I entered this course with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. I remember reading the first chapter of our
required textbook Learning To Think
Things Through and feeling an automatic resonance with the material. The terms reflective, authentic, and reasoning
were terms that I always proudly felt were integral to my belief system. But through the course of this class I began
to realize how limited my thinking really was and how many preconceived ideas I
had about everything which limited by ability to think critically. The critical thinking test we took at the
beginning of the course confirmed what I was beginning to understand which was
that my critical thinking ability was stunted by many impediments. This course has forced me to step outside my
comfort zone and look at myself with a different perspective. I am disappointed with myself because I
realize how many of my beliefs and values are biased, constricted and affected
by cultural, religious and social influences. I no longer see myself as the open-minded and
reasonable human being as I claimed myself to be and even admit that I may have
been slightly brainwashed by the media. Nosich claims in his book that one of the
major impediments to critical thinking is the media (Nosich, 2012). I realize how much of what I thought was true
in my reality comes from the media such as TV, radio, news, internet, etc. Nosich also mentions fear as a major
impediment to critical thinking which makes me realize how much emotional
baggage I have that affects my ability to reason. I think the negative and positive experiences
I have had in relation to this course are one and the same, the knowledge of my
limitations and the enlightenment of my limitations. There is a sense of liberation in knowing my
impediments because in this way I can work towards correcting them.
I’m not sure what I could have done to improve my experience in
this course. This may seem like a cop
out, but I feel my experience was truly positive despite the fact that I
struggled to keep up with the pace of the class. The only way I think I could have improved my
experience is by turning a 9 week course into a 12 week course. I continue to feel that 9 weeks is too
short a time to absorb, assimilate and reflect on what I’m learning in each
course. I feel that the university is
trying to keep pace with current trends of intensive and fast track learning
which is popular with adult learners. Everywhere
you look you see propaganda such as “get your degree in less than 24 months” or
“fast track degree programs”. I
personally, would prefer for my classes to last 12 or even 16 weeks because
that would really give me ample time to reflect on my work. In my opinion 9 weeks, for the average
adult learner who has a family and a career, is just enough time to spit out
assignments, but not enough time to reflect on the information. This in no way is a criticism of this course
because within the constraints of the online format, this course was phenomenal.
The content, assignment quality,
instructor and classmate dynamics was more than I would have expected for an
online class. Therefore, the only thing
I would consider changing is the length of the course.
I feel that the instructor offered the appropriate support needed
for this course. We were provided with additional
resources and instructor feedback during discussions was stimulating and thought
provoking. The level of enthusiasm on
behalf of the instructor was definitely felt, and I feel that for an online
course, the interaction was very personal. I have taken a few online classes already and
so far, I feel fortunate in saying that all my experiences have felt very
personal and fulfilling. I have not had
a negative experience with this university although I have heard complaints
from other students in other courses.
I think that out of all the courses I have taken at the graduate
level, this has been the most relevant to my personal life. We have learned in this course that critical
thinking is an essential ability to have in all aspects of our existence. It can be applied to the most mundane tasks
and to the most complex. This course is
not just about learning data and concepts, it is instead a way of modifying the
way we see and think about the world. It
is a new perspective on how we view and interpret life. It has taught us a new way of interacting and
communicating with our surroundings. This
course has forced us to expose our ugly biases and judgments, contest any
ineffective belief systems and build intellectual courage. The topics and content covered in this course are
not just knowledge to be stored away in our minds, but they are living and
dynamic concepts that imprint our thinking process and render visible immediate
results.
References
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