Again, information literacy seems to be a key factor. Continuing to forge professional and educational development will require me to recognize a need for information and an ability to acquire that information. There are, of course, several ways to accomplish this. The first method that comes to mind is personal research, which would involve the use of journals, Internet articles, news articles, etc. to acquire the needed information. I could also accomplish this through attending continuing education seminars or conventions, such as with ASHA. Professional peers give many of these seminars. Maintaining interpersonal relationships will play a major role in forging my development. Just as I learn from my professors and fellow classmates, I will continue to look to other professionals for information that will allow me to develop educationally as well as professionally.

When asked how I might inquire into my learning in an ongoing manner, the first word that comes to mind is reflection. By writing all of my thoughts, I allow myself to track my journey from a moment of uncertainty to a realization of the truth. However, I don’t have to be uncertain or confused about a specific topic in order to use reflection as a learning tool. I may use reflection to track my journey from a current state of understanding to a new sense of enlightenment. This process allows me to organize my thoughts so that I may better retain the information learned. Instead of just memorizing facts, I am thinking about everything that this newly obtained information entails and the reasoning behind it. Actually, I think I may have just learned something in answering this question. I think I’ve come to a new understanding of why we are required to reflect about all of our assignments. It makes a lot more sense now J.

One of the main motives behind ongoing research is to promote professional and academic development. When conducting research, one must keep an open mind. Research provides us with new understandings, new perspectives. Because of this, it holds the potential to influence the paths we take professionally, from diagnosis techniques to intervention. As students, this is extremely important. For the past three years, we have been learning the information that we will need in order to make informed decisions in regard to these topics. What diagnosis techniques will we use? What course of intervention will we take? Research will play a key role in ensuring that we are capable of making such logical and ethical decisions.

Up to this point, I have not made much of an effort to research beyond the information that is learned in class. All of the research that I have conducted has been the result of a class assignment. For me, time is definitely an issue. Other obligations combined with educational responsibilities for classes are a major reason for this. I am in no way trying to make excuses. If I had really wanted to do research, I would have found the time. The truth is, I never really saw a need for it. I figured I was learning everything that I needed to know in my classes. However, after reading about information literacy and answering these prompts, I have a newfound respect for the concept. I realize that it’s going to be up to me develop to my fullest potential. In order to do so, I am going to have to learn independently through research.

I would say that one of the most effective ways that I meet my own learning needs is to attempt to make connections between newly obtained information and previous knowledge. This helps me to better understand the information and to retain the information instead of just remembering the information long enough to take a test. I also consider myself to be a visual and hands-on learner. This helps me to apply information more effectively. Lastly, I’ve discovered that one of the best ways that I learn is through group work. I used to hate group work. I preferred to do work independently so I could do it my way. However, many of our classes have required in-class group work. This has led me to become more open-minded, which, as I stated before, is important to professional and educational development. Everyone learns and thinks differently. Sometimes, when I fail to grasp what a professor is trying to explain, another student will use different terminology or wording to help me to better understand the information. Listening to things from different perspectives helps to ease the learning process.