This is a tough question. I don’t know the answer for sure; I just know what I think. So I will talk myself through this.
How can I continue to forge my professional and academic development? The only way I know to do this is to continue my education, not just to graduate school, but possibly further on. I believe the new knowledge and application skills I gain in school will always directly impact my professional development. Even once I am finished with school, I will never really be finished with school. I will attend continuing education courses whether required or not. I think these courses will keep me up to date on new developments in therapy.
I think that I also need to “shadow” a speech pathologist in several different professional settings, if this is possible. I think this will show me what really goes on, the reality of therapy. I also think I need to volunteer somewhere that I could work with impaired children. I believe this would help me become more comfortable working with people.
How might I inquire into my learning in an ongoing manner?
The answer to this I believe is to read read and read some more. Read educational and informative books, besides my textbooks. Now that I’ve been introduced to mailing lists I think it would be useful to subscribe to some concerning speech pathology and the disorders we will be dealing with. Maybe even check into receiving newsletters from surrounding schools and hospitals to keep up with new developments in these two settings.
How might my professional and academic development be informed by my ongoing research?
Well, I believe my ongoing research will lead me to discover new developments in the treatments of disorders and diseases we are involved with. For example, there could be advances in the medical treatment of Alzheimer’s that could change when speech therapy would begin and it could change the level of aggression of the therapy. This of course would affect me professionally.
Academically I believe ongoing research would supplement everything I learn in school and it may also clear up any confusion I have about new material being learned. Research may also lead me to new areas of interest.
How do I respond to opportunities for inquiry?
Anytime I come across something I do not understand or that is new to me, I search for more information until I have a better understanding and know more about it.
How do I meet my own learning needs?
This is very hard to answer. I learn best when information is very clear. So, I ask a lot of questions and I do a lot of reading and re-reading. If I become confused because of an answer given to a question I try to find the answer on my own. If something I have read confuses me, I read it again or ask questions.