Unit 0 Topic 1 Topic 1 discusses the preparation for higher education. 900 hours will approximately be spent independently studying annually, so, it is important that an efficient space is established to be proactive. When studying it’s vital to take breaks and allow your Brain to rest. If too much time is spent on a piece of work then it may decrease performance. Exercising, reading books or catching up with friends can be many forms of relaxing. The unit talks about time management, where according to Moore et al (2010), time management is key when it comes to success but also a big challenge to face being a student. Planning is another vital skill, it’s about estimating the time you have and using the resources needed to complete tasks. Without a plan, it can lead to students failing and falling behind. Using the Eisenhower principle, it can help decide which tasks are most important. A speech was made by former US president Dwight Eisenhower, “ I have two kinds of problems; the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important and the important are not urgent.” Eisenhower separated his work into two categories, urgent and important. It can help decide what tasks to do, schedule, delegate and delete. Lastly, procrastination and perfectionism. Procrastinating is avoiding starting certain tasks. People also face perfectionism. It leads to a compulsive feeling to achieve an unrealistic goal. Topic 2 Topic 2 discusses the importance of digital skills. Section 1 involves Microsoft word which is an app for word processing that is used when creating and saving documents. You can change the font, size and colour of the text as well as add images and edit paragraph layouts. Another word application is PowerPoint. This is a way for you to form presentations and slideshows. They have the same tools as Word, however, the layout is applied on slides and less for text and more for visuals. Demo’s are shown on what different tabs mean and how to use them. The topic goes on to describe Outlook which is an emailing app with a similar layout to the rest of the Microsoft applications. You can transfer documents made in other apps and send to other accounts. Also, Microsoft teams can be used which is a more virtual source of contact. It has a messaging service, FaceTime calls and a place to upload work and access it. It’s a popular and useful source in schools, colleges and universities. However, when online, you are exposed to various scams or cyber attacks. These can involve fake purchases and giveaways. The best way to stay safe online is to limit what and how much information is online, think before posting and control privacy settings. Topic 3 Topic 3 explains the importance of referencing and plagiarism. Referencing is acknowledging someone else’s research and ideas as your own work. The details of the source and author must be presented in a certain way so they are recognised. It is important to reference as you need to demonstrate the research you have undertaken, include credibility to the argument, help readers find the source that has been used and also avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense in academic context which results in serious consequences. Plagiarism is essentially using someone else’s work and representing it as your own. It won't result in a lawsuit, however, it is an academic offense which can lead to being asked to leave a school of university. There are many forms of plagiarism such as self plagiarism which is submitting a piece of work that’s already been handed in and collusion, when an assignment is formed by more than one person when it’s an individual task. There’s also false authorship which is handing in someone else’s work or paying someone to write the assignment for you. Paraphrasing is the best way to avoid plagiarism, you are able to directly quote work but they must be formatted and referenced in the correct way. Topic 4 The last topic of unit 0 is about understanding assessments. When reading assignment questions, there are different terminologies to look out for to know how to answer them. These may include evaluate, analyse, compare and differentiate. I completed a task to understand the different terms, analysing is examining and pointing out the most important features, differentiating is having two or more sides and finding the differences, comparing is demonstrating how two arguments are similar then lastly, evaluating is discussing the arguments for and against a point and weighing up the evidence on each point. A video was shown in this topic which describes the differences between 1st, 2nd and 3rd person when writing an essay. 1st person is from the writer's point of view, where “I”, “we” and “me” will be used. 2nd person is talking to the person reading where “you” and “yours” will be used. Lastly, writing in 3rd person includes “they”, “her”, “him” or the person's name, the writer is talking about a person. In section 3, the process of Turnitin is described. This system is used to detect any signs of plagiarism in assignments, the topic goes on to demonstrate a step by step guide on how to submit work onto the system. Unit 1 Topic 1 Unit 1 is the introduction of finding information. The first place to start is the library which has a range of sources and books to help with any assignments. The section shows how the library can also be accessed online, you are able to read resources on the UWTSD library and also view what books are on which campus. The unit talks about finding important information, we evaluate information in both academic and personal life. With a lot of false information and “fake news” it’s become increasingly more difficult to find reliable and credible sources. There are different terminologies linked to incorrect information such as fake news, alternative facts, misinformation and post truth. The ‘CRAAP test’ is explained and how it can be used to determine what information is reliable to use. C stands for currency, R is relevance, the two A’s are Authority and Accuracy with P meaning purpose. This unit proceeds to describe the relevance of the library. E books, statistical data, newspapers and many more sources are available in the library catalogue. When using the internet to access sources, there can be limitations. These include no quality control, meaning anyone can publish anything which may not be accurate, a lack of organisation as well as not all sources being available to access for free. Topic 2 The second topic of unit 1 starts with paraphrasing, summarising and synthesising. Isaac Newton once quoted “if I have seen further than certain other men, it is by standing on the shoulders for a giant”. This is interpreted as ideas wouldn’t be able to be formed without researching other researchers' ideas. This unit describes paraphrasing as shortening sentences but keeping the maIN point, this is explained in a video demo. Summarising is a form of using someone’s work by paraphrasing and referencing. 5 steps are described when summarising, scanning over text, highlighting vital information, note making, writing up a summary and lastly double checking the summary covers the main points. Lastly, synthesising is a combination of different ideologies, its a mixture of own thoughts as well as other researched opinions. Plagiarism is another important term to understand, its defined as “presenting someone else’s work or ideas as the students own” UWTSD academic misconduct policy (2020-2021 P2). The best way to avoid this is to acknowledge the author and ideas are put into your own words. It’s always best to paraphrase and summarise and always keep a record of sources used to reference and cite them in your work. Leading on, referencing is the acknowledgement of someone else’s work and gives readers the opportunity to read the sources used. Topic 3 Topic three shows the use of Microsoft apps in your work. Using technology has a great deal of benefits since corona virus and working remotely was encouraged. Communication is one of the advantages of using technology, using Microsoft teams enables you to attend lectures online using a webcam and using screen view to see PowerPoints for the lesson. One of the sections shows the different tools that can be used to enhance your work, these include cover pages, headings, table of contents, fonts, lists and many more. When it comes to using PowerPoint, it’s best to keep it interesting, the best ways to improve the PowerPoint is having one message per slide, keep texts short, sizing of the title, keep to 6 objects per slide and having dark backgrounds, a video was included on how to create a PowerPoint. You are able to add speaker notes to keep the readers engaged and zoned in. The last section mentions how UWTSD likes to give students the opportunity to use both written and video presentations. However, like anything, it comes with its disadvantages. People may forget what they’re supposed to be saying when presenting a PowerPoint. Videos and presentations can be awkward to produce for some people due to the appearance of their voice. Unit 2 Topic 1 This topic has taught me about who I am and what represents me. An identity is what defines a person both personal and social. Everyone has their own unique identity and no two humans are the same, it’s something most people understand but struggle to define. In a video that’s included, I understood that different factors contribute to someone’s identity. People can have different identities depending on what role they’re playing in their life such as friend, mother or employee. Social media can be used as a platform to portray your identity to who you are in real life. I discovered that there are two different theories to identify someone, body and memory theory. The body theory is the ideology that your body shape is based on what’s happened to you such as having muscles due the passion for gym. Memory theory is being defined by past experiences like winning a trophy for a sport. I read that there can be problems with identity due to the theories mentioned seemed fixed, but identities can change over time. Another theory is Dunbars theory. Robin Dunbar found there are layers of people that influence our identity, these include loved ones, friends, good friends, meaningful contacts, acquaintances and people you recognise. Topic 2 In the second topic I learnt about value and beliefs of myself and others. A video is included with the definitions of each term. Values are the beliefs that differentiate according to the individual, people will have different perspectives of situations. A belief is faith in something someone will believe is true and these beliefs can be influenced by factors such as upbringing, culture, experiences and more. A value is how important a belief is and the worth it has to an individual. People will have different attitudes towards other people, how you treat others is based on both beliefs and values. The topic talks about professionalism and how it will build a respectful atmosphere to accept that not everyone’s beliefs and values will be the same. A video is shown where I’ve been asked what message it’s trying to portray. What I received from the video is that even if people don’t share things in common they can still share beliefs and past experiences, everyone is different but that doesn’t mean it needs to create conflict. However, sometimes conflict can be created. Section 2 demonstrates that people will perceive situations in different ways. Conflict is a disagreement, it may be caused by not understanding the worth of beliefs others have. Topic 3 Topic three is about identifying barriers when it comes to communication. Communication is a key life skill, it involves understanding intentions and paying attention to different signals. I watched a video on the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, from this I gathered there was a lack of communication when it came to creating the walkway and caused it to collapse. I viewed another video by Shannon and Weaver which talked about communication. It described how there are four main parts of communication which are the sender, message, Channel and the receiver. A chart was shown which breaks down the importance of communication. Body language is the biggest key in communication, along with tone and lastly words. Body language is largely analysed by the person being communicated to. Communication involves not only talking but someone hearing them to acquire the message. A video was included in this section which describes how people detect if people are listening to you communicating, this involves body language and verbal feedback. Communication is a combination of writing, creating images, speaking and listening. Listening is vital as being able to hear someone is different to actually understanding and taking in what they are saying. Topic 4 The first part of topic four is about managing emotions where I watched a video. I took from this that whenever we feel an emotion we experience a psychological state that’s split into three components, these involve a subjective experience, internal sociological response and an external response. There is a book called the book of rites which states that we have 7 main primary feelings such as joy, anger, sadness, fear, love, dislike and like. I learnt that we will experience a range of emotions throughout the course of our lives both negative and positive. When approaching negative feelings we can’t always control how we feel but we can control how we react and respond to certain emotions. It’s important that we understand our emotional triggers, reframe our thinking and gain perspective, these will help us to not cause a negative reaction. The next part is about empathy which is having an understanding of people's feelings. It is an intuitive act and involves relating to someone’s feelings and seeing their perspective. It mentions how everyone views a situation in different ways due to unique experiences, this is known as the paradigm. Being open minded and viewing situations from other people's perspectives will give you a better chance of being empathetic with other people. Unit 3 Topic 1 To start unit 3 I was taught the importance of trust within a team. In order for team work to succeed a certain level of trust and faith needs to be established. A team is more likely to succeed in their target if their relationships are built off of professional trust. A video was displayed which talked about the five dysfunctions of a team, absence of trust, fear or conflict, lack of commitment, the inability to hold accountability and lack of results. Some people may struggle with appearing as their authentic self on online platforms, these reasons can vary from jealousy, shame or anxiety. It’s easy for people to fake confidence online and act like someone you are not, however, it’s important to be yourself. It will create a sense of trust within your team, boost morale and the right role can be delegated for the right people and the team can work together effectively. I also picked up what is meant by ‘FAST goals’, it stands for frequently discussed, ambitious, specific and transparent. This would help me to focus and help me and a tram keep on track of a task. Topic 2 A model called the Tuckman stage that was created by Tuckman and Jensen, they created a visual of small group developments which starts at forming, strong, norming, performing and adjourning, however, I focused on the stage of storming. Storming is the stage in which disagreements are likely to occur where people may challenge the character of others. Many people make the decision to avoid conflict at all costs but, without it, there would be no honesty and members would concern themselves with being right rather than working as a team to achieve their goal. I watched a video on virtual team conflict and how to deal with it in a healthy way. The first step is shifting the perspective of conflict, then communicate your frustrations, don’t give critics through a message, trust coworkers, avoid gaps in communication, engage others in problem solving and lastly put it on record. To carry on, I next learnt about roles and responsibilities, if these are not clarified it can cause an overwhelming feeling for individuals due to lack of progress made. Within a team, every individual plays their own unique roles, recognising your role will enable you to work more efficiently in a team. Topic 3 Just like the previous two topics, I will be focusing on the Tuckman model, however, in topic three, I paid attention to the norming stage. During this stage, members will resolve any differences and form an understanding of one another along with what their strengths and weaknesses are. In this stage there will be an enlightening of who the leaders are and what roles each member plays, however, peace is still temporary at this stage. A video was demonstrated which talked about the radical candor and how it can help surround yourself with others who produce the best work and help create close relationships within the team. To reflect on this topic, I carried out a type of questionnaire that asked me about how I would feel if a new member was replacing a team member. I selected inquisitive, excited, empowered and cautious, a mixture of emotions. My results showed that I would be starting to have trust in other members of the team where I would have been concerned with the help and needs of others. Topic 4 Performing is the next stage that’s focused on within the Tucksman model. By now, all team members should be performing their roles and tasks to the best of their ability where differences are appreciated and their performance is improved. It’s vital that teams learn to work together and defeat the problem of inattention to achieve their mutual goal. Five examples of how to overcome this obstacle is getting to know your team, sharing a vision of success, setting clear objectives, celebrating successes of team members and reminding members of their contribution to the team. Outsiders can be seen as a threat in a group think and members will feel the need to agree with any ideas to avoid conflict. To avoid the problem of group think, you can seek feedback from outside the team, introduce self criticism and evaluate. The last part of this topic is all about monitoring progress. Missing deadlines can be caused by not having a clear plan or having clear objectives, procrastination or not asking for help. Setting targets to meet and roles to each member can push a team to stay on track. Unit 4 Topic 1 To start this topic off I watched a video based on learning agility which is the ability to learn new things quickly. The section also discusses the change the 2020 pandemic caused when lectures had to be delivered virtually. I learnt about agile learning which is the determination to take risks in a situation. It may put people out of their comfort zones as people may feel they are dealing with matters incorrectly. However, agile learners discards embarrassment and understands that failure is needed for success to happen. A Nike advert was shown which demonstrates failure, it shows how it all depends on your mindset. Habits are also talked about which is defined as positive or negative behaviour which is an instinctive reaction. Duhigg (2012) designed what’s called ‘the habit loop’ which is a cycle of cue, routine and reward. To end this topic I learnt the anatomy of a learning experience. A diagram was displayed involving the results of prior learning when the graph increases up to being in a comfort zone, it then decreases to a decision to avoid stress and risk of performance. The diagram then drops to and shows a potential learning curve. Topic 2 To begin this topic I took part in a questionnaire that calculated my resilience, I scored an overall of 67 which is rated better than most. The meaning of being resilient is having the ability to recover mentally or physically from a life changing experience. Having personal resilience is an important thing to have in the working environment, it’s a good characteristic to have due to there always being new challenges arising. It’s also helpful when receiving a promotion. There are 4 different elements to resilience, confidence, social support, adaptability and purposefulness. Having resilience then leads to stress and anxiety. The difference between the two is stress is put onto someone or can be triggered by something that causes anxiety. Then anxiety is an uneasy feeling or fear. Stress and anxiety can have a physical effect on the body such as sweat, headaches, shaking and many more. To manage these emotions, strategies can be learnt to control these feelings. Once you recognise how you respond to stressful situations, you can implement a strategy to reduce anxiety levels. Different techniques that can be used are recognising stress factors, meditating, talking to a friend or getting enough sleep. Topic 3 The last topic is about being reflective and not to believe everything at face value. Being reflective will help in both academic and professional practices. Gibbs’ reflective cycle is also discussed which consists of description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. There is something called locus control which is your perspective of the world and the role you choose determines your life. To have an internal locus of control, you will believe that you are in control of your own destiny, these people work hard and achieve what they want. Other people have what’s called external locus of control which is believing that what happens to you is by chance or those who have higher authority determine what happens to you. Personally, in different situations I have a mixture of both but I lean more towards an external locus of control. According to a survey that I filled out I view reflection as a passive approach but in certain situations, i can be too emotionally close to a situation. This makes things difficult to analyse past experiences to gain perception for current tasks.