My Personal Theory

DescriptionThe purpose of this assignment is to introduce yourself to me and to begin thinking through your “personal theories and intuition” about college students/adult learners before they are solidified by the theories and models we will explore in this course. ***Be sure to complete your paper prior to completing any of the readings assigned for this course, which I will share later this week.

This assigned is asking you to write a paper that reflects upon your undergraduate experiences. I have provided a set of questions below for you to consider and use as a way to reflect upon the past and also to consider the progression and development that occurred.

Imagine you are standing in front of a mirror on your graduation day from undergrad. What do you notice about yourself and what are you struck by gazing at your former self? As you reflect on the accomplishment of graduating what were the milestones you were most proud of leading up to that day?

Now consider for a moment the unique opportunity to reflect back even further over your undergraduate journey. Who were you when you entered college? How did you approach the world? How did this approach and thinking shift over time and why did it shift? What were the turning points or significant events, experiences, or occurrences that led to your development over time in undergrad?

Were there aspects of your identity that were significant to how you developed and experienced your undergraduate experience? Perhaps you were a first-generation college student or were a student of color at a PWI or came out in college?

Draw conclusions as you synthesize your student development journey through your college experience that might serve as transferrable lessons about how student learn, develop, and grow.

Lastly, include a visual representation—a model, diagram of your journey.