This has been a tough love course for me. It forced me to look inside myself and find strength in my own learning abilities. I have been one to take (some of the time) what I hear or say or even read as face value, however, this course has taught me that I shouldn’t be okay with things just because that is the way it has always been or that’s just the way things are done. That questioning things to get a better answer or even understanding of my work and my life will help me to become a better thinker.
Reading too much into the instructions was something that took some time to get over. It doesn’t help when your coworkers are also your classmates and they have their own ideas on what the assignment means and then you put in your ideas and thoughts and that causes more confusion. That may explain a few of the phone calls this term from a few of us! I know that when I am confused I should try to work it out for myself or just ask the professor.
With a class like this when the professor wants us to try to think it through it is hard to break that habit of wanting the professor to “lead” in a way. I understand that the way I read the instructions may not be the way the professor wanted me to understand it so in that area, the modules that the professor wants specifics on, those instructions need to be clear and precise to avoid confusion. I know this is not completely possible because someone may still be lost on what is being asked but if there is doubt we can ask.
I have to say that some of my favorite topics covered in this course were the “going around the circle”, the SEE-I approach, fallacies, the TED video by Sheena Iyengar and even though it put about 50 extra gray hairs on my head, the action research paper and the presentation. These to me are the basic building blocks for learning to develop critical thinking. I really wish this was a class I had taken as an undergrad for communications. I do think that maybe starting the outline of the paper earlier in the term would help. It was mentioned in many of the modules as a reminder but if the outline were due in week 4 it may force us to work within our deadlines (yes we are adults but in the “real” world we are faced with deadlines every day). I liked that I could pick the topic I wanted to do my research on and it also helped me grow as a person.
My only negative aspect with this class is that because there are many of us who work and take classes together, the competition of grades is hard to avoid. When you have one person who brags about how they just “copied and pasted” most of their paper and others busted their tail to write a clear, precise, and knowledgeable paper it can be frustrating. Grammar and spelling were and are a big issue for me when students are posting in discussions. I know we all get in a hurry from time to time but we are Graduate level students here and there should be no excuse for misspelled or improper use of words. For example, using since instead if sense, there instead of their, etc. I let other people’s slacker attitude and lack of commitment frustrate me when I should have just concentrated on my abilities as a student. I will be the one coming out of this with a grade I know I earned because of hard work and perseverance. And moving forward I know that I will concentrate on making myself better in all areas.
With that said I have really enjoyed this class and I come out with many a-ha moments and of course more questions. I plan to apply many of the critical thinking aspects to my life and my work. Thank you!
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