Learning Journey snapshots

Creative annotation of my artwork on language justice

A Pecha Kucha presentation on empowering student voices in learning data

Reflections on my ldt learning journey

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú wisely noted that it is very difficult to be a light for others when you yourself have not healed. She also emphasizes that “good places” are needed for healing to take place. Her words resonate with me; it is difficult to enter and engage in intellectual spaces that do not recognize nor affirm your own humanity and ancestral ways of knowing.

As an immigrant, semi-orphan, and first-gen student, I have been always been aware of the level of trauma that some students must endure and overcome in order to engage and activate their voices in the classroom. I did not always have access to the spaces and supports needed for equitable engagement in learning, but I consider myself very lucky and am deeply thankful to have encountered such learning spaces. I am thankful for wonderful individuals “in a good place” that offered me hope, support, and encouragement. Those early years along with a career in higher education administration inspired me to think about ways that higher education could offer a more holistic and nurturing space and phenomenologically a more equitable experience for learners. I believe the transformative power of a liberal arts education should be preserved in confronting the many layers that must be peeled in revealing the pervasiveness of racism, cisgender normativity bias, settler colonialism, generational trauma, and other interlocking systems of oppression. Yet, how might we contend with these challenges when higher education itself has historically and intentionally been complicit in these systems of oppression? How might we even start to reveal our true authenticity as learners when some of our own cultures and languages have been erased, marginalized, looked down upon or misrepresented? When overcoming imposter syndrome and gaining a sense of belonging impose emotional labor in navigating spaces that historically have held representation of you as an object of study more than as a leading scholar?

Throughout my journey in the LDT program, I have gained an understanding of the frameworks, language, and tools that exist to create “good places” for learning; especially that foster meaningful learning, creativity, and healing. I have learned that part of the answer of any good response to the ‘"wicked” problem is in designing and creating spaces for learning that aim for transparency so that learners may navigate systems with higher discernability and agency to understand their positionality, develop a growth mindset, have the confidence to articulate their voices. This fosters respect for our common dignity, and leads to more creativity, healing, and strengthening our sense of authenticity.

It also takes recognizing the encoded biases in our learning systems, technology, and tools. It requires being bold and courage to rethink how we might code for authentic human connections. There are no easy solutions or shortcuts. Intentionality takes more from us and it can be exhausting work though rewarding.

I also appreciate having an understanding of the metacognitive process of learning itself and how robustly constructed and wired our brains are for learning, movement, and creativity. In studying embodied cognition theories, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and trauma-informed promising practices for teaching and learning, I have learned that sometimes the blueprint to how we should organize ourselves for work and play is already woven into the design of ourselves if we listen with intention and aim for robust equity. I intend to take what I have learned and apply it towards holistically intentional design that is more deeply aimed at emotional resonance and respect for our common humanity.

I have enjoyed learning and working with everyone with whom I have crossed paths along this LDT journey. I have enjoyed class discussions and the opportunity to explore and contemplate important questions. I am thankful that LDT professors treat students in the program as colleagues. I appreciate being a part of this community of practice that includes students, alumni, and professors. I have sensed an intentional fostering of inclusivity and equitable parity in learning and engagement in that practice. I have also learned just as much from my classmates as I have from our professors. I am deeply grateful for all the shared insight and ways of knowing I have encountered. Having this holistic learning experience is an immensely inspirational model for my own praxis and design.

Beyond my LDT classes, I have also enjoyed opportunities to learn with colleagues at the Red House, be a part of the Indigenous Studies Working Group, attend GSAS events, and learn with professors throughout the university. I am particularly grateful for the guidance of Assistant Professor of Philosophy Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner who supervised my independent study on indigenous epistemologies opening my mind to new ways of thinking and embracing holistic learning practices.

In coming together during a global crisis, my cohort has also learned to navigate immense uncertainty. In doing so, we have created spaces for collective healing and support. I believe our friendships and connections, in and out of the classroom, on campus, and on zoom, will continue to transcend time and geographical space.

The optimist in me holds hope this challenging experience will make us better as learners, teachers, and holistically aware of the need for intentionality in our positionality, learning spaces, and connections. The realist in me feels galvanized to confront challenges that will come as the sands beneath us continue to shift. I appreciate that in this time, we have learned to be agile; to slow down or speed up as needed day-to-day. I have come to appreciate the healing that comes with having a safe learning space to deconstruct and analyze what is meaningful. I have come to accept critique as an opportunity for response and growth. I appreciate the robust neurological processes that engender meaningful understanding and fosters agentive creativity.

Thank you, LDT community, for modeling holistic teaching practices in action. I leave this “good place” for learning feeling ready and humbly hoping to be a light to others. I intend to aim for trauma-informed and culturally sustaining design that fosters growth mindsets with authenticity and equity towards holistic learning and healing. For healing spaces and robust equity in learning approaches seems what our world most needs each new day forward.

My LDT Learning Journey

Summer 2019
LDES 500 Integrated Intro to the Field
I enjoyed this introduction to the curriculum and to my cohort.

Fall 2019
LDES 501 Methods of Learning and Design
Studio I
In my first semester of grad school, I worked full-time as an academic program manager. My studies focused on mastering an understanding of learning frameworks. I did research and designed a learning engagement on mitigating educational discontinuity. I was a part of an LDT team (Aaron Joya, Andi Debellis, Andrew Zubrini, and myself) who entered the MSB Rocket Pitch Competition. We pitched an idea for an inclusive remote learning platform that mitigated the level of orchestration required with hybrid and virtual teaching and learning. Alas, our idea didn’t capture enough attention at that moment—little did we (and anyone) know what was coming.

Spring 2020
LDES 503 University as a Design Problem
LDES 705 Designing for Social Justice
In my second semester, I worked full-time, and along with everyone else, contended with the challenges of the global pandemic. My studies and research focused on systems thinking and social justice. As a synthesis of my studies and research, I proposed a framework for the design of interventions. As an independent project, I also designed a pandemic homeschooling plan.

Summer 2020
LDES 511 The Big Rethink (TBR)
TBR was a community of practice for collective exploration, collaboration, and sense-making of what was unfolding across the landscape of Higher Ed. I enjoyed working on the TBR Interviews Series.

Fall 2020
LDES 512 The Big Rethink (TBR)
LDES 502 Technology by Design
Studio II
My studies and research focused on embodied cognition theory and thinking about advancing holistic learning design. I also continued working on the TBR research and collaborative writing team to finalize our publication.

Spring 2021
LDES 504 Learning Analytics
LDES 702 Studies in Ed Technologies
LDES 709 Creativity and Design
LDES 901 Independent Studio on Indigenous Epistemologies
LDES 914 Studio III
This semester, I am focusing studies and research on language justice, data justice, and learning analytics, creativity. I designed an independent study reading list on indigenous epistemologies. I work part-time as a research assistant at the Red House. Projects include a mini booklet that offers introductory guidance on decentering whiteness in the classroom. I wrote a paper advocating for data justice in learning analytics which included redesigning one of my prior interventions to apply a new lens on culturally sustaining pedagogies for reimaging what holistic learning analytics could look like in higher education.