This blog page contains reflections from unit 4 of the ED696-Critical Reflection of the Sebago Plan course.
February 7, 2019
Integrity. I chose the SJC core value of integrity because I felt it combines all the core values in the program and was the best fit for me in both my career and personal goals. The integrity core value states “Concerned for the common good as individuals and as a community, we commit ourselves to honesty in all relations with students, faculty, staff and administration. Through our integrity, we maintain the trust of the surrounding community and of public and governmental agencies” (History, Mission, and Values of Saint Joseph’s College, 2019). This definition illustrates that integrity requires faith, excellence, community, respect, compassion, justice, and even ethics. On a personal level, integrity has an incredible significance and a momentous impact in my life, so much so that it is an integral part of my identity. I make it a personal mission to strive to live by integrity as best I can and to continuously choose to push myself daily to attain and further develop its qualities. My “concern for the common good as an individual and as a community” ignites a passion to make a beneficial impact and to leave a positive legacy (History, Mission, and Values of Saint Joseph's College).
I try to live my life by Mahatma Gandhi’s wise words, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” These words mean that one must instill a transformation in oneself for continuous personal development; to become one’s best moral self before one is able to move the world forward selflessly towards a greater good. Just as spirituality is the ongoing development of self and identity, so too is integrity. The commitment to excellence and enhancement of self is ingrained in integrity and brought out through spirituality, which is essential in any career but especially in teaching. It is for all of these reasons and more that integrity is of high importance when it comes to being a facilitator to learning.
Integrity includes the sacrifices of holding oneself to a higher standard and striving for daily excellence, pursuing opportunities for public service that contribute to the betterment of society and of self, being honest and true in spirituality, and creating time and opportunities for self-reflection to further keep in touch with spirituality and promote spiral learning (Tisdell, 2008). It is through this that it matches up well with the theory of transformational learning.
Integrity in the AE&T Program. Integrity relates to the theories of adult learning in many ways. First, integrity is an ongoing spiritual and educational development of self and identity. Not only is learning essential for cognitive development, but it is just as important to one’s emotional and spiritual development towards integrity. They include an ongoing psychological and philosophical questioning of beliefs, values, and experiences to find the meaning and purpose in life and in society. Significant spiritual experiences either individually or with others allow learners to transform their way of thinking, in turn transforming their behaviors, attitudes, and affect. The gaining of cognitive knowledge in education and in integrity create a spiritual experience as the learner further transforms and develops the soul in the learning process (Tisdell, 2008).
Second, just as adult learning is self-directed, it is a personal choice and responsibility to pursue integrity. It takes years to build upon one’s knowledge just as it does to grow integrity, both of which require a social aspect to reach its full potential. Not only can the learner be involved with creating integrity in themselves, but the community or social group must also facilitate and verify the learner’s pursuit of integrity.
Honesty is another important component of integrity that creates the positive learning environment conducive to transformational learning. When learners are honest, they are more likely to open up to one other which enables peers and colleagues to find commonality and build trust in each other. A common feeling of trust in a group develops a more united learning group, where learners of varying backgrounds may congregate.
Lastly, integrity creates a connection between the spiritual journey of self to become whole by learning through reflection and valuing its purpose in life and in education. Ongoing personal development and the strive for integrity are spiritual and transformative acts in learning. It is through the process of spiritual and educational transformation that the soul becomes renewed and a new sense of self is adopted (Tisdell, 2008).
Satisfaction. The chosen core value of integrity was utilized throughout the entire length of the program including the course objectives and the project choice itself. The project choice was to build upon the mission of the office of Student Accessibility Services at Geisel, specifically by providing faculty and staff with vital training to enhance knowledge and skills about disability and accessibility. This will be continuously built-upon in the near future and beyond after the case study needs assessment unearthed new information that requires training of faculty and staff. This iterative process is necessary for education and for building upon the value of continuous integrity. For me, integrity will be ever-present in my life. It was an integral part of my personality before the program, and experiencing the program only further emphasized the trait’s importance.
Personal Learning. As a result of my work in integrity, I’ve learned that I can push myself to new heights that I hadn’t originally thought possible for myself; specifically, by brainstorming and developing new approaches to old processes and seeking constant improvement in my work. It also helps to have integrity to remain humble and know that I will still need to work on myself as a person, as an educator, and on my skills in this arena forever. Integrity shows that the important and hard work is never done.
Perceptions. Many of my thoughts and perceptions about AE&T have changed throughout the length of the program. For instance, I was unaware of the amount of data extraction that is necessary to create effective training and education programs. I knew that research was a vital part of the process as a basis for knowledge, but it is only one small piece of a larger puzzle. Developing a literature review, creating a case study, conducting a needs assessment, and using business analysis tools brought this more to light and created an organized methodology for evidence-based practice. I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to use these tools and seek out the necessary research tools to develop a complete and effective AE&T program. I was surprised to find out how partial I have become to such tools and how much I have begun to rely on them in my work to solve problems. This has brought a whole new confidence in my leadership ability in being able to solve issues before bringing them to leadership in their raw form.
Core Value Infusion. When writing my personal philosophy and mission statement, integrity provided the foundation for and guided the creation of each individual objective. Therefore, it was woven into my past, present, and future as an educator, and will continue to be a significant part of my life forever. One of the many ways I can implement this core value in everyday life on a personal level is to dedicate a lot of time for self-reflection and appreciative inquiry on how my own actions and influences can impact others. This can be managed through journaling or frequent discussion with others to determine best methods of self-enhancement and altruism. Another way is a commitment towards service for others, much of which can be assessed through the completion of my personal goals as I continue to develop and build upon them over time.
Summary. In conclusion, integrity has not only provided an impact in my experience in the program, but it has also helped to transform my life in helping me to become the person I want to be both personally and professionally. It will continue to be a value and trait that I value extremely highly and hope to practice continually for the rest of my life.
21st Century Learning Academy. (2011). The 40 Reflection Questions. Retrieved January 30, 2019 from https://backend.edutopia.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/stw/edutopia-stw-replicatingPBL-21stCAcad-reflection-questions.pdf.
History, Mission, and Values of Saint Joseph’s College. Retrieved January 30, 2019, from https://www.sjcme.edu/about-us/why-sjc/history-mission-core-values-identity/
Tisdell, E.J. (2008). Spirituality and adult learning. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, (119), 27-36.