#critcalthinking

CTS WEEK 1

Q1. Describe your understanding of critical thinking that you had before the class, and reflect on what you may have learned.

-At first I thought critical thinking was about using your brain but on a deeper level. But after week 1 lesson on critical thinking I learned that it isn't something that you can master straight away as it takes time. Critical thinking is about problem solving and knowing how to handle a certain project. Critical thinking is about knowing how to question, analyse, evaluate and make a judgement about what you read, hear, say, or write and the end result is to have good beliefs

Q2. What have you learned about Mindfulness?How might you integrate this into your learning environment?

-What I have learned about mindfulness is that I need to be careful and pay attention to my present moment. I also learned that I need to be open, accepting and discerning attention to everything I do. Lastly, I need to accept and love myself as I am always looking down on myself and having negative thoughts about my appearance.

- How I will integrate this into my learning environment is to be accepting and open whenever I have negative feedback as those words are able to help me grow as a person. 

-I need to start being positive and start accepting my imperfections as no one is perfect.

Q3. Describe an eventful moment you have experienced in this class.

-I would say the most eventful moment I have experienced is making new friends with local students and international students. I am glad that I made friends with international students as they taught me new words in their native language and I am able to learn about their cultures which is really fascinating to me as I am someone who loves to learn new things.

Before the class began, I thought critical thinking was primarily about intense mental effort and generating numerous questions. However, after reflecting on the lesson, I've realized that critical thinking is more than just working towards a solution, "critical thinking involves first discovering the who, what, when, where, and how of things".— Bell Hooks, Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom (Page 8) Critical thinking also involves examining how my work can convey a story that resonates with others and connects with their experiences. Ultimately, critical thinking can mean different things to different people. It involves not only reflecting on my own thoughts processes but also reflecting on other people's perspectives as well.

As for mindfulness, being mindful as an artist and as a student means immersing myself in the moment without judgment. It involves stepping back to assess the situation with curiosity and acceptance and asking questions to understand different perspectives. Mindfulness allows me to explore both sides of the story and gives me the space to approach challenges more effectively. When I encounter obstacles or failing to achieve what I want, I should approach it mindfully by reflecting on what went wrong with an open mind, and consider alternative strategies for improvement. "Keeping an open mind is an essential requirement of critical thinking." — Bell Hooks, Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. (Page 10)

CTS WEEK 3

Q1. We talked about “Self-management”, “Self-awareness”, “Empathy” and “Relationship management”. Which aspect do you think you are the strongest at, and which is something you should try to improve? Discuss with reference to today’s activities, and even your studio collaboration.

Personally, I would say “Empathy” is my strongest as I can easily relate to other people as i didn’t really have the best childhood experience, I tend to learn from my childhood traumas and help other people if they are ever going through something similar to me or be a listening ear to someone be it a stranger or my friends.

I would love to improve on “Self-awareness” as I tend to not be aware of my surroundings which can be extremely dangerous, lacking appropriate planning for the future as I tend to make irrational decisions based on emotional desire. Therefore,  bringing about  consequences in the long term. How i would improve on my self awareness is by writing down my goals as it can help provide some direction in my life, talking to my friends as they can evaluate you honestly and i am accept their comments constructively and keeping a daily journal as doing journaling each day can help me better understand my emotions and encourage regular reflection.

Shawn M. Burn Ph.D.. “ Is Empathy Your Greatest Strength and Greatest Weakness?Here's how to manage your empathy so it's a strength rather than a curse” 2019,

indeed. “8 Steps To Improve Your Self-Awareness (With Tips), 2024.