Over the past few months in ENGL 1030, I think that I have grown is the way that I think, and the way that I approach school work. Although this class sometimes felt like a lot of work, it was still so fun and exciting. Some of my favorite habits of mind include: curiosity, creativity, metacognition, and openness.
Curiosity was the first habit of mind that I discussed this semester. I had a lot of fun making the image for this journey log; however, I was so worried that what I was making wasn’t enough and I stressed myself out a lot.
Still, curiosity has always played a big role in my life. I’ve always been asking a lot of questions (in fact, I won “most inquisitive” in 5th grade) and looking into different things. Since taking this class, I’ve realize just how important it is to be curious. In life, you never really stop learning, and it’s always good to ask questions and seek out more complex answers.
Creativity was arguably the most important habit of mind that we discussed this semester. Every week, we had to think of something new to reflect on, and I know that for me personally, I was always trying to think of a creative way to go about my ideas.
One thing that really hits home from this semester is the fact that we were given so much free reign in our assignments. For example, we were supposed to do a research paper, but instead, I did a video on my topic. I think that being able to use my creativity so much in this class will help me in the future with approaching assignments in new ways.
Metacognition was my favorite journey log to do. I really enjoyed writing the short story about the monster. Before this class, I didn’t even know what metacognition was. It took a lot of googling for me to finally figure it out.
I think that metacognition will be really important in the coming years. As I grow up and move into the work field, I’ll need to have a good understanding of how I process information. I didn’t realize until this year how important it is to be aware of how you think about things.
Openness is the final habit of mind that I’m going to talk about. I really enjoyed drawing the picture, and I was pretty proud of the symbolism behind the image. I felt like I had really incorporated the week’s readings into my journey log.
Before this class, I had a very narrow understanding of what openness could mean. I never really liked the word before, because it always had a negative, political meaning to me. Now, I see openness with a more open mind. It doesn’t mean I have to change who I am or how I do things; it just means I have to understand that there are other ways to do things and that it’s okay.
I feel that most of what I talked about was something along the lines of, “This week was really hard.” I am sort of a whiny person, and I do sometimes complain a lot. Also, I procrastinate so much that it makes smaller tasks (such as journey logs) seem overwhelming. That aside, I feel like I always tried to end my journey logs on more of a positive note, and have hope for the future weeks.
The first day of class, I was so excited to hear that we’d be using Minecraft. Even though I’ve never been a big builder on Minecraft, I was still ecstatic to be playing video games in school!
My view on Minecraft has changed. Before I thought of it more as a simulator. I always played on Survival mode, and I would just build a basic house and farm and explore and stuff like that. This class was the first time I’ve ever really build something. Now, I see Minecraft as much more than just a video game; I see it as a new way to create things.
I definitely think that my writing and way of thinking has improved since taking this class. From the different assignments that we’ve done, I’ve been able to go outside of the five-paragraph essay that I’m used to doing. Also, I think that I’ve become more comfortable in my writing, and I’ve learned that my first draft doesn’t have to be perfect.
This class has helped me to develop new ways of thinking. I’m able to look at something from different approaches. One example is my research on Grendel. It wasn’t until this class that I saw him as “more than a monster,” but now I’m starting to look at all types of monsters and villains to see if they are more than they appear. This class has also changed the way that I define a class. I never thought that gaming and education could fit together until now.
Despite all of the work that I’ve had to put into this class, I have really enjoyed it. I’m a little sad that this class is over, and I would totally take another class integrated with gaming.
