In what areas have you experienced the greatest personal and professional learning and

development during this academic year? This past year, I have never been so academically

challenged in all my years of education. I have gained so much knowledge not just inside the

classroom but also out of it. I have learned my personal study strategies that suit me best and

have learned how to work as a team and collaborate with other peers. During undergraduate I

was always an independent studier, however during orientation for this program they advised us

to study amongst our peers. Although I still do some independent study, I am also utilizing my

classmates as resources and studying with them especially with the hands-on skills and this has

made me an overall better student and team player.

How/Why do you feel the materials/artifacts included in your portfolio represent your

learning and development during this year? The artifacts included in my portfolio reflect my

academic and professional growth during my 1st year as an SPT. My grade report represents the

hard work and dedication I put into my studies, to ensure I thoroughly understand the material. I

also intentionally chose to include my lowest practical score grading rubric and provided the

grading rubric for the second practical in the same course to show my improvement and

understanding of the material. I also included my membership certificate with PTSO, because to

be honest, I was hesitant to join this was an organization because I thought it would interfere

with my learning. However, I am glad and proud I joined because I have grown connections with

the peers in my cohort and the upper classmen and I also I have had opportunities to help the

community.

What facilitated your learning and development and what constrained it? During my gap

year between undergraduate and graduate school I learned that I am a visual learner. So,

watching demonstrations or having access to videos on how to perform a hands-on technique has
been very beneficial to me. I also found that a combination of independent study and

collaborating with my peers has also been beneficial. However, I have also learned that longer

periods of class time make my learning and understanding of the material less effective and then

I must spend more time out of the classroom to review the material.

What areas do you believe need further development and what are your plans for

facilitating that development? I believe I need to be more confident in my knowledge and

clinical skills. I am working on this skill by planning to participate more in the classroom,

demonstrate techniques amongst peers, and having conversations with teachers. I also need to

work on not procrastinating on my schoolwork, but rather stay ahead. To do so I will utilize my

planner more and set weekly goals for myself for what I want to complete. I also hope to

continue to grow both personally and academically.