In this report I will focus on myself and recognise how my learning can be made more effective and furthermore I will attempt to improve my self-awareness and how I will achieve my high targets.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
WORCESTER
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Self-Assessment
Field: Business Management
Module Subject: Personal Development
Module Code: BUSM1113
Assignment Tutor: Helen Shaw
Student Name: Pham Thi Thanh Tam
Student No: 03005803
Submit Date: 19th March 2004
CONTENTS
Introduction..........................................................2
1. Personal Learning...............................................2
.1 Personal Approach
1.2 Planning and Time management
1.3 Reflection and Self-Assessment
2. Social skills......................................................4
2.1 Group Work and Interaction
3. Communication................................................5
3.1 Written and Oral Communication
Conclusion...........................................................6
References and Bibliography..................................6
Introduction
Being a student can be very stressful for many different reasons. One of the pressures is the many deadlines and assessments, particularly if it is difficult to study. To me, I face many difficulties with how I cope with assignments and pressures of time, I do not know where to begin and how to improve my study and communication skills.
In this report I will focus on myself and recognise how my learning can be made more effective and furthermore I will attempt to improve my self-awareness and how I will achieve my high targets. In addition, I will indicate my strengths and weaknesses and also plan to improve my weaker skills.
. Personal Learning
.1 Personal Approach
My main subject is Business management and to become a good business leader is not easy. They must learn a lot and have good behaviour, communication and social skills, furthermore they need to be a good-natured person and manage their own planning and take responsibility for their own learning and work.
To achieve my target I need to further my knowledge and skills by studying, learning from my mistakes, and getting to know new friends and doing some work experience.
At present, the most important thing to me is my English skills, particularly written and spoken. I want to improve these skills in order to develop my learning. To do this I often attend English language modules. In lessons I usually take part in every discussions and listen carefully to what the other are saying, I also write notes, do tasks with groups and share my opinions. If I have a problem in English or I do not understand something I usually ask my friends and tutors to explain it to me.
After the classes I often do homework, read my notes again and revise what I have learnt in the lecture. I learn better if I get notes down and work with groups and discuss the topics with the other students. I like to work this way because it helps me to clarify my thinking and remember more effectively.
When I revise for my assignments, I often try to find out what kind of assignment it will be and I look at past assignment papers in my subjects and I also prepare summary sheets for large amounts of lecture and text book notes. I usually stress points emphasized in the text, areas the tutors has advised for study and list test questions in study guides and then I test myself on what I have learnt. Sometimes, I allow more time for topics I do not understand and I study related topics at the same time and review ...
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When I revise for my assignments, I often try to find out what kind of assignment it will be and I look at past assignment papers in my subjects and I also prepare summary sheets for large amounts of lecture and text book notes. I usually stress points emphasized in the text, areas the tutors has advised for study and list test questions in study guides and then I test myself on what I have learnt. Sometimes, I allow more time for topics I do not understand and I study related topics at the same time and review at the end of text book chapters. I like to do concepts mapping for learning and I often try to see pictures of things in my mind. That way it helps me to understand and remember effectively.
.2 Planning and Time management
Whilst studying I find out pleasant and quiet places to study. I often study in the morning, because at that time my brain is working better and my understanding is better. I prefer to study alone, so I can concentrate on my work, however, in the lectures I like to work with other students as they help me with my learning.
When I organise my work I set time schedules for myself and use a year planner to mark all the actual deadline dates for the semester, this also allows me to plan times for work, fun and relaxation- planning and prioritising helps me to work more effectively. In addition, I share out my own personal set assignment deadlines and tasks into the spaces. This gives me time for working on assignments throughout the term and helps me to follow and to do work on time.
Often I may become stuck on a lot of my works; I could not get rid of them. This made me tired and felt bad. In the future I must make a list of all the different activities that currently make demands on my time in a typical week and assess how much time is left in each day. I will divide this in two- one half is for time off and the other is for study.
Also I look after myself- eating properly, planning my working times so I sleep properly, and getting enough exercise, all this will help me to study more effectively. These techniques, as mentioned above, usually mean I do well in my assignments and I end up feeling satisfied. In all sincerity I would say that I have progressed in my learning skills enormously at the last semester. I was pleased because I achieved good grades in many assignments, unfortunately I feel that I still need to improve.
.3 Reflection and Self-Assessment
I learn by making mistakes, getting feedback from others, and making reasoned judgements about my own strengths and weaknesses, this helps me to target my development.
My strengths are: I am self-confident when I work and learn new skills, I become more assertive and independent, yet happy to take responsibility for my own actions and beliefs. Moreover I am willing and able to take responsibility for myself and my learning. I am confident in my own abilities, planning and time management. I have a strong working ethnic, self-discipline, ability to work under pressure, creativity and optimism. I am capable of working and interacting sympathetically with others and confident to give and accept criticism, using this in a positive manner to further build on my skills.
On the other hand my weak skills are English, communication, leadership and team work. Sometimes I lack self-confidence when I do my presentations and when answering tutor's questions in lectures, this is because my spoken English is not so proficient, I believe this is the reason why my team work and leadership are also affected.
I have opportunities to improve my weaker skills in the field business by enhancing my communication skills and team work that I could have through greater self-knowledge, more specific job goals and activities.
My friends say I have to participate more in group activities which might help my English skills. Currently I play basketball in the team at university and I am working in the canteen on campus. Working and participating in sports clubs help my English and group work a lot. In the future I intend to take part in Gap year activities and look for a business job outside of the university. I am very keen to build upon my general business experience and training, which will further develop my leadership and communication skills. Before that I must plan in time regarding my learning and working time with out any external impositions.
2. Social Skills
2.1 Group Work and Interaction
I find that working in groups with my fellow students on an assignment task in a seminar is my most preferred experience of learning. Working co-operatively with others can create wonderful opportunities to share ideas and to gain new perspectives and points of view through tapping into a wider pool of experience and knowledge. An important advantage of discussing ideas with others is that I will clarify my own thinking by expressing my own ideas. I will find through the discussions and talking through my own understanding of topics they are more likely to be remembered.
I think group work is necessary, because in employment, most work is carried out by people working together to share resources and abilities. I find that group-work requires that I both contribute actively, and that I listen to others in a supportive and encouraging manner, It is a two way process. Working with others enables the exchange of ideas and information, for example, where to find good resources.
When I do group work, I prefer to sit next to someone who I am comfortable with. Generally I do not speak too much, but I write down what I would have liked to have said. I usually make eye contact with at least one person in the group and try to maintain this as I speak. I often try and act as though I am confident and smile, even if this is not the case. I listen attentively and give them eye contact. I respond with a smile, a nod and try to be aware of turn-taking and allow everyone to have their say. I normally encourage others in the group by asking questions and opinions.
Generally speaking, I would like to speak more with others, but sometimes my English skills make it difficult to express my feelings, therefore sometimes I prefer to remain quiet. When I do face some easy and interesting topics I usually talk a lot and am very realistic and open-minded. Some of my friends said that I am very light hearted, jolly, conciliated, friendly and sensitive.
3. Communication
3.1 Written and Oral Communication
I would like to improve in my written and spoken skills. That is why I would like to take part in sports clubs and activities, and get to know new friends and also gain work experience and participating in various discussions and English language modules. They help me to improve my communication and English skills a lot.
I also need to improve my written language, so try to write a lot of essays, learn new words every day and review English grammar once a week. I generally learn a lot from my written essay, because I can see the incorrect grammar and I also write down sentences which are good grammar and useful to know. When I write essays or reports, I usually ask my friends to help my English grammar.
Improving my English vocabulary and using a variety of written style I must try looking for more journals and articles to read and furthermore it would improve my presentation skills too.
I do not like to do presentations, because it makes me anxious, nervous and embarrassed. I was not satisfied with my presentation in the last semester, although it was my first time. I feel it had poor presentation which made me upset and caused my self-esteem to be low when I met my class mates. Unfortunately for the final result of presentation I was not pleased, however, I have learnt a lot of good lessons, ideas and experiences of how I could improve my skills in future presentations and how I can do much better.
These are some good tips as to how I can improve my performance:
* Making effective oral presentation
* Writing down one idea on each card
* Put the cards in order
* Try different expressions
* Effectively answering questions and challenges
* Formulate strategy for specific audience
* Develop a flexible, flowing structure
* Combine with enhancing presentation style
* Supplement with informed responses to questions
* Remember to smile and breath and pause between points and talk slower
* Practise well with friends and learn from their feedback
Conclusion
In conclusion, I need to constantly work to improve my development and weaknesses such as social and communication skills to ability to recognise and resolve difficulties from assignments and team work. To improve I need to take part in activities, clubs and participate in English language modules and try and get work experience outside of the university.
Furthermore I have to learn for myself by writing essays, revising grammar and getting to know new friends. The important thing is to be open-minded, work and interact sympathetically with others and be confident enough to give and receive positive criticism. Moreover I must plan out own time and set and achieve self-imposed objectives effectively.
References
> Whetten D, Cameron K and Woods M; 1994;
Developing Management Skills for Europe, Prentice Hall,
(Supplement B, pp.460-461)
> Dr Jill Terry; Moving on, ( based at University College Worcester) for the Collaborative Widening Participation Project,
(Section 1; pp.9-10, section 3; pp.17, section 5; pp. 33; 35-36)
> www.google.co.uk
Bibliography
> Student Qualities Profile
> Andrew Northedge (1990), The good study guide, The Open University
> Mike and Glenda Smith (1990), A study skill handbook, Oxford University Press
> Whetten D, Cameron K and Woods M (1994)
Developing Management Skills for Europe, Prentice Hall,
Pham Tam
Personal Development_BUSM1113
UCW