I found that the first two weeks of university had unearthed one of my major weaknesses that had gone unnoticed in my pre PAS estimations. After reading Buzan’s Mind Mapping book, I decided that my fatal weakness was that I was writing linear notes for my revision rather than stimulating the brain by using mind maps or spider diagrams as Buzan suggests. As well as identifying a weakness the earlier workshops also showed me that I could communicate well with other members of my seminar group, after we conducted an exercise to see if we could draw a diagram that was explained verbally I got near perfect results, as well as communicating well during group work. I was elected student representative during this time and have since developed my skills and they have helped me interact with my seminar team and help encourage people to take a more active role in the proceedings if they have views on the subject.
It was interesting to learn the many different ways in which people communicate and listen, and I will be carrying this knowledge into the coming months to act as a better student representative.
Pair Work in workshops 4 and 5 helped me identify further major weaknesses including one of my pre-PAS predictions- essay writing. When writing an essay, my work tends to be mostly descriptive with too many grammar errors as I have the tendency to merely skim over work after it is completed rather than checking it through thoroughly for mistakes, and this is the factor which makes me lose the most marks. An understanding of how the topic relates to broader issues and examples to back up the stated facts are the main areas where I can pick up marks. This situation must be addressed in order for me to gain a top grade over the course of the examinations as well as in coursework; I am also prone to using a “chatty” style of writing during my essays and this is one of the targets I am aiming to achieve in my personal development plan.
Over the middle part of the first semester and over Christmas the majority of my weaknesses were discovered as well as two areas of strength that was very pleasing for me. I learnt that an integral part of the learning process is to take on board criticisms so that you can turn them into appraisal the next time a piece of work is submitted, I have the tendency to take criticism in a negative way and let it get me down. After watching the “Giving and Receiving Feedback” video by Graham Davis I was able to identify with a couple of people who acted in the same manner as me and was able to see how it shouldn’t get me down as it’s a way of improving something. It also taught me to ask for help when I really needed it and found out that I had a large male pride. One of these strengths that I discovered through the PAS module was working well within a team; the Belbin Team Role Inventory results (Mullins L.J p468) showed that I possessed the quality to control the use of team resources and that I would work best as the chairperson of a committee. I was sure that I was best suited for the role of student representative after these results coupled with my help in coming to a group decision when faced with “the dark side of the Moon” team test where we all had to agree on which pieces of equipment to take with us. As well as showing me my strengths however, Belbin re-iterated the weaknesses I had discovered in earlier workshops- that I lose interest too easily in a certain project after the initial fascination has worn off.
Workshop 8 showed up my biggest weaknesses of all, laziness and Time-Management. Until the PAS Module I had not fully appreciated the extent of my laziness and mishandling of time, for example , I would say to myself that my room needed tidying, even if it was clean just to get out of revising for an exam or for doing any work. I have identified theses two areas as ones of major concern and have been placed onto my SMART Goal plan; these also have to be addressed if I am to succeed as a university student, but as Roger Heller said , “Organisational change in terms of getting the structure and numbers right is the first step…….. But animating the structure to achieve the right action is vital.” (Mullins L.J P468)
In the final part of the semester I learnt a great deal about how to conduct interviews and how to question somebody properly, both skills would be of great help to me in my future Life goal of becoming a Barrister and putting these skills to the test. All the little things that I had never really noticed before went such a long way to contributing to the overall impression that was made on me. For instance, I had not really noticed the effect of constant eye contact or the effectiveness of gestures when trying to explain what you are trying to say. I found that my strongest asset came in Workshop 10 when negotiating within the group and handling the resulting conflicts. The seminar group had been set a task of rescuing several people from a Mine but had to put them in order of who they would rescue first. Each person had their own views that they wanted to put forward, but we all had to agree on one list. I found myself handling the conflicting views effectively as I suggested a median or another sensible alternative so that the group could all agree on one course of action, this pleased me as I always thought of myself as hot headed and stubborn as I tend to let my own personal views get in the way during arguments. When the group had decided on one course together I could associate with Drucker who said, “Each member of a team contributes something different, but all contribute to the same goal.”(Mullins L.J p261)
The PAS modules have shown me just how far I have come from the first day of university both academically and personally, as at the start I was quite nervous and apprehensive as I did not know what to expect from this new life experience, to the present day when I am happy to be a chairperson figure as well as play a lesser role in activities whilst being the student representative who can help people when they need it, or can report the feelings of the group to the tutor when any problems arise. I feel PAS has been central to my development and has brought to light things that I never knew about myself, hopefully for the best, through this module I have been able to clearly identify what I am doing right both inside and outside of university as well as what I am doing wrong in terms of time-management and being lazy. The most surprising discovery for me was the way I handled conflict and criticism and have adapted to being the student representative, this has helped me to achieve part of my main aim at Brighton which is to come out of university more experienced and better off personally and academically. The tools I have learnt over the first semester such as direct questioning, manipulation, and mind mapping will also help aid me along the way as well as providing a basis to work as a barrister or solicitor from. I hope to take these weaknesses unearthed throughout the first semester and turn them into strengths by means of SMART goals and Personal Development plans and give myself the best opportunity possible to pass my degree in university and set myself up for the future.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mullins, L. J (2002) Management and Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall
Buzan, T (1995) The Mind Map Books, BBC Books
