Self-Assessment

Activities in courses such as innovation projects, theories and scholars essays, meeting the faculty, and mentoring sessions with my major professor helped immensely in my first year; First, the innovation project in the EDIT 8190 course was like project-based learning for me. Finishing this project has driven me to learn new skills, such as prototyping, video editing, and image manipulation. While doing the project, I developed the ability to use Adobe Creative Suite applications, such as Adobe XD, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop. Second, the theories and scholars essay was an assignment in the EDIT 8100E course. Writing the essay has made me explore the literature in the LDT and my specific interests. This activity has broadened my understanding of the various theories in LDT and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teaching and Learning. While writing the essay, I better understood the social constructivism learning theory and several EFL teaching and learning frameworks. Third, meeting the faculty activity in the Topical Seminar Class in which Dr. Kopcha invited all the LDT Faculty to share their scholarship and research agenda has helped me to see what areas in LDT can be explored and researched, such as multi-modality, embodied cognition, social media, learners’ experience, learning space, and system thinking. Fourth, the mentoring session with Dr. Branch, my major professor, has taught me that I must use all the skills I have learned in this semester's courses in scholarly activities, such as writing a proposal for a conference and analyzing data. These four activities have helped me learn the most in my first yea in the LDT Doctoral Program.

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As I attended all the courses in my initial semester in LDT, I have gained more confidence in some concepts and skills. This semester, two ideas that I explored more deeply and simultaneously in two courses, EDIT 8190 and EDIT 8100e, were social constructivism and second language writing. The exploration of these areas is connected with my current research interest, which is online peer feedback in EFL class. With more exposure to literature discussing concepts from scholars such as Vygotsky, Brunner, Emig, and Hyland, my understanding of social constructivism and second-language writing has improved and boosted my confidence. Furthermore, my reading skills have significantly improved due to my massive reading activities this semester. I am more confident in applying the proper reading strategies to save time and to get the most from my reading. Apart from reading, I also gained more confidence in using the Adobe Creative Suite application to help me finish projects from the courses. I am not entirely confident, but the activity from the course and guidance from the LDT faculties have helped me to grow my confidence in those areas.

 

A combination of written and oral feedback was the most motivating for me this semester. For example, in EDIT 8100e, Dr. Hill would give written feedback on assignments, and an individual discussion with her concerning the feedback and the assignment itself would follow. In another class, EDIT 8190, Dr. Rieber would provide written feedback on submitted assignments and discuss the general feedback in an in-class discussion. With Dr. Branch, my major professor, I also experienced a similar mode of feedback. Dr. Branch will provide written feedback and continue with detailed discussion during the advisement session. This way, I can understand the feedback more clearly and continue doing the assignment correctly. Apart from that, it shows that the faculty cares very much about my development, and how they provided their feedback this semester motivates me to continue my doctoral journey.

 

During my first year, I experienced growth in many aspects of my life. As I have discussed previously, reading skills have the highest improvement. At the beginning of the semester, I had difficulty reading many texts in a limited time. Although reading was still challenging at the end of the semester, I could maximize my gain by applying proper reading strategies, such as skimming and scanning. Other than that, my understanding of the LDT field has also grown. At first, I thought LDT was only the application of technology into the teaching and learning process. As I observed and listened to the faculty in meet the faculty activity, I began to understand that the LDT field is more complicated than I understood. Technical skills, such as writing techniques and prototyping, have also developed because of the need to finish some projects. Living in an international university environment has allowed me to witness a diverse culture worldwide. This experience has imparted the insight that we all have different backgrounds and must respect one another.