Reflections of a Training Professional

Pictured: my brain (middle) after final exams.

Breaking Bogart (13)

What is in fact, good, my peers?

Vaughn back at it again to talk about my experiences this semester of Fall 2024 back in college. Earning that DEGREE. I think my thoughts and reflections were worth posting here. Go ahead... give it a read.

1. How has your experience in this course enhanced your skills and perspective as a current or future training professional?

To better answer the question of how my skills and perspective as a current training professional have been enhanced, I will share some information about myself. I am a college dropout. Due to numerous factors in my life as I arrived at the point of legal adulthood, my first college experience was agonizing. Not agonizing as in annoying or bothersome, agonizing as in it was mentally excruciating to continue life day by day. I dropped out after 1 semester of failing class after class. Due to this, I became lost in a lot of ways. A major part of myself went missing, so to speak. That part of me that felt child-like wonder—joy even—was gone. I floated around rundown apartments, sketchy roommates, and jobs until I entered into the automotive industry. Eventually I roomed with a lifelong friend of mine and life steadied out, if only a little bit. As I settled down into my new job, I landed a position in a shop environment with a mechanic who would inadvertently become my mentor. As I began to work on more vehicles and a wider range of repairs, I began to ask lots of questions. Later on I would begin doing my own research. Until finally, I studied day in and day out to earn 2 ASE certifications. Those being Automotive Service Excellence A4 and A5. So slowly, over time, I regained that desire to learn, that sense of wonder, and even a little bit of joy.

Arriving at current day, I am an instructor and have the incredible opportunity to pursue my education once more. As I began studying and working within the context of OLP-4401, I could barely contain my enthusiasm and drive. But these levels of emotional highs and motivational peaks are not sustainable and would not last. I have known for a little while now that I peak, and then crash, in my life. Whether battling severe depressive states, productivity, or health in general, I rise and fall quite aggressively. My current superior, and mentor, has discussed this with me. By no means am I not aware of it. However, learning to best manage these peaks and valleys is possibly the greatest challenge I face. This is not an exaggeration. 

So finally, to answer the question, this course has really pushed me to average those peaks and valleys. Teaching and going to school is by no stretch incredibly mentally taxing. But I need to pass these classes. My livelihood and career depend on it. Interconnectedly, the mental windows by which I view work, myself, and even my students, have changed drastically. Granted: teaching, counseling [for the teaching (ha, ha... half joking)], and other general life experiences have contributed greatly to my mental growth.

My perspective of performance and learning has finally made the turning point of caring more about the learning, and less about the performing. We all have to perform and/or produce in our lives. For me, changing my perspective to spend a majority of my time learning and growing has been a major enhancement throughout this class. Caring less about my grade seemed impossible but now I can live with myself if it is not an (A). (Still hard for me to say). A benefit of this has been to loosen up my teaching strategies and expectations for my students. I believe that I have greatly improved this semester in allowing more space for failure and learning, as opposed to stuffing out the space with constant pressure to perform. Once again, I was aware of this need but unable to confront my shortcomings on it and make intentional improvements and changes. My improvisational skills have greatly improved, my mental resilience increased, and self awareness / internal navigation made much clearer.

Spiraling

2. What strategies or plans will you implement to ensure the knowledge and insights gained about HRD remain practical, relevant, and impactful in your professional journey?

I will intentionally implement strategies of multi-loop learning for my students. I had unintentionally implemented some aspects of multi-loop learning into my courses such as asking why something is designated as right or wrong. Now being made aware of the model and strategy, I will be more intentional with how it is integrated into my courses. I will also continue to strive to be a better leader using competencies of leadership. I will also consider more on how I am both a teacher in the classroom and a trainer in the shop/laboratory environment and what that means for me as a leader. A concept that overlaps and meshes with the rest of these plans and strategies is andragogy. Adult learners bring different strengths and needs than child learners. For example, adult learners SHOULD bring their own motivation to their learning. The expectation is that parental figures and the like are no longer pressuring them as though a child to go to school and earn good grades. Due to this, they require more, yet different competencies from me as a teacher, trainer, and leader.

Finally, I plan on intentionally engaging with my organization and attempting to make change within it for the better. This will keep HRD relevant for me because organizational goals/alignment, corporate needs vs human needs, and even concepts like managing talented employees are all extremely relevant to my instruction in the world of Career Technical Education.

To wrap this up, I just finished drafting two final exams, and am trying to finish grading hundreds of papers as I proctor hands on competencies. I have slept 5 hours in the last 48 hours, am exhausted, and will probably fall asleep during my doctor's appointment this afternoon. Thank you to all who read this far.

Peace out,

Vaughn.