The structure of Ms. Emilie’s teaching helped my reading comprehension skills improve significantly through the course of the semester. Material was to be read from the book and a subsequent quiz would be provided to prove understanding of the material. I ended up doing very well on these quizzes illustrating my improvement throughout the class. These acquired skills helped in every other class where reading was necessary to capture certain material. Critical thinking came more subtly during the course. The group conflict project improved my critical thinking as I had to examine all of the aspects of my stakeholder to find solutions to the common problem. Also the conflict resolution letter incorporated critical thinking as I had to come to a mutual solution between two parties where neither takes a loss. In both cases, research was necessary to establish a common ground and find the solutions that work best for every party involved. I understand now, in detail, the steps to solving a conflict; stating the problem, analyzing the problem, brainstorming solutions and choosing the best one. I am now able to come to a plausible solution when faced with a conflict as opposed to a one-sided close-minded solution. My listening and communication skills have also greatly improved over the semester. I have never been a very effective communicator demonstrated through my weak relationships with my family and friends. The material in the textbook and the corresponding quizzes forced me to learn a ton of things I did not know about being an effective communicator. I learned how to use listening skills, nonverbal communication, feedback, and many more strategies to communicate appropriately with people. I also learned how to register feedback and make changes in the way I am communicating based on the message being communicated to me. The communication environment involving kinesics, occulesis, haptics, proxemics, chronemics, olfactory, and vocalics is much more vivid to me as my knowledge