HOW TO COMPLETE
YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Edexcel HND Unit 13 Lecturer: Robson Chihota
LL.B (Hons); LL.M;PGCE
LEARNING OUTCOMES & ASSESSMENT CRITERIA There is a number of learning
outcomes(L.O) on your assignment. You need to cover every learning
outcome Below each learning outcome, there are
bullet points on how you are expected to meet the L.O
These are assessment criteria and you must cover every one of these in your assignment
Assessment criteria will usually be expressed as instructions or questions
UNIT 13, LO 4 Be able to demonstrate acquired
interpersonal and transferable skills. 4.1 select solutions to work-based
problems 4.2 communicate in a variety of styles
and appropriate manner at various levels
4.1 & 4.2 above are the assessment criteria. You will cover the learning outcome by answering all of the assessment criteria and that makes you pass.
UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION Read the assessment criteria carefully
as these are your instructions about what you must write in your assignment.
Quiz Explain what you need to do in your
assignment when you see the following words:
DISCUSS
Give the reasons for and against something
EVALUATE
Explain how useful or worthwhile something is. Include your personal opinion, supported by evidence.
IDENTIFY
Select and list
JUSTIFY
Give valid reasons for decisions or conclusions
WELL DONE !
LINK THEORY WITH PRACTICE Theories, models and concepts learnt
must be used. This is your chance to demonstrate that
you are aware of these theories, models and concepts
Relate them to what happens in your workplace or another organisation that you’re familiar with
EXERCISE (PART 1 OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT) In small groups discuss your identified
work based problems. Problems must be different from person to person.
Discuss the learning styles which can be implemented to overcome the problems you identified
This is an example of how to approach the question. Use the same strategy to answer part 2 and part 3 of your assignment
WORK BASED PROBLEM EXAMPLE Problem: Employees continually failing
to meet targets Solution:
Mutually agree upon targets as opposed to imposed targets
Regular milestone checks, feedback & support
Give them gifts, recognition lunches, etc., for achieving their targets…make everyone aware
Make working over time mandatory till the work is completed
Cut back on incentives
OTHER EXAMPLES
unimportant meetings; lengthy and
insignificant discussions
people misuse the term "authority"
incompetence in the workplace
too much work to do, too little time in
hand
lack of work recognition; more criticism
(Buzzle)
FULL CITATION Buzzle. Problems at the Work Place.
[Online] Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/problems-in-the-workplace.html (Accessed 11 October 2013)
LINKS WITH THEORY You could refer to the
Conscious/Unconscious Learning Model and show how it will fit in to resolve your problems (Businessballs)
the process and stages of learning a new skill (or behavior, ability, technique, etc.)
a useful reminder of the need to train people in stages.
unconscious incompetence-conscious incompetence- conscious competence-unconscious competence.
CITING INTERNET SOURCES Businessballs. Conscious Competence
Learning Model [Online] Available at: http://www.businessballs.com/consciouscompetencelearningmodel.htm (Accessed 11 October 2013)
You could refer to Honey and Mumford’s Preferred Learning Styles (1982) (Kolb’s)
Activist, Theorist; Pragmatist and Reflector.
These are the learning approaches that individuals naturally prefer
The theorists recommend that in order to maximize one's own personal learning, each learner ought to:understand their learning styleseek out opportunities to learn using that
style
ACTIVISTS Activists learn best when:
involved in new experiences, problems and opportunities
working with others in team tasks or role-playing
being thrown in the deep end with a difficult task
chairing meetings, leading discussions
When do you think they learn less?
ACTIVISTS LEARN LESS WHEN:
listening to lectures or long explanations
reading, writing or thinking on their own
absorbing and understanding data
following precise instruction to the letter
REFLECTORS LEARN BEST WHEN:
observing individuals or groups at work
reviewing what has happened and
thinking about what they have learned
producing analyses and reports doing
tasks without tight deadlines
REFLECTORS LEARN LESS WHEN:
acting as leader or role-playing in front
of others
doing things with no time to prepare
being thrown in at the deep end
being rushed or worried by deadlines
THEORISTS LEARN BEST WHEN: put in complex situations where they
have to use their skills and knowledge they are in structured situations with
clear purpose they are offered interesting ideas or
concepts even though they are not immediately relevant
they have the chance to question and probe ideas
THEORISTS LEARN LESS WHEN: they have to participate in situations which
emphasise emotion and feelings
the activity is unstructured or briefing is poor
they have to do things without knowing the
principles or concepts involved
they feel they're out of tune with the other
participants, for example people with
different learning styles
PRAGMATISTS LEARN BEST WHEN:
there is a link between the topic and job
they have the chance to try out
techniques
they are shown techniques with obvious
advantages such as saving time
they are shown a model they can copy
PRAGMATISTS LEARN LESS WHEN:
there is no obvious or immediate benefit
that they can recognise
there is no practice or guidelines on how
to do it
there is no apparent benefit to the
learning
the event or learning is ‘all theory’
(Mumford, 1997)
FULL CITATION Honey, P. & Mumford, A. (1982) Manual
of Learning Styles London: P Honey Mumford, A. (1997) How to manage
your learning environment. London: P Honey
E.G., ON PART 2 PRIORITISATION You could make reference to the
Pareto’s principle (Koch 2001; Craft and Leake 2002)
The 80/20 Rule should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of your work that is really important.
Don't just "work smart", work smart on the right things.
PARETO ANALYSIS When faced with many problems:
Firstly group together the different types of problems
Count the number of cases of each type of problem
Prioritise the most common type of a problem…solve it first
This clears time to focus on the next set of problems and so forth
URGENT/IMPORTANT MATRIX The urgent/important matrix
underscores the same theme of doing the most important things first as in the Pareto’s principle.
According to Covey (1994): seemingly urgent tasks aren’t that
important Important activities (e.g., working towards
your life goals) are not urgentDo important things first as opposed to
urgent
FULL CITATIONS Koch, R. (2001), The 80/20 Principle: The
Secret of Achieving More with Less, London: Nicholas Brealey
Craft R.C,Leake C., (2002) "The Pareto principle in organizational decision making", Management Decision, (40) 8, 729 - 733
GOAL SETTING According to Latham and Locke (2002),
there are 5 principles of goal setting: ClarityChallengeCommitmentFeedbackTask complexity
Working towards a goal provides a major source of motivation
Specific & difficult goals are more motivating than easy goals
You could also say: There are 5 principles of goal setting (Latham and Locke, 2002)
FULL CITATION Latham, G.; Locke, E.A(2002), "Building
a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation", The American Psychologist 57 (9)707–9
OTHER TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES Multi tasking Activity logs To do lists Action programmes Scheduling Identify resources to help you Weekly reviews Avoiding procrastination Breaking down tasks Persevering
PLAGIARISM Unauthorised use or close imitation of
the language and thoughts of another author and the presentation of them as one’s own original work.
To avoid this you have to quote or cite from a document produced by someone else using exactly their words (see referencing)
CONFIDENTIALITY When providing examples from your
work place, it is important that you consider confidentiality especially when you’re writing about a sensitive matter
TipsDon’t refer to people by name Individuals can be referred to by their job
titlesDon’t refer to the organisation by name if
you’re writing something which the organisation wouldn’t want to be made public
REFERENCES It is important to demonstrate that you
are aware of and understand models, theories and concepts and that you’ve read about the subject of your assignment
Use references to:Support your arguments and give credibility
to your workShow the scope & breath of your researchAcknowledge the source of an argument or
idea Failure to do so could result in a charge of
plagiarism
EXERCISEe.g., on the reference list:BooksYou will need to includeAuthor’s Surname and initialsYear of publicationTitleEdition (if not the first) /Place of publicationPublisher
QUOTES/CITATIONS E.g., In 1623, Shakespeare wrote the
words ‘‘To be or not to be’’
Alternatively, you could say ‘‘To be or not to be’’ (Shakespeare, 1623)
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