Documentation of Student Learning Outcomes in Curriculum

Documentation of Student Learning Outcomes in Curriculum

     In my very first class at Pacific Oaks, Reflection on Life Experience, I learned to look within and see my life in a new light. In Communication for Empowerment, I learned how to communicate and diffuse a tense situation. I learned how to think about what I need and want and how to ask for it. I learned what my part is in the world, and how to not just stand by and let things happen, but to make the right things happen. These are life changing events, for me, because they affected the type of person I was. I have always considered myself a kindhearted person who put others first, but I never realized that it wasn't enough and I never tried to pass my knowledge off to others. After reading our texts, Nonviolent Communication and The New Peoplemaking, I am communicating what I am learning to my own children and colleagues, and in turn helping them learn to communicate better in their own lives.

     In the class, Social and Political Contexts of Human Development, I learned how to develop a social action plan and it ignited a passion that I hadn't felt since high school. I developed a training program to present to early educators, in my community, about working with children with Autism. I developed it with some other professionals who work with children labeled with ASD and what we want early educators to know about how to work with the autistic population and then we took our plan a step further and started planning on creating free preschool screenings for the community, to help identify developmental delays so that children who need help, get identified earlier and get help that they need. In my community, the majority of people don't consider their young child's needs or delays until the year before they start kindergarten and our screening would identify delays as early as 2 years old. If a child began an intervention program at that age, they could potentially be mainstreamed by kindergarten and maybe not even require further intervention. This idea has been fueled further by the use of the text, Challenging Behavior in Young Children, in the class Working With Children Who Challenge Teachers' Skills. The idea that I am not alone in wanting to get to know the entire child, and how important it really is, has reminded me why I love working with children and families. It's classes such as the above mentioned that make me feel that I have had a unique educational experience through Pacific Oaks and it's use of Program Learning Outcomes and Student Learning Outcomes. I am not just learning about valuable techniques in working with people, but I can see the knowledge reflecting through my personal and professional lives.

 References

Kaiser, B & Rasminsky, J. S. (2012). Challenging Behavior in Young Children.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson

Rosenberg, M.B (2003). Nonviolent Communication-A Language of Life.

Encinitas, CA. Puddle Dancer Press.

Satir, V (1988). The New Peoplemaking.

Mountain View, CA: Science and Behavior Books Inc