Achievement

Time flies. Soon my first year in the LDT program at UGA will pass by. Looking back, I have

mixed feelings. On the one hand, the transition from being a practitioner working in the

industry to a researcher in the field of Learning, Design, and Technology is not easy. I am

constantly aware of the gap and feel the need to educate myself in terms of learning theories

and research methodology. After all, being a practitioner is totally different from being a

researcher. I am still in the process of transforming into a mature scholar and I hope I can

complete the transformation by the time I graduate.

 

But, on the other hand, I have accomplishments as well. The biggest achievement, in my

opinion, is that I managed to figure out my research interest in the first semester with the help

of my advisor and have been working on it, though slowly, since then. Now, I feel somehow, I

have a relatively clear idea about what to do in the following two to three years. Although the

process is still going to be tough and I am sure there are numerous difficulties along the way,

I don’t feel confused or helpless, because I know where I am going. All I need to do is keeping

moving towards the goal.

 

Besides, I also feel that I am gradually becoming a scholar. Unlike some of my classmates who have been doing research before they came here, I am completely new to this. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed, noticing the gap between where I am and where I need to be in order to be competent for a scholar. Though the process is struggling, I am making progress and so far I am kind of satisfied with what I have achieved.

 

Concerns

Though overall, I am satisfied with my first year, there are a couple of things that I hope to improve in the years to come. First of all, I need to participate more in class discussions and research meetings. I was really active in class when I was in University in my home country. However, after I came here, often times, I am not brave enough to freely express myself in discussion, meetings or incubations, fearing that my thoughts are not mature enough or my language skills are not perfect. I really appreciate those who dare to say whatever they think in class and talk a lot. Definitely, I will push myself more in the future.

 

Besides, I think I need to refine my critical thinking abilities so that I can think more independently. To me, a critical mind is one of the most important things for a scholar to succeed. Without it, I don’t think one can have the chances of becoming outstanding in his field. So now, whenever I read an article or a book, I always ask myself: what is the author’s point? Is the conclusion valid? Is the research well-designed to guarantee the validity of the conclusion? Is his argument reasonable? What might be other reasons for the conclusion? By answering these questions, I will have a much deeper understanding of the article or the book and at the same time, sharpen my mind. Before, I tend to “believe” whatever the author says and read an article or a book as if it is holy. But now I ask myself not to just “read”, but to think critically.