Charting the path forward

Discover my vision for the future, including professional aspirations and areas for continuous growth. This section outlines my commitment to lifelong learning and the pursuit of new challenges.

Future aspirations and professional goals

As I approach significant changes in my personal life and anticipate being an “empty nester”, I have given considerable thought to the next phase of my career.  Though I enjoy my current role and the ones that have led me to this point, I also recognize that I have a very large foundation of experience to share, transferable skills, and a strong desire to help others that may be fulfilled in a different way. For many years I have considered teaching as an option for a second career, and my decision to embark on this degree program was a part of planning for this “second phase”. My passion for education, combined with the business skills I have honed over the past 25 years, have increasingly led me to exploring teaching options in business programs at the community college level.

Completing this portfolio has reinforced that becoming an educator is not a destination but an ongoing process of learning, reflection, and adaptation. While the MAED program has provided me with a strong theoretical foundation, I view it as the beginning of the next stage of my development rather than its culmination. My aspiration is to remain curious, reflective, and open to new perspectives so that I continue to grow alongside the learners I serve.

Areas for potential growth

Through reflection on my career and practice as an educator in developing this portfolio, I see many areas of potential growth. Having spent much of my career in the life science industry, I hope to broaden my scope in the future and explore the application of more varied pedagogy in my practice. I recognize that my upbringing in a small Nova Scotia town was not culturally diverse, and throughout my career I have primarily worked with white Canadians holding high levels of formal education and training. This demographic is shifting both in my workplace and among healthcare providers that I engage with, and I understand that I must remain aware of others’ positionality and lived experience. I look forward to the opportunity to work with and learn from more diverse populations, recognizing that I need to remain aware of and adaptable to cultural differences. This may also impact teaching methods that I currently use in my practice, and enable me to expand the use of other teaching philosophies.

I also aspire to integrate reflective practice in my work. This was a new concept to me at the beginning of this program, as in the business world we rarely take the time to stop and truly reflect. Throughout this program, I have come to appreciate that effective educators continually examine their assumptions, seek feedback, and adapt their practice in response to changing learner needs. I hope to cultivate this habit throughout my career to ensure that my teaching continues to evolve. I also intend to remain engaged with current research in adult education. Integrating evidence-informed teaching practices with my professional experience will allow me to design learning experiences that are both effective and responsive to the needs of adult learners. I also hope to further develop my expertise in educational technology and curriculum design. As digital learning environments evolve with AI, I want to become more proficient in designing engaging learning experiences utilizing technological innovation.

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