A Reflective Piece

As stated by Covey (2016, p44), he recognised that 'From the current social paradigm and from the opinions, perceptions, and paradigms of the people around us - our view of ourselves is like the reflection in the crazy mirror room at the carnival'.

During the module, I was overwhelmed with self-doubt. I wanted to improve my skills academically, for example, my note-taking skills and my listening skills.

My reflective writing will outline my expectations, goals, and concerns that I have. I will identify skills I feel confident with and skills I need to develop. I will discuss how to ensure the development of my skills has taken place. Also, I will evaluate my strengths and weaknesses through my learning process and the methods I have found most effective. Lastly, I will discuss whether my expectations and goals have changed throughout this module.

At the start of the module, I expected to progress slowly due to the lack of prior learning. During the first lesson, I began to feel concerned about my contribution to the discussion forums. As I read through other students' posts, I did not use the correct terminology and somewhat felt behind, and they seemed to understand and progress quickly in this module. Subsequently, I referred to an AQA Psychology textbook for basic and systematic understanding. It outlined the basis of critical thinking as well as my academic skills. It helped me through my learning process. As a visual learner, I had hoped diagrams, photographs and external videos would help me understand the topic more clearly. During lesson one: A Brief History of Modern Psychology, I found that the Ted Talk played on the narrative by using photographs to demonstrate the narrator's point of view. It helped me improve my information retention and be an active learner. I had critically analysed the Ted Talk and made notes to clarify what I had learned. This process helped me to reflect on my note-taking skills and my listening skills.

Additionally, I felt confident about discussing the role of professional societies in the discussion forum. For example, they serve the purpose of providing information and extensive knowledge. They are there as your representatives. As I read through other posts, I began to think deeply about others' perspectives. A student in the discussion forum delved into an article produced by the BBC. Unqualified or unregistered individuals were providing services to the public in areas such as counselling and therapy. They exploited them. Therefore, this portrays the importance of professional bodies as they are held accountable and must follow the codes and practices outlined by that body.

I am confident in my time management skills. I found that I had to plan to be able to balance my studies as well as other commitments. Furthermore, I realised I worked better in the morning rather than during the afternoon. During the introductory zoom lesson, I discovered where to find an example of a learning schedule. It became increasingly helpful. I then produced my own and included other commitments. I added it to my university calendar in OneDrive. In the future, I would like to continue to use a learning schedule to help me manage my time effectively. My strategy was to set daily reminders and prioritise my workload. For example, I was completing two modules at the same time. I allocated time slots where I focused on research. Also, I explored topics that I have an interest in, Clinical Psychology. I would track my progress throughout this module so I would not fall behind in my studies.

My greatest challenge during the module was my reading skills. I found myself reading different texts repeatedly as I could not understand them the first time. For example, in lesson three: Psychology in educational settings I repeatedly read the slides to understand. When I was young, I had difficulties with reading. I struggled with reading in front of a class as my pronunciation did not have clarity. I show signs of dyslexia. I was due to have a test when I was in college. It did not happen. To improve my reading skills, I have booked various academic skills workshops. I am hoping this will be useful to me. I am hoping the academic skills workshops will help me to develop different approaches during my assignments. Also, skimming and scanning texts is a challenge for me. I begin to feel frustrated as I have left out valuable information. In the future, I hope I can overcome this and become confident in this technique.

During the module, I discovered that my interest in psychology as a varied subject has increased. I understand that I have now accumulated different styles and techniques to use in future modules. At the start, I had very little knowledge of psychology. Now I am intrigued to see where my learning will take me in the future. I thought that other subcategories would not be of interest to me. However, my perspective of these categories has changed. I want to expand on my knowledge across all disciplines and to inherit more information. It will help me make an informed decision on my career endeavour.

My reflective writing has identified the skills and strategies I need to improve and develop for future career prospects. I have learned that keeping a schedule is helpful and organised. Additionally, this strategy will help me to stay on task and to help me feel motivated.

Throughout this module, I have developed my critical thinking skills and listening skills. I have actively engaged in the module as well as the discussion forums. I found that the discussion forums are an excellent way to learn from fellow students.

In the future, I will engage with different reading styles to improve my reading skills.

Finally, I want to learn about clinical psychology, especially the mental health route. I have personal experiences with mental health. I hope to help others going through similar situations. However, I am not limiting my research as I am open to learning about other disciplines. I am hoping to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology to better my career.

References

Covey, S. (2016). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ([edition missing]). Mango Media. Retrieved 10 November 2021 from https://www.perlego.com/book/564388/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people-pdf (Original work published 1 January 2016)