When I started Embry Riddle’s Leadership program I did not
give much thought as to what I would be learning. I find funny in retrospect considering the
fact that the majority of my studies thus far have involved using critical
thinking. As I considered the different
programs Embry Riddle offered I felt that the Master’s program in Leadership would
be the most beneficial for me. Now that I
am a few weeks into the course I feel that my critical thinking has been
greatly influence by the material I have been exposed to. In our class text Nosich (2012) writes “Critical
thinking is different from just thinking.
It is metacognitive- it involves thinking about your thinking.” (p.3).
Before this course I never gave much thought to reflection. I actually never gave much thought to
critical thinking. Nosich (2012) also
writes in our text that “Critical thinking involves having my thinking measure
up to criteria. I can think about
something accurately or inaccurately. I
can use evidence that is relevant or irrelevant, or somewhere in between.” (p.
3). Little did I know that critical
thinking involved standards.
I asked myself the following questions: “What have I learned
thus far? Has what I’ve learned
benefited me? Do I feel better about the
way I approach issues now that I am beginning to use critical thinking?” To answer these questions I made outlines to assist
with my answers. I discovered from our
text that critical thinking is not only reflective, it also involves standards,
and is reasonable. In order for me to answer
my own questions I learned that it was important to believe in my results. As I used reasoning to answer my questions some
realizations became apparent to me. The first
realization I came to was the fact that in the past I have never really taken
the time to ask questions. It dawned on
me that I have never given any great consideration when answering a question or
solving a problem. For example, before
this course if someone were to ask me, “Hey Brian, do you think everyone in our
country deserves free healthcare?” My
reply would have been a simple yes or no.
Now I take the time to do some reflection. I begin by asking myself some questions. “What do I currently know about the state of
healthcare in our country? What
implications should be considered if every individual in the U.S. were to have
free care? Would the increase in the
number of people being covered affect the level of care I currently receive?” Before this course I never would have given
such thought to a question. So now I
reason through my answers. I consider
the fact that reasoning has elements to it.
Nosich (2012) writes, “There are at least two or three dozen basic
concepts in critical thinking, maybe as many as 50. The most central concepts number around 20
and can be grouped into 8 categories.
These are called the elements of
reasoning.” (p. 48). We learned those
elements are: purpose, question at issue, assumptions, implications and
consequences, information, concepts, conclusions or interpretations, and point
of view. We must also consider the
alternatives and the context in which the reasoning is done.
Most recently I was exposed to action research for the first
time. I found myself anxiously
anticipating using what I had learned and applying it in my career. “Action research is a term which refers to a
practical way of looking at your own work to check that it is as you would like
it to be. Because action research is done by you, the practitioner, it is often
referred to as practitioner based research; and because it involves you
thinking about and reflecting on your work, it can also be called a form of
self-reflective practice.” McNiff, Jean. (2013) Action Research for Professional Development: Concise
Advice for New Action Researchers Retrieved from http://www.jeanmcniff.com/ar-booklet.asp
As I attempted to incorporate and apply action research I found myself
abandoning the technique and reverting to my “old ways”. It was not for a lack of commitment but more
out of necessity to complete certain tasks.
I found myself in a trial and error period the first few attempts I had
with it. However my goal is to reflect
on what I have been doing, evaluate what is or is not working, and slowly
implementing new processes. For
instance, in my work it is necessary for me to respond to inquiries within 24
hours. I leave the office at 4:30
pm. So from 4:31 pm until I return the
very next morning at 7:30 am, I can potentially receive quite a few
communications. I must also complete
student evaluations, various reports, attend meetings, return phone messages,
and try to find time to eat. With almost
500 students under my care this can be very daunting and the system I was using
just was not working. The first thing I
do now is try to complete a set number of student evaluations based on the date
I received them. I had always left these
evaluations for the very end of the day and could never finish them all. I found myself getting behind on these the most. Now my goal is to keep current of these
within 3 days. Next I approached my
emails systematically. I return emails
received from the time I left, leading up to when I arrive in the morning. Before I would get started on emails and with
the influx of daily emails it was becoming difficult for me to complete my
other tasks because emails were my sole focus.
I reminded myself that “it’s ok Brian, you have 24 hours to respond!” I even downloaded a task manager app to my
iPad but abandoned it. Since no two days
are alike for me I found it too rigid to fit my needs. I feel I have a lot more work that needs to
go into my action research but I think I’m on the right track. They say “practice makes perfect”. I do feel good about what I have learned thus
far and how I can use these new tools moving forward to reach some of my goals.
I think I have started on the road to making the changes in
my thought process to make me a better thinker.
I find myself actively engaged now when I am having conversations. Really listening to what the person I am
talking to is saying. This was an area I
really needed to improve in (even though I may have heard my wife say “once or
twice” that I was not a very good listener).
I am trying not to make assumptions like I used to. I am open to the concepts I am learning and
am actively practicing what I am learning so that I can become better at
them. I have a plan but I am aware that
I should take a step back every now and then and reassess where I am, how I’m
doing. I finally have a better idea what
I can expect to learn in this Leadership program.
Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: A
guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th edition). Boston, MA:
Pearson.
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