ReflectionI have returned to college after a lapse of almost 40 years. My major
is Computer Information Systems (CIS). I have been employed as a computer support technician, however I did not have the required associates degree, which is preventing me from finding employment. I am rather proficient in scientific and technical pursuits; however I am very lacking in communication and interpersonal skills. I can locate a copious amount of information on almost any topic rather quickly, and I usually don’t have any problem understanding the material, yet when it comes to getting the information out of my head, organized and onto paper, I hit a brick wall. I have a very hard time expressing that knowledge in my own words. Writing is by far my most difficult subject, and trying to complete writing assignments is extremely stressful for me. I spend many hours struggling to get even one paragraph put together. It’s depressing. In this English 1010 class, I learned how to find the higher level, peer-reviewed materials for my research, and learning how to …drat!- I lost my train of thought - again… I did find that I had some challenges in completing the assignment. feel that I have made progress on the SLCC learning outcomes by improving my ability to organize and present ideas and information effectively in writing. While trying to do the synthesis of sources assignment, I found that all the words from different sources on the page in front of me was getting to be too confusing visually. I was having a problem connecting the ideas and quotes to their proper source. In order to make sense of it I had to use different color highlighters to select the pertinent concepts in each article. I highlighted the Thesis in blue, The problems in purple, the solutions in yellow, and selected quotes in green. I then started with the first source, and listed each problem, putting a 1 in front. I continued with the next source and if the problem was already listed, I added a 2 etc. when I was finished going through all the sources, I had a list of all the problem statements, from my sources. I repeated the procedure for the solution statements. Then I listed each source and the concepts , examples, and quotes from that source were in a different color. That helped me to keep track of which statements were made by which author and not get them mixed up There were also several film clips shown that had an impact on me, concerning current issues such as, meth addiction, food production cleanliness, and others. I was really disturbed by the food preparation film. I read the sample reflection, and I assumed that I could do it in about an hour. – NOT! - That challenged my assumptions. I always seem to vastly underestimate the time that will be required to do anything because I get distracted or get a bad case of writer’s block. I researched the topic of health care reform, and I put the information on this page |
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