Sam Coulter

Learning about the quadrants was interesting and informative. I experience students that rely quite a bit on quadrants A and C, but rarely B and D. I look forward to working with them in the future, and employing educational games to appeal to quadrant D learners.

Both Knowles and Rogers pose important concepts regarding adult learning, particularly the non-threatening environment. It'd be intimidating returning to the educational system, starting from the bottom of something drastically unfamiliar (I've had my non-traditional students tell me as much). I'd like to observe my non-traditional students and see how many of Knowle's assumptions line up with their educational goals/motivations. I'm also interested in learning more about student self-assesment.

A very unique set of approaches to adult learning and human development. I'd argue that each has merit, and it's likely a combination of all the theories that describe human development. I'd be curious to see if there's research that has change some of these theories, specifically Havighurst's. There's quite a difference in some of the stages as society has evolved that I definitely see in my students. I'd be interested in surveying modern students and upcoming generations as to what they'd view as age in relation to completing developmental tasks and what they'd look like.

As a post-secondary educator, much of what is covered is true of my adult students. Particularly the experience and self-employed sections. I notice a sense of purpose in most of my students, young and old, and it was informative to learn about the motivations and purpose behind adult learners' pursuit of educational goals.

The breakdown of the problem solving process was very informative. In one of my courses, I specifically cover creative problem solving, however, its not nearly as extensive as posed in the module. I'm definitely interested in covering and implementing the general steps to creative problem solving and the questions listed in the modules. I think it will help my students think more in-depth about design problems, and create unique solutions.

I learned quite a bit regarding the composition of critical thinking. The creative critical thinking and reflective thought were very strong sections to end on, as well as emotional intelligence. It takes a lot of effort and practice to become a critical thinker, and the techniques suggested will be beneficial on both the instructor and students' parts. Instructors will learn how to adapt and prepare their students to think critically in the field, its a win-win!

I thought the discipline section was interesting, as well as the questioning section. The cyclical nature of critical thinking requires all the elements work in order to reach articulate, viable solutions to problems. Questioning is certainly something that needs to be encouraged more in education. Without it, we can't learn from our mistakes or dissapate confusion and misunderstanding. The discipline section was a breath of fresh air, given how instant-gratification-based our society is. I'm glad to know folks are still trying to incorporate it to develop strong critical thinkers.

This is already shaping up to be an interesting module! I really liked and learned from the characterisitcs and steps involved in critical thinking. I'd like to introduce my intro students to these subjects and their corresponding elements, to help start them on a good track to critical thinking throughout the program, careers and lives.

The recoding strategies were the most enlightening and engaging section for me, specifically guided notes. I had tried a variation of guided notes in the past, but I don't think they were particularly useful (to be fair, it was my first semester teaching and I was building curriculum on the fly). With more experience and the guided notes strategies, I could implement them in a much more meaningful way. I feel it'd be particularly helpful since my courses are so content heavy!

I learned the most from the "making immediate application" and pretest sections. Its something my delivery has lacked, and I can definitely see when my students start to zone out. The mini lectures followed by application will be easier to implement now that I have a solid foundation for my courses, and pretesting will help me fill any knowledge gaps that may be present in my courses.