Reflection: The Nature of Learning and Knowledge

I recently posted about a new, improved KWL chart for educators called the KWHLAQ. And while I certainly did not systemically or consciously adopt the structure into my ongoing learning process, I'm coming to realize its value and how its components are shaping my thinking and writing.

The impact may be most visible here in my summer blogging or perhaps in the coming weeks when I am preparing to return to teaching classes this fall. I feel like I'm loaded to the brim with new ideas about my profession and practice, yet I'm also feeling uncertain without one clearly defined path to follow forward. Perhaps it's the reality that my view of technology and education is being expanded daily and the array of possibilities now seems greater than ever. [Sigh]

I've also learned to truly value the summer break, something that many people see as teaching's greatest perk. It's not what made me want to be a teacher, but I'm gaining a deeper understanding of the necessity of reflection and the opportunity that summer gives for this process. I also know that the season is passing, and as blessed as I have been to have had the opportunity to study daily without working, I received a letter in the mail just yesterday concerning the coming first week of school and the myriad of activities, meetings, and assemblies; a reminder that I must put these wonderful ideas into action for them to have value in this world.

And so, I definitely feel as though I'm positioned in the final two sections of the KWHLAQ process: Action and Question. Thankfully, I've gaining in the number of resources and colleagues, on and off line that can aid me in my decision making for pedagogical actions, chiming back with meaningful answers to my earnest questions. I hope to continue my social bookmarking and blogging throughout the coming school year as my thesis project comes into a clearer focus. I'm a big believer in our habits shaping our character, and through my habitual blogging, the person I am has certainly become more knowledgable and yet more inquisitive too. Funny how that happens. I've searched for a source for the following quote, but ironically, I have not yet found its author beyond a website stating, "[knowledge is] a condition in which the more we know, the more we know that we don't know."

At the end of the summer, I think that is all I know.

Image: Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" photographed by d.Seneste.dk http://www.flickr.com/photos/dseneste/5912382808