Discussion

INTRODUCTION AND PREPARING FOR SUCCESS The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher Beginning a graduate program may not be a journey of 1,000 miles, but it is no small task. You have made the decision to pursue your masters degree after careful consideration. And as with any new endeavor, you probably are filled with a sense of excitement and purpose, mixed with anxiety and nervousness. After all, this may be your first graduate program, and you may have many questions related to how long it takes to complete assignments, where to go if you need help, how best to manage all your activities and commitments, and how to get to know your Instructor and colleagues in the program. In selecting Walden University, you have chosen to pursue your education at an institution committed to its mission of positive social change. As such, you will be challenged throughout your coursework to consider how business can be used to bring about positive change, both within organizations and in the world at large. These assignments will not only help you to draw those connections but to consider how you, as an agent for positive change, can use your knowledge and skills to make a difference. It is also important to remember that you have made an individual decision to embark on this journey of graduate study, but you will not be traveling alone. Your Instructors come to the classroom with a wealth of knowledge and experiences you can draw and learn from as you interact with them through your courses. In addition to your Instructors, one of the most important resources in your program will be the other students you will meet who have similar goals and interests. Together you can develop an effective support group for each other. In this Discussion, you will have a chance to introduce yourself, to share thoughts about how you will use your education to build your skills as a positive change agent, and to begin to consider what success means to you academically, professionally, and personally. RESOURCES Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. WEEKLY RESOURCES To prepare for this Discussion: First, reflect upon why you are pursuing your degree and how you want to use your journey at Walden to improve your ability to be an agent for positive change. Then, access the video Meet Your Faculty Links to an external site., in which several faculty members share their own experiences and thoughts about why leadership is key to creating positive change. These faculty have collectively seen how this course can transform students, and they offer tips about how to get the most out of your Dynamic Leadership journey. Consider how you would define success for yourselfacademically, professionally, and/or personally. Finally, take a few minutes to review the Week 1 Discussion 1 Rubric, which will provide you with the specific criteria you should use to write your initial and response posts. These same criteria are what your Instructor will use to evaluate and grade your work. Note: It is highly recommended that you review the appropriate rubric before beginning this or any future work that you will submit to the Instructor. This will help ensure that you understand what is expected of you for each assignment. BY DAY 3 Post an introduction, including your definition of academic, professional, and personal success, as well as how you plan to use your journey to grow as a positive change agent. Be sure to address all of the following in your introduction: Briefly introduce yourself, including your name, where you are located, and any personal (e.g., family, pets, hobbies, favorite things, etc.) and professional information you are comfortable sharing with your colleagues. Explain why you are pursuing your degree and how you want to use your journey at Walden to improve your ability to be an agent for positive change. Be sure to include advice from the faculty videos that influenced how you will approach this course. Share an insight you gained about how dynamic leadership will be important to your journey to become an agent for positive social change. Share how you would define success for yourselfacademically, professionally, and/or personally. Refer to the Week 1 Discussion 1 Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work. Important Note About Discussion Rubrics: In the peer-to-peer engagement section of the Discussion, the focus of your posts and responses should be to promote quality interaction with your colleagues and Instructor, to further the dialogue on the particular topic, to deepen your mutual understanding of concepts, and to draw out new ideas. Although you are encouraged to provide support for ideas you bring in from other sources, which is appropriate for discourse within a masters-level classroom, emphasis is placed on the quality of the engagement as noted in the Discussion rubrics, with 40% of your score based on your level of engagement in the ongoing conversation with your colleagues. Read some of your colleagues postings. BY DAY 5 Respond to two or more of your colleagues posts in one or more of the following ways: Share a connection or interest you have in the personal and/or professional information your colleague posted. Share your thoughts on or insights gained from how your colleague plans to use their degree to lead positive change. Relate your own definition of success to that of your colleague. Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.