One concept that I feel can use further discussion is the concept of leadership. There are many different types of leaderships. The first type is authoritarian leadership and this leader makes all the decisions without consulting anyone else. The second type of leadership is consultative leadership. This leader consults with the group members and figures out what the group wants before making any decisions. The third type of leadership is participation leadership and this leader works together with the group members to make decisions. The fourth type is laissez-faire. This leader does not take the initiative and simply waits for the group to figure things out. After working on the group projects, I realized how important leadership is. I feel that there always needs to be a leader in a group of people so that things can get done. Without a leader, the group members will feel lost and confused as to what to do. But when someone steps up and takes the role as a leader, the group is then able to properly function. The most effective leadership and the one that I think occurred in our group project is participation leadership. I feel that this leadership is the most effective because it allows for everyone to make the decisions altogether. The leader basically guides the group into the discussion and helps them along the way.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
D2:Favorite, Least Favorite & Improvment
My favorite thing about this class was that it was online. It was my first online class, and I actually really enjoyed it. The class was very independent and allowed me to work on my own time management. This class also had me work on being responsible for remembering to check the website, rather than being reminded of assignments by going to class. Although this class was very independent, I thought the class was very organized. The organization and clarity of the class and the class instructions allowed for me to be very aware of what needed to be done and when. My least favorite thing about the class was the group projects. Working in groups can be difficult especially in an online class. I think a change that would improve the class would be to change the start of the week to Monday and the end to Sunday. This way the online class would be more in sync with the rest of the students’ school week.
D1 What I Have Learned
Over the course of the semester I have learned many concepts and ideas that I will definitely be able to transfer and use in my everyday life. I have learned how to analyze arguments. First off, I have learned how to spot the different kinds of arguments, and whether they are good, strong, or valid. I have learned about the different types of fallacies, how to distinctively spot them, and how to possibly repair them. An example of a valid form of argument is reasoning in a chain. Reasoning in a chain is a chain of conditionals that go step by step, for example:
If I go to the mall tomorrow, then I won’t have time to go to tutoring.
If I do not go to tutoring, my tutor will go home early.
If my tutor goes home early, she will get home in time to watch her favorite television show.
So, if I go to the mall tomorrow, my tutor will be able to watch her favorite television show.
A bad form of reasoning in a chain argument is the fallacy of the slippery slope. The slippery slope argument is a bad argument that also uses a chain of conditionals, but at least one of which is not true of doubtful. For example:
Don’t work out today! If you do, you will be sore tomorrow. You won’t be able to get out of bed, and then you won’t want to work out for the rest of your life!
These are just a few examples of the different concepts that I have learned through this class and can now use to further analyze different arguments.