FlexPath Orientation
Assessment: FlexPath Action Plan
1
FlexPath Action Plan
Earlier in this orientation, you learned how FlexPath works and what’s expected of you as a FlexPath
learner. For this assessment, you will create a personal FlexPath Action Plan. Creating this plan will give
you the opportunity to reflect on what you’ve learned, consider your strengths and anticipated challenges,
and develop a plan to put your decisions into action.
Remember that this plan is for you . Creating it will help you:
Recognize the knowledge, skills, and strengths you bring to your FlexPath experience.
Gain clarity about expectations and habits you may need to change to succeed in FlexPath.
Create a realistic plan for fitting FlexPath course work into your life.
Prepare for your first meeting with your FlexPath coach.
Begin your first academic course feeling empowered and ready to deal with challenges.
For each of the categories below, reflect on the topic and questions, and consider what you have learned so
far during this orientation. When you complete this document, return to the courseroom and follow the
assessment directions to submit it for evaluation.
Unpack Your Expectations
In the blank space below, write a 1−2 paragraph summary of your responses to the
following questions. Be specific about your strategies: the skills you will use and
changes you plan to make in order to succeed in FlexPath. Think back over your years learning at home, school, and work.
What were those experiences like for you?
What assumptions about education and learning have you developed as a
result of those experiences?
How can you use skills you have gained in the workplace to help you as an
independent learner?
Now think about what you just learned about FlexPath.
What expectations did you start with, and how did those change? What most
appeals to you? What surprised you?
Is there anything about the FlexPath model that might be a challenge for
you?
What changes do you plan to make in how you approach learning and
education in order to succeed in FlexPath ?
My experiences at home, work and school comprised of a mixture of both positive and negative
experiences. More often than not, school as well as work felt pressurizing for me, since I
struggled a lot with meeting deadlines. Even though I was blessed with supportive teachers and
peers for whom school felt exciting and enlightening every day, the range of projects,
assignments and activities coupled with the vast syllabi and frequent examinations felt daunting
which is why, formulating a plan and following it sincerely seemed nothing less than an
impossible achievement for me. The situation was no less different when I started working.
While I was free from the constant pressure of the projects and assignments, my performance
every day at work, relied upon how efficiently I met me deadlines. Even though I was blessed
with a loving and supportive family at work, such time constraints at school and work also
significantly impacted the time I spent with my family. Such experiences contributed to my
assumption that learning and education are enriching but highly pressurizing experiences which
FlexPath Orientation
Assessment: FlexPath Action Plan
2
often harm an individual’s desire to spend quality time in activities which he or she loves.
Even though meeting deadlines at work was an unpleasant experience, I never lost hope and
belief in myself. With a little help from my family, I self-motivated myself to attend work every
day with the perception that every day and every experience will teach me something new and
help me in my personal improvement. It is this positive perception of self-improvement with
assisted me with independent learning and thus, has continued to motivate me, especially when
academic pressures at the University begin to feel unbearable.
To be honest, I did not have any unique expectations when I first heard about ‘FlexPath’ – I
initially believed that this was just another fancy name for another new project or assignment
and thus another activity with a deadline in my life. However, after attending the extensive
orientation session – my views regarding ‘FlexPath’ drastically changed. The fact that this
learning model emphasized more on my true competencies rather than my ability to meet
deadlines was a feature which appealed the most to me and ignited my interest and motivation.
However, with the non-term academic approach that surprised me the most when I began to
learn about ‘FlexPath’. Finally, after all those grueling years at school and home, I can now
engage in learning in a way how learning should be - which is not by merely a range of specific
dates but by a learner’s ability to grasp new concepts and skills in his or her own unique way.
Since ‘FlexPath’ adopts a ‘self-paced approach’ to learning, a key challenge which I feel I may
encounter, is falling slow in my academic course progression as compared to others who engage
in the traditional ‘GuidedPath’ or a semester based approach. However, FlexPath’s academic
calendar is of 48 weeks, which is not very different that the traditional 15*3 week long semesters
engaged by most students. Thus FlexPath will allow me to achieve my own academic targets at
my own pace, without however, having to fall behind from others. A major change, however,
which FlexPath has motivated to implement in my learning and education, is to develop a
personal action and improvement plan and try to follow it religiously. This means that in order to
succeed in FlexPath, not only will I learn and progress based on my own competencies and
abilities but I will also ensure that I improve my pace of learning with every new academic goal.
Picture Yourself Working on Courses
In the space below, write a 1−2 paragraph summary of your responses to the
following questions. Describe any adjustments you plan to make to carve out the
time and space you’ll need for course work.
FlexPath Orientation
Assessment: FlexPath Action Plan
3
Most learners already have a full life before they start FlexPath. Think about what
will be going on in your life during the weeks you plan to devote to your first
academic course. Then picture yourself in the settings where you actually plan to
do your course work.
How will you make room for this additional commitment in your life? What
could interfere with your plans?
What type of environment do you expect to do your work in? Will your
workspace or spaces help or hinder your ability to concentrate?
When do you plan to work on your course? Will you work in daily increments
or in one or two longer sessions each week?
I will make room for this new academic commitment by first developing a personal action or
personal goal plan or perhaps a journal before beginning the course, which will help me to
schedule my objectives and track progress effectively. However, I believe that urgencies and
tight deadlines at the workplace as well as family commitments, especially during the holidays,
may interfere with my academic plans.
I expect that I will be working in a flexible environment considering that both my family as well
as my peers and supervisors are supportive. However, unpredictable situations like those
mentioned above may hinder my ability to concentrate. Thus, a key way to avoid the same is to
design a flexible personal plan which will leave room for all the above emergencies and
commitments during my academic course.
I plan to begin working on the course within a week I apply since I feel that I will be able to
briefly navigate my understanding of learning modules within this period. In order to improve
my learning pace, I plan to focus on achieving daily increments in achieving my academic goals.
