Initial Reflection & Learning Goals

I always knew I wanted to complete a Masters degree, but I was not sure what kind of program I wanted to do. While my previous education is largely in business, I did not feel drawn to towards an MBA-type program for my graduate schooling. Most of my adult work experience has been in post-secondary education, primarily distance education.

It wasn’t until a mentor approached me about the Master of Education through Athabasca University that I started considering this type of a program as an option for me. When looking into the program, I quickly realized how much it made sense for where I was currently at and how it could provide opportunity for my future. With a Master of Education, I would be better equipped to move forward in my career, whether or not I chose to stay in an educational setting. I chose the leadership focus as it closely aligned with my interests from my previous education in human resources, and would be adaptable in a variety of settings. I quickly applied for the program, and once accepted, I started taking courses right away. One thing I noticed right away was that my classmates did not just come from education backgrounds, there were also individuals from other professions, like health care and finance. This was reassuring for me, as it helped support my choice in this program for it’s adaptability in a variety of settings.

I knew the that M.Ed program would closely align with my current role as the E-Learning Facilitator and the work I have done and am currently doing as a member of TRU Open Learning – the online and distance education provider for British Columbia. I knew there would be some content in the program that would already be familiar to me, but there would also be some areas of distance education where I would not have as much knowledge, like instructional design. My work experience in distance education has been primarily in analytics, research and the support of the delivery courses and programs. I knew that instructional design was a fundamental piece in delivery, but I did not understand it or how educational theory came into play.

Learning Goals

When I started the Masters of Education, I had the following learning goals:

• Learn about instructional design and its role in education
• Learn about the different educational theories and their application
• Deepen my understanding on educational leadership
• Have a more well-rounded view and understanding of the different aspects of a distance education unit and how they worked together to create successful programming