Janice Rossing

Employment/ Place of Work:

National Experimental High School

Country of Residence:

Taiwan

How I fit the course work into my life

As a single parent working full-time, having children who are older, i.e., they can fry an egg or run over to the local noodle stand on their own occasionally, was key. In addition, my teaching job at the elementary/primary level doesn't require too much overtime. Nevertheless, I need time to think through and understand complex issues and even more time to write about them, and I felt major stress constantly.

My most cherished interaction on the programme:

Tutors were crucial for me. Their timely support, encouragement, warmth, knowledge, and genuine appreciation of us in this program have been models for me. Behind-the-scenes emails from both tutors and colleauges breathed new life into my weary heart and often enchanted me with their wisdom and humor.

Which of the different course models suited me best?

Collaborative work, H802, suits my learning style best. Although I'm very pleased with the course, had we collaboratively produced a useable product, our work would have more truly reflected real-life. Not working in any form of open and distance education, I found my resources for H804 limited mainly to the course or online materials. In particular, I found myself resourceless, generally clueless, in imagining real-life applications of systems management to ensure quality learning.



Answers to the Vice Chancellor's questions:

In what ways am I putting into practice the ideas and understandings I developed on the programme:

More than ever, I am convinced that a constructivist philosophy of learning is key to promoting deep learning experiences in any field. Ideally, such an approach would be supported institutionally as well as in the larger community. In whatever educational context, I use and promote these values.

What did I find the most stimulating part of the programme:

H802 supported, energized, and nourished my creativity in designing learning environments. Here the course became most real for me, moving beyond the once-removed feeling I get from reading and writing about a topic. Not working in a distance education context proved less of an impediment to my understanding in this course.

What value was the global nature of the programme to me:

As a Baha'i and world citizen who cherishes and honors diversity, the global nature of this program was a perfect fit. Resources and colleagues from all over! What a bounty! Although here by choice, living and working in Taiwan for the past twenty plus years has severely limited my educational and professional development opportunities. When I found this program in 1996, I felt like a miracle happened.

Did I find it isolating or impersonal to study this programme?

Considering my circumstances, I found it breathtakingly liberating. Some personal contact with my colleagues and tutors would have been a precious prize, but complaining I'm not! I particularly enjoyed studying in my "jammies" and drinking coffee any time I pleased. I didn't miss driving to class in Taiwan traffic one bit!

Did I find this relevant to my work:

Enrolling in this program was a move towards change, not an attempt to relate it to my current work. However, my understanding of the learning process as well as its relationship to the overall system in which it happens has been magnificently transformed. Whatever I do in the future, this newly forged understanding gives me an edge I didn't have before.

Has it changed my life in any way:

Merely successfully completing this program has increased my self-confidence, given me a new vocabulary as well as understanding, and placed me in a learning community that I wasn't privy to before. That's exciting and confirming. However, the transforming effect reaches beyond me. My children are proud of me and have been inspired by their live-in example -- and at times I've been a pathetic one -- of a scholar hard at work. Additionally, some of my friends and colleagues have been inspired and motivated to continue their formal learning. Witnessing this surprising knock-on effect has been a precious gift that has compounded my benefits.