All entries for November 2012
November 26, 2012
First entry on Getting started on skills development and the Warwick Skills Portfolio
Workshop Tutor: Charlie Cunnigham
Introduction
My main intention to achieve the Warwick skills portfolio award is to learn more about my skills, other than the ones that I am already aware of, i.e., dancing and piano playing. Also, to recognise skills that might be useful for my future career.
I signed up for the introduction workshop to learn more about the award, and my expectation for this workshop was merely an introduction to the award. However, it turned out to be much more interesting than just an introduction (I have never enjoyed a 3-hour long talk before this)!
I like that it was interactive and the activities provided a chance for me to exchange ideas with other people, it is interesting to know about the different perspectives people have towards one simple concept. For instance, the concept of reflective thinking, I personally think that it is like looking at your own reflection in a mirror, checking if what you are wearing suits you, if it does not, you get change into something else, i.e., reflective thinking helps you to see what is right for you. Some people think that reflective thinking is giving yourself time to process the large amount of information you receive each day, and to form a picture of what you have learnt from the information.
To my surprise, I also found out that my learning style is a mixture of activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatist! I am however weaker as an activist and pragmatist. I am not spontaneous and always stick to the rules.
Actions
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Try to be more spontaneous and not depend entirely on plans.
Action: Just say yes. If a friend ask me to go study with her or to a social, I would say yes.
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Improve my commercial awareness.
Action: I have applied to a commercial awareness workshop held by BPP law school.
Start reading BBC news and The Economist daily.
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Reflective thinking.
Action: Give myself 10 minutes before going to bed to reflect on what I did during the day, things that I did well and things that need to improve on.
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Improve self-management.
Action: Less procrastinating, more working.
To write a follow up, go to http://go.warwick.ac.uk/skills//blog