5.1.6 Are the conclusions justified?
Reading is an essential skill for all of us and developing our skills in reading is a good investment. This unit is packed with practical activities which are aimed at making reading more enjoyable and rewarding. This unit also includes sections on how to read actively and critically.
5.1.4 What evidence is offered?
Reading is an essential skill for all of us and developing our skills in reading is a good investment. This unit is packed with practical activities which are aimed at making reading more enjoyable and rewarding. This unit also includes sections on how to read actively and critically.
5.1 Critical questions
Reading is an essential skill for all of us and developing our skills in reading is a good investment. This unit is packed with practical activities which are aimed at making reading more enjoyable and rewarding. This unit also includes sections on how to read actively and critically.
4.4 Questioning what you read
Reading is an essential skill for all of us and developing our skills in reading is a good investment. This unit is packed with practical activities which are aimed at making reading more enjoyable and rewarding. This unit also includes sections on how to read actively and critically.
2.5 Poor environment
Reading is an essential skill for all of us and developing our skills in reading is a good investment. This unit is packed with practical activities which are aimed at making reading more enjoyable and rewarding. This unit also includes sections on how to read actively and critically.
10 Next steps After completing this unit you may wish to study another OpenLearn Study Unit. Here are a few suggestions:
9.7.3 Identify ways of further developing your skills in working with others Use your assessment and reflective comments to suggest ways of improving your own performance in working with others. How do you intend to make these changes? Working in a group is a skill that you may need to go on developing throughout your course of study and in the workplace. All groups vary, and to enhance the performance of any group, as well as to help individual group members develop their skills, it is helpful to look at how the group has operated. 9.7.2 Assess the effectiveness of your strategy When you come to make a final assessment of the effectiveness of your strategy, you need to consider aspects such as how progress was made, the quality of the work, the working relationships of the group members, and how difficulties and problems were addressed. If you have been able to maintain good records from meetings, progress reports, and your own reflective comments, you should be able to look back and be objective about the work and strategy that the group developed. Use the goals you 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 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 8.8.1 Identify ways of further developing your problem-solving skills Think about your overall problem-solving skills and suggest areas where you feel you need to improve, based on the experience you have gained. You might find it useful to discuss with your tutor, manager, another student or work colleague how you might do this. There may be changes you feel you need to make so that you can move forward, such as trying to extend the facilities and resources available to you, changing the way you study to make best use of the time you have, or focusing on impro 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 8.6.2 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 8.5.2 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
Time out
