Contribution to My Learning and the Learning Community

EDLD 5315 and EDLD 5317 Unified Reflection

Self-Assessment Score: 95/100

Fink (2013) explains that students must eventually learn to assess the quality of their own work in order to become self-directed learners. Based on the self-assessment marking guide, I would give myself a score of 95 out of 100 for my contributions to my learning and to the learning community in EDLD 5315 and EDLD 5317. I selected this score because I completed the assigned readings, videos, discussions, and major course assignments; met course deadlines; participated consistently in collaborative learning; and revised my work based on feedback. I did not select a perfect score because I recognize that I could have taken greater initiative by starting more conversations and sharing additional resources beyond the required activities.

My core collaboration group included Zhaojing Zhu, Ana Gamez, Michael Herndon, Amber Young, and Patricia. Because I took EDLD 5315 and EDLD 5317 simultaneously, my collaboration with classmates helped me connect the ideas from both courses rather than viewing them as two unrelated learning experiences. EDLD 5315 focused on developing an action research plan, while EDLD 5317 challenged me to communicate my innovation to a broader professional audience through writing and multimedia. The feedback I received and provided helped me understand that effective research and effective communication depend on one another.

In EDLD 5315, I developed an action research plan about how student engagement strategies affect participation and academic performance in a middle school classroom. Through course readings, discussions, and collaboration, I narrowed my broad concern about engagement into a focused research question. This process also deepened my understanding of mixed-methods research, data collection, research ethics, confidentiality, measurement, and data analysis. Furthermore, peer feedback enabled me to evaluate the alignment among my research question, methods, instruments, and proposed analysis.

In EDLD 5317, I developed a publication centered on blended learning, station rotation, digital portfolios, reflection, and student ownership. My publication explains how students can use digital portfolios to review assessment data, identify learning gaps, establish goals, and monitor their progress. The course also strengthened my ability to communicate research-supported ideas through a publication outline, a rough draft, a multimedia project, a final article, and an ePortfolio.

Taking both courses together enabled each to reinforce the other. My EDLD 5317 publication clarified the instructional innovation I planned to research in EDLD 5315, while EDLD 5315 challenged me to identify specific evidence and methods for evaluating the impact of digital portfolios and station rotation.

For example, my publication discusses behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. In particular, it explains how digital portfolios can encourage students to analyze performance and plan future learning. Building on these ideas, EDLD 5315 helped me make the concepts measurable. Behavioral engagement could be examined using participation rates, task completion, and classroom observations. Similarly, academic performance could be measured through assessment scores and portfolio evidence. To assess cognitive and emotional engagement, surveys, reflections, interviews, and observation notes could be used. By connecting these courses, I moved from mere description to designing a systematic study process.

My collaboration group helped me clarify the alignment between research questions and measurements. Their questions pushed me to define engagement more precisely and clarify my writing for new audiences. Providing feedback also refined my own thinking. A key takeaway is that collaborative feedback improves both research design and communication clarity.

Throughout both courses, I revised my assignments. In EDLD 5315, I refined my research question, clarified the design, strengthened privacy, and organized the analysis. In EDLD 5317, I connected research to practice, revised explanations, improved APA accuracy, and clarified that technology should support—not distract from—learning. My final publication emphasizes that digital portfolios are valuable for the thinking and decision-making they foster.

An area for further growth is taking a more visible leadership role within my collaboration group. While I completed the required discussions, gave thoughtful responses, and used feedback to improve my work, I could have started more conversations, followed up after classmates revised their assignments, and shared extra resources without waiting for a prompt.

Combined reflection revealed how EDLD 5315 helped me design a systematic investigation, and EDLD 5317 helped me communicate its purpose and impact. Collaboration, revision, and self-assessment increased my confidence as a researcher, educator, and writer. Taking both courses together taught me not only how to explain my innovation, but also how to study and improve it.

Links to My Work

EDLD 5315 Action Research Plan
EDLD 5315 Literature Review
EDLD 5317 Compilation