Introduction

In my first research class the goals I set for myself was critical and creative thinking, global learning, intercultural knowledge competence, problem solving, and collaboration. I feel I have greatly exceeded in filling this goals, but they will all continue to be a work in progress. Especially with working on our showcase information, all of these points made up that project and I felt I showed good levels of those skills for that website. One good risk I took was putting work in my peers hands, you have to trust in your teammates to get their part done as well.

Goal 1 (20%)

Critical and Creative Thinking– Look at all facts and not just one side of issues.

My section of the website is a great example for reaching this goal. I looked at prices of healthcare and why some people cant afford it, but I also looked at some articles where healthcare was more affordable and acknowledged that healthcare prices are better than they were before.

Goal 2 (20%)

Global Learning– Be more open-minded and focus on more than one area at a time.

A good example of this is the articles we read in the beginning of the semester with climate change in different areas of the world. We would read the articles then relate them back to the YWCA and Alton, IL.

Goal 3 (20%)

Intercultural Knowledge Competence– Focus on more than one group of cultures.

Two good examples of this would be my section of the website, the whole website in general, or the interviews we did at the beginning of the semester. The class split into different groups and interview peers on campus of their thoughts on racial problems and climate change.

Goal 4 (20%)

Problem Solving– Ask more questions, and dig deeper into problems.

Problem solving was more of an in-class thing for me. I asked questions on how we wanted things done, and a LOT of questions about how to use word press!

Goal 5 (20%)

Collaboration– Group work, and talk about ideas.

Collaboration was seen throughout the whole semester but was greatly seen in our website for our showcase. Everyone in our research group was given a task, we all worked together to get our tasks done, make a website, and present it on the night of the showcase.