Student Reflection

Student Course Reflection
US/101
October 27, 2013

The long-term results and the value of completing my degree will help me to accomplish one of my life long goals. My long-term results would be meeting the minimum or preferred qualifications for any job that may require me to have an associates or bachelor’s degree. They would also increase my annual salary because I would qualify for better jobs. They may also decrease or reduce the chances of any future layoffs and could improve my job conditions. Some other long-term benefits would include making my family proud of me for accomplishing such a remarkable achievement, setting an example for others, and qualifying for additional schooling. The value of completing my degree would not only be about making more money, but receiving a broad bass of knowledge in which I can build off of. It would allow me to have greater economic stability and security along with more prestigious employment opportunities and greater job satisfaction. My degree would allow me to participate in more leisure activities and service my community. It would also increase my self-confidence and I could then realize my true worth. I will use the tools and assessments in this course to help in my future courses and my career plans by incorporating them into each aspect of my learning process. Collaborative learning environments have taught to me to value others’ opinions and utilize them in my educational, career, and everyday life. Diversity plays a major role in our careers and educational endeavors. We have open forums and discussions that allow each student to express their views on a particular topic. This has caused us to showcase our diverse cultures and difference of how we each handle a certain situation. I will use collaborative learning environments throughout my learning process and career by respecting others opinions and evaluating a situation from a different stand point. Time management is a skill that I seem to have to learn through necessity. I have learned through this course to eliminate procrastination and avoidance of tasks. I know time management is a skill that takes time to develop and perfect. It is also a skill that is different for everyone. I have taken a variety of different approaches learned from this course that I will use in future courses and my career to manage time. The first one would be making a to-do list and writing down what I have to complete daily and weekly. The next would be making use of my down time by thinking about what my goals are for that day and prioritizing. I will concentrate on one thing at a time and stay focus, so that I do not lose interest or motivation. I would also set personal deadlines for myself that are realistic and challenge myself to complete them. This would not only save me time, but make me more productive. I will not forget to reward myself for staying on task because I feel that this is important as well to get me goal driven. Critical thinking will be important for me to use while taking other courses and in my future career. I have learned in this course how to refrain from being bias when giving your opinion and thinking before reacting. My critical thinking skills will become increasingly better as I journey through my education by learning to solve a problem with the right aspect of thinking. I have learned that critical thinking skills include analysis, interpretation, evaluation, explanation, and self-reflection. These skills are needed for problem solving and decision making in a wide variety of contexts and at all our educational and professional levels. I know with incorporating and practicing these skills in my education and career I will one day become a successful critical thinker. Goal setting will also be another tool that I will utilize throughout my education and career. I have learned how to set short and long term goals for myself through this course. I have chosen goals that are attainable and realistic, so that I can stay focus and motivated to complete each of them. I set a short term goal during this course to stay on task and manage my time in which I have accomplished and will continue strive for in all my future courses. My long term goals have been set and I am constantly taken action to make certain that I am on schedule with achieving them. I have realized that setting goals for myself is not only a challenge, but can be rewarding as well. I feel that it is important to have goals whether they are short or long term because it allows you to have the determination to strive to accomplish that task. This course has been resourceful and has made me realize that I have chosen the best career field. I will take every lesson learned and challenge myself to reach my ultimate goal of obtaining my degree.