Discussion 1

Throughout the course you will focus on a chosen topic relevant to a current issue, problem, or trend in your field or specialization (Education / Adult Education). For this discussion, identify a topic of interest in your specialization. In Unit 4, you will complete a literature review assignment based on this topic.
In your initial post to the discussion, include:
• A description of the topic.
• Why this topic interests you.
• A brief history or background of the topic.
• Your ideas and recommendations for addressing this issue in education.
• How this topic is relevant to your professional purpose.

As you compose your response, use the Critical Thinking Model 1: Elements and Standards to help you think critically and analyze the quality of your response and to improve your writing.
Critical Thinking Model 1: Elements and Standards.

Discussion 2

Before you begin this discussion, make sure you have completed the information literacy activities in the Studies for this unit.
For your initial post for this discussion, discuss each of these topics below from tWeehe Library Research & Information Literacy Skills page on iGuide, including any new information you acquired from your review of the resources. Explain why each of the following skills is important, and identify which of the skills you consider an area of strength versus those that present opportunity for improvement.
• Identifying Scholarly Resources.
• Defining Your Topic.
• Searching Effectively.

• Evaluating Source Quality.

Week 3

Discussion 1

This discussion focuses on critical thinking, asking you to apply the elements of thought presented in the Critical Thinking Model 1: Elements and Standards Web page to analyze the logic of a scholarly article in your field that you select.
Review the Library Guide on iGuide for your specialization, and locate an article in the Capella Library related to the topic you chose in Unit 2. The article must be from a scholarly, peer-reviewed source, and should be a report on some type of study. If you are unsure as to what constitutes "peer-reviewed," see How Do I Find Peer-Reviewed Articles?
For your initial post in this discussion, provide the citation for the scholarly article you selected and use Paul and Elder's Critical Thinking

Model 1: Elements and Standards to analyze it. Use the Elements of Thought Discussion Template in the Resources to guide your analysis.
In your post, be sure to identify the specialization from which the article was derived and provide the full APA reference for the article. Refer to the Capella Writing Center's APA Style and Format module for information on properly referencing and citing sources. Or consult your Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (a required text for this course).

• Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.
• APA Style and Format.
• Elements of Thought Discussion Template.
• How Do I Find Peer-Reviewed Articles?
• Library Guides.
• Searching Education Journals for Articles | Transcript.
• Critical Thinking Model 1: Elements and Standards.
• SOE Doctoral Community Resources.
• Orientation Toolkit.

Week 4
Discussion 1
In this unit's Studies, you used the Capella Library's Summon search tool to locate five sources relevant to the topic you chose in Unit 2. In your initial post for this discussion, respond to the following:
1. State the topic for which you searched relevant articles using the Summon search tool.
2. Choose one of the five articles you selected.
3. Summarize the article, including your analysis of how the article is relevant to your topic and how it informs professional practice in

your field. You may use the information you develop for this discussion as one of your literature sources for the Literature Review assignment in this unit.

Discussion 2

In your initial post for this discussion, select one of the professional organizations you located through the Internet search assigned in the unit Studies. Discuss the purpose of the organization, including professional growth and development resources available through the organization and how one's affiliation with the organization supports improved professional practice in your field or specialization.
Week 5

Discussion 1

For this discussion, review the program resources for your specialization, or for higher education, in the unit Studies and related Resources. Then, discuss the following:
• Which authors and topics are familiar or sound especially interesting?
• Do you own, or have you read, texts or articles by these authors, or related to these topics?
• Who are two key theorists in your field?
• What theories are they associated with?
• What is the connection of their theories to your program?
• How familiar were you with these two theorists prior to researching them in the library?
• Are the articles that you found primary or secondary sources? How did you determine this?
• How have the articles you found contributed to the scholarly conversation surrounding the field of study?
• What key learnings did you glean from reading these articles?
• Compare two of the articles you read. You might consider these questions: How do the theories differ? Or how does the theoretical

application differ? You could compare articles on different theories or on the same theory.
• How have the works of any of the authors been used in your work setting? How can you utilize what you learned in your work setting?

Discussion 2

In your initial post to this discussion, please respond to the following questions:
• What has been your most significant learning experience in this course to date?
• How would you evaluate your course experience so far, in terms of increased knowledge and skills as described in the program outcomes?
• What could the instructor do to help you be more successful in this course?
• What questions do you have at this point?