Mariah Carey
ACS 108
Reflective Essay
May 6th, 2013
Throughout this course, not only have I grown as a student I have also grown as a reader, and a researcher. This course helped me realize the many steps that are involved in the critical thinking process. Critical thinking is a step by step thinking used to reach a reasoned conclusion through thoughtful analysis of all available information. It is not based on beliefs, opinions of yourself or others’ personal preferences. There are many positive and useful uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a complex personal problem, thinking as a group about what course of action to take, or analyzing the assumptions and the quality of the methods used in scientifically arriving at a reasonable level of confidence about a given hypothesis.
The reason I feel this course has helped me grow as a student and also an individual is because not only have I made smarter choices I have been giving things more thought. Before I took this course I was an impulse thinker always making the wrong decisions. I used to think that everything was a joke. I never processed things the way that I do now. During my work experience with Detroit Medical Center, dealing with escalated customer issues requires critical thinking. Customers call with extenuating circumstances that affects their ability to pay their medical bills. Customers are not always clear about the issues they are having. Handling customer issues is comparable to being a psychic, customer service managers have to be able to look through a crystal ball to know what the issues are. Once it is clear that there is an issue, and what exactly the issues may be, the manager must then come up with solutions that work for the customer and the company. The hard part is explaining how the issue will be resolved with the customer. Worded carefully so as not to offend the customer and so that the customer understands what you are doing that will benefit them. As a result of taking this course I learned how to do these things.
ACS 108 has also helped me become a more effective researcher. I have learned how to have project management. Project management means good planning. I really have overcome my method of procrastination. I have also learned how to write and keep track of notes from sources. Taking this course has made it really easy to distinguish a credible source from a non-creditable source. As a part of my final project for this course I had to compose an annotated bibliography and by accruing these skills throughout the semester it wasn’t difficult at all.
I can honestly say that I have become a more effective researcher because I have also learned how to properly cite sources in MLA format and also properly write a thesis statement. These skills have also helped me in my other courses as well. I use the skills in my English class when I am writing my papers. And I also use them in my math class.
Lastly, I have also grown as a reader. I have learned how to not only read information but how to actually process it and understand it at the same time. This course has taught me how to visualize the story, and pay attention to the introduction of characters and places. I learned how to find the purpose of what I’m reading, how to scan readings, and also how to identify the main ideas and the supporting ideas.
ACS 108
Reflective Essay
May 6th, 2013
Throughout this course, not only have I grown as a student I have also grown as a reader, and a researcher. This course helped me realize the many steps that are involved in the critical thinking process. Critical thinking is a step by step thinking used to reach a reasoned conclusion through thoughtful analysis of all available information. It is not based on beliefs, opinions of yourself or others’ personal preferences. There are many positive and useful uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a complex personal problem, thinking as a group about what course of action to take, or analyzing the assumptions and the quality of the methods used in scientifically arriving at a reasonable level of confidence about a given hypothesis.
The reason I feel this course has helped me grow as a student and also an individual is because not only have I made smarter choices I have been giving things more thought. Before I took this course I was an impulse thinker always making the wrong decisions. I used to think that everything was a joke. I never processed things the way that I do now. During my work experience with Detroit Medical Center, dealing with escalated customer issues requires critical thinking. Customers call with extenuating circumstances that affects their ability to pay their medical bills. Customers are not always clear about the issues they are having. Handling customer issues is comparable to being a psychic, customer service managers have to be able to look through a crystal ball to know what the issues are. Once it is clear that there is an issue, and what exactly the issues may be, the manager must then come up with solutions that work for the customer and the company. The hard part is explaining how the issue will be resolved with the customer. Worded carefully so as not to offend the customer and so that the customer understands what you are doing that will benefit them. As a result of taking this course I learned how to do these things.
ACS 108 has also helped me become a more effective researcher. I have learned how to have project management. Project management means good planning. I really have overcome my method of procrastination. I have also learned how to write and keep track of notes from sources. Taking this course has made it really easy to distinguish a credible source from a non-creditable source. As a part of my final project for this course I had to compose an annotated bibliography and by accruing these skills throughout the semester it wasn’t difficult at all.
I can honestly say that I have become a more effective researcher because I have also learned how to properly cite sources in MLA format and also properly write a thesis statement. These skills have also helped me in my other courses as well. I use the skills in my English class when I am writing my papers. And I also use them in my math class.
Lastly, I have also grown as a reader. I have learned how to not only read information but how to actually process it and understand it at the same time. This course has taught me how to visualize the story, and pay attention to the introduction of characters and places. I learned how to find the purpose of what I’m reading, how to scan readings, and also how to identify the main ideas and the supporting ideas.