Core Competency Reflection

For this project, we had to make a Venn Diagram showing the similarities and differences between two colonies, one of them being Canada. I chose Australia as my other colony, and my diagram is on the reasons why each of the countries were colonized. They were both colonized by Britain, and there is a section for their similarities. I did this assignment alone and I think it demonstrates Critical Thinking. I did research to find facts to put in the circles, and I thought critically about the reasons for the colonization. I questioned the goals and motives of people back then and how they came to find solutions through colonizing. I put my answers in point form, and tried to be through and clear with my responses. Critical Thinking was an important skill used in this assignment.

I also demonstrated Creative Thinking through this Venn Diagram. Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking are very similar and related to each other. I questioned the thinking of leaders of before, and thought creatively about their actions. Creative Thinking is really important in Social Studies because you need to form your own opinion. Studying people and civilizations before us is factual, but there are a lot of sides and stories to the facts. Sometimes you need to use Creative Thinking to find your own belief and right or wrong reasons based on the facts and yourself. We use a neutral perspective on history but we focus more on European point of views. Critical Thinking was the main part of the thought process, but Creative Thinking was also valuable.

One thing I could of improved on is the visual presentation. I wasn’t sure how to make a good layout of a Venn Diagram on Microsoft Word, so the circles aren’t presented the best. The middle section I couldn’t fit text into, so I had to put that section above the diagram. There is also no color, and no special fonts. I think because I used point form, my sentences could of been shorter as well. The management of this assignment was challenging. I kept placing in the wrong tag and losing my files. Overall, I think I did decent on this assignment and put in lots of thought and working effort into my diagram.