EDU 304 L4 Vision Board by Summer Cavalier

1. Find Mentors

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:25:20 UTC

Connecting with others in my career will give me expert insight and they can help guide me through my professional endeavors. Instructional Designers work with a diverse population of students, instructors, and other educators. Finding mentors in this field will help navigate the complex dynamics between and within these different groups as well as learn valuable industry aspects.

Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:33:38 UTC

"...there are only things that you want to do and don't want to do" 
(D'souza, 2011, p. 208)

9 tips to maximize my intrinsic motivation for a career in Instructional Design.
Ready, GO!

D’souza, G. (2011). EQ from the inside out : Breakthrough tools & ideas for living a fulfilling life. Six Seconds.

2. Bring Out the Best In Yourself

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:37:44 UTC

In supporting student success, I recognize that every student is a bouquet of talents. Acknowledging that I am my own bouquet of skills, talents, shortcomings, and energy will help me in my career of Instructional Design. It will help me to direct my energy in beneficial directions as well as give me self-esteem. Being confident in the diversity of my own bouquet of talents will position me to identify similarities and differences with others.

3. Build Your Self Esteem

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:42:37 UTC

Building self-esteem takes time. While learning requires failure, one must redirect the initial doubts and move on with more confidence. This balance for an Instructional Designer includes some humility and flexibility. As an expert, I still cannot claim to know everything; I must ask for help sometimes; I also have to recognize that I am a great resource and open to new ideas. This balance does not always lend to strong self-esteem and yet it should be maintained to work effectively in this role.

4. Chart Your Life

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:49:46 UTC

Charting my life in relation to pursuing a career in Instructional Design is not straightforward. This is an emerging career that has been redefined and refined many times over years and localities. Charting my future will, however, keep me focused on all goals that may become more attainable over time. As technology evolves, so will my career. Charting my future will require creative, innovative ideas that include hopes, wishes, and concrete ideas.

5. Create Your Own Opportunities

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:52:17 UTC

Creating my own opportunities has been a challenge for me in my career pursuit. As an Instructional Designer, I was pulled through the door of opportunity by a trusted colleague. Making strong networking connections with a wide diversity of others and honing some specific technology skills has given me the most opportunities in my career endeavors.

6. Invest In Planning

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 00:54:16 UTC

One of the most interesting aspects of Instructional Design right now is that it is still emerging and being defined in new ways. As a nascent career focused on online education, this dynamic job is never boring. It is a never-ending slew of issues that require creative solutions and collective collaboration to solve so investing in planning is essential. Progress in this area relies on collective planning and evaluations to prove and improve models. It is imperative to identify what works and what does not through planning and evaluation.

7. Make a Change

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 01:02:52 UTC

Change can be difficult for everyone, but the inevitability of change over time means we will be more effective in career and life when we adapt. In pursuit of a career in Instructional Design, the changes I am currently facing are numerous and largely unknown. As the first to hold this position in my district, I have helped define what it is, but it is evolving quickly. I am not on a career path, I am an independent contractor; it is up to me to prove the value of what I bring. I am anticipating many changes in the near future of my career pursuit, including earning my degree this spring.

8. Motivate Yourself Using Loss Aversion

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 01:04:50 UTC

Loss aversion is a huge motivator for me. For example, as a student I see an A as maintaining my GPA, but a B will lower it. This weighted view of gains vs losses motivates me to continuously aim for an A. As I am facing my senior semester, struggling mightily just to pass, I have found a new and more balanced view on this. I have my 3.78 right now, so I have already proven whatever I needed to. This experience has taught me that I can and do use loss aversion to motivate myself to do my best. It has also taught me that I might benefit from tempering that tendency before I crash and burn. In my career as an Instructional Designer, this motivation can help me to push myself to always have a resource available, if not a direct solution, so that I will always have an answer and avoid inability to find a solution.

9. Turn Work Into Play

sdcavali — 2022-02-06 01:09:43 UTC

Turning work into play has been an easy one for me as an Instructional Designer. I find it fun to collaborate with different groups and interact in interesting ways as we test technologies and explore new ideas. Further, managing my own small team is a blast. We haven't used with Play-Doh, but we have had weekly Meet or Treat where we could have a formal meeting with an agenda, or just socialize and have a buffet of treats - I got to surprise them. This gave us a lot of room for training, team-building, and collaboration. After we all went remote, I created a discussion for 'panda sightings' for us to post photos of our stuffed pandas, our team mascot. I would also put together digital scavenger hunts for them to find specific resources in groups or individually. It has been really fun for me, and I hope it has been for my team! I plan to keep this energy going.

sdcavali — 2022-02-07 04:56:56 UTC

"The motivation to act is reinforced by an inner sense of achievement and is not induced by any external lure of reward or fear of punishment" (D'souza, 2011, p. 207).

D’souza, G. (2011). EQ from the inside out : Breakthrough tools & ideas for living a fulfilling life. Six Seconds.