This document provides instructions for students to prepare a rough draft of a reflection paper over the first four weeks of a course. It outlines four sections to include in the paper: 1) Describe yourself as a Walden student and how the course has impacted your goals and plan for success. 2) Make a promise to yourself and classmates about your commitment to success in the program. 3) Explain how you will seek a mentor and how mentoring others can support your education. 4) Include a visual representation of your aspirations by Week 6. The document provides guidance on developing each section with examples and connecting ideas to course themes. It also references worksheets and rubrics to help structure

1. To prepare for the Discussion:
·
Return to the Week 1 Check Your Tech Home
Technology
Inventory document. Can you classify the technology you use
into categories?
·
Think of the many uses of
technology
presented this week and others you might know, especially
those that track you in some way.
·
Consider how your personal and professional
perspectives
might influence your attitudes about
technology
.
·
Evaluate (by interviewing people or online searching) the types
and extent of
technology

2. used in your profession.
·
Determine how the use of
technology
is changing in your field of study.
Post a response (at least 200–300 words) to the following
prompt:
We are more connected and dependent on our
technology
than ever before. In Week 2’s Reading, Thoreau chose to live at
Walden Pond without any of the modern conveniences of his
time for a while.
Do you think you could be completely disconnected from any
type of modern
technology
? Would there be benefits to disconnecting? Is there a specific
technology or gadget that you use in your personal life that you
could not live without? Could you do your current job without
technology? Why or why not?
To prepare for the Assignment:
·
Return to the Montante article, Thinking on Paper, from Week
3.
·
Review your weekly

3. journal
entries.
·
Review all Self-Assessment results, Discussion posts, and
Assignments.
·
Read
through the specific parts that are required in your paper
described below.
·
Use the Week 4
Reflection
:
Rough Draft
Worksheet in this week’s
Learning Resources
to guide the development of your
rough draft
.
·
Review the Week 4
Reflection

4. Assignment
Rubric
.
Assignment 1 Instructions:
Submit
a 2- to 3-page
rough draft
of your
Reflection
Assignment.
Assignment Instructions:
As mentioned above, you are working through a writing process
where you will compose the first draft of the
Reflection
Assignment paper. This week you will begin with actually
writing and submitting a
rough draft
.
During Week 6, you’ll be guided through a revisions and
proofreading process that will help you further develop and
improve your
rough draft
by adding more thoughts, incorporating any feedback received,
and ensuring you’ve followed Academic Writing Expectations.

5. Your final draft will be due at the end of Week 6.
The required elements for both weeks are the same, but the
expectations are slightly different. The grading rubrics for
Weeks 4 and 6 demonstrate this. For example, this week’s
rough draft
represents a first attempt at putting your thoughts down on
paper and only covers four weeks. By Week 6, your final paper
should be longer, include obvious improvements to the rough
draft, and include aspects from the entire six weeks.
Your paper should include four sections. Be sure to review all
four sections before starting. Remember to include an
introductory and a concluding paragraph, and to support your
ideas with specific examples and resources whenever possible.
Include the following parts:
Part 1: Today I am…
The first and longest section of your essay should describe who
you are today as a result of this first-term course and starting
your educational journey. Specifically consider your personal
plan for success at Walden. Answer these questions to develop
this section:
·
Who are you as a Walden student?
·
What tools has Walden provided?
·
How do the tools and available support play into achieving your
goals?
·
What did you learn about yourself through the assessments?
How is that going to feed into your plan for success?

6. ·
What has this first course done for you? What might this course
do for you moving forward?
Think about some of the course themes and big ideas we
discussed and connect them to the way you will approach
learning and future classes.
Make sure to get specific and point to course examples to
support your ideas.
Part 2: I promise to...
In the second section, make a promise to yourself and the
classmates who might need your support during the program.
Think about your reasons for being here and why you are
promising to work towards success. Consider the following:
·
Here is why I am not going to walk away
·
Here’s how I will help myself
·
Here’s how Walden will help me get there
·
Here’s how I will be part of positive change
Part 3: How I will become part of the Walden Community
In the third section, explain how you might identify a mentor
(colleague with different professional skills, someone in your
profession, or a Walden Faculty Member) to support your
educational efforts. Share how a mentor would have a positive
impact on your education and the role you would like him/her to
take. How you might become a mentor to others in the program?
Part 4:
Visual Representation

7. [This step will be due by Week 6]
After you have completed your
Reflection
, find or create a visual
artifact
that shows your aspiration and hang it above your desk. Think
of something that will motivate you and keep you engaged and
focused as you complete each Discussion and Assignment as
you move through your coursework toward graduation. Be sure
to include a picture or copy of this
visual representation
with your
reflection
paper by copying and pasting it into your paper or attaching it
as a separate file.
Assignment 2 Instructions:
Think about the material you encountered in the course this
week, and describe one aspect of the classroom resources
(Assignments, Discussions, or assigned readings) that surprised
you. Make sure to describe why the material interested you as a
thinker.
Set a timer (on the stove, a clock or on your phone) and write
for ten minutes without stopping. The prompts will remain the
same each week, but you will reflect about a different aspect of
each week’s resources.
Post an entry that addresses each of the following:

8. Observe.
Describe the week’s content and resources to a person who has
not seen/heard or observed it.
Process.
Answer the question: “What does this content/topic mean?”
Reflect.
Answer the question: “What is the value in understanding this?”