I appreciated Marta Durham's comments to my essay for this week's ITForum discussion. One thing she said I found particularly nice, in terms of summarizing in one sentence a very useful perspective about how to be a professional in a rapidly changing field. Marta said:
[quoting Durham, 24 Apr 95] ...the professional is the one in pursuit of the knowledge and actively engaged in using the knowledge...
This is a very good observation. To me, it communicates the need to find a balance between "applying/doing/designing" and "reflecting/seeing new connections/evaluating" Such levels are not new, of course; Bloom's cognitive taxonomy has six levels, the top two of which (Synthesis and Evaluation) relate to a meta-level and the second and third (Comprehension and Application, if I remember correctly) relate more to the practical-execution aspects. (The fourth level of Bloom is "Analysis," which seems to bridge both the "looking at the specific" and "seeing the general" ends of the balance.
Of course, our professional activities are not so easily categorized in discrete pigeonholes, but Marta's succinct comment both made me think and made me feel better! Perhaps if my students see me doing both things--pursuing knowledge and applying the knowledge (or trying to)--this is a good and lasting message regardless of specific curriculum decisions.