Critical Thinking Experience Template Essay

Expert critical thinking strategies are integral to successfully completing your college course work and advancing in your career. The purpose of this first assignment is to have a framework of focus that will assure success with the upcoming course activities. Specifically, reflecting on previous critical thinking experience can be a powerful way to get the stage set for successful completion of this course. As you complete this assignment, avoid performing research and using citations. Internet research is not needed because you are reflecting on your own experience not that of another author. There is no right or wrong answer—have fun! Choose a Situation Think back to a personal or professional situation when you used critical thinking strategies to solve a problem and make a decision. Example situations are: making a computer purchase decision; deciding which cell phone best meets your needs; choosing a school for your bachelor degree program; or another situation of your choice. As you think about a situation when critical thinking strategies were used, reflect on the ideas in the next section to guide the composition needed for this assignment. Required Composition of 400−600 Words To ensure your composition meets the 400−600 word requirement, consider some of the following ideas as you compose your reflection. In the chosen situation, which of these common critical thinking strategies did you use: describing the problem, breaking the problem into manageable parts, laying out potential solutions, weighing the potential outcomes of the various solutions, choosing the best approach, implementing the decision, and evaluating the outcome? Explain how you used the strategies and what you learned from applying them to your situation. Did you enjoy the critical thinking strategies? Explain why or why not. In what ways were your strategies satisfactory or unsatisfactory? Were the strategies you used successful? Explain why or why not. How much time did it take to use the various strategies? Were there any of the strategies that you would not use again? Would you consider experimenting with a different strategy in future situations? Until being asked to reflect back on my personal use of critical thinking strategies I didn’t realize how often I use variety of strategies in different ways in my everyday life. The decision to come back to school to pursue my bachelors was definitely fueled by my utilization of various strategies. I had to evaluate the long term positive affect obtaining my degree would have on my future and the potential initial financial burden. This was huge decision for me and I felt it was going to be a very daunting task at best. However, breaking down this concern into more manageable parts made it less intimidating for me to progress. This strategy provided me a road map to making a decision. Breaking down my concerns into more manageable parts was a fairly simple task for me that did not require much time. I wrote all my concerns in different columns allowing me space to write the information I obtained about each concern. This visually helped me stay on track. Choosing the best approach and weighing the potential outcomes of the various solutions was a much more lengthy process. Even though the process was lengthy it was immensely enjoyable. Getting my mind working toward processing all the information I was receiving was exhilarating for me. Each step of the way I felt more and more accomplished. All of the strategies were successful for me. They were so successful that they got me here on this new journey in life. The assistance they provided me in clarity definitely makes me inclined to use them again. However, my success also has sparked my intrigue to experiment with different strategies. I can see the potential that other situations may require different or additional strategies. I think it would be beneficial to use the strategy that appropriately fits to what I was trying to accomplish. I do believe that being good at critical thinking is a tool that will help me progress down the road professionally. I may have to go through some trial and error in my strategies selection and utilization until I get the solution whether it’s desired or not. I am grateful that this assignment has opened my awareness of being a critical thinker. I will work on making a conscience effort to realize when I am using critical thinking so I may analysis myself on how I am using strate gies. Thus, I can work on growing my skills and work on being a better critical thinker and in turn a better decision maker.

School Art Education in America

Two years ago, students from my middle school†s gifted program had the opportunity to visit Wexner Center for the Arts exhibition on contemporary architecture concentrating on human habitats. Students, after viewing the various exhibits and learning about the architects in docent-led discussions, participated in an activity in which they assumed roles as architects and general contractors in order to create their own habitats. Reluctant at first, they completed their tasks and then answered a list of questions prepared by museum personnel. After reading through the student responses, I discovered that although the students had learned a little about architecture that day, they were deficient in their knowledge of architecture as being more than buildings we live in and use. Students could name several classical architectural styles but were limited in their responses to other areas of the study. In his book Architecture is Elementary, Nathan B. Winters states â€Å"Years of research indicate that the lay public has not grown much beyond the fourth grade level in visual literacy,† (Winters, 1997). It is my intent to search for the best instructional practices to teach architecture to middle school students using an action plan involving my middle school art students, the community of Plain City, selected professional architects, contractors and city planners in order to increase students† knowledge of architecture. I hope to expand student†s knowledge of architectural styles, help develop an appreciation for architecture, study problems of historic structure preservation, and planning. The booklet, Imagine! Introducing Your Child to the Arts, provides parents with methods to introduce children to the arts while encouraging children to imagine. In chapter seven entitled â€Å"Architecture and Children†, it is stated â€Å"Architecture unites culture with perception and technology. † The chapter defines the study of the â€Å"built environment† as architecture, landscape architecture, historic preservation and planning. Describing children as natural builders, the author implores parents to enjoy, admire, and enable children to build forts and other items of play (Donohue, 1997). The booklet provides parents with ideas to use with children starting with their own home, such as, showing them how the plumbing and heating systems work. This booklet is geared for use by parents of children up to third grade. In a final statement the importance of teaching architecture is stressed. The author says â€Å"Many children, in fact, have strengths in the kind of visual, spatial and tactile thinking that are invoked in architectural design and analysis, that they may not be called upon to use in other school subjects. Donohue stresses that being able to think three-dimensionally can be applied to other subjects and life experiences (Donohue, 1997). While this booklet did not specifically pertain to middle school aged students, it supports the need for education in the architectural field. The paper entitled â€Å"Bulgaria and Romania: Lessons† discusses ideas that are intended to increase the cultural awareness of middle school students concerning life in Bulgaria and Romania. Part eight of the paper is a lesson entitled â€Å"Comparison of Architecture. The objective is to â€Å"Enable students to see that the people in Romania and Bulgaria live in a variety of different architectural styles of homes. † (Binger, 1996) The author uses the inquiry method by having American students analyze photographs of homes and towns in Bulgaria and Romania and write a description of the life of a person living in one of the houses. The students were shown pictures of famous buildings in the area and had to be able to name and describe them. This paper includes architecture as one of the areas of study, and in my opinion, the method used was appropriate for middle school students. Architectural Treasures, cover story for â€Å"Arts and Activities,† describes an art lesson for eighth grade students involving slides of famous buildings from the beginning of time to the present concentrating on four cities; Toronto, Philadelphia, Santa Fe, and the author†s hometown, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. After viewing and discussing thirty thousand years of homes, the students created their own architectural structures from clay. Discipline-based instruction was used because the students were not regular art students. This lesson could be, in my opinion, used as part of an action-plan for middle school students. In exploring action research methods, the article by Mary Hafeli describes lessons in which decisions made by the student and teacher involve power struggles and questioning of values by the teacher. Ms. Hafeli asked the question, â€Å"How are judgments about student artworks formed? † (Hafeli, 2000, p 130). She divided her article into the following segments: research framework, setting and participants, and data collection and analysis. All of these areas were supported with relevant citings by well-known authors. Michael Parsons† review of Ms. Hafeli†s article suggests that issues of power in the classroom make a â€Å"Desirable direction for research† (Parsons, 2000). The article discusses action research, which is an area I needed to explore while working on my topic. In her article, Design for Inquiry, Delacruz discusses the importance of students solving problems and states, â€Å"The best teaching methods and strategies are those contributing to a climate that fosters self-confidence and encourages self-inquiry and self-reliance. † She further states, â€Å"When students form their own questions and learn complex thinking processes, that instruction is inquiry-centered. She believes that the inquiry method should be useful for art educators at all levels particularly school-based art teachers. (Delacruz, 1999) A new model of critical inquiry is disclosed by George Geahigan. He states that inquiry means to â€Å"Investigate, to search for knowledge and information. Critical inquiry starts with a personal experience that students have with a work of art. It can be promoted by students exchanging opinions and observations about a work of art, by students comparing and contrasting works of art, and by confronting students with provocative and controversial works of art. (Geahigan, 1999) This method could be applied very well to the teaching of architecture in an action plan using examples of architecture in the community. The authors of Architectural Images Through the Dual Lens of Picture Books and Creative Dramatics, state that, â€Å"The idea of architecture as a meaningful and vitally important part of the student environment was not present in art curricula prior to 1993 and that introducing architectural concepts to children is a relatively new area of the curriculum† (Cleaver, Scheurer, and Shorey, 1993). The authors recognize the integration of architecture education through a comprehensive listing and review of books published about architecture for children. Ways to integrate the ideas were presented in many subject areas. They state that other countries are also interested in incorporating architecture into learning, citing the British project â€Å"Learning to See. † The authors discuss a variety of books that introduce types of houses in various regions of the United States. A suggestion is made that this book could be used to produce a photographic record of children†s homes in their communities to make a classroom book. As this was to be part of my action plan, I was interested to know that this idea had already been implemented. The authors support educating children about architecture stating â€Å"By being sensitized to style and form and function of structure, children may more easily see who we are as a culture as mirrored in our surroundings† (Cleaver, Scheurer, and Shorey, 1993). After the literature review it is my belief that it would be an opportune time to go ahead with my action plan for several reasons, the most important being the enhancement of art education of children in our school district. Plain City is the fastest growing community in the area and is situated next to Dublin and Hilliard in Franklin County. The Big Darby watershed runs through the area and a state of the art suspension bridge is being built literally in my back yard. Housing developments are forming everyday and our students† parents are involved in making decisions about this growth. To teach middle school aged children to be aware of the value of architecture as functional, and hopefully beautiful, will involve a process that I hope to achieve in my action plan. The ideas presented in my research can be incorporated, expanded upon, and evaluated in the proposed plan. It is submitted that the plan will require more definition, research, and fine-tuning in order to implement it. We are all watching a community growing from rural agricultural based, Amish influenced society to becoming participants in the building of a modern extended community. Economics plays a definite role here, but much can be done through art education of middle school students to achieve a social balance.

Computer Platforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computer Platforms - Essay Example This paper is will discuss various types of computers, comparing tin terms of processor speeds, Read Access Memory, Storage capabilities and Internet capabilities. These were the first computers in the mankind invasion, which currently are almost extinct. However, unlike digital computers, they perform numerous mathematical operations simultaneously. They are unique in terms of operation as they utilize continuous variables for the purpose of computing mathematical data. They have an advantage of utilizing mechanical, hydraulic and electrical energy during operation (Beskeen, 2009) As the name suggests, they are a combination of both Analogue and Digital computers. The most important thing about the Digital computers, they work under the principal of a binary digit system of â€Å"0† and â€Å"1† which gives very accurate and precise results. However, these computers are too slow, hence, cannot handle large operations of mathematical computing. The Digital computers perform Robotics and Process control by the converted analog signals. These types of computers are the most bulky and with a great deal of advanced technology, though they are almost becoming extinct. They can cover an entire room and costs millions of dollars. Mainframe computers are referred to as the predecessor of servers because they support multi-users efficiently. They are used in complex of research, meteorological calculations, engineering works, graphics and other advanced operations in Banks and government operations. They constitute UNIX and IBMs z/OS, and others. A supercomputer is one of the modern computers that is capable of handling speedy mathematical computing and calculations. They are the fastest with the highest processing speeds. For that reason, they are employed in specialized applications that require large scale amounts of mathematical calculations; they are preferred in producing animation graphics, weather

City of God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

City of God - Essay Example According to the essay "City of God" findings, the film portrays very scenes of bloodshed and barbarity. For instance, the film bombards shocking images of brutality that leaves an individual emotionally numb. Meirelles paints a horrible convincing portrait of young spoilt youth with shattered innocence. It becomes a pity to view young children roaming the streets with guns giving all their lives for the sake of their gangs. The paper, therefore, analyses of the film on issues relating to planning, design, culture, environment, and society. Proficient planning tilts between the bureaucratically mundane and wildly imaginative. It becomes hard to navigate the miasma of rules and regulations yet maintaining a social vision of a movie set. ‘City of God’ has outstandingly undergone planning to reveal the influence built by the environment to its characters. The movie reveals social networks in a planned community built to replace a community destroyed in a natural disaster. Moreover, pandemonium moments in the characters’ lives at odds with their ordered and sterile public housing. In addition, the movie has been designed to reveal the poor and life to risk the life of slums in the modern society. The film portrays a society full of moral deficiency. As an economically poor slum, the youth involve themselves in acts of outrageous violence. Crimes appear to be the only option in the moral and economic wasteland of the Brazilian favelas. The film revolves around a society that is poor both economically and politically. Drug abuse and drug trafficking is not an astonishing deed in the society. The main character in the movie, Rocket, narrates of his journey in the slums of Rio de Janeiro where he witnesses for two decades greed, rape, barbarity, and revenge. The movie portrays a poorly developed environment not worth human sustainability. The city is depicted to maintain low environmental measures. The place was initially built for those who could not afford housing and living essentials. Poor infrastructure, housing, security, and lack of the employment opportunities eventually led to the growth of gangs and murderous drug dealers. The city portrays the hardships people have to experience and go through in order to make ends meets in their lives. The movie further shows how the residents of the city live in doubt, as they fear frequent bloody gunfires from neighborhood kids who kill efficiently as the grownups. The city lacks a peaceful environment where an individual can settle and m aintain a prosperous life. The slum has no electricity, paved streets or even transportation. Crime and football are depicted as the cultural ways out of the slum. Meirelles portrays a bunch of kids who gather around to play football but all of a sudden, this becomes history as three hoodlums find their way on to the pitch seeking refuge from police officer. Suddenly the once football game ends up in a violence game of intimidation and rape. As the gangsters kill the chicken, Rocket is terrified with the thought that he is about to face murder but this turns out to be the opposite. The sacrificial purpose of the chicken portrays with force of a blunt instrument how cheap life has turned to be for the residents at the slum. It also conveys how aggression and

Effects of Globalization on Loogistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effects of Globalization on Loogistics - Essay Example The main setting of this paper is to highlight the impact of globalization on the current economic environment, with specific focus on the logistics and transport sectors. Nonetheless, the paper bases its argument on the fact that the process of globalization is undoubtedly transforming the logistical strategies employed by service and products providers. Globalization combines various actions and trends, which makes the impact of this process not only complex but also revolutionary. According to the discussion findings the subsequent shift to the global business is driven by the desire to access lower labour costs, despite the exposures such as regulatory shifts and high transportation costs subjected to the organizations. With the onset of global business, revolution, many organizations sell to more consumers in wider geographic locations, hence raising the complexity of the processes required to satisfy each market segment. The wider global customer base presents a myriad of challenges for companies that are accustomed to the provision of standard logistic solutions to a smaller regional-based market. In the global field, nonetheless, customers demand not only for the high and perfect reliability of the delivery but also the customization and subsequent solutions to their problems. The above demands explain the complexities that obligate the organizations to adopt diverse and modern logistical solutions that would enable them to retain the customer base.

International transportation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International transportation - Essay Example ct of the Act towards rehabilitation of airports and air travel in America has great influence and impact on the American economy as well as the entire international economy. Construction of new and modern runway in airports will ensure low rate of tear and wear of the planes as well increasing efficiency in controlling the rolling of the plane. The funds proposed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act towards rehabilitation of the air transports will ensure purchase and introduction of modern airplane that consumes little fuel and energy thereby ensuring controlled wastage of energy. The purchase of modern airplanes by the funds donated to the Department of Transport of the federal government will ensure low release of or no release of smoke thus lowering the level of environmental population. The funds will also assist in the purchase of high-speed planes thereby making air travel across the world more efficient. The federal stimulus to the Department of Transport will enable installation of high tech security devices in airports and planes and this will assist in increasing international air travel security. The rehabilitation and modernization of the airline transport has significant impact on the fall in charges on the international transport. In addition, the federal stimulus for rehabilitation of transport system will modernize sea transport and assist in control and regulation of traffic at the ports. The stimulus fund will be used in purchasing modern machines for handling cargo at the sea thereby easing interstate trade within the American sea line. The federal stimulus package to the Department of Transport will used in purchasing modern sea vessels with high speed to facilitate quick transportation of cargo to and from the foreign nations. Moreover, the federal stimulus to the Department of Transport will also assist in the installation and improvement of marine security across the international borders. The federal stimulus to the Department

Investment Banking in 2008 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investment Banking in 2008 - Essay Example This paper demonstrates the result of deregulatory measures initiated by the authorities of the United States in the decade of 1990s.The reason for such hype of the deregulatory measures has been primarily the universal bank model. The deregulatory measures allowed the investment banks to participate in the depository functions. The supporters of the deregulations believed that modern day clients preferred to do all of their business ranging from life insurance to commercial lending, from mergers and acquisition advisory to retirement planning, under one roof. And only a deregulated market could allow this to happen. Therefore, replacement of Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (which prevented depository and brokerage functions) by the Gramm-Leach Bliley in 1999 opened a whole lot of opportunities for the bankers. With the approval to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, investment banks, insurance companies and commercial banks were equally placed in respect to the products and the markets. This led to the concentration of financial power in fewer hands and soon the investment banks were being absorbed by the commercial banks. The deviation led to the rise in pressure on investment banks to create return on equity compared to the universal banks like Duetsche Bank and as a result investment banks laid more emphasis on the traditional services like M&A, underwriting, sales and trading. Also, the intense competitive pressure led to the withdrawal of Net Capital rule. and SEC allowed unlimited and unregulated leverage (in way of debts) to their brokerage units which proved to be fatal in the long run. Remaining Competitive Against the Trend From the analysis of the case, it appears that Goldman Sachs (and also Morgan Stanley, if not others) could have surely remained competitive without increasing its leverage to boost its return on investment. In fact, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were honest enough at the outset and had written down the losses in residential mortgages and leveraged loans and tried to avoid the excessive exposure to the mortgage industry. But as Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley faced increasing pressure from the investors as their profits eroded and return on equity subsided. Consequently, they decided to be the bank holding companies (under FED regulations) and initiate the depository functions which would allow them to play as commercial banks and have diversified banking operations apart from invest banking functions, which in turn would help them to stay competitive. Collapse of Lehman Brothers but Bear Stearns Saved For the purpose of bail out of Bear Sterns , Federal Reserve lent JP Morgan Chase $ 30 Billion out of which JP Morgan Chase agreed to assume responsibility for $ 1 Billion leaving the charge of other $ 29 Billion to the U.S. tax payers. But when the Lehman Brothers, which had almost 75% higher valuation of the assets (compared to Bear Sterns as on 30/11/2007) approached Federal Reserve they did not get the nod. The prime reason of such a decision by Fed is believed to be the political dominos. The decision makers hesitated to take another bail-out measure