5389 Contribution to Your Learning and the Learning Community

Throughout this course, my learning journey has been shaped by intentional participation, consistent collaboration, and a deep commitment to the principles of self-directed learning described by Fink (2013). Considering my consistent engagement, leadership, timely participation, research-based contributions, and the depth of collaboration within and beyond Blackboard, I believe a score of 100/100 accurately reflects my contributions to my learning and to the collective learning community. This course reminded me that professional learning is most powerful when it is shared, reflective, and grounded in authentic human connection. Through this experience, I strengthened my voice as an educator, collaborator, and self-directed learner.

Contributed to and helped build your core collaboration group and Provided peer feedback to your core group members.

My participation in discussions was intentional and meaningful. I contributed to weekly talks by sharing insights from my professional experience, while remaining open to the perspectives and experiences of my peers. Each post became an opportunity to build shared knowledge, connect course concepts to my professional context, and reflect on how to lead authentic change from the classroom and within learning communities.

Building learning communities was one of the course's most valuable takeaways. It went beyond completing tasks; it required acknowledging and appreciating my classmates' experiences, reflections, and knowledge. When we share from experience, mistakes, hope, and through active listening, something powerful happens knowledge comes alive, and change becomes possible. Today, I understand that leading change is about implementing models and connecting with people, their emotions, stories, and potential.

I had the opportunity to engage with many participants throughout the course. Still, my most consistent and meaningful collaboration was with Tasha Brown, Yusmila De Nicolo De Ocando, Ayla Rightenour, and Elizabeth Goffney. We shared reflections and feedback that became a source of learning and mutual validation. This community reaffirmed that authentic leadership is built in relationships, not in isolation.

Revised all assignments and reflected on revisions in this contribution to learning activity.

Revising my assignments became a meaningful process because it allowed me to return to my ideas with greater clarity and connect more intentionally with what I was learning. Each reading, video, and resource in the course offered insights that strengthened my work. Revisiting the ideas from Duarte (2010), Fink (2003), and Gulamhussein (2013) gave my decisions more depth and coherence. This process was enriched by ongoing dialogue with my core group, Tierra Lewis, Angela Rios, and Kevric Wiggins, whose observations and questions encouraged me to rethink approaches and discover new possibilities within my assignments. I also benefited from the thoughtful feedback of classmates such as Thomas, Stephanie, Logan, Jennifer, and Kieshawhana, whose perspectives broadened my understanding and helped me see connections I had not initially considered.

Each revision was also an exercise in collaboration. Sharing drafts, questions, and ideas both inside Blackboard and beyond, particularly the deeper conversations with Angela through WhatsApp and the spontaneous exchanges with Tierra and Kevric, created a supportive space that strengthened my learning. These interactions, along with careful reading and feedback from classmates, made the revision process richer and more meaningful. The combination of these voices, along with my own study and reflection, allowed me to produce assignments that felt clearer, more intentional, and more aligned with the purpose of the course.

Completed ALL of the course readings, videos and supporting resources.

Throughout the course, I completed my assignments and posted my discussion contributions on time, following the calendar and weekly expectations. Staying aligned with the deadlines helped me maintain an organized, steady rhythm of work and stay fully engaged with each stage of the learning process. Submitting everything on schedule also gave me the space to reflect, revise when needed, and integrate the course readings and videos into my innovation project with greater clarity and purpose. Meeting deadlines became an important part of my commitment and accountability to my learning.

This course was a meaningful opportunity for growth, allowing me to integrate theory, practice, and collaboration in an authentic and purposeful way. Each reading, video, and discussion strengthened my understanding of how truly transformative professional learning experiences are built, while also encouraging me to reflect on my own practice and the purpose behind my Explorers of the Forest of Reading and Writing project. I especially value how the dialogue with my classmates expanded my thinking and enriched my ideas, both on Blackboard and beyond, reminding me that learning becomes more powerful when it is shared. I close this course with a renewed sense of clarity, motivation, and purpose, convinced that continuing to reflect, collaborate, and grow allows us to build more human, coherent, and meaningful educational environments.