During the interpersonal skills module I have learnt and progressed a lot in the skills covered within the module. One of the skills I have progressed during this module was time management. By looking at the time log I had filled in, I have noticed that I wasted a lot of time being very unproductive as spending time in the student union while I could be doing other important things such as coursework. Furthermore, I feel that I also waste a lot of time when I get home by going on the internet (msn) talking to friends or watching long hours of television. By reviewing the time log my most productive time was in lectures and seminars. I also filled out the procrastination indicator, which has indicated my particular behaviour. For example, in the handbook there is an example which reflects me, which that whenever I have a difficult job or assignment to start I always tidy my desk before starting as then I feel more organised, more focused instead of being all over the place and misplacing things. Also when I am doing my work I keep on chatting and time wasting to a minimum as I am very focused on getting the work done and I have never missed any deadlines set, either my own or the university deadlines. By looking at the procrastination indicator I have noticed that I tend to delay putting sound plans into action, however over the months I have been producing sound plans, which is a new skill for me and has made me organised and making me use my time more efficiently. Over the months my time management skill has improved a lot has I have cut back on watching television, going on the Internet and have been using my time productively like doing my coursework. I have also improved a lot on my concentration as before I used to get distracted easily, however this has been improved, I hardly make any social calls while working. Furthermore, I don’t allow any constant interruptions anymore and I tend to note things down as before I use to try and remember everything, which was not good, as I would forget.
Whilst in the module we had to fill in various sheets throughout the workbook in seminars and at home. One of the sheets I had filled in was a cognitive/ learning styles questionnaire and I think this is important to me because it will show me what type of learner I am and how I would prefer to be taught to achieve my full potential. By reviewing cognitive/ learning styles questionnaire scoring sheet I have noticed that I am more of an active learner rather than reflective as I personally understand information best when doing something active with it such as using computers to solve problems, producing and making things and I also prefer working in a group rather than alone. However I do have a very strong preference on reflector as I wait and listen to other people before contributing my ideas or suggestions. I have also noticed that I am more of a sensing learner over intuitive learner, as I like learning facts and solving problems using various methods. I am also more practical and careful when doing things and am good at memorising facts. By looking at the score sheet I have noticed that I am more of a visual learner than verbal as I best remember what I see such as diagrams, flow charts, films and demonstrations. Also I am more of a global learner than sequential, this is because I can absorb material randomly without connections and understanding is by far the best, however I do have difficulty in explaining how I worked out complex problems. I have also noticed that I have a strong preference for pragmatist, as I personally like to get on with things and tend to act quickly and confidently with ideas that I like.
During some of our seminars we did certain group exercises and one of the exercises we did was to produce a group board game and do a group presentation on it. This is where we teamed up in our chosen groups and worked as a team to produce the game board. After doing this exercise it had improved my team working skills, furthermore, the exercise had improved my communication skills and gave me confidence in contributing my ideas to the group. After this I had filled in the group working self-evaluation chart and by referring back to it, my contributions and behaviour were at a good standard as I was prepared for the activity by bringing in the necessary equipment. Additionally, I also made sensible suggestions and contributed quite well. I listened to my fellow group members and encouraged their ideas, I also spoke more than my fair share, which is a big improvement to me as I am usually quite and I didn’t lose my concentration as usually I start talking to fellow members which is not related to the work, however I was very focused on the exercise.
On our other group exercise, what we did was to present, plan and structure a mini presentation about an island, which we had been allocated. We had been asked to show a short presentation to the other groups persuading them to join our island. My presentation skills can lack at times, as I am not a person that is confident in standing in front of people and talking. In this presentation I lacked alot of skills such as bad eye contact with other people in the room, I spoke to fast and didn’t sound enthusiastic enough about what was being emphasised, I wasn’t relaxed which reflected on my speaking as I missed some of the words. However, over the few months after the completion of the interpersonal skills module I had made an enormous improvement in presenting presentations, as we had to give an individual presentation, which was 30% of the course, and in this presentation, I was confident. I spoke clearly and showed a lot of enthusiasm, had very good eye contact with fellow students and was very relaxed when presenting. However I noticed that at times I still spoke to fast, which was a down point for me.
In the near future I am sill uncertain about my career and job options as I would like to explore all the opportunities that are available to me, however as for the skills, I have improved in most of the areas after this module but there are always room for improvement. I feel that this module as benefited me immensely as I have become more of an aware person, who is no longer subjective to the ideas of others, furthermore, I feel that in retrospect I can see myself improved as a student as well as an individual.
