Reflective Writing

Reflective Writing


Here is a piece of reflective writing about my learning style results, skills audit outcomes, my personal tutor meeting and how far I have come since starting university.

Learning Style Results

Firstly, from my learning style results, I could clearly see that I am in fact a kinesthetic learner. This means that I prefer to carry out practical exercises and learn from my own experiences. For example, if I went to buy a phone, I wouldn’t listen to someone talk about it before I bought it, I would actually rather test it out myself, get a feel for the phone and go from there.

On the other end of the scale, the learning style which came out lowest for me was aural, meaning that when listening to a speaker e.g. a lecturer, I wouldn’t take in as much information compared to if I was carrying out and researching about a task myself. Just like the ‘buying a phone’ example that I spoke about above. I don’t want to hear someone talk about it before I buy it, I want to try it myself.

I understand however that this could become a problem for me at university if I do not improve my listening skills as a lot of university time is taken up with lectures meaning I need to be able to listen effectively to take in as much information I can. To improve this, I feel that if I get more involved in lectures and start answering/asking questions, I will feel more engaged and which in turn should mean I take more information in when listening.

Skills Audit Outcomes

From the skills audit, I found that my three highest scores that I need to develop further are:

• Ability to collaborate effectively within a team
• Ability to express self well in writing
• Listening – ability to attend actively to others’ views and ideas and understand their point of view

Firstly, I need to be able to collaborate better when in a team as this will be vital for future university work and my future career. I also need to express myself better in my writing as sometimes I feel I take too long to explain a point. I need to get to the point quicker so I don’t bore the reader. Finally, just like my weakest learning style suggested, I need to improve my listening skills as this will be beneficial throughout my career and life in general.

Tutor Meeting

I have been at university since January and I can safely say that I have improved massively not only as an academic but as a person as well during my time here. I feel I have become much more independent in my work which I feel was reflected in my personal meeting as we discussed how I haven’t missed any deadlines for work so far and that my attendance was good, especially the amount of time I spend on canvas doing extra research.

As well as this, thinking back to when I started in January, I feel I have been approaching lecturers more often about work and the topics to get a better understanding of what I have been learning. I believe that I didn’t do this when I first started as I wasn’t as confident in doing so but due to character building, meeting new people and becoming a more independent person, I can gladly say that I do this now.

Finally, one thing that was actually mentioned in my previous meeting with my tutor was that he thought I looked happy. This was great to hear as this wasn’t the case when I was at my old university and makes me feel like I have made the right decision in coming to Anglia Ruskin. I put this down to the course content, commute time, fellow students and all round enjoyment.

Skills Audit

I have carried out a study skills exercise so I can get an understanding of what study skills I actually need to develop. From the exercise, I found I am confident with my skills in many areas such as:

- Demonstrating basic IT skills

- Showing reading and writing skills

- Knowing my pathway requirements as well as how to access and use university material

These are all aspects that I feel confident in and can carry out without having to give them any more practice and thought. However, there were two skills that I need to improve on according to the exercise, and they are actually the same as my previous learning styles suggested. I need to improve:

- My speaking and listening skills

- Working with others/in a group

As already said in the learning styles section of the blog, these two weaknesses of mine are actually going to be very important to me throughout my time at university so it is vital that I improve them. To get better at these skills, I will try to get more involved in group discussions as well as in lecturers by asking challenging questions and responding to questions is others ask them. By the end of this semester, I would like to be able to be confident at giving good presentations to an audience however this will only be achieved if I improve on the speaking side of things reiterating the fact that I must get better.

Level 1 Skills

Study Skills aspect	ü  Feel confident about? (Tick)
	Yes	No
1.  Understand the University system and your part in it ·         are familiar with the University Undergraduate Student Handbook ·         have attended induction sessions ·          understand the Committee structures and how to become involved in University matters ·          are aware of the role of the Students’ Union	ü
2.  Understand good academic practice ·         know how to reference academic work ·         understand what is meant by plagiarism and collusion ·          are able to use information from many sources	ü
3.      Understand how to maximise benefit from teaching       and learning ·         are developing sound study techniques ·         are using good time-management ·          are active in the learning process	ü
4.  Know the specific requirements of your Pathway are familiar with pathway requirements ·         understand Pathway rules ·          know how to use the system of module choice and confirmation	ü
l Use the library and other learning resources ·         know the library rules ·         know how to access and use the learning support systems ·          are able to use the other learning resources appropriate to your Field	ü
l Demonstrate basic IT skills ·         are able to word process ·         are able to retrieve information from disk, CDROM, the Internet ·          are able to use email	ü
7.  Demonstrate numeracy skills specific to your Pathway ·         are able to collect, record and handle data ·         are able to interpret data in a variety of formats ·          are able to represent data accurately and to appropriate levels of precision	ü
8.  Show reading and writing skills ·         know how to skim read and use selective reading for academic purposes, ·         can spell, use punctuation and grammar appropriate to academic study ·         are developing techniques for note taking in lectures and from literature ·          are developing appropriate styles of writing for different purposes	ü
9.  Show speaking and listening skills ·         can use oral communication in a number of different contexts ·          can listen attentively and critically	ü
10.  Work with others ·         can contribute actively to small group work ·         can recognise your strengths and weaknesses in group situations ·          can recognise  the strengths and weaknesses of others in the group	ü

Skills Audit

This section will provide you with examples of the types of evidence you can provide to demonstrate your level of competence with each skill.

Competence – How competent are you in this skill?	Job Importance – How important do you think this skill is in Employment?
1. Highly proficient	1. Unnecessary
2. Fairly proficient	2. Not very important
3. Adequate	3. Helpful
4. Not very proficient	4. Fairly important
5. Unskilled	5. Essential

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE Times JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

COMMUNICATION

Written:

Ability to express self well in writing

ü

ü

10

At my old university, I received a good grade for a piece of writing I did on myself.

Verbal:

Informal – ability to network easily with other people

ü

ü

10

I have met new groups of people now at college, my old university and Anglia Ruskin and have communicated with them well when needed to.

Formal – ability to express self clearly and concisely to a group of people

ü

ü

5

In many group tasks at college, I took on the role of project manager so had to express myself clearly and concisely then.

Non-verbal:

Listening – ability to attend actively to others’ views and ideas and understand their point of view

ü

ü

10

I believe that I listen well to people and try to elaborate on what they are saying, especially my friends as I want to seem engaged.

Body Language – ability to match body language appropriately to what is being said verbally

ü

ü

5

When presenting, I use hand actions a lot to try and get my point across in a better and more interesting manner.

WORKING WITH OTHERS

Cooperation

Ability to collaborate effectively within a team

ü

ü

10

I have been involved and many group tasks and the outcome was successful.

Negotiation

Ability to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome through compromise

ü

ü

10

There were things I wanted to do in a group project at college but didn’t have the time therefore I negotiated with my lecturers what I could do instead. This was a compromise but ended out well.

Sensitivity

Ability to respond appropriately to individual differences, e.g., age, gender, etc.

ü

ü

5

In the past I have worked well with males, females and particularly older students, some who even have children.

Leadership

Ability to encourage and motivate others

ü

ü

5

This was shown during a charity task at college. I motivated my group members to try and raise more money which we did.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Ability to supervise or direct work of others

ü

ü

5 5

In many group tasks at college, I took on the role of project manager so had to supervise many people at one time.

Ability to evaluate competing priorities to plan ahead

ü

ü

I am known as being someone that likes to plan ahead, particularly in groups as I want everyone to know what and when they are meant doing something.

APPLICATION OF NUMBER

Calculations

Ability to use a calculator or PC to make calculations

ü

ü

5

I have made many successful calculations on calculators and PC’s in the past.

Interpretation

Ability to interpret descriptive statistics, e.g. ratios percentages, means, standard deviations

ü

ü

5

I understand ratios, percentages etc. very well and can turn them into data if needed.

Ability to interpret inferential statistics, e.g., confidence intervals, statistical significance, effect size

ü

ü

5

I showed this during my mathematics GCSE exam.

Application

Ability to organize and present numerical data in an appropriate manner

ü

ü

5

I like to display my work clearly and am the same when it comes to maths. I understand BODMAS and how to lay out equations.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

File Management Techniques

Ability to create, store and retrieve files

ü

ü

5

Since I first used a computers at school when I first started, I have been able to save and retrieve all sorts of files as well as create them.

Word Processing (e.g. MS Word)

Ability to use a word processing (WP) package to produce a variety of formats of documents

ü

ü

5

I have used work, PowerPoint etc. to produce many assignments in the past and other pieces of work.

Spreadsheets (e.g., MS Excel)

Ability to use a spreadsheet to record and manipulate different sets of data

ü

ü

5

I have been doing this competently for some time now, and am learning even more ways to do it in my software principles module.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Databases (e.g., MS Access)

Ability to retrieve information from a database

ü

ü

5

I can do this as I undertook a whole module on excel and access at college.

Ability to create a database

ü

ü

5

I can create databases easily. I have done this at college and university.

Presentations (e.g., MS PowerPoint)

Ability to create and display a PowerPoint presentation

ü

ü

5

At college I had to give a presentation that I made on PowerPoint therefore displaying and creating one.

Information and Communication

Ability to send and receive e-mail

ü

ü

5

I send emails fairly regularly and do so with good techniques e.g. good punctuality. I receive and read probably about 10 emails maximum a day.

Ability to send and receive attachments by e-mail

ü

ü

5

I sent an image of myself to Anglia Ruskin university to put onto my student ID card.

Ability to use an internet browser, e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, AOL

ü

ü

5

I use an internet browser every single day. In fact, I used one to submit this assignment via turnitin and create it in blogger.

Ability to download files from the Internet and transfer to WP

ü

ü

5

In past assignments, I have taken images from google, downloaded them, and put them into word documents.

Ability to use a search engine, e.g. AltaVista, Google

ü

ü

5

I use a search engine every single day, specifically google however the universities default search engine is Bing.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Creativity

Ability to generate new ideas or conceive existing ideas in a new way

ü

ü

5

When I was in college, I had to come up with a fundraiser idea to raise money for a service. My idea was good and successful as we raised lots of money.

Organization and Planning

Ability to set down a systematic sequence of activities and carry them through in an effective manner

ü

ü

10

I had multiple tasks to complete during my college fundraiser, so I laid out all the tasks I needed to do and completed them systematically.

Research

Ability to gather information in a systematic way to establish certain facts or principles

ü

ü

10

I did this last semester when doing research for all of my assignments.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Analysis

Ability to understand and summarize information

ü

ü

5

I have done this in previous assignments where I have had to take the information I found, summarise it can convert into an essay.

Initiative

Ability to initiate, take decisions and act resourcefully

ü

ü

5

I did all of these when I was project manager during my college fundraiser event.

IMPROVING OWN LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

Self Management

Self awareness – ability to identify and reflect on own strengths and weaknesses in relation to Personal Development Educational Development Career Development

ü

ü

5

In college, I had a module on employability skills where I had to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses in life, my career path and my education.

Effective learning – ability to learn from a range of situations and apply learning in a variety of contexts

ü

ü

5

I learn well when watching videos, taking part in practicals, having discussions and listening to lecturers.

Reasoning skills – ability to defend argument using logical and systematic thinking based on sound evidence

ü

ü

5

In my assignments, I always back my points up with facts that I have found through research.

Reflection – ability to reflect on and critique own performance

ü

ü

5

I did this during my employability skills module in college.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Study Skills

Ability to manage and prioritize time to meet deadlines

ü

ü

5

I have shown I can do this in college and at university when managing multiple assignments and deadlines at one time.

Ability to identify relevant sources of information, including people and reference material

ü

ü

5

I have done this successfully when referencing pieces of work during assignments at college and university.

Ability to use a library to find books and journal articles

ü

ü

5

During my time at university so far, I have used the library to look or sources of information relating to my assignments.

Ability to take notes, organize them, and integrate them with other sources of information

ü

ü

5

I take notes on paper during lectures, type them up when I get home, and then add images and links to videos that may help me with further research.

Ability to reference materials using an appropriate system, e.g., Harvard or Vancouver

ü

ü

5

I have used Harvard referencing at college and have continued to use it at university when citing my sources.

Identify your learning needs

Now pick three of the highest scoring skills from the above audit (by multiplying your scores as shown above) that you need to develop further. List these below in order of priority.

Skill Area	Action Plan for Development (the activities you need to accomplish to make an improvement in the skill area)
1. Ability to collaborate effectively within a team	This is a top priority of mine as I need to be able to effectively work in a team if I want to be successful at university and during my career. My action plan is that by Christmas, I will participate in more group activities and be more vocal in them rather than taking a step back. This may involve be being a project manager of some sort.
2.  Ability to express self well in writing	This is important to improve as this is what will help my grades at university. I am going to practise getting to the point of an argument quicker, rather than going on and giving too much information. I would like to achieve this my Christmas because it will help me next semester.
3.  Listening – ability to attend actively to others’ views and ideas and understand their point of view	I have noticed that sometimes when listening to people, I try and change the topic as I may not be interested. My action plan is that when listening to people, I will start to ask questions and actively take more of an interest in what they are saying. I feel this can be improved with every listening situation that I am put into.