Page 1 - Commentary
Table of Contents (optional)*
Vocabulary
OP Specification*
Digiphon
Pathway Reflection
OP Process Reflection*
Learning Journal Excerpts
Page 2 - Core Report*
- Introduction
- Zones
- Project Specification and Outcomes
- 5 P's Reflection Narrative
- Conclusion
Page 3 - Supporting Evidence
- Cumulative Annotated Resource Review
- Cumulative Evidence of Outcomes
- Updated Resume
Vocabulary
This is a compilation of the vocabulary I will use throughout my Learning Review. I have created this section to help non-Gaia readers go through my material with ease and competency.
Digiphon: This is an area to source the electronic devices/materials used
Output or OP: An output is what is created when one documents a project (writing, pictures, videos, graphs) OP is the abbreviation
LIPD: This stands for Learning intentions and pathway designs
Skill-flex: An assessment of skills on a personal and professional level
Un/learnings: Recognizing patterns that help or stall me
LR: Learning Review
Capstone: Final project year
Guild Buddy: Peer support
~ Navigation
This output is meant to be read from start to finish. You will be reading from the left column down, then to the right column down. There are three tabs that you will be going through on the top. The first page (Tab 1/Commentary) is dedicated to the nitty-gritty Gaia requirements. The second page (Tab 2/ Core Report) is a reflection of each project I completed and their outcomes as well as a conclusion. The last page (Tab 3/ Supporting Evidence) has my cumulative annotated bibliography and participation records.
~ Abstract
This output is a cumulative collection of my project work and integration throughout my capstone year. It will provide you with insight on my struggles, a-ha moments, and what went well for me. I will also share my next steps and journey of my pathway after completion of Gaia. It is compiled into three tabs that are broken into commentary (mainly Gaia specific material), 5 P reviews, and then supporting evidence. I have taken the time to reflect and deconstruct my year to create my last ever output packet to complete my Bachelor's degree.
OP Design
Reflect:
What went well? What was challenging? What would I do differently next time? Next steps? These were the four questions that I asked myself while reviewing my work of the year. These questions have been present since I began writing outputs so it seemed like a great first step in my last output of the year.
Deconstruct:
GO DEEPER! Uncover patterns, themes, learnings and un/learnings that were present.
Review:
I used this to decide what was important to include and what was not. I also reiterated this by doing my self-review during my process of the learning review. It helped keep my content relevant.
Reconstruct:
Articulate patterns, themes, learnings and un/learnings and prepare journal entries, mindmaps and documents supporting these.
Design:
I used this as an opportunity to create my own design template. Utilizing other associate's work as an example for what to include in my Learning Review.
Edit:
I will also be using the peer-review and other local allies to review my work before submitting for pro-submission. These reviews have helped me break down my content and tweak what needs to in order to make sure that I am pushing my edges.
~ OP 5 Digiphon
Mahara to publish my work
Mac Desktop is the device I used to generate this output
Easy Bib to create my works cited
Phone to listen/participate in Gaia Radio calls
Facebook to network and communicate with local and universal allies
Google- docs, e-mail to contact other gaia U associates, review my peer review, and other discussions within the gaia community
Skype to use the messaging and call feature for support (skill-flex sessions)
xMind for creating mind maps and timelines
Tasks from mahara site to document time management
Gel Site to use the all gaia community board, register for the OP Bus and reach out to other Gaia Associates.
Microsoft Word to spell check and type up the output before placing on the mahara database
Camera to take pictures of other evidence support
Calendar to schedule events, meet-ups, and tutor sessions
I feel competent with the material in each of these programs. Feel free to contact me if you need help or would like some tips for support!
Word Count
Commentary: 1,800
Core Report: 4,400
Total= 6,200
Required: 6,000
Learning Journal
Today was a hard day. I have had so much stress about leaving my job and feel like I am constantly on the verge of tears. Leaving my job, partner, home, and friends, has been one of the most challenging decisions I have made to date. I know it's right and it seems like it's wrong. I know things will get better and that I need to be selfish right now. If I continue to trust my gut and listen I think answers will arise. I chatted with my main advisor the other day and he suggested a book to check out and read that goes along with listening to your intuition.
Pathway Reflections
My life has taken on some major changes and transitions as I am wrapping up my capstone year with Gaia. I found that a lot of jobs I was seeking were really focused on having a completed Bachelor's degree. This was a big motivating push for me to complete my work in order to fulfill my desires of moving across the country to Washington state in August 2015.
I had been with my partner for the past two years of my life, happily in Stevens Point, WI. A few serious events took place and it made me realize that I needed to leave. I moved to Madison, WI to be closer to my family and friends. My parents just put their house on the market and are planning to move out west to California. I guess this doesn't surprise me too much as they have been spending their winter's out there the last two years. With my move to Madison, I decided to also take a big cut in my work hours. In Stevens Point I was working close to 50 hours every week on top of completing my Gaia school work. I have decided to work about 25 hours a week. I chose this to give my self some freedom and fun time. I have also made the commitment of buying a puppy and will be taking her home June 20th. This was kind of a self-regulated reward, as I am turning 25, graduating, and my partner and I have separated (for now).
I moved in with a new roommate, who is really awesome. She also wants to move to Washington so we have kind of been scheming together on doing it. It is comforting to have someone else to help push me in my own intentions. I found that I was living a life of my partners desires and that I needed to do something for myself. I am laying in my bed at my new house and I have to say I am happy to be here and couldn't be more grateful for the next chapter of my life.
I am currently writing my very last required output packet for the completion of my capstone year with Gaia. It feels surreal to be typing this and knowing that there isn't another one coming up. I have consumed myself in my pathway and have motivated myself to stay on track and it has also helped to live in a university town where I had friends who needed to study. I managed to find local guild buddies in my town where we could check in with each other and go to the library together to hold each other accountable for working. I had several goals that were neglected but also other goals that surfaced throughout my capstone year. Goals that were neglected were pretty much redirected to have different timelines and deadlines. I discovered that the goals I neglected really just clashed with my Gaia work and that I needed to focus on one or the other, to me Gaia took precedence. In my last tab (supporting evidence) you can see the breakdown of my zone projections and what they turned out to be to see what areas I neglected and which new areas that came up in my work.
- I have started to use the Google calendar application for scheduling meetings and holding myself accountable for meetings
- I have also adopted a pocket planner and have a physical calendar hanging in my room to use and reflect on daily
- I color coordinated my calendar's events to keep things organized
- I purchased a folder to keep important documents
- I bring a notebook with me at all times whenever I feel inspired to write
- I set up a realistic goal for holding guild buddy meetings (1 hour every other week) and communicated when it wasn't working openly
- I made a goal with my advisor to use more of my learning support budget with Gaia and I held myself to it by reaching out and scheduling a meeting
- I also used the plans tab in the Mahara website
- I allowed breaks when feeling lack on motivation
- I surrounded myself with other students which I think was a huge support overall
This depicts how I managed my time and promises throughout my capstone year effectively.
Intervention Point
I had a hard time deciding on when I should be turning in this output packet. I wanted to originally make my deadline of May and then my advisor urged for July or later. In my last advising session I was ready to set and accept July. After that though, I got an e-mail from a job located out in Seattle (where I am trying to relocate to beginning of August) and they wanted a preliminary interview, which lead to a second interview. This job is required to have a Bachelor's and begins in September for the 2015/16 school year. This was a huge push for me to complete my output and submit by June. I fortunately have been working on it throughout my entire pathway. I feel blessed to have spent this much time with Gaia and I know that once I graduate it will not end. It is simply the beginning of a new pathway and learning journey.
OP 3 Urban Homesteading Skill-Flex Assessment
Throughout this output I felt like I addressed many of my skill-flex goals. I worked on Excel from a professional standpoint as I have to use it for work a lot. I also had a lot of attention towards the written/communications area. I worked with Ava for developing a cover letter and writing as a metaphor. I also went out of my way to Skype and chat with other people. I had to attend an in-person job interview that also made me practice and write out questions as well as observe my behavior during the interview. Ava had sent me a good TED talk video on the effects of body language. There wasn't a whole lot of attention towards IT/Technology but it wasn't completely avoided either. I worked on using Powerpoint, Google Drive file sharing, Mahara and Creately. The other skill area I felt was addressed throughout my output was sustainability. This to me seems obvious as I am trying to live a life of self-reliance and this output showcased my steps on how I am actively trying to pursue my goals.
~ Skillflex Assessment
I have compiled my skill-flex forms from each output pack within my capstone year. At the beginning of the year I created a Google Form to track my skill-flex growth during each output creation. These results and responses were tracked and I was able to develop a graph from them. I had a few different areas that I was tracking: Written & Communications, IT/Technology, Languages, and Sustainable Agriculture.
My skills have grown in terms of IT/Technology. I have learned about Excel, and Google Drive the most. I have used both consistently throughout the year and have developed a competent understanding of each.
My skill set within learning new languages was not achieved or focused on at all. I had determined that I would wait until I was finished with my work in Gaia before beginning to focus on learning French, as it had very little to do with the completion of my pathway.
Written and Communications was also another area of large growth for me. I interviewed for many jobs during this capstone year and also have progress reviews. In my position at work I was writing and implementing behavior management plans and writing daily notes that needed to be factual. With gaining skills in this area I grew a sense of confidence and I don't feel as intimidated when I go into interviews or chat publicly. My body has kind of suppressed that fight/flight mode because of practicing these skills and developing them.
Sustainable Agriculture was a fun field to pay attention towards. I did a lot more social permaculture and urban ecology. I even tracked when I was paying attention to these areas outside of output development. I was trying to create a more sustainable life for myself where I ended up learning skills to be sustainable and to use the environment to help sustain you by doing things such as wild harvesting or growing mushrooms. I am excited to begin the next phase of my intentions on sustainable agriculture with rapid-prototyping sensory gardens using small-scale design involving clients.
OP Process Reflections
I learned throughout the year that I like consistency. It became prevalent when I would take any sort of break from my school-work for longer than two weeks. It was hard to transition back into school mode where as if I stayed focused and on task I created some of my better work. With noticing a huge decrease in my desire to sit on a computer and work I began carrying a notebook with me at all times so that way I could write and document my journey openly without any constraints. I knew that I would have to type it up eventually but that didn't seem to bother me. If I had a chance to do everything over but I had my now existing knowledge I would probably work a lot more on client interaction and developing small-scale designs. I found that throughout the year I still had a lot of personal work I needed to accomplish before going onto the next step of providing help for others. With this wrapping up my Gaia U experience I had a chat with Ariane Burgess about my desire to create sensory gardens, as I see that unfolding into my career path. We were able to discuss next steps and goals that I have to do to accomplish this and I feel very confident that I am ready to take on this design opportunity, even it is only a hypothetical one. I feel blessed to have gained Gaia U as a networking tool to help me find what my passions are and to explore each one.
My goals for this output were to:
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Reflect
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Deconstruct and reconstruct thoughts and processes
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Identify tools and strategies that were a common theme throughout the year
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Address challenges and weakness
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Discuss the growth of my learning/skills
I submitted two outputs at once so I haven't gotten recent feedback on my output packet prior to this one. I have however chatted with my advisor and he gave me some suggestions to enhance my work. He wanted me to look into using my support and skill-flex budget up and helped me extensively in the search for people to reach out to. I followed through with his efforts and scheduled a few meetings with others to help me on the completion of my pathway. I will share what kind of feedback I receive from peer associates and will work it into my output packet once it's received.
~ Dissemination Efforts
My work has been disseminated in various ways:
- Teaching- workshops, potlucks, classroom, MoY and EoY presentations
- Published- Personal Blog, Gaia U newsletter, facebook, gmail, Mahara
- Word of mouth- discussions, meetings, friendly conversations, interviews
- Video recordings- youtube
I have had a lot of fun being engaged in all the dissemination efforts. I love the fluidity of Mahara and the fact that I have developed an online portfolio of all my work over the last two years. I think it is a great way to document my actions as well as present it to future employers. It wasn't until just now that I actually realized that I had made efforts to disseminate my work in so many different ways, it's pretty cool to see it presented so openly.
Considering a more cummulative look at this process reflection:
1. When I dropped out of college after two years I couldn't really fathom the idea of going back. I was scarred from my experience and lost, I went out into the world to seek answers and to prove my competency and understanding of topics. School isn't supposed to knock you down and feel awful about yourself, it's supposed to strengthen you and build you up to take on the world single-handidly. It all comes down to the school's approach. I originally enrolled in a small private school because the thought of going to a huge school intimidated me. The small school meant small classes, therefore I thought I would thrive. However, the classes were too much mixed abilities and didn't have sympathy for students that took longer to process information. I still remember failing a class because I wouldn't slaughter a chicken. When I found Gaia it was a blessing in disguise. It was school, but it was cool and I liked how they were doing it. I was sold. With writing each output packet I grew more and more. I understood what it felt like to thrive in a school setting and to have support. I felt encouraged and empowered to push myself out of my comfort zone and still get support even if I retracted back a little. I made sure to use my output packets as an opportunity to explore and here I am two years later at the completion of my work.
2. I feel like I made an accurate appraisal of my goals for the year. I did need to do some reflection, analyzing and tweaking in order to complete my work in a timely manner. I found a lot of ways to keep on task and used them to my advantage. My goals were not over the top and I tried to stick to personal work so that I could be fully prepared to go into the world to take on the next set of challenges. I am glad I didn't push myself too hard to accomplish bigger goals as I think that might have deterred me from learning as much as I did.
3. My capacity for giving and receiving feedback has grown tremendously. I am so grateful that Gaia promotes this side of work for us as associates. I think it was definitely a learning experience to be able to give constructive criticism to others and to receive it myself. In the past, I would get upset when I receive low credit for my work. It always felt unjustified and it put me into a brief moment of turmoil and unrest. I also discovered it's what hindered my positive outlook on schooling and receiving education. I think it was because I never really received 'constructive' criticism and it was always just an opinionated critique with no actionable steps or ideas to help me make my work better. I love the support within Gaia that pushes me to do my best work.
4. Disseminating my work has been incredibly exciting. I never realized how many ways I was doing it. I have talked with other Gaia associates and we always come to the same conclusion of we may be putting our work out there but how do we know someone else is looking at it? This reason is why I like the peer reviews and professional reviews because then you know at least someone is looking at it and that feels good to know.
5. I have kept myself incredibly organized and on task. I found ways to take notes effectively and to manage my work. I used a notebook specifically for documentation and writing and I didn't allow myself to use it for any other reason. I tend to get notebooks and they typically become filled with grocery lists, journal entries, notes, etc.
LEARNING JOURNAL EXCERPTS
Reflecting on my time with Gaia has been immensely rewarding. I can't believe it's actually coming to an end. I feel like I have just gotten into the swing of things. If I had to do it all over again, it would probably look a lot differently. I am so proud of myself for staying motivated and on track- and lastly sticking it out until the end. School has always been a really challenging area for me to feel accomplished and proud of my work. I had always considered myself to be more emotionally intelligent rather than scholastically intelligent. After completing my permaculture design course 3 years ago and discovering Gaia U I figured it would be something to look into and the more I foraged the information on the website and talked to associates I decided to take the plunge. I was so nervous to bring on all the self-initiation it would take to complete my coursework and also finding the right motivators. The first year, my partner was also in school and I kind of rotated my schedule to dedicate school time when he was in school. I think being around others in a school setting helped me and I felt less stress as I didn't have tests I needed to tend to and/or chapter books to read. I discovered my way of learning with Gaia University and I was able to embrace it and be supported. It's a great feeling being able to walk away from capstone year knowing the effort I put in and the support I received during my time with Gaia will not dissipate after I graduate. I think I have foraged a life-long friendship and commitment to Gaia.
Comments
Jensen Buehler
02 June 2015, 22:43
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Charlie Durrant
11 June 2015, 13:54
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Jensen Buehler
11 June 2015, 18:43
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Eden Vardy
19 July 2015, 10:17
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