Thoughts at the end of semester one

Just a few words to review what we've been working on since August ...

We've been working on developing core communication skills over the last few months. For example, thinking critically about sources of information that we use for our research. Thinking critically about information you come across on the internet especially is important.

We also worked on talking and listening skills through group discussions. Group discussions will be a major part of your learning as you progress. Sometimes the listening is harder than the talking, but you all did well in the discussion activities and were able to reflect on what worked well and what didn't in your discussions.

You also worked on putting a few writing pieces together: CVs, personal statements, job profiles, website evaluations. As with all pieces of communication, we always need to be aware of our audience when writing something - ie. we need to match our language and the format of the piece of writing to the intended reader. I was really happy with the personal statements you produced - these can be used in the future for applications for jobs and courses (just remember to adapt and update them). We also looked at the importance of structure when putting a longer piece of writing together.

Don't forget to look at some of the links at the side of this blog ("useful links") which will help you develop various communication skills.

So, well done all around. You'll now take some of the ideas of intended audience and structure on a bit as you start on your Oral Presentation Skills.

Thank you for your hard work, good attitude and good humour over the last few months.

Apostrophes and thinking about reading

We started today with a quick quiz on apostrophes. Remember that there are different uses for the apostrophe. The purpose, though, was to draw your attention to the BBC Skillswise site which is a useful place to go to revise your writing and reading skills. It also has resources on numeracy.

We then started to look at the differences between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. You came up with some good examples of both. You made the point that tabloids tend to focus on issues to do with celebrity and entertainment. They can often exaggerate and use emotive language. Broadsheets, on the other hand, are often more interested in world affairs and social issues. They are, you said, more informative, formal and more complex.

You started on a practice reading assessment - I'll give you feedback on that next week.

Thoughts on University Open Day in the Music Box

I'd be interested to know people's thoughts on the little trip that we had down to the University Open Day. Did anyone find out anything useful? Did it help make anything clear for anyone? Any thoughts at all on your next steps?

Reflecting on and preparing for discussion

Today we started off by looking back to the group work on Personal Statements that you were involved in last week.

I've made some comments on that in a previous post.

You will be doing more group discussion next week.

I asked everyone to choose a website that is useful for job or course hunting. Everyone will be talking about these sites next week. You need to talk about what's on the site and evaluate the site as a resource.

Everyone completed a worksheet on their chosen site in preparation for the discussion activity next week.

Student's choice of websites

Nicola: www.reed.co.uk

Sinead: www.jobs.stv.tv

Scott: www.scottishlegaljobs.com

Dale: www.monster.co.uk

Alex: www.s1jobs.com

Andrew: www.s1jobs.com

Kitlei: www.scotcareers.co.uk

Paul: www.s1jobs.co.uk

Stuart: www.monster.co.uk

Shahrzad: www.jobsearch.co.uk

Ameera: www.jevc.ac.uk

Gemma: www.west-lothian.ac.uk

Group work on personal statements

On the 30 October we looked at two personal statements for students applying to university. We looked at the strength and weaknesses of the two statements. One came out clearly on top - mainly because of its clear paragraphing and writing.

What I was also interested in was how people organised themselves in groups. I stood back a bit from the groups to observe how you organised yourself. Some groups worked very efficiently while other groups got a bit side-tracked from their objective.

On the whole, though, your interpersonal skills as a class are good. Sometimes it just takes a bit of confidence to be the one to get your group back on track.

Thanks for your evaluations - they were insightful and honest.

Continuing with written work

Today we continued with various pieces of writing. Some people were working on the job profiles and others were working on CVs. Not everyone is at the same place, but that's fine - you may need to catch up with pieces of work in your spare time.

A few people were looking at Personal Statements. They were looking at two examples of Personal Statements from students applying to university. We will continue with this after the October break. The purpose of analysing these statements is to give you ideas about your own Personal Statements.

We talked a little bit about the oral assessment component of the course and the various ways that that can be done. We will be starting to look at that soon.