Learning Skills and Weaknesses - Coursework Example

Profiler: Learning Skills and Weaknesses Profiler: Learning Skills and Weaknesses My Writing Skills In general I consider my writing skills to be slightly above average as I can be able to write proper reports, memo’s, essays and emails. I have excellent spelling skills and can be able to easily produce lengthy documents and reports without my having to use either a dictionary or spell checker. While I can be able to accurately spell most words in the English language, my grammar and punctuation are slightly less than perfect, while I am well aware of exactly where to use some of the more common punctuation symbols such as full stops, commas and question marks, I am at times however confused when it comes to the use of some of the lesser used symbols such as the use of semi-colons and full-colons in place of commas, and full stops respectively. My note taking skills can be rated as being average and not particularly exceptional. While I am quite capable of taking notes during presentations, the notes I take are not always useful as I can sometimes easily miss noting down some of the more important aspects of the presentation, I am usually forced to try and argument my notes by using the notes taken by some of my classmates during the presentation. My expansive English vocabulary enables me to quite easily put information in my own words while leaving out large chunks of the information that speakers present during a presentation. This skill has served to allow me to easily take notes during presentations. In addition to this function, my vocabulary also causes me to be quite efficient at putting my own ideas onto paper using the right words, however, I at times end up editing a document several times as I replace some of the words used with what I consider to be more appropriate words. In order to improve my writing skills, I am currently working on improving my average note taking skills so as to allow for me to be able to take better notes in class. Some of the other areas that I am targeting so as to improve my writing skills include my use of the correct grammar and punctuation and the ability to get my own ideas onto paper using the right words, to do this, I carefully take time to think of what I am about to write and thereafter making sure that I do not flout any grammar and punctuation rules regardless of how minor the rule might appear to be. Reading and Research Skills My reading of professional and academic texts skills are relatively good as a result of my having had to constantly read large volumes of both these forms of texts so as to be able to post good grades in my exams. As a result of the long hours I have had to put in reading, I am quite effective at quickly skimming over large volumes of text and generating a good understanding of the overall meaning of this text, I have found this skill to be particularly effective in my previous research projects where I have been required to quickly go through large volumes of text searching for the necessary information required to help me produce good quality reports. My skills at speed or skim reading are average at best as I sometimes have to reread the complex parts of a particular text so as to understand them. Although I can be able to find information through listening or doing, I generally prefer the use of reading so as to find information as I am better able to understand and grasp information if I read it as compared to just listening to the information. My ability to effectively use a thesaurus or a dictionary is above average as I can be able to easily use either volumes to find the meaning of some of the more difficult English words that I come across as well as suitable alternatives to these words. I am usually able to easily locate books in libraries without much trouble, however, I at times have to request for the librarian’s assistance when it comes to tracing some of the resources such as reports and magazine editions. To improve my reading and research skills I am currently engaged in practicing on how to read or quickly skim across a document and manage to understand all the important sections. To do this, I am going through books and texts that I am already familiar with as I will easily be able to identify the important points as a result of having previously gone through these books. I am also trying to spend more time in the local library where one of my friends is helping me in improving my ability to easily locate resources in libraries. Time Management I am quite effective at thoroughly organizing my professional and personal schedules and always try to not forget any appointment or deadlines that I might have. To this end, I fully utilize the personal organizer on my cell phone and try to prioritize my tasks based on both their importance and urgency. However, I sometimes tend to miss appointments as a result of having other more pressing engagements. I very well understand my own learning habits and being a morning person, I usually ensure that I schedule my heaving and intensive reading and studies for the morning when I will be able to better grasp the concepts I am attempting to learn. On the other hand, I always schedule any light reading and studying in the evening time. An added benefit of my waking up early is that the practice aids me to effectively complete most of my tasks well ahead of my scheduled deadline. I always ensure that I try to proofread and thoroughly check through my work so as to eliminate the loss of marks as a result of small negligent mistakes. To improve my time management skills, I intend to purchase and start using a diary to help in scheduling my appointments as opposed to my being heavily reliant on my phone for this purpose. The reliance on my cell phone to schedule and organize my appointments has caused me to at times be late for meetings or at times I even end up missing my appointments as a result of the cell phone battery dying. Numeracy Skills My ability to easily manipulate numbers mentally is about average as although I do manage to get correct answers I normally end up giving wrong answers about half of the time, and as a result of this, I normally do not volunteer to be the first to give my answers to avoid any possible embarrassment. I have always managed to post average results when working with decimals, fractions, ratios, percentages and graphs, however my skills at working out accurate statistics so as to back-up my points has always been well above average. I’m also quite good at deriving a variety of information from charts and can be able to select and develop the best charts to portray different complexities of data. I will have to take extra classes to help in boosting my numeracy skills in addition to putting in more time and effort in my numeracy studies. Information and Technology Skills While I can be able to effectively use a calculator to perform simple calculations, I am however unable to do some of the more advanced scientific calculations. My skills at word processing and database creation and management are above average as I find myself regularly having to use the two. I have excellent internet and email usage skills as I am able to write, reply or even forward emails quite easily. I am also quite adept at the use of search engines, but occasionally experience problems at saving my favorites to the specific folders that I might have created, and in the usage of online library catalogues. My skills at using presentation software are also at an average level as I can be able to create a multiple slide presentation that includes a variety of graphics and animated texts. To improve my information technology skills, I will undertake to do more practice on my use of online library catalogues to search for resources, I will also undertake to try and design more complex presentations, and databases so as to challenge myself to improve my skills in these two aspects. e-Learning Skills My e-learning skills are considerably quite average. I am able to find course material on the internet although admittedly, this is not always quite easy as I sometimes experience difficulties in navigating institutional systems. I am also able to participate in online discussions, open chat rooms and forums by making my own private contributions as well as creating new threads and responding to the older. Although I try to always try to add new material to my ePortfolio, I always find myself lagging behind when it comes to collating all my electronic records together. However, I have the necessary knowledge to enable me to share this material with others so as to collaborate with or receive feedback from them. I frequently use a number of electronic tools on both my computer and cell phone to enable me to easily manage my meetings and schedule tasks. I intend to improve on this skill by reading more material on eLearning so as to ensure that I am always abreast with the new and fast changing eLearning technological advances. Read More