at northeast iowa community college:
Reflective thinking and active learning
Right after high school, I joined my sister Jessica at NICC. In the beginning of my colligate career, my insecurities about teaching and growing as a writer started to shatter. My creativity and ingenuity were tested when I was asked to complete a portfolio metacognitive essay and to co-teach a three-hour class. I would not have succeeded at these tasks if it were not for the power of active learning and reflective thinking.
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For the NICC class Composition II, taught by award-winning educator James Brimeyer, I revised several key essays I had written for the course, eventually compiling them in a binder for final grading. Even though I wrote page-long reflections for each major writing assignment, I still favor my final reflection for the course, my Metacognitive Essay. Serving as an extended conclusion for my portfolio, the Metacognitive Essay required me to use active learning and reflective thinking to formulate ways to organize my final thoughts and deliver a final so-what factor, a wise sentiment that encapsulated my overall learning during the course. For the final draft of my Metacognitive Essay, I reiterated my portfolio’s thematic design (“tools for exploration”) and I looked back on thought-provoking ideas my essays stated. For example, my Metacognitive Essay discusses my new grasp on APA citation style, stronger verb usage, and the writing process itself, that good writing is effectively revised writing. The Metacognitive Essay reaffirmed my passion for the craft writing, allowing me to speak directly to the reader about the importance of uncovering what you want to say by writing what you know and want to know. Writing is discovery, that is. Reflection and active participation to the process of organizing the final essay allowed me to discern that truth.
NICC is one of the top ten most prestigious community colleges in the nation, encouraging students to be the best learners possible through intensive coursework. While I debated whether to major in Secondary Education or Creative Writing, I took the NICC class entitled Educational Psychology. Despite my Writing major, the class’s final project, a PowerPoint presentation, provided me with a durable platform to explore my present desire to teach college students the craft of writing. I used active learning and reflective thinking to learn more about how to be an effective writing teacher. To prepare for my two and a half hour Educational Psychology PowerPoint presentation, I read and took extensive notes over the assigned chapter, the basis for the PowerPoint. I also collaborated with another student, my assigned co-teacher. Using active learning and reflective thinking, we shared our notes over the chapter and discussed ways we could present the key information from the textbook. The aim of the PowerPoint assignment was to learn the material in the chapter so well, I would be able to explain the material without completely relying on the PowerPoint. Arguably, the best teachers are also strong active learners, people who involve themselves with their learning so much, they can recite or expand on what they have learned. Ultimately, I combined our notes into a cohesive PowerPoint, using ingenuity, creativity, and constant reflective thinking to plan out the best design and organization for the presentation. I rehearsed my parts of the presentation at least a dozen times at home, and on the day of the presentation, I was ready to co-teach my assigned chapter. I earned an A on the assignment and, more important, a reverence for the role of active learning and reflective thinking.
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For the NICC class Composition II, taught by award-winning educator James Brimeyer, I revised several key essays I had written for the course, eventually compiling them in a binder for final grading. Even though I wrote page-long reflections for each major writing assignment, I still favor my final reflection for the course, my Metacognitive Essay. Serving as an extended conclusion for my portfolio, the Metacognitive Essay required me to use active learning and reflective thinking to formulate ways to organize my final thoughts and deliver a final so-what factor, a wise sentiment that encapsulated my overall learning during the course. For the final draft of my Metacognitive Essay, I reiterated my portfolio’s thematic design (“tools for exploration”) and I looked back on thought-provoking ideas my essays stated. For example, my Metacognitive Essay discusses my new grasp on APA citation style, stronger verb usage, and the writing process itself, that good writing is effectively revised writing. The Metacognitive Essay reaffirmed my passion for the craft writing, allowing me to speak directly to the reader about the importance of uncovering what you want to say by writing what you know and want to know. Writing is discovery, that is. Reflection and active participation to the process of organizing the final essay allowed me to discern that truth.
NICC is one of the top ten most prestigious community colleges in the nation, encouraging students to be the best learners possible through intensive coursework. While I debated whether to major in Secondary Education or Creative Writing, I took the NICC class entitled Educational Psychology. Despite my Writing major, the class’s final project, a PowerPoint presentation, provided me with a durable platform to explore my present desire to teach college students the craft of writing. I used active learning and reflective thinking to learn more about how to be an effective writing teacher. To prepare for my two and a half hour Educational Psychology PowerPoint presentation, I read and took extensive notes over the assigned chapter, the basis for the PowerPoint. I also collaborated with another student, my assigned co-teacher. Using active learning and reflective thinking, we shared our notes over the chapter and discussed ways we could present the key information from the textbook. The aim of the PowerPoint assignment was to learn the material in the chapter so well, I would be able to explain the material without completely relying on the PowerPoint. Arguably, the best teachers are also strong active learners, people who involve themselves with their learning so much, they can recite or expand on what they have learned. Ultimately, I combined our notes into a cohesive PowerPoint, using ingenuity, creativity, and constant reflective thinking to plan out the best design and organization for the presentation. I rehearsed my parts of the presentation at least a dozen times at home, and on the day of the presentation, I was ready to co-teach my assigned chapter. I earned an A on the assignment and, more important, a reverence for the role of active learning and reflective thinking.
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portfolio_metacognitive_essay.pdf | |
File Size: | 201 kb |
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educational_psy_powerpoint.pdf | |
File Size: | 759 kb |
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