Professional and Academic Skills Development - Assignment Example

Portfolio Assessment Materials 12 Instructions to This document contains all of the materials that you need to complete and submit forthe 122BSS Personal Development Portfolio assessment.You should draw on the exercises that you have completed during the seminars or as part of the modules self-directed study programme. You must ensure that each sheet is completed electronically for this submission. See the Portfolio Assessment Guidance document for full details of what to include and the marking criteria.

Please complete your details below.Name:Hamad Nasser S ALQAHTANIStudent ID:Module Tutor:PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANDateArea for developmentActionsResourcesSuccess CriteriaTarget DateDone√07/10languagespeak to different nationalitiesGoing to the hobeUnderstand the language very well20/11√10/10Working with grouptry to contact with peopleFeeling onfdient10/11√11/10Reading skillssetting time each day to readGoing to the libraryCan read and understand 9/11√This thisthisthisthisthisSession Name: Learning Styles & Reflective PracticeTask:In what way do you learn best?

Reflect on your Honey & Mumford learning style. What learning style do you have? Following the self-directed study exercise on p. 57 of the Cameron text book, how are you developing your learning styles to make your learning more effective?I have discovered that I learn best when I do things practically. I am therefore an activist. In order to make my learning experience more effective, I try to visualise myself doing things so that the picture of what i am learning sticks to my mind. Task:Are you making time for ‘reflective practice’?

What questions are you asking yourself to reflect on your experience? Give an example of how your reflection has led to you to learn something.I normally set time to reflect on whatever I have learnt during the day (in the evenings) and at the end of the week. Depending on what I have experienced, I ask myself if i liked the experience or not and how the experience or theory applies in real life. After reading an article on the hierarchy of needs, I reflected on the author’s arguments and realised why people consider security as a matter of priority in life as opposed to gaining wealth.

Session Name: Avoiding Plagiarism & Harvard referencingTask:You were asked to work in groups of 3 or 4, to pick a topic and to find relevant references from four different sources (e.g. newspaper, journal, internet and book). Please list the references below, using the correct form of Harvard reference for each.Cowel A & Kirkpatrick D, 2011, “Egypt Military Pledges Faster Handover to Civilian Rule”, The New York Times, New York Times Company. New York City.Task:Do you feel confident that you can avoid plagiarising others work?

If not, what skills or knowledge do you need to develop? Update your PDP accordingly.I am confident that I am able to avoid plagiarism. I have learnt to paraphrase people’s ideas and cite and reference the sources that I use. Session Name: Group Work & Presentation SkillsTask:Reflect on your experience of group work in the 122bss seminars and other modules. What have you learned and what skills do you plan to develop further?I have learnt that teamwork is important when undertaking major tasks especially.

Through teamwork, people get to learn from one another. It is important to appreciate other people and be a keen listener for teamwork to be a positive and enjoyable experience. In order to be effective when a member of a team, i need to learn how to appreciate people’s cultures. This way I will be able to understand their world views and appreciate why they act or speak the way they do. Task:Write a reflective piece based on your experience of giving a presentation. Note how you are going to further develop your presentation skills.

Giving a presentation before a multitude of people first normally hits me with tension. In order to overcome my tension, apprehension and fear, I did my research on the subject I had to present thoroughly. That way, my confidence grew as I knew that I had great ideas to present. I also encouraged myself that my group members and audience wished to see me succeed. I will take time to write and rehearse mock speeches so as to be more comfortable in public speaking.Session Name: Critical Thinking & Using the LibraryTask:How useful was the library tutorial?

Reflect on your learning: what skills/knowledge do you still need to develop?I learnt a lot from the library tutorial. I learnt how to search sources using various criteria for example with the author name or title. I also learnt the various sources that I may use for my research including books and journals. I am currently confident that my library skills are sufficient. Task:What did you learn from critically evaluating an article? Have you critically evaluated any other sources (e.g. advertisements, political statements, newspaper articles etc.)? What have you learned and how will you build on this?

Article evaluation is important and helps in establishing the credibility and reliability of the information therein. I have learnt that while an article may contain useful and truthful information, the article may not be good for research work if it was written so long ago. The article may contain information that may be outdated already. I have evaluated several newspaper articles and political statements and was keen on the finding out whether the authors had relevant authority. I have learnt how to establish the credibility of an article based on the information presented in it and the authority of the author.

Overall reflection.Thinking about your first few weeks as a University student and in particular your experience on the 122bss module, reflect on what you have learned and how you can build on these skills to reach your longer term goals.At first, I found the university experience quite a challenge as I did not know how to interact with people from various cultural backgrounds and had no knowledge of how to find good sources from the library. However, after attending the class, I have overcome these and other challenges.

I have learnt what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, how to find and evaluate sources and how to make presentations. I intend to practice these skills in my assignments and to read more books related to communication.