Portfolio

The first year of the program has been an overall great experience. I believe that several of the courses have presented material that has been very helpful in fulfilling my expected goals for the program. This year in particular has opened up many avenues through the Internship at Zax Inc. Through this internship, I have used several programs important in creating software programs and modules. The modules are connected to the concept of case-based learning, a topic that  is important to my research agenda.  Through building these cases I have gained experience in programs such as Articulate Storyline that have help with in-class projects in the Studio course. In addition, work on the research papers for the Position Paper, IRB proposal, and the Conceptual Framework have been helpful in formulating ideas to better tackle the overall task of developing a research agenda.

 

Currently, I am working on expanding my research agenda with Alesi’s model on simulations. The conversation I had with Dr. Choi during an advisement meeting alerted me to this research has been very helpful in gaining a new perspective on how to view the process of learning and the hierarchy of learning through fidelity levels. The IRB in particular has made me consider methods that will be helpful in evaluating a training simulation or case. I have a many more materials to research related to researching fidelity itself and how to measure the different levels.

           

That brings me to how helpful the faculty is in the program and how they guide their students to find better answers. The incubations that occur every week in he seminar class can be very helpful in gaining ideas and insights from peers or thinking about a topic from different perspectives. Some of the students in the program may have read a research study that is new to the individual in the incubation. It can be very helpful.

 

There are a few things I would improve. My case was unique in that I changed advisers after the first semester. I felt a little lost as far as submitting a paper to a conference. I personally think that it may be better to wait and allow students to get a little more footing and do that at the beginning of year two, especially when they are still formulating their research and desiring feedback from the instructor or adviser before they are ready to submit to a conference. I am currently on track to submit to several conferences over the Summer rather that the deadline of the AECT at the beginning of this year. I also think there is still some confusion about what courses were are supposed to take and how to create our program of study.

 

I ultimately think that the program is overall an program that has gotten me to consider new ideas, expand my research ideas, and get me on track to creating a strong conceptual framework. The work toward the framework, the IRB, and research into measurement methods has helped a lot in developing my agenda and I hope to accomplish more in the Fall with a potential research study.