My UFS graduate attributes
My work experiences
Critical Thinking
The first graduate attribute I am going to talk about is critical thinking. Earlier this year, I registered for the Future leader Challenge. It is a leadership development challenge that aims at assisting students to understand and use leadership in different situations and environments. I completed its first module which is about Design thinking and leadership in Problem solving. Part of design thinking is critical thinking; we learn more that its important and we use it when solving our problems. For me to be able to fully complete the module I firstly must write a quiz to test what I have learnt from the module.
In the quiz we wrote we were provided with questions and scenarios where we had to apply our critical thinking and try to understand the scenarios and come up with possible solutions for them. I had to critically analyze the scenarios and questions for me to be able to understand them and come up with solutions on how to deal with them. I was able to do the quiz and successfully completed it and I was able to obtain a high mark.
Also, as a teaching assistant I also must use my critical thinking skills when assisting different students with whatever academic or student life issues they may have. I was also required to do e few e-portfolio tasks. I firstly didn’t even know what an e-portfolio is or was and I used my critical thinking skills to try understanding what was expected of me and so that I can successfully complete the tasks. So far, we have done two tasks that demanded me to use my critical thinking skills.
Problem Solving
The second attribute is Problem Solving. As normal people we do go through challenges and problems and trying to solve them can be a bit difficult. Like I mentioned above that I signed up for the FLC program and completed the first module of the program which is Design thinking and leadership in Problem solving, this module also helped me to develop once more my problem-solving skills. The module discusses that when solving problems, we need to use design thinking while using the well known 6 steps of problem solving.
I learned that we need to solve problems through Empathy (you identify the challenge, you identify with the challenge, you ‘feel the challenge, you collaborate with others), Creativity (you develop many ideas) and Critical Thinking and Analytical Thinking (you evaluate, test, and refine the idea). I attained the attribute by completing the module test. Also, as a Teaching Assistant you work as a problem solver of many of the student’s problems. In many instances during success coaching students come to me with questions and situations they are facing. As a TA, I must analyze their problems so that I can help them. For example, I had a student who had no idea where to start with module in terms of their assessments and I had to kindly explain to the student the assessments they have, when they are due and the mark allocation. I also had to show the student how to submit their reflections.
Oral communication
Oral communication is yet another attribute and it can be very hard to master especially for introverts. In the year 2020 early January I got a part time job as an Edu-tech buddy. Here I was forced to make presentations and facilitate students through them learning how to navigate their way through blackboard. I had to be prepared and know what I am talking about for me to better explain to students about blackboard and what they are required to do. In the beginning it was hard to stand in front of people and speak but as time went on, I got the flow and was now used to it and made it fun. Also, as a new Teaching assistant oral communication is also as much important. In this new platform that I have I am regularly connecting to students through success coaching and it’s important for me to be able communicate with students be able to understand what assistant they need from me. During success coaching sessions that I have had with students I have had to communicate with student in a very welcoming and accommodative way. I must create a Rapport with the students so that the students can trust me enough to tell me what they are struggling with in terms of their academics and student life.
Written Communication
Written communication is also one of the graduate attributes I acquired during my undergraduate years. As a student I am required to write assignments for different modules, it could be an essay, e-portfolio or any work required. For me to not get mediocre marks I must make use of good writing communication skills. I firstly must conduct a research of whatever subject the assignment is about so that I provide accurate sufficient information. Then I need to classify, characterize, and present the information clearly and concisely in a way that is understandable.
Also need to check if I am adhering to the given instructions of the assignment in terms of the font type, font size and word count. I also need to check my spelling errors and grammar to avoid errors in my assignment. I need to avoid plagiarism by referencing all the sources that I used when conducting my assignment using the referencing style for faculty which is the Harvard referencing style. I acquired this attribute from the module UFS101 in 2018.
Ethical reasoning
Ethics are very much important. I got introduced to ethics in many instances at the university. A few of the modules (Business management, Small business, labor laws, etc.) that I did from first year included ethics as a topic and they mainly focus on introducing ethics in business or a work environment. I learned that in a professional setting there is a certain way a person is expected to be behave. I got introduced to different moral principles that help to govern the behavior of a person in a professional place. For instance here at the university, now that we are doing online learning, every-time when we write an online test , for accounting for instance, we have to sign an ethical declaration pledging that we will follow the correct required ethical behavior when writing our semester test. The ethical declaration also specifies the do’s and don’t when it comes to writing the online test. At the beginning of my TA journey I also encountered ethics. During training we talked out the important moral behaviors that are acceptable from us as TA’s and during the success coaching training we also talked about ethics. How we supposed to behave when we are having a session with a student and there were even different situations that were played out during the training giving us new TA’s an idea of different situations that we will encounter and how we should behave when we encounter them.
Community engagement
As university students we are always engaging with one another about different things and in different situations. Working collaboratively with other students as a group on special interests, or similar situations, like when we are working together in addressing issues affecting the well-being of other students. In terms of similar interests, recently there was a webinar that I attended, and it was the EMS virtual fair. I heard about this webinar from another community that I am also part of which is the UFS Career services. Here the university tries to connect students with potential employers and assisting us as students to get ready for the world of work. The webinar continues until the 26th of March and it started on the 19th. During the webinar there were different speakers who were talking specifically about our EMS field. The different speakers were also giving us students advise on what to expect when we go out to the world of work.
Entrepreneurial Mindset
In terms of an Entrepreneurial mindset, I did a module called Entrepreneurship which is part of my Degree program and through it I acquired an Entrepreneurial mindset. I am even making plans of opening my own small business soon and being an actual entrepreneur. The idea is to generate a creative business idea and try to innovate a product/ service that fits a particular gap in the market and see if my idea is viable and feasible. I think as entrepreneurs we need to prepare to take risks when going in business and patience and consistency can help one to avoid and be prepared for those risks. Having an entrepreneurial mindset is not only about opening a business venture its also about the way we think, how we view our environment and the things we do to impact others and ourselves. I also think that entrepreneurial mindset and leadership go in hand in hand because I need to master myself by developing myself and be mindful so that I can be at a better place to lead and collaborate with others. Having an entrepreneurial mindset assisted me to also over some the challenges that I have faced in terms of repeating a module and accepting the responsibility of my outcomes. With an entrepreneurial mindset I constantly need to improve my skills and learn from my own mistakes while taking cautious continuous action on my ideas also.