Reflect on your perceived value of this course. Include both positive and negative aspects of your experience. What might you have done to improve your learning experience in this course?
The purpose of this class was to develop critical thinking skills, recognize fallacies, and conduct a project through action research methodology. The opening of the course focused on critical thinking by overcoming and understanding the pitfalls of fallacious thinking. It showed a lengthly list of common fallacies that people may intentionally or inadvertently commit (Dowden, 2003). For example, people may go with traditional wisdom because it has always been done a certain way, but it may not be substantiated by facts or evidence. By understanding how to breakdown and reflect on our thinking helped to lead in finding what the 'truth' is. This was insightful because it captured common misleading arguments that can seem to make sense on the surface, but are not internally consistent. This leads to some key points when thinking about reasoning by The Critical Thinking Community (2015) which analyzes thinking as such:
- All reasoning has a purpose
- All reasoning is an attempt to figure something out, to settle some question, to solve some problem
- All reasoning is based on assumptions
- All reasoning is done from some point of view
- All reasoning is based on data, information, and evidence
- All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas
- All reasoning contains inferences by which we draw conclusions and give meaning to data
- All reasoning leads somewhere, has implications and consequences
Incorporating these ideas into my thought process and reflecting on my own thinking has allowed me to refine how I think. This has been an overall positive impact because it helped bring substance to how concretely I find truth and apply it to my everyday thinking. This is seen through understanding action research and its aim in allowing us as an individual to conduct research and learn from it through our own experience. By using these techniques developed in this class, I will be able to continue on assessing my own thought process in a critical manner and can continue to conduct thorough action research to better live my life.
How might the University or your instructor provide additional support for your learning?
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the instructors do very well in keeping the courses consistent and relatable to one another. Each course helps to build on each other and has applicable information that is useful to my professional and even personal life. I think that everything that the university is doing currently is effective and is the right amount for me to process as I work on completing my degree.
Were there topics covered in this course that seem particularly relevant or irrelevant to your experiences and to what you expect to come in future courses?
This course was a great stepping stone into my core capstone courses and I look forward to see how the other classes develop with this as the fundamental starting point. All of the topics so far fit in well and made sense in the grand scheme of things. Looking forward for more to come!
References
Dowden, B. (2003). Fallacies. California State University. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/
Rodin, A. (1901). The thinker (le penseur) [Sculpture]. Retrieved from https://www.nga.gov/Collection/art-object-page.1005.html
The Critical Thinking Community. (2015). The analysis and assessment of thinking. Foundation for Critical Thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-analysis-amp-assessment-of-thinking/497
