Experiential learning, together with reflective learning, are two of the critical foundations underpinning the Doctor of Professional Practice. Our journey in practice as doctoral learners may differ significantly from what we expected before the journey really got under way. From the practical and pragmatic through to the existential, we are challenged in ways that generate work-around solutions. We cannot find the answers we need sitting conveniently on a shelf somewhere – we have to custom-create them as circumstances unfold. Whether in the context of life inside or outside the doctoral space, as this article demonstrates, deep within each of us lies a strength ready for us to draw on when it seems that our journey may be interrupted by events where we need to take control. When the going gets tough, it is finding the work-arounds and making them work that validates why we are on this journey. The work-arounds are as much about the people we work to serve as they are about us personally.
This article, which I have been privileged to contribute to, has now been published in Otago Polytechnic’s Scope – work-based learning 3: November 2022.
Rob Nelson Education 