Elementary School Learning Experience

In middle school in English class we were studying different types of poetry and our teacher brought in some records and a stereo.  She played some songs for us that she explained were forms of poetry, such as the song American Pie by Don McLean.  I can remember that this really resonated with me as I had never thought of songs as poetry before.  She also had us read different types of poems to learn about odes, limericks, epic poetry and blank verse. We then created poetry of our own after learning about different types of poetry.

High School Learning Experience

I remember a section that we were studying in history in high school where we were learning about the Pullman Strike and the subsequent trials.  My high school history teacher decided to have us reenact the trials to help us understand the decisions that were made and the perspective of both sides of the conflict.  I was the defense attorney and I remember that another student, who was a great debater, was the prosecuting attorney.  I remember trying to prepare for the trial reenactment in class and how much I learned about trying to understand the conflict from both sides so I would know the questions that would come up.  In addition, one of the students, who was portraying one of the Pullman Porter’s widows, hid an onion in her handkerchief and used that when she was on the stand to cry.  It made the situation seem more real and the entire process reinforced the learning objectives of the unit.

Professional Learning Experience

Earlier in my career I was learning about project management and how to effectively manage a project.  I was learning more about project management so that I could start managing projects for the organization.  The topic was taught by a work colleague who put together the information more as a presentation.  He was trying to review the organization’s processes for managing projects and add general project management information as well.  We had no opportunity to apply what we learned, so I tried to take clear notes, but I found that over time, I remembered less and less of what I learned.

Photo Reference:

Hernandez, C. (2019). Girl Walking Towards Destination. Unsplash. Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/search/photos/learning-to-walk