have been useful.

The initial weeks were challenging because the processes and the study rhythm needed for course assignments did not become routine until week 3. At week 3 the “light” came on, I developed a system to prep for the coming week and built strategies for how I would accomplish my assignments for the week.

Also, the release of entire course material allowed me to plan for the week ahead.

This Master of Science in Leadership is a worldwide course and therefore the majority of the courses are online. On line courses, in my opinion, allows for some freedom in planning and scheduling your class assignments. However it does limit your ability to have the face to face interactions with the instructor and classmates. It becomes especially important when you required additional clarification on a particular topics and email just won’t suffice.

A balance between classroom and online instruction would be ideal for this program. Video chat would allow students to connect with the instructor in a virtual environment.

Finally, the instructor provided clarification to assignments as needed, was very responsive and encouraging.  I would recommend this foundational course to any graduate student.