Jason Justice

For Information Literacy, I chose the Course Term Paper. The paper was created during my psychology course, and it was intended to be a final paper to close out my studies in the class. It was created on April 25 and was due on April 30. The course itself was a hybrid course with in-person and online sessions. I attended most of the online sessions and was able to promptly complete my work. It was a 16-week course and covered a wide range of topics pertaining to psychology. 

 

The paper contains nine pages and provides an in-depth analysis of the multiple aspects of psychology. The aspects covered were Operant Conditioning, Memory, Life Span Development, Intelligence, and Stress. Operant Conditioning pertains to providing incentives for learning behaviors, Life Span development pertains to the different stages a person goes through as they grow and interact with the world, and other facets of psychology deals with how humans grapple with stress, pick up intelligence, and maintain their memory. In the assignment, I provided personal examples to link my experiences with what was taught in our studies. An example of this is when I linked my experience with my school’s dress code to operant conditioning. My middle school created a points system, with the ultimate incentive towards earning points being a dress-down Friday that would allow students to wear jeans and be given more leeway from the dress code. It helped encourage students to behave, since the points were given out based on behavior. 

 

A few of the assignment’s strengths are that it allowed me to demonstrate information literacy and allowed me to elaborate on topics I studied best. While I was crafting the assignment, I had to cite a variety of academic sources and use those to link my understanding of psychology with verified, fact-based research. Thus, I was able to disseminate information accurately and ethically while adding personal experiences to further reinforce my claims and research. Another strength of this assignment is its length. The paper is well-researched and covers nine pages of important information. The target audience is primarily those seeking to learn about psychology or those who already are well-versed in the subject. What also helps is that the paper is formatted in a professional way, further encapsulating the amount of work and formality that poured into the work to create an aura of professionalism. The paper is important in that it can be applied not just to academics, but in everyday life. The paper has a weakness in that it can appear wordy at times. Since it was an academic paper, I had to maintain an atmosphere of professionalism and minimize any deviation from the standard. Otherwise, the paper is well-researched and well-written for scholarly purposes. 

 

The goals I set for this core skill were to present my ability to disseminate information and one that provides an opportunity for the audience to reflect on my work. My paper accomplishes using academic sources, and it combines personal anecdotes with my insights on those topics to create the paper. The information presented on the paper can easily be applied to every person and has always been a major factor in humanity’s actions and what makes a person unique. Another goal that was met with this assignment was the opportunity for the audience to reflect on the work. Since the work deals with human psychology and how it functions, the audience can ponder on their own mental health and thought processes, and tie it back to their everyday thoughts, actions, and needs. Even while I write this reflection, I think back to my social life and my need to talk and commiserate with others so I can grow as a person. 

 

What I have learned in this core skill is that Information Literacy is a vital skill for societal and personal success. To communicate information to others for whichever reason, whether it be during times of crisis or just to talk with loved ones, a person needs to be able to find the information and words necessary to do that. My assignments in psychology all relied on the ability to ascertain information and apply it accordingly to my assignments, which allowed me to learn and see success in my studies and personal life.