9.6.1 Monitor and critically reflect on your skills As you work on the group task, you need to make time to reflect on how you are working with others. Try to identify factors that influence your ability to work effectively with others, such as levels of self-confidence, communication skills, gender, culture and the distribution of power and influence between those involved. Try to assess the effectiveness of the choices you have made – for example timescales and resources allocated, methods selected – in working towards the goals and your
9.5.2a Exchange feedback It is important to listen to, and take into account, the views and feelings of others. As a member of the group, you need to provide information on the extent to which your own work is meeting expected timescales and quality requirements: ask for and accept feedback from others on the way you are working and the quality of work being done. These skills take time to develop. Try to establish a climate for learning and developing your skills within the group so you can all actively benefit from
9.4 Activity: Developing your strategy for using skills in working with others Develop a strategy for using skills in working with others over a period of time. Your strategy should include: an identification of the opportunities you can use to practise your skills 9.3.4 Plan work with others for achieving the quality outcomes required If you are doing this to complete a project as part of your study, check if the work is going to be assessed, and make sure you know how marks will be allocated and what criteria will be used. Take time to read carefully any instructions you have been given on group work for the activity – ask your tutor for advice if you are unsure about anything, particularly if this is the first time you have been set a group task. Check whether you will be assessed as a group or as individuals. Will the 9.3.3 Identify relevant sources of information Exploring and identifying sources of information is about finding out what you don't know as well as using and adapting what you do know. Group projects and assignments frequently require you to carry out research and this will involve identifying specific resources you may need. For example, think about the materials and equipment that might be needed and whether the group needs to get specific expert advice and support and, if so, where you can obtain this. It is also important to spe 9.3.2 Identify what you hope to achieve It is a good idea to know not only what you are trying to achieve, but also when you have achieved it, so it is important that your goals are clear and that you can easily measure your progress against them. Setting realistic targets, planning actions and modifying those plans in the light of experience are all part of developing this key skill, but this time they need to be done and negotiated within the group. 9.3.1 Establish opportunities for using skills in working with others You need to identify activities that will provide you with opportunities for working with others over a period of 3 months or so. This could involve both one-to-one and group situations, such as working on a particular project at work, a group project as part of your course or e-conferencing on a group assignment. 9.3 Developing a strategy In developing a strategy for improving your skills in working with others you are aiming to: identify the opportunities you can use to develop and practise your skills in working with others, and the goals you hope to achieve; identify the resources you might use for developing your skills, including people who might be able to help you as well as libraries, books, databases, the Internet or online support; establish Working on improving your skills in working with others The three-stage framework for developing and improving your skills provides the basis for you to become more confident in: developing a strategy for using a variety of techniques and tools for working with others, including being clear about what you want to achieve, identifying relevant sources of information that will help you to achieve your goals, and planning how you intend to improve your skills; monitoring your progress and cri 9.1.1 About working with others Very few people study or work in complete isolation. Some courses now set projects and assignments that need to be completed in pairs or groups, either face-to-face or using e-conferencing. Even if your course does not formally require you to do this, working with others is an important part of your skills portfolio. Most jobs require you to work as part of a team, and employers value individuals who can demonstrate this. In working on a work project or an assignment with others – in 8.9 Drawing ideas together This key skill has used a three-stage framework for developing your skills. By developing a strategy, monitoring your progress and evaluating your overall approach, you take an active role in your own learning. But learning does not necessarily follow a path of steady improvement, it involves change: revisiting ideas, seeing things from different perspectives, tackling things in different ways. You are unlikely to be able to complete your work by working through it from beginning to end 8.7.1 Illustrate your problem-solving process and present results How will you best present your problem-solving process to others? You may need to produce a written account or report as well as an oral presentation. What material will you need to support your work? You may need to provide posters, organise a demonstration, a working model or a prototype product, or be able to offer other examples of your work. Find out what is expected of you and the format in which you should present your findings. What evidence do you have to support your conclusio 8.7 Evaluating strategy and presenting outcomes This stage of the framework focuses on identifying what you have achieved and how well you have achieved it. It involves you in evaluating your strategy and presenting the outcomes of your work. As you evaluate and assess your strategy, identify aspects of your problem-solving skills that you want to develop further. At the end of this stage, use the records in your Skills File to complete the activity ‘Evaluating your problem-solving strategy and presenting outcomes’ and pull togeth 8.6.2 Adapt your strategy to overcome difficulties Often plans run into difficulties because of unforeseen problems or changing circumstances. For example, you may be running over your deadlines, the resources or support you were expecting are unavailable to you, or your personal circumstances may have changed. Plans are only a means to an end, however. If you run into difficulties, take some time to think about what effect they will have on your plans, and what changes you may need to make to your overall strategy to achieve the outcomes you 8.6.1 Monitor and critically reflect on your use of problem-solving skills As you use problem-solving skills in your work, refer back to the outcomes you hope to achieve and the goals you have set yourself. Ask yourself questions such as: am I on track to achieve my outcomes? what difficulties in using problem-solving techniques have I experienced and what have I done about them? how have the choices and decisions I made impacted on me and on others? do I need to make any ch 8.5.4 Manage each stage of the work effectively Effective management means putting your resources to work and monitoring your progress. For each stage of the work you will need to gather together the resources necessary in good time, and maintain the co-operation of other people working with you. Think about how you will keep the project moving forward for all those involved. Are the goals still clear, or have you become enmeshed in detail? Use milestones or review points to keep your plan up to date and, if necessary, modify your pl 8.5.3 Negotiate the option to be taken forward In many contexts problem-solving activities will involve other people. You may need to seek permissions, advice, support and resources from a range of people, such as your tutor, manager, group or team colleagues, or others who may have authority over or be affected by your work. Some aspects of negotiation are: gaining the co-operation of colleagues, as necessary; establishing the availability of resources, including staffing;< 8.5.2 Identify options that have a chance of success Explore and compare the options available to you. Be critically aware of the different factors such as technical, commercial, political, academic or personal interests that may influence your choice of options. How will you arrive at those solutions most likely to meet the agreed conditions for success? In comparing possible approaches you might use:
decision-making techniques: developing and applying a decision tree to help you select a 8.5.1 Generate a variety of ways of tackling problems Where the best way, or, indeed, any way, of tackling a problem is not obvious, there are a number of tools and techniques which can be useful to stimulate ideas and different ways of thinking:
reasoning: reaching conclusions or deciding on paths of action by means-end analysis or critical-path analysis;
matching: recognising similarities with other situations, drawing analogies, adapting solutions that have worked or s 8.5 Monitoring progress This stage is about keeping track of your progress. Are you tackling your problem-solving activities effectively? How do you know? Could you have done things differently, made use of different tools (such as software packages) or facilities, taken more advantage of tutorials, training sessions or local expertise, or recognised that such support would have helped you? Monitoring your own performance and progress needs practice; try to stand back and look at what you are doing as if you w
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