Active Learner
Active learners want to learn. They are curious about the world and seek to make sense of their experiences. Loras students demonstrate their ability to learn in active ways.
To me being an active learner calls us to take what we learn in the classroom, and push ourselves to find out how it fits into our own lives. In the honors program, we all have different majors, values, and opinions on the content we learn. However, the different views I have been exposed to throughout my four years in the program have helped me to further broaden my views and look at how what I read and discuss fits into not only the broader framework of my future career, but also into the framework of a society that may have their own ways of applying the same or different facts.
Much of being a teacher is taking the facts that you learn from lectures, articles, and other sources and putting it into practice. If you look under INTASC Standard #2 you will find a video, lesson plan, and reflection that demonstrates how I have take all of the information I have learned in education classes throughout my time at Loras and put it into practice. However, my role as an active learner has not been limited to my education classes. In some cases these experiences, like my experiences volunteering with the Saint Mark's program or my experiences volunteering in the schools and community in Morton, Mississippi mentioned on the My Loras Experience page, can't be expressed in concrete form.
Sometimes being an active learner can be demonstrated in something concrete like a paper, and below are two such artifacts.
The first is a paper I wrote from my Advanced Humanities class: Chemistry of Painting in the fall of my junior year. The paper demonstrates that I was able to take what I learned about art in my Advanced Aesthetics class the previous semester, combine it with what I learned about scientific elements of art during the course, and create a deeper understanding of one of my personal interest areas of impressionist painting.
The second is one of my blog posts from Honors Service Learning, a course I took in the fall of my senior year. In the blog post I examine the concepts of character and virtue which have been examined throughout my classes at Loras and in particular in Service Learning. Then, I applied what I have learned through my classes and personal experiences and examined how I have demonstrated this and continue to grow in my understanding of character and virtue through their practice in my day to day life.
To me being an active learner calls us to take what we learn in the classroom, and push ourselves to find out how it fits into our own lives. In the honors program, we all have different majors, values, and opinions on the content we learn. However, the different views I have been exposed to throughout my four years in the program have helped me to further broaden my views and look at how what I read and discuss fits into not only the broader framework of my future career, but also into the framework of a society that may have their own ways of applying the same or different facts.
Much of being a teacher is taking the facts that you learn from lectures, articles, and other sources and putting it into practice. If you look under INTASC Standard #2 you will find a video, lesson plan, and reflection that demonstrates how I have take all of the information I have learned in education classes throughout my time at Loras and put it into practice. However, my role as an active learner has not been limited to my education classes. In some cases these experiences, like my experiences volunteering with the Saint Mark's program or my experiences volunteering in the schools and community in Morton, Mississippi mentioned on the My Loras Experience page, can't be expressed in concrete form.
Sometimes being an active learner can be demonstrated in something concrete like a paper, and below are two such artifacts.
The first is a paper I wrote from my Advanced Humanities class: Chemistry of Painting in the fall of my junior year. The paper demonstrates that I was able to take what I learned about art in my Advanced Aesthetics class the previous semester, combine it with what I learned about scientific elements of art during the course, and create a deeper understanding of one of my personal interest areas of impressionist painting.
The second is one of my blog posts from Honors Service Learning, a course I took in the fall of my senior year. In the blog post I examine the concepts of character and virtue which have been examined throughout my classes at Loras and in particular in Service Learning. Then, I applied what I have learned through my classes and personal experiences and examined how I have demonstrated this and continue to grow in my understanding of character and virtue through their practice in my day to day life.
science_of_impressionist_painting.docx | |
File Size: | 36 kb |
File Type: | docx |
cultivating_character_and_virtue_through_liberal_arts.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reflective Thinker
Reflective thinkers display insight. They take into account their own dispositions and biases as they think creatively and critically. Loras students demonstrate their ability to think in a reflective manner.
Being a reflective thinker means being able to step back from the situation or from yourself and evaluate something objectively. It means being able to recognize that there is more than one way to view a given situation. This can be something like a self reflection on areas you are succeeding and areas you may need more work as can be seen in my second artifact. This artifact is a final reflection on the work I did with two students over the course of the fall semester of my senior year . It built upon a previous self-reflection and called for me to objectively consider areas that were my strengths as a professional, areas I had observed personal growth, and areas that I wanted to set goals to work on in the future.
However, being a reflective thinker involves so much more than being able to objectively view your own performance. It entails recognizing that just like in examining your own work, there are multiple perceptions to be considered in a variety of topics. Honors courses, as well as others, have challenged me to think beyond my own view points and consider how others with different beliefs or backgrounds may look at a situation. This is something that can be seen in my first artifact from my Advanced Aesthetics course my spring semester my sophomore year. In this activity my professor challenged us to take a common positive metaphor from our field and distort it. Therefore, I took the common analogy of learning being like a plant, and took it from a very positive to a negative analogy broadening my concept of how many ways, even something I might have once assumed to be commonly perceived in one way, things can be examined.
Being a reflective thinker means being able to step back from the situation or from yourself and evaluate something objectively. It means being able to recognize that there is more than one way to view a given situation. This can be something like a self reflection on areas you are succeeding and areas you may need more work as can be seen in my second artifact. This artifact is a final reflection on the work I did with two students over the course of the fall semester of my senior year . It built upon a previous self-reflection and called for me to objectively consider areas that were my strengths as a professional, areas I had observed personal growth, and areas that I wanted to set goals to work on in the future.
However, being a reflective thinker involves so much more than being able to objectively view your own performance. It entails recognizing that just like in examining your own work, there are multiple perceptions to be considered in a variety of topics. Honors courses, as well as others, have challenged me to think beyond my own view points and consider how others with different beliefs or backgrounds may look at a situation. This is something that can be seen in my first artifact from my Advanced Aesthetics course my spring semester my sophomore year. In this activity my professor challenged us to take a common positive metaphor from our field and distort it. Therefore, I took the common analogy of learning being like a plant, and took it from a very positive to a negative analogy broadening my concept of how many ways, even something I might have once assumed to be commonly perceived in one way, things can be examined.
metaphore_redo.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
final_reflection.docx | |
File Size: | 20 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Responsible Contributor
Responsible contributors to professions, societies and religious communities develop their talents and share them with others in ways that respect a global environment and are sensitive to cultural differences. Loras students demonstrate that they contribute in responsible ways.
In life, we will meet people who are different from us. People we live with, work with, and see passing by on the street are unique in their interests, beliefs, values, and groups they choose to be member of. Since we are all unique, we are bound to disagree with others.
Being a responsible contributor to me means taking into account the differences that each and every one of us brings to the table, accepting that we might not always agree, and resolving to improve my own understanding of where someone else is coming from and how their background shapes their beliefs so that I can create a positive relationship with them based on respect and understanding.
As an education major, especially as someone with a specific interest in working with those who have disabilities, understanding and valuing differences has been a huge part of my education. In education classes as well as in advanced general education classes I have learned the value of respecting differences, and the first step do respecting difference is developing an understanding of the reasoning behind them. It is as much about understanding where you come from as understanding someone else's background and culture, a message I tried to pass on to some of my students in my webquest on an image from the Klaur collection of pictures taken in Dubuque in 1912.
In my time at Loras I have had the opportunity to participate in service trips, like the one in this picture from Vanceburg Kentucky last spring, that allowed me to be fully immersed in environments in which on the surface there were more differences than similarities. However, by talking to the people in the communities I served in and researching background on the area, I was able to realize that behind the surface differences between us were more similarities than I could have ever anticipated. Therefore, for my artifacts for this disposition reflect not only an appreciation of differences but an effort to create an understanding of differences by taking a closer look at different cultures, religions, and many others.
The first artifact I chose is a reflection paper from my Foundations of Education course my first year at Loras. This was one of the first times I was ever really challenged to consider how differences and perception of differences influenced the way I treated those that I worked with and encountered on a daily basis. Through analyzing a metaphorical story about a cat whose differences didn't fit with his environment, I was able to draw deeper understandings as an educator and as a member of society about how we should not attempt to change others because of their differences, the environment needs to expand to encompass their unique strengths, needs, and perspectives for everyone to thrive.
The second artifact, is from my Advanced Culture class: Multicultural Education my sophomore year at Loras. In this paper, I examine the background of a specific tribe of Native Americans. The background of this tribe was not something I had much previous knowledge on so the paper challenged me to examine their culture and history, and in the process challenged me to evaluate how I could relate to members of this group and develop a greater appreciation for their rich history and culture.
In life, we will meet people who are different from us. People we live with, work with, and see passing by on the street are unique in their interests, beliefs, values, and groups they choose to be member of. Since we are all unique, we are bound to disagree with others.
Being a responsible contributor to me means taking into account the differences that each and every one of us brings to the table, accepting that we might not always agree, and resolving to improve my own understanding of where someone else is coming from and how their background shapes their beliefs so that I can create a positive relationship with them based on respect and understanding.
As an education major, especially as someone with a specific interest in working with those who have disabilities, understanding and valuing differences has been a huge part of my education. In education classes as well as in advanced general education classes I have learned the value of respecting differences, and the first step do respecting difference is developing an understanding of the reasoning behind them. It is as much about understanding where you come from as understanding someone else's background and culture, a message I tried to pass on to some of my students in my webquest on an image from the Klaur collection of pictures taken in Dubuque in 1912.
In my time at Loras I have had the opportunity to participate in service trips, like the one in this picture from Vanceburg Kentucky last spring, that allowed me to be fully immersed in environments in which on the surface there were more differences than similarities. However, by talking to the people in the communities I served in and researching background on the area, I was able to realize that behind the surface differences between us were more similarities than I could have ever anticipated. Therefore, for my artifacts for this disposition reflect not only an appreciation of differences but an effort to create an understanding of differences by taking a closer look at different cultures, religions, and many others.
The first artifact I chose is a reflection paper from my Foundations of Education course my first year at Loras. This was one of the first times I was ever really challenged to consider how differences and perception of differences influenced the way I treated those that I worked with and encountered on a daily basis. Through analyzing a metaphorical story about a cat whose differences didn't fit with his environment, I was able to draw deeper understandings as an educator and as a member of society about how we should not attempt to change others because of their differences, the environment needs to expand to encompass their unique strengths, needs, and perspectives for everyone to thrive.
The second artifact, is from my Advanced Culture class: Multicultural Education my sophomore year at Loras. In this paper, I examine the background of a specific tribe of Native Americans. The background of this tribe was not something I had much previous knowledge on so the paper challenged me to examine their culture and history, and in the process challenged me to evaluate how I could relate to members of this group and develop a greater appreciation for their rich history and culture.
winnie_the_witch_reflection.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
native_american_paper_1.docx | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Ethical Decision Maker
Ethical decision-makers discern religious, cultural and personal values in order to act with justice and compassion. Loras students demonstrate their ability to decide matters ethically.
Many of my advanced general education courses at Loras have examined the idea of what it means to be ethical. I think one of the most important conclusion we came to in each course is the concept of what is ethical is broad and very open for individual, societal, and religious interpretations. Therefore, the idea of being an ethical decision maker can also be seen as broad.
To me, being an ethical decision maker means evaluating the situation, considering the outcomes both positive and negative of the action, and making a decision that creates the outcomes most in line with your own values for the greater good. Therefore, in various classes I have been asked to practice this skill by examining a variety of different issues including case studies, historical examinations of different cultures concept of ethics, and current events.
My first artifact is from my Modes of Inquiry course my first year, and was the first Toulmin style paper I wrote at the college level. In this paper, based upon the book Bottlemania,I was challenged to consider whether or not it was ethical for people to benefit financially from the sale of bottled water, a concept I may have never evaluated for its ethical nature otherwise. This artifact helps to highlight where I was at in my growth as an ethical decision maker when I arrived at Loras, and in connection with my second artifact helps show how far my time at Loras has helped me to come in my development.
My second artifact is from my final project in my cluster course in spring of my junior year. The cluster classes were an Advanced Values class called Barbarian Ethics that was partnered with an Advanced Identity class called Greek Tragedy. Throughout the semester my classmates and I debated the concept of ethics, what historical societies considered ethical, and how the concept of ethics had shifted from historical to modern times. As a final project, I along with two of my classmates, completed an evaluation of what historical societies had considered an ethical ruler through an examination of the characteristics of ancient rulers. By applying what we uncovered through extensive class readings and discussions, my peers and I attempted to understand how changing cultural and personal values of societies and rulers created differing perceptions of a good or ethical ruler.
Many of my advanced general education courses at Loras have examined the idea of what it means to be ethical. I think one of the most important conclusion we came to in each course is the concept of what is ethical is broad and very open for individual, societal, and religious interpretations. Therefore, the idea of being an ethical decision maker can also be seen as broad.
To me, being an ethical decision maker means evaluating the situation, considering the outcomes both positive and negative of the action, and making a decision that creates the outcomes most in line with your own values for the greater good. Therefore, in various classes I have been asked to practice this skill by examining a variety of different issues including case studies, historical examinations of different cultures concept of ethics, and current events.
My first artifact is from my Modes of Inquiry course my first year, and was the first Toulmin style paper I wrote at the college level. In this paper, based upon the book Bottlemania,I was challenged to consider whether or not it was ethical for people to benefit financially from the sale of bottled water, a concept I may have never evaluated for its ethical nature otherwise. This artifact helps to highlight where I was at in my growth as an ethical decision maker when I arrived at Loras, and in connection with my second artifact helps show how far my time at Loras has helped me to come in my development.
My second artifact is from my final project in my cluster course in spring of my junior year. The cluster classes were an Advanced Values class called Barbarian Ethics that was partnered with an Advanced Identity class called Greek Tragedy. Throughout the semester my classmates and I debated the concept of ethics, what historical societies considered ethical, and how the concept of ethics had shifted from historical to modern times. As a final project, I along with two of my classmates, completed an evaluation of what historical societies had considered an ethical ruler through an examination of the characteristics of ancient rulers. By applying what we uncovered through extensive class readings and discussions, my peers and I attempted to understand how changing cultural and personal values of societies and rulers created differing perceptions of a good or ethical ruler.
bottlemania_paper_draft_2.docx | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
collage_presentation_ethical_analysis.docx | |
File Size: | 28 kb |
File Type: | docx |