Academic Skills for Students in the Education Sector - Essay Example

Academic Skills for in the Education Sector Table of Contents Academic Skills for in the Education Sector Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Improvement of Skills Related To Successful Degree Level Study Over the Years 4 Time Management 4 Essay Writing 4 Referencing 5 Reading Skills 6 Presentation Skills 6 Confidence 7 Note Making Skills 7 Placement Activities 8 Personal Development Needs for the Next Three Years 8 Actions Plan 9 SMART Model 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Bibliography 13 Introduction Proper academic knowledge is very essential for an individual to attain various skills and techniques that is highly essential for the development of both personal as well as professional life of an individual. Similarly, I have also gained various skills and knowledge throughout my academic life that would contribute to the success of my professional career. The academic learning in the past years helped me to improve myself in various areas that include time management, essay writing, referencing, presentation skills, confidence and placement activities. Since at present, I am in the foundation year, therefore in order to complete the three years degree course in a more effective manner, it is very essential to identify the areas where development is necessary. Based on this, effective measures are necessary to be taken, so that the shortcomings can be mitigated and accordingly, I am able to master in those skills. Through self-assessment, I have come to know the areas where improvement is necessary. In this respect, I have identified that there are certain areas where I need to enhance that include time management, referencing and presentation skills. I have to work more in these areas to develop the skills that would help me to complete my three years degree course successfully. In addition, the skills will assist in enhancing my professional life competitively as well as competently (Boone, 2015; DMU Centre for Learning and Study Support, 2012). I am going to discuss the skills that I have developed through my academic life along with the ways of their development. Discussion will be also made regarding the personal development needs for the next three years. Finally, an action plan has been provided for the next three years that displays the ways based on ways through which I will be able to achieve the aims. Improvement of Skills Related To Successful Degree Level Study Over the Years Time Management Time management is one of the most important skills essential for an individual to possess, which will contribute to the personal as well as professional development. The educational curriculum being provided in the UK seems effective, as it helps the students to develop their skills among which the development of time management serves as the most significant skill (Boone, 2015). Similarly, I have also been able to develop time management throughout the academic life that helps me to conduct every work within appropriate time. In schools and colleges, there were strict disciplines regarding time management. For example, reaching the institution in time and submitting the project work within the stipulated deadline, helped me to imbibe the skill of time management. Time management is very essential for the development of both personal and professional life. The time management skills will help me to accomplish every task and activity effectively within a desired time that will give a positive impact on my future profession. Moreover, there are also various assignments and projects in the coming three years of my degree course, which are very essential to be completed within the given deadlines. Thus, the skill will help me to deliver the assignments and projects in given time that will contribute to pass the degree course with a satisfactory grade (University of Kentucky, 2008). Essay Writing The academic course and the past years of my educational life have helped me to develop an effective essay writing skills. The educational curriculum provided us the scope for writing essays in assignments and projects. Regular interaction with assignments and projects helped me to develop the essay writing skills that is helping me to accomplish various tasks in my academic life. Furthermore, using the skill will also help in my future study in writing thesis and large projects in a more effective and efficient manner. Moreover, in order to develop the essay writing skill, I am focusing more on involving myself in writing sample essays in a structured format. For the effectiveness of the essay writing, it is very essential to follow a structured format in which the essay should be written (Hearst Seattle Media, 2015). Accordingly, I have been able to gather the necessary skills from my academic learning regarding the exact format of writing essays. Moreover, several other things are also needed to be considered that includes correct grammar, punctuations and constructing sentences in a proper manner that makes the essay more meaningful. I regularly work on all these factors in order to develop them that help me to write an essay more effectively (DMU Centre for Learning and Study Support, 2012). Referencing Use of proper referencing is very essential to avoid plagiarism and identify the author of a particular comment provided in the essay or any written report. The educational curriculum is very strict about the issue and thus, the educational institutions are also following them strictly. Using a proper referencing is very essential to be provided in any essay and failing to do so is a punishable offence. Therefore, the strict rules of the educational system regarding referencing helped me to develop the skill more effectively and I ensure that the references are being provided in the proper places as and when required. Thus, referencing skill will help me in my future studies as well as in my present studies, because in our course we have to write projects and assignments that requires proper use of references and referencing styles for improved reliability as well as validity (Brien & Jordan, 2015). Reading Skills I have been able to develop an effective reading skill by exposing myself to various literatures and books throughout my academic life. Possessing an effective reading skill is very essential to enhance the vocabulary of words that further helps to write essays or complete projects and assignments more effectively. However, the skill has helped me to acquire a large vocabulary of words that helps me to develop effective conversation skills as well as complete the given assignments effectively. Moreover, I am trying to develop the reading skills by reading more books, journals, magazines and online articles. Technological advancements have provided me the opportunity to gain access to large academic sources and articles through personal handheld devices over the internet. This helps in enhancing the reading skills to a greater extent (University of Leicester, 2015). Presentation Skills It is essential for an individual to possess presentation skill that would help in presenting any project or PowerPoint presentation before the audiences in an effective manner. From educational curriculum, I have been able to develop presentation skills that helped me to deliver an effective presentation before a large audience without any hesitation. We were being taught from early education regarding the techniques and tools that are necessary for the development of an effective time management skill (Newton, 2008). However, among the major factors necessary for acquiring the skill, body language and gaining thorough knowledge regarding the subject matter is identified to be vital. Therefore, through thorough practice, I have been able to gain a significant knowledge regarding the presentation skills. However, the skill helped me to deliver presentation in various seminars and academic events in a more effective manner (Alexander, 2011). Confidence Developing confidence is inherently necessary for an individual to accomplish any task or assignment effectively and present oneself before the audiences with any hesitation. However, I have also been able to gain significant confidence from the past years of my academic life that helped me to accomplish any given task effectively. Confidence also comes from gaining thorough knowledge regarding various subjects that helped me to encounter complex situation and to handle them in an effective manner. Confidence is the only quality that helps an individual to gain success in every aspect of personal as well as professional life. In addition, the skill helps me to successfully complete any given tasks as well as gain success in professional career growth (Norman & Hyland, 2003). Note Making Skills Note making skill is one of the major skills that I need to develop within myself. Taking down notes of important information would be necessary for having a better understanding about relevant facts for completing tasks. Note making helps in jotting down the most relevant information from large sources. Contextually, I have also been able to expertise in note making skills for enhancing my competency level in building my career as a primary school teacher or social worker (Alexander, 2011). Placement Activities Possessing the above mentioned skills would help me to be competitive in the job market and to gain success in the placement interview that would be conducted at the completion of the degree course. Through self-assessment, I have been able to realize that there are various skills including presentation skills, reading skills, referencing skills and confidence that are being possessed by me. Utilizing these skills would help me to crack the interview more effectively and thereby gain success in future profession. Large companies highly focus on the interpersonal skills as well as academic knowledge, which would be an added opportunity for cracking the placement interview (Alexander, 2011). Personal Development Needs for the Next Three Years For personal development in the next three years of my degree course, I have planned to join a club in the nearby locality where there will be a development in my interpersonal skills and communication skills. In addition, I have planned to develop time management skill with the intention of completing my tasks and activities within stipulated time. Note making skill is also needed to be enhanced for being depended on my own knowledge for managing different academic activities in an independent manner. These skills will contribute to my personal development, which in turn will be effective in enhancing my professional as well as personal life. There are various interacting activities and moreover, seminars will also be conducted where the students will be required to deliver individual presentation. Additionally, interacting with the club members would provide me an added opportunity to develop my professional skills to a large extent. Subsequently, the development of the aforementioned skills will be effective in assisting me in gaining a 2:1 in my degree. Obtaining 2:1 in my degree will facilitate me in developing a career as a social worker or a primary school teacher. Actions Plan Time management and skills management is the most essential subject in educational course. Therefore, I have to improve my time management and skill management in the next three years to develop a career as a social worker or a primary school teacher. Time management is one of the important skills, which helps me to improve my personal as well as professional career and on the other hand, skill management helps me to enhance my reading skill, learning skills, references, confidence level, note making and presentation skills among others. I have prepared an action plan to improve the time management and skill management in future (Cottrell, 2008). Based on the SMART model, I have to specify my needs, which I want to accomplish. I have measured my objectives based on my future plan and accordingly, I have planned to formulate as well as implement strategy. After that I have to recognize the way through which I can meet my needs such as training class where I can obtain adequate information about how to improve the time management and skill management. Then, I have to assess that achievable objective is realistic as well as relevant to my actual objectives or not. Correspondingly, I have to take the initiative to accomplish the objectives within a given period through which I can gain the knowledge about the procedure based on which I can manage the time to achieve the objectives of my professional life (Smale & Fowlie, 2009). SMART Model Specific Identify the objective to develop time management and note making skill Measurable Measures the objectives based on the future plan Action Oriented Join training classes Realistic and Relevant Measure the extent to which achievable objective is relevant to the actual objective based on the future plan Time Based There should be time duration in the training class to improve the time management and skill management Conclusion From the above discussion, I can comprehend that academic knowledge is important for everyone to improve their skills and achieve professional as well as personal life. Academic knowledge I have gained from my academic life helps me to improve my skills such as reading skills, note making, presentation skills and my confidence level. I am weak in the areas of time management as well as note making skill. In this respect, I have planned to enhance time management along with note making skills for performing my activities in a time efficient as well as independent manner. Subsequently, improvement in time management and note making skill will facilitate in accomplishing 2:1 in my academic life for building a career as a social worker or a primary school teacher. In this regard, I have planned to join training classes to improve my skill related to time management as well as skill management. Through training classes, I can also enhance my communication skills and achieve my future professional as well as personal objectives. References Alexander, M., 2011. How to Improve Your Presentation Skills. Finance & Accounting. [Online] Available at: http://www.roberthalf.co.nz/EMEA/New%20Zealand/Press%20Releases/2011%20Press%20Releases/How-to-improve-your-presentation-skills.pdf [Accessed April 30, 2015]. Boone, L. E., 2015. Timing is Everything. Time Management, pp. 231-252. Brien, T. & Jordan, R. R., 2015. Developing Referencing Skills. Collins Study Skills in English, pp. 1-34. Cottrell, S., 2008. The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan. DMU Centre for Learning and Study Support, 2012. Focus on Essay Writing. Libraries and Learning, pp. 1-8. Hearst Seattle Media, 2015. Importance of Essay Writing in University Learning. Article. [Online] Available at: http://education.seattlepi.com/importance-essay-writing-university-learning-1401.html [Accessed April 30, 2015]. Newton, C., 2008. Simple Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills. Journal. [Online] Available at: http://www.cardinalconsulting.net/documents/10StrategiestoImproveYourPresentationSkillsToday_CardinalConsulting_web.pdf [Accessed April 30, 2015]. Norman, M. & Hyland, T., 2003. The Role of Confidence in Lifelong Learning. University of Bolton, pp. 1-16. Smale, B. & Fowlie, J., 2009. How to Succeed at University: An Essential Guide to Academic Skills and Personal Development. SAGE Publication. University of Kentucky, 2008. The Successful Person’s Guide to Time Management. Cooperative Extension Service, pp. 1-18. University of Leicester, 2015. Improving Your Reading Skills. Article. [Online] Available at: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/study/reading [Accessed April 30, 2015]. Bibliography Judge, B. & et. al., 2009. Critical Thinking Skills for Education Students. Learning Matters. Levin, P., 2007. Conquer Study Stress. Open University Press. Race, P., 2007. How to Get a Good Degree. Open University Press. Read More