Contributions to Learning in Course 5318 and 5320

Reflective Rationale Score 95 

Contributions to Learning in Course 5318 and 5320

In 5318 Instructional Design for Online Learning, I fully engaged in the course by completing all assignments on time, participating in discussions, and collaborating actively with my peers. I regularly revised my work based on both instructor feedback and peer suggestions, which helped me improve my instructional design project throughout the course. The process of creating, revising, and reflecting on my design choices gave me a deeper understanding of best practices for online learning environments.

One of the highlights of 5318 was the collaboration within our GroupMe chat, where I consistently connected with classmates such as Melissa Richards, Whitney Davis, and Joseph Perrone. We used this space to ask questions, share useful websites, and offer each other feedback on projects and assignments. This collaborative back-and-forth made the online environment feel much more supportive and connected.

In 5320 Synthesis of Digital Learning and Leadership, the collaboration looked a little different because of the smaller cohort size, but it was just as meaningful. As the capstone course, 5320 gave us the opportunity to see our peers’ full innovation plans and reflect on how far we have all come in the program. I had regular discussions with Joseline Sanchez and Angelica Alvarez Ibarra on the discussion boards, where we offered each other feedback on innovation plans, shared ideas for professional learning, and discussed challenges and solutions related to implementation.

A key success across both courses was my ability to make connections between instructional design and leadership. In 5318, I applied best practices for online learning directly into the online components of my innovation plan for 5320. This allowed me to not only create a more effective plan but also demonstrate my ability to think about both the design and leadership aspects of digital learning at the same time. Peer feedback in both courses helped me keep this balance in mind — my 5318 peers focused on usability, clarity, and design, while my 5320 peers pushed me to think about stakeholder engagement, leadership strategies, and sustainability.

What I Can Do Better

One area I can improve is creating more opportunities for peer-to-peer collaboration outside of required assignments or discussion boards. In 5318, I took advantage of the GroupMe chat for informal collaboration, but in 5320, I relied mostly on the required discussion posts. Since 5320 is the capstone, reaching out for informal check-ins or extra peer reviews could have helped me gather even more feedback before submitting my final work.

Additionally, I could have been more intentional in documenting my personal learning process. While I revised my work based on feedback, I didn’t always write out formal reflections explaining exactly what changed and why. Keeping a running log of revisions and rationale could have helped me better see my own growth and would have created an even clearer record for future professional use.

Contributions to the Learning Community In both courses, I made strong contributions to the learning community by:

• Providing timely, constructive feedback to peers’ discussion posts, projects, and plans. My goal was to always offer feedback that was both affirming and constructive, helping peers improve their work while also building confidence in their ideas.

• Sharing relevant resources, tools, and articles. In 5318, I shared website links, research articles, and tools related to online learning design in the GroupMe chat. In 5320, I did this within discussion board posts, tying those resources to topics such as leadership strategies, professional learning planning, and technology implementation.

• Participating actively in discussions by posting early enough for others to engage with my ideas and making sure my responses were thoughtful and grounded in course content, personal experience, and outside research where appropriate.

• Taking initiative to support classmates in 5318’s GroupMe chat, ensuring no question went unanswered and encouraging everyone to share their progress. Even though 5320 didn’t have a GroupMe, I still made a point to engage deeply with my peers’ work in discussions.

Connecting Collaboration Across Courses

Taking both courses at the same time gave me a unique opportunity to directly apply learning from one course into the other. My instructional design work in 5318 gave me a framework for developing the online learning components of my innovation plan in 5320. At the same time, the leadership strategies and focus on professional learning in 5320 pushed me to think more broadly about how my instructional design work would be received and implemented by teachers and administrators.

The feedback I received from peers in each course complemented each other as well. In 5318, Melissa, Whitney, and Joseph provided practical feedback on design decisions, user experience, and alignment to learning goals. In 5320, Joseline and Angelica focused more on the strategic elements, asking thoughtful questions about how I would engage stakeholders, measure success, and sustain the plan over time. Bringing these two perspectives together gave me a much fuller picture of what it takes to create and implement a successful innovation plan in a digital learning environment.

References

Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass.