Week 5: Reflecting Upon Reflections

This week we learnt about the five reflective domains. We were challenged to review our existing blog post reflections and record the occurences of each domain by tagging them. We then had to generate SMART goals relating to our experience of the course so far, while integrating elements from the review of existing blog posts. This challenge took me a little longer than I'd anticipated but turned out to be very useful in reviewing my writing style, among other things.

To start off, I reviewed each blog post and tagged each domain as I went. I then collated the results and created the following bar chart for illustrative purposes:

Which domain is the most dominant in your journal?

The cognitive domain was most prominent throughout my existing blog posts. I frequently assess my thought process as a means of better understanding the conclusions I reach, as well as to identify my strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, I’ve reflected upon areas I should pay more attention to and gone forth to research these further.

Another element of the cognitive domain involves considering what type of learner you are. In my experience, I’ve found listening to be the most effective way of absorbing new information instead of reading. With this in mind, I found an online quiz from Arden University that promised to identify your learner type, thus highlighting the most effective method for you to retain information. Upon completing this, my result showed me as an Auditory Learner, which coincides with my existing learning methods. I’ve included a screenshot of my results below:

Which domain needs more consideration in your reflection?

The interpersonal domain was the least tagged throughout my review. While absorbing new information, I tend to have a lot of ideas but can find it challenging to get these down on paper simultaneously. As such, this leaves little material with which to propose ideas, pose questions or support others’ opinions. Incorporating these into my reflections would add significantly more depth while allowing me to take a clear stance throughout.

Overall, my reflections don’t incorporate much discussion, and they do seem a little one-sided. Primarily my writing comprises thoughts, feelings and perspectives; however, it’s become clear that I could present these as a discussion to facilitate more features of the interpersonal domain. This approach has taken me by surprise and isn’t something I’d previously considered practising.

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SMART Goals

GOAL 1: I will develop my UX research skills so that I can be better prepared for future modules and industry challenges. I will do this by analysing processes at work and reviewing the effect these have on a customer’s journey. Every month I will write a blog post highlighting my successes and failures while excluding any sensitive information. I will commit my monthly 30-minute development time at work to collating my thoughts in preparation for my blog post.

GOAL 2: I will focus my extracurricular research on the various forms of dyslexia and the significance of accessible user interfaces and assistive technologies. I will do this by following the dyslexia topic on my Google News feed, watching dyslexia-related videos on YouTube and reading electronic articles on the subject in my own time. From this, I will document and reflect upon at least one item of interest every two weeks. I will record and reference this information to allow for referral to it at a later stage.

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Spark Forum Post:

This week's post activity saw us reflecting on the critical incidents that led to our enrollment on the course:

I was once described as more of an artist than an academic. Having proved my academic abilities, I found my inner artist on a quest for self-expression. Everyday life sees my eye drawn to design in both a visual and process-driven form, leading to my analytical mind examining every detail. I was delighted upon discovering the master’s course in UX Design at Falmouth, especially with the part-time and distance mode of study. In particular, the research and ideation elements caught my attention, as I take pleasure in speaking with others to understand their needs and ambitions. Being able to analyse this information then apply it to a new or existing concept truly excites me and offers the opportunity to gain specialist knowledge of design software used in the industry.

Throughout my academic and professional career, I have paid particular attention to the way people interact with and use products and services. In doing so, I instinctively begin my own assessment and consider what works well and where improvements could be made. For example, my IT support roles saw various occasions where I created visually attractive user guides by linking business processes with product functionality. This included creating documents to aid with migration to smartphones, as well as a software suite upgrade.

My experience of life through a dyslexic lens has magnified the mental challenges faced by some and how these can be lessened through accessible technology. My critical thinking practices are somewhat different to my neurotypical counterparts, yet I celebrate this diversity by empathising with others and seeking their perspective. Our neurodiverse population would undoubtedly benefit from the practice of UX Design in creating more simplistic, accessible and inclusive digital content. This is an area I am passionate about and endeavour to make a positive contribution towards.