It is commonly said that life is a learning process that never comes to an end. Whatever knowledge an individual has, it can be improved or added to in one way or another. Before learning the course, there were quite a number of issues that I was aware of. For instance, I knew about the importance of keeping records or a diary. When engaging in a research activity or socializing with people, I knew the various ways that I can make observations and make conclusions from such. My writing skills were good but not as good as after the course.
Through the learning process, I have gained exposure to some of the issues that I never thought could be of much interest to me. I learnt about socio-emotional development, which made me understand the various ways through which the social instincts come to be. Cognitive skills observation helped me to understand people with various abilities, besides improving my capacity to judge the cognitive strengths in an individual. This helped me to know how to deal with people with different abilities. My observation skills were developed to another level. I can now engage comfortably in a research activity and easily pick out issues that initially could escape my notice. On top of this, I can make clear, precise short notes that can help me cover wide content in a short while. I learned about the paradigms of research which significantly boosted my understanding in this area. Anecdotal skills were developed during the course, such that now I can comfortably report on an event so well to make the reader or the audience feel as if they are in the real context of the event. This is aided by the checklist or data driving skills that were also gathered during the class. Through a combination of the observation, reporting and anecdotal skills, I can comfortably go through a research activity or event and then give a full, wholesome and comprehensive report. The autobiography project as well as the journal activity improved my writing skills. They made me become more efficient in recording information in a chronological manner.
Given another chance, I would be interested in learning more about the development stages of an individual. I realize that in my career path, I will be interacting with people for most of the time. I, therefore, need to be well equipped with a deep understanding of why people behave the way they do or why they hold some things with greater importance than others.
Through the course, I gained a deeper insight into the various development areas. These are the cognitive, social and emotional development. Through an understanding of these, I can clearly identify an individual who lacks development in one of the aspects. As such, I can easily relate with most, if not all people. I also came to understand more about action research. I realized that this is where the researcher has to be actually involved in the research activity. Through active participation, more learning takes place.
The autobiography project and the journal activity were quite a challenge. However, on filling the entries several times, I mastered the writing skills and even looked forward to finishing the activities successfully, not for academic purposes, but for self accomplishment. It made me quite interested in writing by honing my skills. In essence, going through the course was quite enjoyable.
