Learning modules

137 views 10:38 am 0 Comments June 28, 2023

 

 

 

These are the learning modules we learned in class or these are the chapters, just for reference but not a part of an essay.

Module 1: How to be curious
Module 2: Wicked Problems: Questioning as a Social Scientist
Module 3: Interrogating the World: The Social Scientist’s Toolbox
Module 4: What is the Story? Scrutinising the Data
Module 5: Someone is Lying to You
Module 6: 01000100 01100001 01110100 01100001: Data in the Digital Age
Module 7: Is Anyone Listening?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essay

 

Body 1: 200

Being a student of Bachelor’s of social work, I feel like all the units are designed in such a way that challenges one’s belief, and mindset and gives a whole different perspective. I felt it personally as I am in my second year now all the units have contributed more or less in shaping my mindset and beliefs. If we talk about the particular unit, Investigating and Communicating Social Problems at first I was completely unaware of how much detail it will take to shape my understanding and broaden my perspective. The idea of being curious seemed simple enough, but I had never explored the depths of what it meant to cultivate curiosity. Before this unit, I was very familiar with social problems but didn’t know how to analyze them and was very unknown with the right questions as well.

As I delved deeper into the unit, I discovered various methods and approaches for investigating and understanding social phenomena. I get to know the importance of data to understand and analyse the social problem around the world which makes it easy to communicate as well. I learned to question information, check the fact, evaluate its sources and become more insightful in my interactions and interpretations.

 

Body 2 700

Your praxis journal entry needs to demonstrate your engagement with, and reflection upon, Theory and Action across the semester, and illustrate your reflective practice when it comes to the contribution theory and action make to your learning. You need to be able to show evidence of this (i.e. the inclusion of artifacts of learning):

 

Discuss the theoretical ideas, readings and/or videos that have influenced your understanding of the content (A strong response would link to scholarly resources when discussing the THEORY material)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking about theoretical ideas, having a lack of knowledge in theories, is the same as travelling in the dark ( Trevithick, P 2012). I relate to it when I understand the social problem but don’t have any brief knowledge of how to move ahead with the situation. While going through a lot of readings and social problems, one social problem that made me very intrigued was Misinformation which made me feel like I know it but still, I do not know about it at the same time.

Misinformation refers to the false or inaccurate information that is spread, either knowingly or unknowingly leading to misunderstanding of reality (Lewandowsky, S. et al. 2017). This misinformation is widely spread online, especially on social media where it is very hard to intervene (Pennycook, G. et al. (2020). It can have a negative impact on individuals, society and the public by influencing their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.

 

 

 

I knew what misinformation was but it was very hard for me to distinguish sometimes as it allows a perspective, What if it’s true? And I kind of started thinking as if it was true but often times I just got baffled. When I stated misinformation as a problem, I started thinking with a problem-solving approach. It is a systematic approach to identifying, understanding and resolving problems to create a desired outcome (Kallet 2014). It helped me to counter misinformation by developing a range of solutions by gathering relevant information and evidence. To begin the solution I started analysing through computational and critical thinking. It empowered me to take proactive steps to take the solutions.

 

Computational thinking helped me to avoid misinformation with a structured and analytical approach to information evaluation. It is a problem-solving approach that involves breaking down complex problems into smaller ones in such a way that a computer, human or machine can effectively carry out ( Wing 2014; Beecher 2017). I even used this technique while doing assessments, and started breaking down which helps me to do it in a calmer way.

 

I started distinguishing misinformation by analyzing information sources, verifying facts, applying logical reasoning, adopting an algorithmic mindset and developing data literacy. By incorporating critical thinking while analyzing information, I was being able to make more informed judgements about the accuracy of information. Critical thinking is an intellectual ability that enables a person to uncover the underlying beliefs and assumptions behind the messages they encounter during their daily lives ( Hadley & Boon 2023). It helped me to be more insightful about the information that I consume and mitigate the negative impact of misinformation. Although, it requires a holistic approach that includes media literacy and information literacy skills to distinguish. However, It equipped me with the skills to find problems, break them down and navigate more effectively.

 

Talking about action tasks, we did a workshop in class as a group to find the misinformation, very interesting session was to reflect our fake news experience. Synchronous sessions, such as group discussions and problem-solving exercises provide an opportunity to develop collaborative solutions, which helps to work in a team. To gain self-reflection group discussion gives more clarity, the perspective towards misinformation came in different opinions while everyone found one similar experience which was the covid 19 vaccine rumours, which were like there is a chip in the vaccine, it is dangerous and all. It allowed me to be more educated about misinformation.

 

Asynchronous tasks such as research reports, reflections and case studies foster independent thinking and self-reflections by applying critical thinking and problem-solving techniques to social problems. The case study that we did in the previous assignment helped me to understand how people used misinformation for their benefit. All these small elements of this unit have added strength to my perspective on how I perceive the world.

 

Misinformation was just an example, of how all those small readings from this unit contributed to my learning experience. From thinking to taking actions and communicating about them in the right way this unit has shaped my ability to stand up against social problems and take a requireable actions.

 

 

 

Body part 3

References

Trevithick, P 2012, Social work skills and knowledge: a practice handbook, McGraw-Hill Education.

Lewandowsky, S. et al. (2017) Beyond Misinformation: Understanding and Coping with the ‘Post-Truth’ Era. Journal of applied research in memory and cognition. [Online] 6 (4), 353–369.

Pennycook, G. et al. (2020) The Implied Truth Effect: Attaching Warnings to a Subset of Fake News Headlines Increases Perceived Accuracy of Headlines Without Warnings. Management science. [Online] 66 (11), 4944–4957.

 

Beecher, Karl. Computational Thinking : A beginner’s guide to problem-solving and programming, BCS Learning & Development Limited, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uwsau/detail.action?docID=4871984.

 

 

[Gregory Hadley, Andrew Boon.Critical Thinking 2023

Suhr, J. A. (2015) Psychological Assessment : A Problem-Solving Approach.New York: Guilford Publications.

 

 

Kallet, Michael, et al. Think Smarter : Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uwsau/detail.action?docID=1656382.

Created from uwsau on 2023-06-09 09:55:56.

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