Category Archives: edushare

Online Unit 1 – Identifying Skills and Abilities

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Improvement is impossible without reflection. Reflection allows you to look back at yourself as a person and see where you are personally and professionally. Reflecting on and identifying your skills and abilities is important as it lets you recognise your strengths and weaknesses. Without knowing these, you wouldn’t be able to advance as a person.

For Activity 1 of the Online Units, I rated my skills and abilities on a scale of 1 (not very well developed) to 3 (very well developed).

Throughout the year, I hope to advance and improve many of my skills, and hopefully gain more confidence within myself and my abilities.

Skills and Abilities 1 2 3
Flexibility   *  
Self Confidence   *  
Self Discipline   *  
Work Under Pressure   *  
Set Personal Goals   *  
Take Risks *    
Share Opinions Confidently   *  
Team work     *
Take Responsibility   *  
Build Social Networks   *  
Manage Time *    
Act as a Leader *    
Negotiation   *  
Make presentations   *  
Listen to Others     *
Debate Formally and Informally   *  
Contribute to Discussions     *
Converse Confidently   *  
Take Notes     *
Write for Academic Purposes   *  
Computing Skills   *  
Be Creative *    
Use Technology   *  
Problem Solve   *  
Generate New Ideas   *  
Work on Own Initiative   *  
Organise and Plan *    
Think Critically   *  
Evaluate Information *  

My First Attempt At The OLA and NOMA

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When I first found out that there was a maths and literacy assessment, my mind began to panic. It soon was put to rest though, after I discovered that it was only for your own benefit and to help you improve your basic maths and literacy skills. It has been at least 6 years since I’ve been at primary school, so how was I ever meant to remember all the things I had learnt there.

On Tuesday, I had a few hours to spare in between lectures, so I decided to head to the library and do my first attempt at the OLA (Online Literacy Assessment) and the NOMA (National Online Maths Assessment). I decided to start off with the OLA, as I thought it would be a bit ‘easier’ than the NOMA. It did not start off smoothly though. The audio did not seem to work properly, even though I was doing it in the library, so I had to guess the first few answers. The rest of the test was not as difficult as I had initially expected, and my final score was 27 out of 35 (77%). I was quite happy with this score, as I knew there was some room for improvement. Hopefully at my next attempt, I can achieve at least 85%.

I still had some time left so I decided to attempt the NOMA, although I did have to rush the last few questions to make it to my lecture. Maths has never been my strong point, so I was a bit apprehensive. I was pleasantly surprised though, as the actual questions  were not difficult, it was trying to remember the formulas that was a bit of a struggle. I scored 41 out of 54 (76%) which I was pleased with. I knew that I needed to go and re-learn many of the formulas such as volume of a pyramid, area of a trapezium and so on.

I really like how both the OLA and NOMA give you feedback and show you where you need to improve. I shall use the feedback given and re-attempt both assessments in the near future, hopefully improving my score greatly.

Why Me?

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Following our very first ‘values module’ lecture on Tuesday, we then had our first values workshop later in the day. When I arrived, I sat down at table, not knowing that my choice had a significant effect  on my experience of the workshop. After everyone had arrived, large brown envelopes were placed onto the centre of the table and the task was explained. Using the resources that were in the envelope, each group (we were group three) had to create something that would be beneficial to a student just starting at the University of Dundee, just as we are.

We opened the envelope and all that it contained was: 3 sheets of paper (2 white and 1 blue); 3 rubber bands; 3 paper clips; a small white envelope; 2 post-it notes; a small lump of blue-tack; a pen and a pencil. We sat for a while, thinking of what we could possibly do with the lack of resources. We finally came up with a survival guide that contained a timetable, a map, top tips and much more. We saw Derek walking around giving praise to the first 2 groups, and barely glancing in our direction. The time came to present our idea back to the other groups. Alan was chosen to talk about what we were planning to create and he explained our idea very well. However, Derek looked less than impressed with it.

After presenting our ideas back the other groups, the time came to actually create the survival guide. We used all of the resources given, and did a pretty good job to create what we did, with as little as we had. We even added some hashtags to the front page (#uodedu) in an effort to impress Derek. The final product was then presented back to the other groups, and Derek was to rate them out of 10. It then became clear that as the groups progressed from 1-4, the less resources that they had received, with group 4 only have a pencil, a post-it note and a few paper clips.  Group one received 9, group two received 7, group three (us) received 4 and group four received 2!

We were shocked when we only got a score of 4/10; even so much that the girl sitting next to me, Kirsten, turned to me and said “Why doesn’t he like us?”. We were sure that Derek held a grudge against us as our idea was not bad enough to only be scored a 4.  I was left thinking ‘why me?’. I felt disheartened and also slight anger at the favouritism that had clearly been shown towards group one and two.  It wasn’t fair that we had been given less materials than the other groups and then scored without that being taken into consideration. It all became clear soon enough though that it was, in fact, all a wind up. I have to admit that Derek’s acting was impressive as I had really believed that our work was disappointing and he truly didn’t like us.

Being one of the groups that had the negative experience, it really opened my eyes to a few things. The same results cannot be expected from everyone if they do not have the same resources, and this needs to be taken into consideration. Encouragement is also a major factor in this. I realised that being put down for my work had such a backwards effect, and made me not want to continue and improve. Someone should not be put down just because they are not performing to the standards of everyone else. Every pupil needs to be looked at as an individual, as everyone is going through different things in life and may not always have what they need, whether that be resources or even support.

This is an experience I will certainly never forget and will carry the experience of it with me into the classroom.

 

Why Teaching?

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Whenever the question ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ arose, all I ever thought was a teacher. This has been the case for as long as I can remember. I have always had a passion for helping, encouraging and supporting people, especially with my peers and younger sibling.  I loved to help around the classroom and was especially inspired by a Primary Teacher of my own. She had a great enthusiasm for teaching and always made the lessons fun and interesting. She showed me what learning should be all about.

My real love for teaching, however, didn’t develop until I began work experience in my 3rd year of High School. My first placement was at the Primary School that I had went to as a child. Seeing how the children learnt and developed in such a short space of time was amazing to me. There was such a joy and pleasure spread by the children when they achieved something or overcame an obstacle. The children were also incredibly sweet, caring and easy to develop a bond with; something that can be hard to find in another occupation.

I also volunteered at a holiday club at a school during the Easter Holidays. We worked with the kids to decide the activities that would be taking place that day. I loved working with the kids to make decisions rather than just telling them as it made them feel more independent. It was such a fun experience and made my love for teaching grow even more.