Saturday, June 16, 2012

Reflection #2- Fundamentals of Cognitive Development


How prepared do you feel to write a literature review on a topic of your choosing? Upon completing the course, how might you use the skills that you’ve gained to seek out and apply scientific knowledge about cognition in your own educational settings?
Right now I am feeling more prepared than I did at the beginning of the cohort to complete a challenge like this. I think one of my issues is finding the “good research” or “good articles”. It takes time and digging and a bit of finesse. I am working on learning these skills. I am feeling more prepared because of the constructive feedback on my critical analysis to write a clearer more concise literature review.  However, I think I am worried about discussing the research in my own words. Honestly, I am afraid of accidentally plagiarizing something. I always have been since undergraduate classes and so I tend to use quotes when in doubt. I now realize I am meant to try and avoid quotations in this type of writing. Hopefully, I can do it! 
I’m beginning to realize how important it is and easy it is to find information that is useful in the classroom. I think that as teachers, especially when not taking any courses we can put ourselves in a bubble, and we ask questions but we don’t always seek the answer. I feel empowered to find the answers now. Again, I am still working on finding the articles that match my needs and answer my questions but I’ve been made aware (again!) that the information is out there... I just need to look for it!  It is a very empowering feeling!