Reflection for EDS 103 Module 7
I only realized what my epistemological beliefs are after reading EDS 103 Module-7 reading materials. I vaguely know about epistemology at all before starting this class. After analysis of what my beliefs are about the nature of knowledge and about learning, I somehow came up with this understanding. Based on the five dimensions of personal epistemology proposed by Schommer (1994), I figured-out that I can control my ability to learn though my own effort although I need sufficient time to acquire learning, that knowledge is a complex network of concepts, and that knowledge for me is relative.
Personal epistemology is recognized to influence all aspects of learning, impacting the way students respond to learning activities, motivation, strategy selection, information processing and overall achievement. As a student, I guess, my personal beliefs in the nature of knowledge and learning helped me deal with the challenges of distance learning. Distance education is often self-directed, which means that it is your willpower that will drive you to work alone at your computer, and you will not have in person interactions with fellow students and professors. You must have very strong time management and organizational skills to keep up with your studies. Therefore, my belief that I can control my own learning given sufficient time supports online learning. Likewise, lessons are presented in module hand in hand with reading resources. Although guide questions are provided, you are most often left on your own to create and contextualized your learning. Therefore, my belief that knowledge is a complex network of concepts, and that knowledge is relative aligns with the teaching approaches of distance learning.
The internet abounds with tips on how to succeed in on line learning, but I believe that how I valued knowledge and learning is the force behind my perseverance in pursuing distance education.
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