Final Reflection

Curriculum Development in Higher Education

Allison Schipma
Loyola University Chicago

My Curriculum Development Philosophy

Throughout this semester I have learned two very important things about myself, which
contribute to my curriculum development philosophy. The first thing that I have learned about
who I am as not only a learner but also an educator is that I do not prefer discomfort in my
learning process. There have been several times this semester that I have been challenged to do
something completely new with little to no guidelines, and I hated it. The second thing that I
have learned this semester is that my best learning and educating comes within and as a result of
those moments of discomfort. These two new pieces of who I am as a learner and educator have
shaped my philosophy of curriculum development.
When creating curriculum in the future either for the classroom or for an extra-curricular,
I know that these two new pieces of information will guide how I structure my activities for the
development of students. Something that I value both personally and professionally are
opportunities to not only learn new content, but learn new things about yourself. This value I
will incorporate into my curricula in the future by developing opportunities for students to feel
comfortable, yet challenged beyond what they thought they would be. Through exercises that
challenge their perceptions of the world and their frames of reference; I will challenge students
to see more. This goal for my own personal curriculum development comes from a reading that
my group incorporated into our final Marquette Module project. We studied the work of Jack
Mezirow and his Transformative Learning Theory (1997). Something that really resonated
from his work was a particular quote that spoke about transformative learning being the process
of effecting change in a frame of reference. (Mezirow, 1997, pg. 5) This understanding of
transformative learning is the basis for my curriculum development philosophy. Education is
most impactful when connecting content with students lived experiences and realities.

My Personal Growth
Throughout this semester I am grateful for the opportunity that I have had to connect this
course material not only to other courses that I am taking, but also my own personal growth and
development as a person. Through the assignments that we have had this semester and the
opportunity to work in groups with other professionals at Marquette University, I have been able
to identify areas that I strive to develop further in and key strengths that I bring to the table as a
professional in higher education.
When thinking about the areas that I will strive to further develop in, there are three key
pieces that come to mind. The first area for further development relates to my academic selfefficacy. The second area for further development connects with how I work within academic
group settings, and the third area for further development deals with my limited ability to trust
the learning process and embrace dissonance. Something that is important to me, as a life-long
learner is to constantly be open to embracing the areas I can improve upon. My experience in
class this semester has me appreciating these three areas instead of fearing them.
My first area for continued improvement relates to my academic self-efficacy. I first
learned about self-efficacy last semester in our Leadership in Higher Education course taught
by Dr. John P Dugan. I continued my research on self-efficacy this semester when serving as a
research team member for John Dugan. Currently, we are working on a textbook that is centered
on deconstructing leadership theory with a critical lens. My role in this committee also includes
co-authoring a chapter on self-efficacy that will be placed in an accompanying curriculum guide.
I have found myself using the material that we have discussed and practiced in class countless
times as I was developing my curriculum on self-efficacy. It was so exciting for me to be able to
apply and really develop a strong curriculum using the knowledge I had gained from class!

The second area for growth that I have noticed this semester has been my ability to work
in groups. Now, this doesnt necessarily relate to all of the course content, but I have come to this
realization through the reflection we have been asked to do throughout the semester. Normally
when working in a group setting, I am the first person to take the lead. I am the organizer, I make
sure we have the google drive set up and then from there I delegate the tasks to make sure that
we get what we need to get done. This semester has been a little bit different for me for a couple
of reasons. The first reason was that I had never worked with any of these group members
before. It was a unique and interesting experience to work with other Type A people like
myself because we would all try to take the lead. The second reason it was different was because
I had never worked with a doctoral student on group work inside the classroom before. Even
though I knew Adam outside of the classroom, I was still very intimidated by his student status
and I let that hold me back a bit at the beginning of the semester. I have appreciated the people
that I spent so much time working with this semester because they each taught me that
adaptability is so important when working in a group.
Finally, my largest area for growth and improvement would be learning to work in the
midst of dissonance and ambiguity. For me, this has been a very big challenge this semester. We
talked all semester about students cognitive dissonance and how that relates to service-learning,
but that really resonated with me personally. I think it will come as no surprise when I tell you
that working with Marquette University and that project this semester challenged me in a lot of
ways. Something that has always been interesting to me about students affairs is this idea that we
as professionals need to be perfect, but we preach to students that it is okay for them to mess up
and learn from their mistakes. I have really come to understand the hypocrisy of that idea this
semester. Working on this project and hearing from Patrick the importance of dissonance and

feeling uncomfortable has really opened my eyes. I have learned (finally) that dissonance is okay
in the classroom. What I have also appreciated about that lesson learned is that it has applied to
my work in my assistantship outside of the classroom. I feel more comfortable and confident at
work being able to recognize that not everything will go perfectly, and thats okay. I think one of
the biggest take-a ways from this class for me will be that sometimes the best learning happens
in moments of dissonance.
Along with these areas for improvement I have also noticed a few key strengths that I had
not noticed before. The first strength I noticed about myself was my ability to be creative. The
second strength that I was able to identify throughout the semester was my resilience when I was
uncomfortable. The third strength that I identified throughout this semester is my dedication to
becoming a life-long learner. Finally identifying these three things within myself through this
reflection has been one of the most transformative experiences for me within the program.
I truly learned that I could be really creative in the classroom through our syllabus
creation assignment. I had never been tasked to create something like that so I was very excited
and nervous. Throughout the completion of the assignment, I actually found myself having fun.
Researching potential books and assignment ideas was really refreshing and got me excited
about learning. I was also able to learn about my love for being creative in the classroom through
our ePortfolio. Even though we had to do one for the program as a whole, I found our curriculum
portfolio to be more enjoyable because it was just less pressure. I found myself really opening up
in my reflection of the semester and seeing the various ways in which my creativity came
through with my assignments. From the way I approached my case study to completing the
modules for Marquette, I realized that creativity manifests itself in very different ways than I am
used to.

The second strength I noticed about myself is my ability to be resilient when I am

uncomfortable. One of the previous areas for improvement I mentioned was that I need to learn
to be okay with dissonance and failure. Throughout the semester there were several times where
I wanted to give up because I would internalize negative feedback on my academic work.
Reflecting through this assignment, however, helped me realize that while that is an area for
improvement- I should also be proud that throughout all of those negative feelings I never gave
up. I strived to constantly stay positive and improve myself and my work, which has really
helped to build my academic self-efficacy.
Finally, I am so grateful for this classroom experience because it has helped me realize
that I am truly dedicated to being a life-long learner. Throughout my experiences in class and
with these assignments, I have come to realize that going on to a doctoral program is something
that I absolutely want for my future. It was amazing to have that feeling and dedication really
shine through this semester, and I know now that life-long learning isnt what I had thought it
was. I have come to value not only my education, but providing educational opportunities for
everyone I interact with in my work in higher education.
This class has helped me realize that life-long learning does not have to take place in the
classroom, it happens in moments where you least expect it. I am so grateful for my experience
in Curriculum Development in Higher Education this semester because it has transformed not
only my beliefs about service-learning, but about learning in general. To me, education doesnt
have to happen inside of the classroom. There are opportunities, like service-learning programs,
that help connect our lived experiences with others lived experiences, which can be the most
transformative educational opportunities. Service-learning is like life-long learning, we must be
open to reciprocating relationships and learning from the world and those around us.