Personal Perspective Paper

Personal Perspective Paper

Clara R. Cobey-Thomas

University of Phoenix

Personal Perspective Paper

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how to use valuable resources in a learning environment. During the course of this MBA program at the University of Phoenix (UOP), I have been asked to examine three particular tools: rEsource (an electronic library), learning teams, and a nine step problem-based learning model.

In addition, I will address how using these resources will benefit me as a current student to meet specific goals and objectives.

The Value of rEsource

As a UOP online student, you have access to their electronic library named rEsource. This is deemed to be an excellent tool for performing searches related to course materials.

During week one of my course, I had to familiarize myself with the UOP's electronic location of course materials. First, I viewed the practice page to get a better understanding of how things were set up. For example, there were two format styles shown, a week-by-week breakdown and a single page format. The week-by-week view lists the objectives and assignments that are expected from the student. The single page view presents course materials for the entire course.

Also, there were several other links to the course materials. From these links, I explored the following: (1) Learning Team toolkit, which includes a handbook and forms to complete team assignments; (2) University Library which has numerous databases of journals, newspaper articles, periodicals and (3) Center for writing excellence, which provides writing and editorial skills, grading services and many other valuable sources.

In addition, after accessing this practice page and many of the links, I had a clearer understanding of how to access the course materials.

The Value of Learning Teams

According to University of Phoenix (UOP), learning teams are formed to "create collaborative learning environments in which working adults can share the practical knowledge that comes from life and work experiences." (2002-04, p.1).

One of their goals is for the students to understand how to be a team leader and know their expectations. One of the ways to increase your success during the team learning is to access the learning team toolkit. These are materials offered to the student wants to know what is expected from as an individual and as a group, he/she can access the Learning team toolkit to find out all of this information.

Before I became a team member, my instructor assigned me to a group. We were grouped accordingly to our time zones. After the team was formed, we started brainstorming, and had no problems with assigning a leader for each week.

UOP is one of the many institutions that offer team learning. In the educational arena, they refer to this style as collaboration. As a result, a professor at the University of Southern California examines how colleges and universities can have greater success. Results from her research conclude: "Not only will it pay off ... but it can strengthen the teaching, learning and research efforts that are at the core of our collective mission." (Kezar, 2005).

Although, I'm working with a group of classmates, I will be continued to be responsible for individual learning. During my two year of undergraduate studies, I was not given the opportunity to work in teams. When I transferred to a four-year undergrad degree program, we formed cohorts to start off with at the beginning and graduated with the same group. I made a shift from the norm of tradition