The univerity semester has commenced and I am studying a Graduate Certificate of Research Methods with James Cook University (JCU), the university that I am also employed with. Rather than do the Master of Education with Charles Sturt University in Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation, even though their degree did appear innovative and had the course requirements that I needed, JCUs research degree allows me to research the area and also develop skills through my teaching of online students. After much thought and research I realised that it was the real-world experience of teaching adults and designing materials for them that was going to make me an effective instructional designer.
What this experience has taught me is that choosing which postgraduate degree to complete and further one's career is not an easy decision, like it was choosing my bachelor degree. When I decided to become an educator of high school students I was like a rocket and if anyone stood in my way I would have shot through, not ruthlessly but there was just nothing stopping me. I knew that I loved teaching and learning, and that I wanted to be engaged in a pursuit where I would be sharing my knowledge with others, and watching them learn just as I have.
Initially, I thought I would do a Master of Creative Industries with QUT in Interactive and Visual Design, but then, after trying to contact the faculty and not getting a reply, and researching what skills I needed, I decided to complete the Graduate Certificate of Research Methods with JCU. It was my employer and previous lecturer, who had taught me when I was a graduate student, who suggested the degree, particularly as she knew that I was interested in pursuing instructional design, and to her, instructional design was an older way of saying "design thinking." Her excitement about the industry that I wanted to enter, which she pointed as was growing, convinced me that I was headed in the right direction. That, combined with my enthusiasm for creating and designing educational materials.
How did I know that instructional design was like my "calling." It became apparent after I had co-owned a tutoring centre and had created a whole system of learning for the centre. The resources included an entire system of English curriculum for students in Years 8 - 12. I would spend every spare moment (and that is no exaggeration. It was like I was writing a novel) designing and developing thenm, consistently refining them, and using them in my company. I loved seeing them develop and the student's loved them as well.
Some time after I had sold the business to my business partner, who was very happy to take it on, as it was definitely a "one man show," I was reading the magazine Entrepreneur and one of the articles posed the question, "How do you know that you are doing what you were born to do? Answer: When it does not feel like work and you would still do it even if you were not paid." I don't think the "penny dropped" as soon as I read the statement but I did keep it in mind. As I thought about it from time to time, I began to recall my days of creating the resources and how excited I was. I had spent a total of two years on the resources.
When you reflect on your past you can see "signs" of behaviour that indicate what you enjoy doing, such as playing sports or talking to people. For me it was writing, reading, drawing comics and creating educational materials for my brother and sister. I didn't realise it for many years, but it was not with high school students where I really felt productive and excited, but with the creative process. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy many aspects of teaching, as there were many highlights, and I am still friends with many of my students today. However, I just knew that it wasn't what I was meant to do, like a gnawing feeling that wouldn't go away, it was what propelled me to create the tutoring business and then progress to where I am today.
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