Campus Session

I am a bit late posting about my thoughts on the campus session as I have had a busy few days since the session.
On arrival at the campus my initial thought was how big Middlesex University is, and how much of a different environment it is to where I studied for four years. I was used to being in a college where everyone knew each other and it felt like a big home. The campus at Middlesex is so impressive and with so many different courses you could tell some people didn't know each other at all. It felt strange being in a classroom situation too, like being back at school but as soon as we met Adesola she changed the set up of the room to make it an open circle where we felt comfortable sharing our thoughts and views.
Because the session consisted of a mixed group of module one and three, us module one students got an insight into what the module 3 students are dealing with carrying out their inquiry. It was lovely to meet everyone and finally put some names to faces.
The most important thing I took from the day was that this course is not about ticking the boxes. Adesola stressed that although we have tasks in every session we shouldn't feel like we have to go through the module task at a time. This is a learning process and sometimes we go through tasks when they relate to our professional practice, not necessarily in order.
Adesola wanted the session to be relevant to each module so we spoke about Theories. The first term I hadn't heard before was the Rhizome. The definition of a Rhizome is:
"the rhizome connects any point to any other point, and its traits are not necessarily linked to traits of the same nature; it brings into play very different regimes of signs, and even nonsign states."
Adesola described it to us in relation to the three theories in module one, as drops of water going into the the soil and each theory will develop and nourish the other. For example, the theory of reflection helps us to be open to connecting, which will in turn lead us to networking with other professionals and developing our professional practice.
We then discussed how Connectivity, Reflection and Networking should be the core or skeleton that shape further development into our practice. I found a great explanation for what theory actually is, it is in terms of sport but I felt it related to what we spoke about. "Theories provide frameworks for asking research questions, interpreting information, and uncovering the deeper meanings associated with practice. They also enable us to be more informed citizens as we apply what we learn in our research to the world in which we live"
Something that I had noted in my reflective journal was how I was confused about ethics as it kept cropping up in the reader and different reading material. I was not seeing the difference between Ethics and personal morals. However, after discussing the topic of ethics I realised that ethics is about questioning a theory and how we may view a theory whether we agree or disagree on aspects of that theory. Sometimes when we question a theory we may not find an answer but it is vital for us to question as this will "shake up" our initial thoughts
Overall the session made me realise that I need to relate my professional practice to the three theories in module one and take time to reflect on how these theories relate to me. 

Sources used:
 http://ensemble.va.com.au/enslogic/text/smn_lct08.htm
 http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/masucci/coakley.PDF