Module

Discussion: Igniting Your Passion

You have made the decision to continue your formal education and pursue an advanced graduate degree. As you reflect on the title of this learning module, "Igniting Your Passion," consider your topics of interest in fields related to education. What factors contributed to your decision? Have you considered how you might pursue your passion in your course work? What expectations do you have of yourself and of the degree program?

In this Discussion, you will introduce yourself to your colleagues and Instructor with whom you will share a learning community and focus on the topics that ignite your passion as well as the passions of your colleagues.

Post a description of the work you are doing in your professional practice. Also, expand on your work-related experience so that you get to know one another and begin building a network with your colleagues as you journey through your program.

Then, explain what motivated you to pursue an advanced graduate degree in education and identify three topics of interest in fields related to education that ignite your passion. Finally, explain why these topics are important to you.

Assignment 1: Transformative Agents of Positive Change

In the Discussion, you identified three topics in the field of education that ignite your passion and that may inform yourend product in your program of study.

In this Assignment, you will address, in more detail, the topics about which you are passionate, why you have decided to pursue an advanced graduate degree, and what you hope to accomplish with your degree.

Consider the information you shared with your colleagues and reflect on what your colleagues shared with you in the Discussion posts and responses. Ask yourself what impact you would like to make in the areas about which you are passionate and what changes you would like to implement. Think about how advancing your education might contribute to you making a difference in the areas about which you are passionate.

Note: As you move through your courses and begin to investigate topics that call for educational change, it will be very important for you to narrow your focus. The purpose of completing an advanced course of study is not for you to tackle and change the entire world but to begin your professional journey by focusing on a meaningful, targeted problem within the scope and the time frame available. As you can see from the inverted triangle, topics are broad, issues are subcomponents of topics, and problems are specific, narrowly focused statements for investigation. As you collect more and more information and begin to critically analyze the topic and the issues, you must begin to synthesize information to refine your target issue to a manageable size-the problem statement. This will demand that you begin to work on the skills of synthesis and advanced academic writing.

Submit a 3- to 4-page paper that includes the following:

A description of the experiences and motivations that have led you to pursue an advanced graduate degree.
An explanation of how the three topics you addressed in the Discussion relate to issues in education.
A description of a problem related to each issue-a problem you would want to help solve.
At least two goals you hope to accomplish as a result of obtaining your degree.

An explanation of how your pursuit of the topics you identified can enable you to become a transformational agent of positive change. Provide specific examples.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this module's required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in theCourse Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Walsh, M. L., Pezalla, A., & Marshall, H. R. (2014). Essential guide to critical reading and writing. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

"Introduction" (pp. 1-6)

Chapter 7, "Strategies for Typical Assignments" (pp. 81-90)

Purdue University. (2014). Online Writing Lab: Logic in argumentative writing. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/1/

Case Study Documents (PDF files)

Scenario for your chosen case study

Documents 1-4 of your chosen case study

Beginning in Module 2, you will begin to complete assignments related to a case study. For the Looking Ahead in this module, you will read through each case study to select the one you want to address throughout the course. Select the case that most aligns with your interests.

You must e-mail your case study selection to the Instructor.

Note: Each case study includes a basic scenario and supporting documents related to the case.

Download to your computer the case study documents related to the case you have selected. You will refer to these documents in assignments throughout the course.

To access the Case Study documents, click Case Studies on the course overview page.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Introduction to the degree paths [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Each faculty member shares an introductory message.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 8 minutes.

Accessible player --Downloads--Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Refining your doctoral topic [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Student interviewees explain how they identified their topics and share tips for finding information. Students also explain how and why they began their doctoral journeys.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.

Accessible player --Downloads--Download Video w/CCDownload AudioDownload Transcript

Optional Resources

Oros, A. L. (2007). Let's debate: Active learning encourages student participation and critical thinking. Journal of Political Science Education, 3(3), 293-311.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Transformational story [Multimedia file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Toolkit

The Toolkit, located in the Course Overview page, contains a variety of resources that will support you in this course and throughout your program. You are strongly encouraged to create your own internet-based toolkit. You can save the course toolkit documents to this personal toolkit and begin adding additional resources as you locate them. See the Toolkit document entitled "Build Your Own Toolkit" for suggestions about how to start your own toolkit.