Critical and Creative Thinking

There are two assignments of mine that stand out as examples of my critical and creative thinking. These two assignments are my critique of Collapse by Jared Diamond and A collaborative website on the ethics of habitat destruction in which I focus on wetlands. In these assignments, I demonstrate my ability to assess multiple perspectives, understanding why and how they differ. I demonstrate my ability to analyze how different backgrounds create different ways of thinking and understand through history how people may feel by different circumstances. I was able to identify central questions and concerns in other work, and to build an array of assignments displaying my range of skills in interpretation, analysis, argumentation, application, synthesis, evaluation, and reflection.

The first assignment is a critique paper on Jarred Diamond's Collapse from the perspective of a committee member deciding on a common book. In this paper I my the argument for this book to be the common book based on my analysis and interpretation of the book. To do this I had to apply how the book fit into the qualities of a universities common book for incoming freshman. I had to think of the learning opportunities, experiences, and discussions. I had to determine the book relevance and decide on if this book could become a focal point for all learning objectives for freshman and in do so I had to think on how one would feel reading this book. The book has a doom and gloom perspective on the environment and societal collapse and from the perspective of a committee member I had to evaluate whether or not it would be fair to make freshman read.

The second assignment is a collaborative website on the ethics of habitat destruction with my focus being on wetlands. This assignment was my first website I put together and it showcases a creative way to express my ideas. This could have just been an essay but I got to explore a more creative format through a website. This assignment required us to break down the implications of habitat destruction for the environment and ethically. I analyze information on ecosystem services provided by wetlands and write about the ethical implications of the loss of those services. I identify the central question of should we preserve wetlands and break in down into the perspectives of anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, and biocentrism. This demonstrate my ability to asses a situation based on multiple perspectives.