Originally published here.
This week we were asked to read a page about the almost infamous dilemma ‘What came first the chicken or the egg?’ and then anaylse and critique the contents of the article. I think it was interesting having to read the article very closely and extracting the main points and key words to critique and building on an argument to say why say one idea is inadequate with only the information given. Furthermore, it was great we could also draw from the skills we had to use last week in assessing validity and reliability. Also, I think being able to identify and critique something that in this case, has no real definitive answer is a very good starting point for developing these skills as you have to really break down the ideas and go beyond just stating whether one aspect is good or bad. Taking each individual section and then pointing out each area of criticism was somewhat time consuming as one flaw will lead to other questions, however I believe that this is a very beneficial skill to develop for many future situations.
I think working with a partner this week has made the task a lot more manageable, for one its easier to collaborate ideas in a smaller working group than a large one I believe. We worked well together and each equally contributed to the article critique as we had managed to discuss how to handle this task. My partner had started it off with writing the introduction and then an opening line into the critique section. I wrote down all my ideas and other research I had done and we both just continued to add onto each others work to provide us with our assignment. I believe due to drawing from both our ideas that we’ve got a good in depth range of criticisms and that our introduction and conclusion give us a clear insight and also understanding of the topic, but also how hard it is to really reach a completely solid conclusion.
So far the course has helped me understand more what it is like to be an independent learner. This week working in a pair has helped me realise I probably work best in small groups which will be key in aiding to my future learning. Also, the course has helped me broaden the use of available resources, for instance this weeks assignment, doing further research to either add to the critique or to affirm that my own argument was valid. Being able to take initiative and collect further information will be an essential skill to become an in(ter)dependent learner rather than constantly relying on others to provide you with the necessary information.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xk1-6GkI_lO-Ntibu7WAtCKv581X-nYI1P3R8aQPwoE/edit
