HIAD 7510 & 8510: Overview of Adult Education
Self-Directed Learning Project: Reflective Evaluation Report
Bhagwani Bai
Learning from the project:
My self-directed learning project Coping with diabetes type two contain main three
learning strategies such as 1. Online search about this type of diabetes, 2. Consultation with
doctor and 3. Joining to university of Memphis Recreation and fitness center. Following the
learning strategies. First of all I started searching about what it is and how to manage my life
with having this disease. What I have learnt from online search is divided into three categories;
1. What is type two diabetes, 2. What are the effects on life? And 3. How to manage the life with
it? And two other learning goals are also evaluated in this report.
Progress Against Learning Strategy -1: Online search
What is diabetes type two? (Adopted from http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes)
When you eat, your food is broken down into a sugar called glucose.
Glucose gives your body the energy it needs to work. But to use glucose as energy, your
body needs insulin.
When you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not make enough insulin or use it well.
Since your body's cells can't use the glucose from your food as energy, the glucose stays
in your blood, where it can cause serious problems.
What are the effects of diabetes type two?
When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can cause two problems:
Right away, your cells may be starved for energy.
Over time, high blood glucose levels may hurt your eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart.
How to manage the life having diabetes type two?
Type 2 is treated with lifestyle changes, oral medications (pills), and insulin.
1. Losing weight: Overweight or high level of cholesterol cause one of the hindrance in
maintaining blood glucose level. Overweight people should start losing weight
immediately.
2. Exercising: Walking or swimming and other physical activity should be started
regularly. Physical activities, such as walking create contractions muscles and push
glucose out of blood into the cells and maintain blood sugar level.
3. Quitting smoking: Smoking and alcohol increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and
kidney problems in diabetic patients.
4. Relaxing: People with diabetes are at more risk of stress or depression than others.
Stress or depression create hormones in the body cause increase in blood glucose
level. By doing meditation and deep breathing and keeping oneself happy in activates
with friends and family can relax and help in stress management and ultimately
maintaining blood glucose level.
5. Choosing what, how much, and when to eat: Designing meal plan will help in
maintaining healthy life with diabetes. Lowering food with carbohydrate, saturated
fat, and protein and increasing high fiber food is important step in achieving the goals
of healthy life with diabetes.
6. Monitoring blood sugar level regularly: Monitoring blood glucose level is a tool to
control the serious complications due to diabetes. There are serval tools and strategies
to monitor blood sugar level
Progress against Learning Strategy-2: Consultation with Doctor
As mentioned in mid-term SDLP report I did not consult any doctor in Memphis.
Keeping in view my hesitation in find a reliable doctor, and my insurance coverage I have
decided to consult my doctor back in Pakistan as I am planning to go to Pakistan in December
2015.
Progress Against Learning Strategy -3: Visiting and Joining Fitness programs
Following the learning from online search and suggestions from my doctor (back in
Pakistan) I joined University of Memphis recreation and fitness center and started exercising. I
walk two miles daily and do different body exercises. The information I got form university of
Memphis recreation regarding useful websites for food selection, shopping, eating at restaurants,
and applications for scanning healthy food, healthy recipes and online fitness program, help me
maintaining healthy diet plan and provide me new information sources.
Overall experience of the project
The overall experience went well in some aspect and need attention in other aspects. The
positive aspect of project includes the area of learning meet my immediate requirement and
challenging aspect is that there is no set deadline for meeting the goals. As I diagnosed for
diabetes type two I wanted to work on it so I decided to keep it part of the my SDLP so that I
could work on it systemically. The application of learning motivated me to work on learning
goals and achieve the set objectives of getting information about recently diagnosed type two
diabetes and how to manage it by making lifestyle changes. While working on the SDLP project
I have noticed that time bound learning goals make the progress steady. I was aware that I have
to provide evidence of progress and have proposal in my mind that I have to submit progress
against the plan but on the other hand it is necessary to mention that I have neither compulsion in
setting the learning goals or adopting learning strategies nor have any deadline for meeting the
targets. As a result of unavailability of time-bound indicator and lack of facilitation or help in
taking initiatives in new environment I did not achieve some of learning goals such as finding
and consulting doctors in Memphis.
Keeping in view the progress against project goals I is important to mention that two my
learning strategies such as collecting information about the subject and adopting useful life style
changes were well planned and meeting my immediate needs. I intentionally sought, planed, took
responsibility, controlled of learning and evaluated the outcomes on my own. (Merriam and
Bierema, 2014, p.61) My Self-directed project followed six step of Knowles (1975 as cited in
Merriam and Bierema, 2014, p. 63) and achieved learning objectives. Although I have achieved
two my learning goals completely and I think third goal of consultation with doctor was not
achieved. I think it is because I was hesitated in taking initiatives in new environment/context.
Importance of context based learning is widely discussed in adult education and how different
contexts motivate and demotivate learning process. As my Self-Directed Learning Project was
self-controlled and I had flexibility to modify it during the process but keeping in view its
importance I could not modified it but same time, in new environment I needed help or support
to take initiative on working on my goals. I think that lack of that moral support create difficulty
in the learning process and as a result I could not achieve set objective.
Justification for grading
I think that I am eligible of A+ grade as I followed all of step of self-directed learning and
achieved my learning objectives. It was as self-initiated, self-controlled, self-evaluated project
that I managed the learning process on my own and did needed modification where required
during the process such as I changed the consultation of doctor strategy to my visit to Pakistan. I
feel more safe and confident while discussing this important health problem with my family
doctor. I did not want to be involved in the process that is time taking expensive so I decided to
postpone it to my visit to Pakistan next month. My self-directed plan, mid-term report and
evaluation report are the evidence for timely submission of assignments on the given guidelines
and formats and I deserve A+ grade for SDLP assignment.
References:
Merriam and Bierema. (2014) Adult learning linking theory and practice. Jossy-Bass
http://www.everydayhealth.com/
http://www.diabetes.org/
