Developing

In this section

Skills and qualities activity

In part one, you began to think about what it means to be reflective and the importance of reflection during your time at university and beyond. In this section, you have a chance to reflect on what you bring to university (which is probably a lot more than you realise!) and how you can build on this during your studies.

Things have been challenging for students working towards a university place this past year. You have worked hard to get here and you have succeeded because of who you are.  You bring your own unique personal qualities and set of skills with you. Some of these may be easily identifiable, like being organised or knowing how to manage your time. Others may not be immediately obvious. Take a moment to reflect on your personal qualities and skills and how they may have helped you achieve your goal, studying at university.

Look at the bank of words. Do any of these apply to you? Click on the plus icons to see how the qualities and skills you currently have will support your success at university. Keep in mind that this is by no means an exhaustive list! (If the grid seems small click on the icon on the top right to expand to full screen).

It’s good to recognise the qualities and skills that make you who you are. You bring these skills and qualities with you wherever you go, and you can use them to help you succeed in new situations.

Reflecting on your experiences

Everyone’s path to coming to Brookes is different. The unique circumstances that have brought each of us here have provided us with valuable experiences. Let’s take some time to reflect on some of the experiences you have had.

Do any of the images represent an experience you have had? Click on the plus icons on the image. You might be surprised to see how many skills that support success at university you have been using all along!

Hopefully reflecting on your experiences shows that you bring a whole toolkit you can use to build future success.

The codependence of independence

In this video our students reflect on the skills and qualities they brought to university as a result of their previous experiences. They also discuss the opportunities for development and support they have taken since arriving at university, concluding that whilst asking for help is not always easy, it is a crucial part of independent learning.

Using the reflective process

The students in the videos talked about the challenges of figuring out what they needed to develop.  This is not an easy thing to do.  

Our academic skills audit can help you reflect on what you know and can do, and then identify and prioritise what skills you will need to develop  in your first few weeks and months at Oxford Brookes.  

Developing your skills is a process!  Revisit the skills audit throughout your time at Brookes to reflect on the work you have done to develop your academic skills and to look at the next steps you can take to improve. As well as giving you a way to focus on skills you would like to develop, the audit provides links to resources that can help you to succeed. You can access the skills audit on this Centre for Academic Development web page.

Conclusion

In this section you reflected on the skills and qualities you already have. Thinking about what you already do well and what you need to improve is a great first step in taking responsibility for your learning. In the next part of the course, we will explore how you can build on your strengths and get support to develop your skills.