Reviewing Own Skills

We have now completed the task I am sure that everyone could have improved in certain areas. This lesson will help you address some of these areas and help you plan to make sure you have the appropriate skills

Title Note that we have had 11 hours to complete this task so far… you will have 12 hours to complete Activity 2 of the Controlled Assessment Brief (CAB). What if, with hindsight, you could start all over again? Would your spreadsheet and presentation be different? What would you do differently?

In this lesson students are learning how to: evaluate outcomes appraise own performance

At the end of this lesson students will be able to: identify weaknesses in outcomes and how to rectify them identify weaknesses in their own skills and draw up a personal Skill Builder Action Plan

Evaluation of outcomes / products (10 mins) Work with your Test Buddy or in small groups. Start with a frank and honest evaluation of your own final work, then of your partner’s final work (i.e. with the changes made in the last lesson). You should ask: Does the work meet all the requirements specified in the Brief? Is it suitable for the intended audience? For your own and your partner’s work, list the top 3 aspects that, in your opinion, could be improved. Once your lists are complete, you should ‘compare and contrast’ them.

Summary what are the most common areas for improvement identified? which application software had most product issues?

Appraisal of own skills (10 mins) Working with your Test Buddy or in small groups, carry out another frank and honest evaluation - but this time only of your own skills. List the top 3 skills you need to improve or learn for: Browser / Search engine techniques Spreadsheet software Presentation software Once lists are complete, you should ‘compare and contrast’ them.

Summary what skills issues were most common for each of the three software applications. A good way to learn is from someone else. The ‘less skilled’ could pair-up with those ‘more skilled’ for some ‘peer-help/tuition’. Learning from someone is quicker than learning on your own – and it can be more fun.

Writing an Action Plan to improve own skill set Learning new skills, practising existing skills (‘practice makes perfect’) and improving them further will help you with time management and reduce the risk of ‘running out of time’ because you “might just be too slow doing practical work.” Having a structured approach to skills building will help you to prioritise, set time aside to learn and practise, and get a sense of achievement when reaching targets.

I want you to create yourself a skills audit and action plan Draft a personal Skill Builder Action Plan. Plans should include the skills you want to learn, practise or improve, with start and completion dates for each one, and some revision dates for the plan itself. The plan should have sections for the software applications used with the Brief: Searching for Information and recording data and sources Using a spreadsheet for modelling Creating a presentation for making recommendations

Homework Take the first priority of your action plan and LEARN THE SKILL. Seek help from someone, look on the Internet for tutorials!