Learning Outcome 1 LifeMap Reflection

For the past two years, I have been involved with a Valencia program called LinC, which stands for Learning in Community. This is a program that pairs a traditionally difficult course for students to succeed in with a course that can assist the students in being successful. I have participated as the instructor in MAT0024C Beginning Algebra, and my course has been linked with SLS1122 Student Success. This has been a rewarding experience for many reasons, but one is that I was able to further educate myself about LifeMap. My goals for the area of LifeMap were to help students to continue clarifying and developing a purpose (attention to life, career, education goals) as well as assume responsibility for making informed decisions. In creating an activity for LifeMap, I consulted many resources, such as the Valencia literature on LifeMap, Chris Klinger, the Dean of Students, Tracy Atkinson, Academic Counselor, and various Student Success instructors like Katie Sheppard and Mia Pierre.

I received great feedback from the resources and consultants, and sometimes, it was conflicting. I created two activities to cover different thoughts. One idea was to create an activity that was very individualized, in which the students could create their own Education Plan and complete the activity so that they would have a plan to follow. This is shown in the first activity.

EXAMPLE OF A LIFEMAP INDIVIDUAL PLAN SAMPLE

EXAMPLE OF A LIFEMAP INDIVIDUAL PLAN VCC ONLY

The second idea was to focus on the skills used in creating an education plan because students tend to change majors during their college years. So, for the second activity, I created a fictitious person named Stan, and the students had to develop a plan for him as he learned the skills to develop an education plan along the way.

EXAMPLE OF LIFEMAP: STAN’S PLAN

Creating both plans was interesting to me because I feel both ideas are valid, and students will learn using either method. I feel it is very important for students to have a clear plan to complete college if they want to be successful. In the LinC courses, I was able to learn how LifeMap is taught in Student Success and to pull from these ideas. I was also able to be the mathematics course specialist and counsel students on which mathematics courses should be taken and in what order. LifeMap is a valuable concept and should be incorporated and reinforced in all classes. For example, every instructor can be a specialist in his or her discipline and guide students on the best path to take. I believe this is already happening on Osceola campus, where caring instructors are counseling students academically, but I feel it should be more formalized. Instructors could have academic counseling hours in addition to office hours to assists students in their disciplines.