S.D.I.O Reflection
Skills
When I came into college, I had already received credits for Univ 111 and 112 so this was the first and only English class that I would have to take in college. I enjoyed having to pick interesting topics in high school and having to write about them, however this Univ class was able to challenge the skills that I had brought to college from high school. I had to think at a different level and the exercise, such as the nail and base exercise, and topics that we talked about in class helped me form and develop new skills. We learned a lot about different kinds of thinkers and unique was of learning and writing papers. I know that I am a visual learner and that maps and diagrams help me organize my thoughts. The skills that I have gained from this class will help me better write my final paper and in the future too if I have to write other sorts or paper.
Dispositions
This is the first class that I have genuinely been this confused in. When I first attended class, some of the questions that were asked were so abstract and different from anything that I have ever heard before. But after going to a couple of the classes, I started to get the hang of it and began asking myself new questions and analyzing the ones that were asking by Professor Hale. I learned to ask better questions when communicating with my peers and the when reading the main essays from the authors that we studied.
Critical Thinking: Skills and Dispositions
Insights
I gained a lot of insight from this class by interacting with my peers as well as the professor. By participating in the class and with my classmates, I learned a lot from them. We share different ideas and methods of writing, which helps us all in bettering our skills. By applying what we have learned we can produce the best product for this class. Partnering up and sharing out contacts with one another allowed us to give each other input about how to clean up their writing, even when we are outside of the classroom.
Obstacles
There have been many obstacles that have to do with this class, such as confusion and the process of organizing our ideas. Some of the concepts that we talked about in class were difficult to understand but when we asked questions and the ideas were clarified, the concepts actually ended up helping us. Other problems that arose were how to find sources for our papers. By utilizing our resources, such as the librarians in Cabell, we were able to learn how to properly use the VCU Library website and search up relevant sources. We also have the writing center available where people can check and give us suggestions on how to improve what we have already written. Our peers are also helpful when looking over our drafts and they can also give us a new way of looking at something. And lastly Professor Hale is always willing to help out and wonderful at clearing up and confusion that we have.
Overcoming obstacles - Steven Claunch