This is a response to Charlie Mable’s Read, Rank, Write Blog Post
https://create.twu.ca/charliemable/2018/05/20/rank-talk-write-unit-3/
There are many examples of being a Novice, whether starting a new job, sport, travelling, DIY project, learning to drive, that have similar experience to what Cahalan describes. Cahalan’s thesis is transferable to many different areas. Frankly, starting this Masters program draws parallels here. Setting up a blog, referencing, rereading assignment instructions, clicking on ‘publish’ and looking for any feedback. As a Novice in this program, already I have ‘vacillated between feelings of failure and moments of exhilaration. ‘(Cahalan & Foley, 2017, p. 12) I think I proved Cahalan correct with her description of a Novice.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post Charlie and could relate completely to what you described being a novice feels like and your parallels to this course. I too, ‘vacillate between feelings of failure and moments of exhilaration’ (Cahalan & Foley, 2017) both in this course and in my new position at work. I have moments of pure panic in this course when I go online and see that others have posted in a different format and question whether or not I even understood the assignment instructions. I am definitely a novice when it comes to APA citation rules and continue to seek clarification. These feelings of uncertainty and nervousness are a good reminder to me of how some of my own students must feel when it comes to trying something new.
I also loved your point (in your opening statement), where you shared that the more you read, the less you felt you knew. I felt like that this week when I sat down to write my essay on Critical Thinking. I found that I was just spinning in circles as I read, wrote, edited, scrapped what I wrote, read, edited and wrote and edited again and again. The process definitely made me aware that I am very much a novice on my journey.
Thanks again for sharing your beautifully expressed thoughts. They were a great reminder that learning is a process and it is perfectly acceptable to be a novice. Being a novice, means that we aren’t afraid to start the journey and step outside of our comfort zones.
Hello Walk in the Woods, and wish we could do just that. Take a walk and have a great chat about the journey we are on outside our respective comfort zones. Thank you for your feedback. Setting up the blog made me look up the course refund policy. Right now we are a third of the way through this course. We’ve all made great steps forward. I hope you are enjoying hearing your own voice in different ways and putting it out there. You are heard and make a difference.
Hello awalkinthewoods, I can honestly identify with your comments about being a novice. The fact that we have started and are still on this journey, and also identify with our challenges and refuse to quit implies that we can and will make it to the end.