Learning Styles Inventory Essay Example for Free

Learning Styles Inventory Essay Taking the Learning Styles Inventory Test was an insightful, informational, and introspective experience as a whole. It measures seven areas of standards or measure that clearly define an individual’s behavioral approach on learning – the visual, social, physical, aural, verbal, solitary, and logical learning styles. Each question within the test inquires about an individual’s leaning or inclination to harboring the outcomes of learning from each means or scenario indicated. The questions provide a learning situation where one will determine how he identifies with it, and one’s identification with each specific scenario determines how one learns through various situations. Putting oneself within each scenario allows one to review or evaluate one’s motivations in learning in order to understand clearly how one’s behavior and learning environment would and should be altered to facilitate greater learning. The result of the Learning Styles Inventory Test clearly indicates my personality or takes on the learning situation. Out of the seven learning styles, the Memletic Learning Styles Graph, as shown below, depicts that I am more inclined to learn effectively when I utilize my physical functions. The rating for each of the learning styles was remote that the bodily-kinesthetic learning style (18 points) stands out among the seven. (â€Å"Learning Styles Inventory – Results Page,† 2007) This piece of information I find true as I do tend to want or need to manipulate or experiencing things in order to learn or realize the structures or dimensions of objects, concepts, occurrences, and such. (â€Å"The Physical (Bodily-Kinesthetic) Learning Style,† 2007) Therefore, the result from the test did not surprise me at all. Next to the physical learning style, the aural learning style (15 points) follows as the second dominant one that applies to me. This is yet another factual information because I do find myself enjoying the learning experience when I work with music or sounds in the background. (â€Å"The Aural (Auditory-Musical-Rhythmic) Learning Style,† 2007) Music, as part of the learning environment, sets the mood or rhythm that motivates me to carry on and finish, not to mention enjoy, what I am doing. On the contrary, the least learning styles that I can identify my learning behaviors with is the verbal learning style (11 points), also including the visual, social, and solitary learning styles (12 points each). This means that I am not motivated enough to learn by reading or writing, looking at or watching visuals, socializing with other people, and even keeping to myself. The results of the test suggest that my strengths lie in my motivations and capabilities to do, or to become more productive by being actively involved during the learning experience. However, it might be difficult to become motivated within the learning environment as learning media such as visuals, written texts, the processes of socialization and independent learning are part of learning strategies or approaches being utilized in most cases. Moreover, the learning environment is balanced, such that it fosters various methods or approaches in learning; and my unbalanced learning styles suggest that I will not be able to keep up with the learning environment. Perhaps the most logical thing to do at this point is to try to even out or balance the learning styles that I should be accustomed to in order to draw out the advantages from it whenever the learning environment or situation calls for it. If it remains to be unbalanced, like my test results indicate, inflexibility will not facilitate learning but hinder the process of acquiring knowledge and skills as learning environments vary every time. Accomplishing this goal means that I would have to expose myself to varying learning situations, and understand the importance of each one in order to balance out my learning inclinations for the seven learning styles indicated. With this in mind, as the realization of the need to balance out these learning styles I have come to realize, I believe that taking the test allows one to understand the importance of being exposed to various learning situations and experiences which fosters creativity, flexibility, and competence in the workplace. References â€Å"Learning Styles Inventory – Results Page. † (2007). Retrieved November 26, 2008, from Advanogy. com. Website: http://www. learning-styles-online. com/inventory/results. asp â€Å"The Aural (Auditory-Musical-Rhythmic) Learning Style. † (2007). Retrieved November 26, 2008, from Advanogy. com. Website: http://www. learning-styles-online. com/style/aural-auditory-musical/ â€Å"The Physical (Bodily-Kinesthetic) Learning Style. † (2007). Retrieved November 26, 2008, from Advanogy. com. Website: http://www. learning-styles-online. com/style/physical-bodily-kinesthetic/

Women at Work Essay -- Workplace Gender essays research papers

Women at Work Throughout the 20th century women have had to fight harder to get ahead in the male owned workplace. With obstacles such as discrimination, lower wages, and the lack of management positions, how are women competing with men? Are women accepting the treatment from society or is this the way it should be. No way! That is why women are fighting back. In today’s society women are as active as they have ever been in our workforce. In recent studies (Sociology Text Book) women have taken to the forefront in starting there own businesses yet they lag far behind there male counterparts in positions of corporate management. The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor lists the 20 leading occupations of employed women. Of these occupations which include teachers, nurses, and secretaries women outnumber men by more than 80 percent. Some of the other occupations that women perform more than men include retail sales clerks, customer service representatives, and office clerks. Women and men traditionally have worked in different specific occupations within the professional occupational category, a pattern that continued in 2005. For example, women were less likely than men to be employed in some of the highest-paying occupations, such as engineers and mathematical and computer scientists. Instead, women were more likely to work in lower paying professional occupations, such as teachers. Women have been know as the care givers in our society and that may be why wo...

Assignment One Personal Development Essay

1.Brief Introduction (300 words) I am employed by the a Policy & Planning Manager within the Fitness to Practise Directorate to an Assistant Director. In my annual appraisal last year, my line manager raised concerns regarding my communication skills, specifically around tone and political sensitivity, which were regarded as impacting on my ability to build effective relationships. As a result, I have chosen to use this exercise as an opportunity to develop an up-to-date picture of my relationship building skills within the hierarchical and collaborative working culture of the . To this end, I developed a Personal Effectiveness Questionnaire, which I circulated to a range of senior colleagues with whom I have regular contact in a one-to-one and group context. To increase the response rate to the questionnaire ( a copy which is included as supporting evidence), and in recognition of the fact my target audience are bombarded with electronic information and are therefore likely to ignore an email, I chose to circulate this confidentially, through the internal mail. Respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire and return to me anonymously. I also invited respondents who felt they had issues that they would like to discuss further, to contact me to arrange a confidential chat, however nobody took up this opportunity, which may be an indicator either of their workload, or my approachability. I also used a variety of other investigation methods, including Myers Briggs and Belbin’s team role questionnaires, self-assessment, and reflection on a range of management model reading materials supplied by the CMI website, to understand how this might be applied to interpret my own behaviour and management style. I also reflected on my notes from previous appraisal meetings, informal and formal feedback from my manager and Professional Insight coach over the past twelve months. 2.Presentation slides (please see enclosed) 3.Presentation notes (2, 200 words) 3a.Range of skills (i)Leadership & Management Style (150 words) To get an overview of my preferred leadership and management style, I considered the results of a Myers Briggs assessment which I completed during a recent Change Management course. The results of this showed my self-assessed type to be INTJ and my reported type to be ESTJ. I thought that it was interesting that the personality traits that were most consistently featured, were Thinking and Judging. I think that this reflects the fact that a strong tendency towards planning and critical thinking underpins my management style. I also found interesting that when I circulated the personal effectiveness questionnaire, a number of colleagues independently volunteered remarks in the free text comments box at the bottom of the questionnaire, to the effect that I had a reputation for ‘getting things done.’ I feel that this observation, given in a free and unprompted context, is of particular significance as it is therefore likely to reflect their true opinion of me. An ability to ‘see things through to completion’ and to be a driving force within projects, is something which I have also identified through self-assessment, to be a definitive characteristic of my management style. This focus on the timely completion of projects is in line with Belbin’s team role, Completer/Finisher. I was interested to find that I also identified with the weaknesses of this ‘team role’ as defined in CMI management theory summary, as I have observed that my tendency to worry can be an annoyance to colleagues. I recognize that one of my key development goals should be to be more measured in my approach to escalating and communicating risks or outstanding tasks. (ii). Team Management (300 words) Blake & Moulton identified two drivers of managerial behaviour: concern for getting the job done and concern for the people involved. These factors influence the manager’s style. I have undertaken a self-assessment using Blake’s managerial grid and have identified the ‘Team Management’ approach as my preferred style. This involves high level of concern for the task and low for people, which is seen by some organisations as very effective. However, I also realise that this may not be in step with the culture of my present employer, which in certain contexts promotes a more collegiate style of working. I have identified two management styles which I think are more commonly exhibited within the culture of this organisation: ‘Authority-Obedience’ – high levels of concern for both task and people. This represents quite a controlling style, but runs the risk of damaging relationships. ‘Country Club Leadership’ – high levels of concern for people and low for task. This is seen as accommodating – it may create a warm and friendly working environment but a the cost of getting the job done effectively. I do not have the positional power to exert an ‘authority-obedience’ managerial style, though I am working within a culture which sometimes draws upon this. As there is an expectation of me to get jobs done reasonably efficiently, with the involvement and co-operation of other people, I realise that it would probably be more effective to strive for a management approach that is more ‘Middle of the Road.’ Middle of the Road involves a moderate level of concern for task and people. ‘Adequate performance is achieved by balancing the necessity of getting work done with maintaining morale at a satisfactory level.’ (iii)Managing your time and workload (400 words) Research by Francis-Smythe & Robertson (1996) shows that individual preferences about how we deal with five aspects of time, defines our own unique ‘time personality’. These five categories are: planning, punctuality, impatience, time awareness and polychronicity (multi-tasking). I decided to explore this theory by using it to categorise and self-access my own preferred behaviours, to help me better understand my strengths and weaknesses in this area. Planning – I think I have a strong preference for planning ahead. I write to-do lists every day before I leave work, in order of priority, to remind me what I need to do as soon as I get in the next day. This helps me to manage stress, by avoiding a last minute panic. It would be helpful for me to develop better strategies for coping with events that occur off-plan, or when deadlines are missed or rushed. Punctuality – I have a tendency to be late. I prefer to work flexibly, and I am more effective if I feel in control of my day. I feel very stressed if I am late for something important. I try to manage this by avoiding early morning meetings. Polychronicity – I prefer to have lots of tasks on the go at the same time, keeping everything moving forwards in small, manageable stages. I am good at prioritising and multi-tasking. Time-awareness – I have a high awareness of the time. However, sometimes when I am focusing on a ‘thinking’ task – I lose track. Impatience – I recognize that given that many of the tasks in which I am involved are dependent on input or timely decisions by other people my impatience sometimes manifests itself in a visible irritation which can impact on building effective relationships. (iv)Building effective relationships (200 words) I circulated a personal effectiveness questionnaire to colleagues which focused on my communication skills, as I recognize that these are the foundation stone to an effective leadership & management style. In general, there was a wide range of views regarding my sensitivity to the political nuances of the organization and awareness of the structural hierarchy. There was also a fairly wide range of views regarding whether my tone is considered to be in step with the culture of the organization. I understand that my ability to build and maintain effective relationships in the workplace is dependent on my ability to understand of the culture of the organization. I found it helpful to apply Johnson and Scholes’ cultural web to understand the factors (stories & myths, symbols, power structures, organization structures, control systems, ritual and routines) which influence the organizational values of my employer. When I thought about it from this perspective, I was surprised to recognize the power of stories and myths within my workplace, and the barrier this often presents to my ability to develop effective relationships, since many of my colleagues have been in post for over twenty years, and therefore steeped in a shared organizational memory which I, as a fairly recent recruit, have limited knowledge and understanding of. (v)Giving and receiving feedback (300 words) I circulated an anonymous personal effectiveness questionnaire to a range of colleagues, and received six responses. Half of the respondents felt I was very good at responding to constructive criticism in a one-to-one situation. One colleague had some concern in this area. Three-quarters of the respondents felt I was excellent, or very good, at responding to other people’s ideas in a one-to-one situation. Two colleagues had some concern. I felt that, in general, it is reasonable to assume that colleagues are likely to err on the side of being fairly generous in their assessment of others. Therefore, the high incidence of close colleagues reporting concern around my ability to give and receive feedback is likely to highlight a significant area for development. When I circulated the questionnaire, I included in the cover letter, the invitation to colleagues who had any concerns that they would like to discuss, to arrange a face to face meeting. Despite the high number of colleagues who clearly had some concern about my interaction with them, nobody too up this suggestion. Although I do realise that colleagues are busy, I feel that the significant reluctance of people to speak to me about their concerns directly, is in itself evidence of real concern about how I might react to feedback. I also self-assessed my own ability to give feedback that is specific, timely and effective in achieving the desired change in performance. I identified two specific scenarios in which I discussed with my manager. Firstly, I provided feedback to Document Services staff in relation to the timely preparation of the Fitness to Practise Reference Group papers which resulted in significantly improved communication and higher standards of performance. I also provided feedback to several paper authors, intended to manage expectations around the stages of preparing the papers for submission to Council, which had a marked and immediate impact on the tendency of authors to stick to the schedule. 3b.Learning style and process (300 words) My most memorable learning experience to date was learning to scuba dive in the Red Sea. This is because it was very a practical, hands-on course. The experience of scuba diving results in a very striking, multi-sensory memories; the smell of the sea and the equipment, the image and feel of fish swimming next to you, the sound of the boat above. This is in line with a preference for learning through kinetic experience (N. Fleming, VARK methodology – ‘Teaching and Learning Strategies’. During the course seminar, we completed a learning styles questionnaire which investigated our preferences for activist, reflector, theorist or pragmatist types. This exercise indicated that I had a moderate preference for theorist, compared to the other learning types. I think this reflects the fact that I also tend to learn effectively through independent reading and listening. I am interested in abstract concepts and theories, which I think may be partly the result of conditioning through the preferred teaching styles of successive teachers and university tutors. Throughout my career, in the workplace I have acquired many new skills and strengths through practical experience. For example, I have a strong ability to prioritise my work and meet deadlines, which has developed out of necessity through my experience as a bid-writer responding to invitations to tender. In that situation, missing a deadline would have had significant financial consequences. Similarly, I have developed strong active listening skills as a helpline worker for a children’s charity, as we were provided with specific training to develop open communication and trust. The inability to gain the trust of callers would have had significant consequences for child safety. 3c.Development plan, including justification and resources Development Plan WhyWhatWhen To improve awareness of internal hierarchy and political nuances and appropriate risk escalationMentoring with Assistant Director of Legal ServicesAugust 2010 – January 2011 To improve skills chairing meetings and improve ability to be inclusive of other people’s ideasOne day training house programmeSeptember 2011 To develop effective relationships across directoratesSix month secondmentJanuary 2011 To develop strategies for managing stress (expected to improve communication with colleagues)GP advice and weekly counselling Cognitive Behaviour TherapyAssessment by West London Mental Health Trust August 2011 To monitor progress and review development planMonthly personal development with line-manager to focus on communication skillsFrom August 2011 3d.Future Direction (100 words) I recognize that my weaknesses around communication skills, particularly within a group setting or chairing meetings, currently presents an obstacle to leading projects at the highest level. In terms of future direction, I would like to visualize myself having sufficient political sensitivity and nuanced communication style, to chair Project Board meetings, line-manage other members of staff, and blend into the culture of the organization. In particular, I would like to improve my ability to manage stress and work flexibly to cope with unexpected events. I believe that the successful completion of my development plan will help to equip me to position myself for future promotion and to operate at a more senior level. 4.Personal Review (500 words) I chose to give a presentation exploring my management style to my line-manager. in a confidential one-to-one basis, as I considered that this would facilitate honest feedback and constructive critical evaluation. In terms of my presentation style, felt that I achieved an appropriate balance between credibility as a presenter in a professional context, with an informality and approachability most suitable to the one-to-one format. She felt that in terms of the content of my presentation, I demonstrated a significant level of insight into own strengths and weaknesses in terms of my personal management style, and how that supports me in delivering the requirements of my role and dovetails with the preferred management style and culture of the organization. In particular, the presentation proved to be a very effective mechanism for opening up a debate and honest exchange of views around our different management styles which provided a platform for rebuilding a relationship that had recently been in danger of breaking down. We discussed the development plan, which felt to contain achievable and relevant activities. In terms of building effective relationships, we identified that difficulties around this tend to arise where my line-manager is on leave and I lack the positional power to manage risks effectively. In recognition of this, has made arrangements for the Assistant Director of Legal to act as my mentor and provide additional senior cover to enable me to escalate risks appropriately. We also had a useful conversation around the power dynamics of seeking senior cover for risk management from other Assistant Directors, where departmental agendas may be in conflict with achieving the goals of the organization. We also had a very constructive discussion around learning styles, which enabled me to articulate my preference for ‘auditory’ learning, and draw attention to my active listening skills in telephone contact with distressed clients, in both past and present roles. This rather helpfully distilled what may be an unusual emphasis on the content and tone of speech, rather than body language, which sometimes leads to differences of perception of the mood of face-to-face communication, and its impact on effective relationships. I think it was helpful to arrive at a shared understanding of this with my line-manager, and we discussed a variety of strategies for ‘damage limitation’ of this in meetings and improve my personal development in this area. She has also offered to seek funding for six additional sessions of Professional Insight coaching from an external provider, which can be added to my development plan.

The Slavery Of The United States - 976 Words

Slavery has played a very integral part in the development of the United States so far. It has taught people the importance of racial equality and moral discipline, which was lacked back in the time when slavery existed. Moreover, slaves were used mostly by farmers and business owners who wanted to maximize their profits and wanted cheap sources of labor. Slaves were first imported into the United States back in 1502 by a merchant named; Juan de Cà ³rdoba. The South was very interested in bringing in more slaves so that they could use them to grow various kinds of crops such as ; tobacco, sugar, and cotton, in their huge plantations, which were owned by farmers. Thus, the south favored slavery as it brought them economic benefits. Even though slaves were very beneficial to their masters, they still were treated very badly. Men would get beaten, burned, whipped, and even hanged. Women would get raped and sexually abused by their slaveholders. The treatment of slaves got many people a ngry as they considered it to be â€Å"inhumane† and â€Å"harsh.† These people were known as Abolitionists. Abolitionists wanted to put an end to slavery and set all of them free. However, the people from the South resisted and defended the use of slavery. They argued that setting the slaves free would destroy the Southern economy that was being run based on the growing and selling of crops. They also argued that slavery had been part of mankind for centuries and centuries which date back to theShow MoreRelatedSlavery And The United States891 Words   |  4 PagesThe Unites States during the 1850s was a harsh time for African Americans, not only were they treated extremely harsh; but many of them were slaves as well. Slavery was the topic of every discussion during this time period and the United States was literally split on the issue of slavery. A lot of the Southern States wanted to continue slavery because it was a way of life. Many of the southerners depend on s lavery to help grow and harvest crops that were on acres and acres of land. Northerns, onRead MoreThe Slavery Of The United States1449 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Slavery is founded on the selfishness of man’s nature; opposition to it on his love for justice.† This saying by Abraham Lincoln tells us that people are really different when it comes to their beliefs and attitudes. Some are so focused on wealth, which is why they have slaves to work for free, and treated them as properties instead of real human beings. On the other hand, some people were against slavery because it violated the basic human rights like the right to life, liberty, and security.Read MoreSlavery And The United States848 Words   |  4 Pagesthe United States. During these years, many different topics were up for dispute and compromises were being negotiated. Unfortunately, it was hard for all of the citizens to come to a complete compromise for the disputes. Some states had similar opinions, w hile others were in a deadlock. One of the biggest disputes during this time were over slavery. While other disputes only involved a few states, slavery was a dispute that caused unrest between two distinctive regions in the United States: theRead MoreThe Slavery Of The United States953 Words   |  4 PagesEvery country has a dark past, whether it’s about conquering land from Native Americans, or mass genocide of a single race. The United States was no different from the rest of the world, especially when slavery was involved. The South had its reasons on why to establish and justify the slavery system while the North rejected their beliefs. By focusing on the South’s argument, this will help to understand why they fought for their rights to keep slaves and understand how the African Americans wereRead MoreThe Slavery Of The United States1095 Words   |  5 Pagesattempted to cure their complete opposition on the regulation of slavery by using federal power to coerc e an end to the feud, yet the movement increased tension between the divided nation. By invoking both legislative and judicial power, politicians used laws which included slave codes and freedom laws as well as court decisions like Dred Scott v Sandford (1875) to convince or force the population into acceptance of stances on slavery. Each party viewed their tactics and ideas to be righteous, andRead MoreSlavery And The United States1305 Words   |  6 PagesSlavery; An Issue Neglected to a Key Principle in the U.S. For 20 years slavery had existed in the United States of America despite its immorality and the objections of many citizens. Strides were made to correct this injustice around the time of the Revolutionary war; colonists started to demand their natural human rights from Britain. In 1766, our founding fathers were the first faced with a decision to abolish slavery; they felt the pressure from facing the purpose of their campaign due to theRead MoreSlavery And The United States1507 Words   |  7 PagesOver the centuries, slavery held a prominent factor in United States history. Slavery shaped and formed what society was in the United States. Slavery’s influence impacted the United States in various ways. The ways that slavery impacted United States history are the United States economy, society and politics. Some historians argue slavery is not an important factor in United States history. However, they are wrong because slavery brought many different political movements and t he Underground RailroadRead MoreSlavery And The United States1673 Words   |  7 Pageshowever, when slavery existed, blacks were undermined and denied many freedoms entitled to them under the Constitution. There were many topics argued about, but slavery caused the most dispute within the country. In the 1850’s, the pro-slavery South and the anti-slavery North collided when the case of Dred Scott, a black slave who attempted to gain liberation, was brought to court. The North and South had vastly different views on the subject of slavery, Scott had resided in the free state of IllinoisRead MoreThe Slavery Of The United States1670 Words   |  7 Pageswedge between the nation. As the United States progressed into different industries, slavery benefited only one side of the country – the south. The north began outlawing slavery, deeming it as immoral and unconstitutional while the south needed and depended on slavery to maintain their economy. The opposing sides on th e slave system lead to arguments between the North and the South as to decide what new territories would allow slavery, then leading on to outlawing slavery all together. Tensions increasedRead MoreSlavery Of The United States1528 Words   |  7 PagesSlavery in the United States The use of African American slaves began in the Mid-17th century. According to the U.S. Census of 1790, the United States had a population of 3.8 million people; from which 700,000 of them were slaves, that is 18 percent of the entire population. The state of Virginia had the largest population of slaves. Virginia alone had 300,000 slaves. In South Carolina, 43 percent of the entire population was slaves ( Zambelli). It all makes sense because in the year of 1790, the