Seminar Reflection

As my freshman year comes to a close, I need to reflect on my classes and what I improved on. I looked back at my seminar class and where I started compared to when I ended. I made improvements in some areas like distinguishing multiple senses of a text and my oral communication. I did not regress at all, but I did not improve in my ability to analyze arguments to form a well reasoned thesis or pursuing new understandings through collaborative inquiry. I may not have improved, but my abilities in those areas were at a satisfactory level. During my first year of seminar at Saint Mary’s College I made improvements and in some areas I made no advancement.

When it came to distinguishing multiple senses of a text I improved greatly. I started seminar at an average level of reading and when I read I did not look deeper into the text or think critically of its application on a larger scale than just within the story. I did not read very carefully at the beginning of a story and missed the subtle ideas that could be discussed. I started improving before easter break when reading Maus and I did a really good job during the discussion of The Odyssey. I went deeper into the reading because mythology is a subject that I find a passion for. I brought up an idea that Homer wrote the reader into the story as the loyal swineherd and also the imagery of the bush in the beginning being half wild and the other half trimmed. My ideas also were not fully developed before the class and I did not understand certain flaws in my logic until they were pointed out to me. Seminar has helped me develop my ideas more fully so when we discuss in class my ideas are better supported and do not have as many large flaws in the logic. By the end of my first seminar...

... middle of paper ...

...ds in The Odyssey represented human qualities and I helped him figure out the possible qualities and also their connection to the text to support his thesis. Overall, my classmates helped me mold my ideas into a full thesis or argument that had textual support.

Over the entire spring semester seminar I made improvements in my reading deeper into texts. I also improved in my oral and written communication skills by being less shy and collaborating more with students to enhance my ideas of the text to write a well supported thesis. I made no progress in improving my ideas through collaborative inquiry. My analytical skills did not improve because my ability to use a text to argue my point was at an adequate level. In conclusion, my first semester of seminar was beneficial to me and improved my skills. I look forward to other seminars to keep improving my skills.