Future Social Worker
Core skills
Written Communication:
For the core skill written communication, the learner will exchange ideas and information with others using written text in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience. In other words, written communication is when an individual communicates with another individual or individuals in a productive, respectful, and proper way.
The artifact I chose for the written communication core skill was my proposal paper that I completed in the writing and research in the disciplines course (ENG-112-2B3) that I took in the Fall 2019 semester. This paper attempts to analyze the existing resources available to the homeless population that is addicted to opioids in the United States of America and offer a proposal of changes within a patient, provider, and system level that can be made in order to help this population out of this dark path in life. I found that education, collaboration, and accessibility to the proper office-based opioid treatment options are the key to our country overcoming this terrifying opioid epidemic among our homeless population.
My first goal that I wrote for written communication was that I was learn to write a thesis statement that reflects the main point of the paper. Throughout high school, I was expected to start thinking outside of the box with creating thesis statements in my papers that go outside of the traditional, basic outline used by most. Throughout my time at South Piedmont Community college, the expectation of creating a strong, unique, professional, mature, and well put together thesis was intimidating at first. Although many of my classes helped me develop the skills I needed in order to step up my thesis statements to a more advanced level, the writing and research in the disciplines course I took helped me the most due to the course breaking down exactly what is needed to create a stronger thesis.
Revising my thesis statement for this artifact and other papers was a process I have become well accustomed and comfortable with now. I do not let myself sit too comfortably though as I know when I start feeling fully comfortable with the process, I must find new ways to improving. Trying out new writing and brain-storming strategies was very eye-opening to creating better thesis statements. Finding the balance between creating a thesis that reflects the main point of the paper while still making sure the thesis is easy to understand and not to overwhelming/wordy to read for my audience was the biggest challenge for me in this process. I learned that even simple small changes such as switching up the structure of the thesis or learning from the struggles and beneficial ideas of my peers. I'm not going to lie the journey so far in improving my thesis statements has been a long, tiring one, but I am thankful for the journey so far as it has made me a stronger writer.
My second goal that I wrote for this core skill was that I will learn to write a proposal report by presenting an unbiased research to the reader without turning the paper into an argument essay and arguing a point. This goal was very important to my success at South Piedmont Community College as this was something I had struggled with for as long as I can remember and never quite seemed to be able to accomplish in the past. Understanding what is appropriate and expected for a proposal report was my first step. Reading other proposal reports helped set a standard for my own writing and what to expect from myself during my time at South Piedmont Community College and afterwards. Learning if and when to incorporate any personal opinions of my own into the paper was important.
Revision was another very important step in this learning process. While working on my proposal paper, I was constantly deleting, rewording, rewriting, adding, revising, and editing every part of my paper. I learned that every word and every sentence in my paper should have a purpose and connect well with one another in order for my paper to be professional, concise, informative, appropriate, and not choppy.
Oral Communication:
With the core skill of oral communication, the learner will exchange ideas and information with others using the spoken word in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience. To me, this means the individual will efficiently and effectively express their thoughts and ideas and/or inform important information to the audience.
My oral communication core skill artifact is my persuasive speech from the COM-231 Public Speaking class I took during the Fall Semester of 2019. I choose "Why Animal Testing is Bad" as my subject topic for this speech. My goal in doing this speech was to educate my audience on animal testing and persuade my audience to stop buying products that are tested on animals. I enjoyed working on this speech and giving this speech to my class because I am very passionate about animal rights and wanted to make a positive difference for animals.
My first smart goal for oral communication was successfully fulfilled as I learned to inform and communicate with different audiences using efficient and effective verbal, interpersonal, and physical strategies. I used verbal strategies (such as reinforcement, questioning, reflecting and clarifying, summarizing, and closing communication) to make a connection with my audience and keep them interested in what I had to say. Reinforcement was used by encouraging my audience to make the right decision to stop purchasing products that are tested on animals.
Questioning was used when I asked my audience rhetorical questions. One instance of this is when I asked my audience why buying products tested on animals was so bad. I then went on to use clarification to break this question down into three categories (animal testing being animal abuse, wasteful, and unnecessary) to explain why doing so is wrong.
When reflecting and clarifying in my speech, I made a point to remind my audience that many are unaware of the heartbreaking reality behind many of the products that they buy. I did this in order to make my audience feel comfortable and reassured that they are not a bad person if they did not know they were contributing to this abuse on animals. Then, I clarified how there is a cruelty-free alternative to everything and how easy finding these alternatives can be using the resources I shared during my speech.
Both before and after I explained my three main points, I then used the summarizing verbal strategy to sum up everything I presented in my speech to help make my main points stick to my audience and keep these main points clear to them as well. I concluded my speech demanding my audience to please stop buying products tested on animals and shop cruelty-free instead.
One interpersonal skill I used was empathy as I showed empathy to animals that are tested on along with empathy to my audience. Learning all this information at once can be overwhelming, so I reassured my audience that they can help animals by stop buying products that are tested on animals and that the resources I shared with them can make doing so simple and easy. I encouraged and motivated my audience by showing them why and how they can make the right decision and stop contributing to testing on animals.
Some physical strategies I used to inform and communicate with my audience was to keep eye contact, have different facial expressions, and have appropriate body-language. When talking about animals being abused for animal testing, my facial expression was sad. On the other hand, when I was showing my audience just how easy it can be to choose cruelty free items, I smiled and had a positive facial expression. I stood up straight and faced towards my audience, and I did not fidget. My stance was open and professional.
In addition to my first goal, I completed my second smart goal for oral communication as I learned to use appropriate pitch, volume, speed, and clarity when presenting information to my audience. This was very challenging for me as I have tended to talk too quietly and too fast when I am orally communicating with others in the past. After lots of practice, hard work, determination, focus, and learning helpful tips and strategies for overcoming this obstacle, I felt much more comfortable and confident giving this speech.
Building up my confidence was key to this process. I had to learn to use my passion inside me for the topic in order to stay driven and focused. In specific, I had to redirect my focus from worrying about my anxiety to staying calm and focused when hitting each point on the head when presenting. I cannot stress how important it was for me to understand what the presentation meant to me personally in order to execute the purpose of my paper- to educate and inspire my audience to shop cruelty free. Having focus and keeping that focus throughout my presentation created a presence in the room that helped effectively reach the audience on a deeper level. Although the process of taking this step was intimidating, I learned that in doing so was not as scary as it seems, becomes easier with time, and is worth the pressure in the end.
Not only is knowing how to communicate with others in an efficient and effective way a very important component in my career path as a future social worker, but knowing how to do so is also an important skill to have through everyday life. Communication is something I have struggled with for most of my life as I have always struggled being able to accurately communicate to others what I'm trying to say and be taken seriously due to my shyness. When watching back over my speech, I can see that using verbal, interpersonal, and physical strategies along with aiming to have the appropriate pitch, volume, and clarity gave me the tools I needed to be actually heard instead of just being listened to by an audience.
Cultural Literacy:
In my own words, cultural literacy is an individual's ability to use skills such as communication, hearing, and comprehension in a variety of different culture contexts. The artifact that I chose for this core skill is the calendar project that I completed in the World Civilizations I course (HIS-111-2B1) that I took in the Fall 2019 semester. For this project, I had to create a PowerPoint presentation to share with my class about a calendar used by other cultures around the world that were unfamiliar to me. I chose the Islamic calendar to focus this project on because the culture and background this calendar comes from was the one that I knew the least about from the choices given to our class. I also found this to be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Islam religion as I was curious as to what the religion, culture, and holidays were like and entail. Learning from the Islamic calendar helped me learn a lot not only about the calendar but also the religion that the calendar is based off of.
I first explained the basic foundation and functioning of this calendar. Next, I covered the most important dates and holidays within this calendar. Then, I went over how the different moon phases intertwine with the rules and organization of the calendar. After that, I shared about the evolution of the Islamic calendar along with the history of it as well. In addition, I included a reflection on everything I had learned when learning about the Islamic calendar and Islam. Lastly, I cited my sources in the PowerPoint in order to give credit to the credible sources I used to complete this project and find more information about my topic.
When starting my college journey at South Piedmont Community College, I made the cultural literacy goal that I will recognize different experiences other cultures have experienced or are currently experiencing that I have not experienced before and then I will share the experiences of other cultures to those in our culture. This project is a great example of the many experiences I had during my Associate in Arts program at South Piedmont Community College where I had the opportunity to dig deep into cultures that I knew little to nothing about before. I found this opportunity helped open me up to new perspectives that I otherwise likely would have never have learned about otherwise. Comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences between different cultures, such as Islamic cultures, and our own western culture was incredibly eye opening and fascinating. I also enjoyed learning about different calendars and the cultures in which they are from when my classmates shared their projects with me. Sharing this knowledge with others was very enlightening and powerful.
The second goal that I made for the cultural literacy core skill is that I will educate myself on other cultures and learn how to communicate with those in other cultures in the most respectful, efficient, effective, and professional way possible. As a future social worker, I cannot even begin to express how important this skill is. Educating myself on other cultures and learning how to communicate with those in other cultures in a respectful, efficient, effective, and professional manner is a valuable skill in both my personal life and my professional life. In my personal life, these skills are critical to understanding others and contributing to building a more compassionate, inclusive world. When I become a social worker for young children, I will be working with families that comes from all different backgrounds and cultures. Awareness about the beliefs, background, traditions, and practices behind a variety of cultures that differ from my own will help me to better understand the dynamics and issues within families and be able to give their children the best resources and help that is available to best suit their needs.
Working with children in social work is not a one-size fits all kind of process. I have learned that every child and every family has unique needs partly due to differences in culture. In all, the information I have learned about other cultures can therefore be used to help me better understand and help my future clients along with individuals in my personal life. Overall, for both professional and personal reasons, I can never see myself stop learning about more cultures that are foreign to me.
Technology:
For the Technology core skill, the learner must select and use technology to access, process, and exchange information in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience. Simply put, this is when an individual can properly, effectively, effectively, and respectfully use technology as a tool to reach intended audience, share information with others, and find new information to process and analyze. The artifact I chose for this core skill is the writing ePortfolio I made when I took a Writing and Researching in the Disciplines (ENG-112-2B3) during the Fall 2019 semester. This online ePortfolio contains a welcome page for viewers, an about me page, a reflective essay, revised essays, a page about my composing and revision process, a peer review page, and a wildcard page.
The first technology core skill goal that I achieved during my time at South Piedmont Community College was the following: to use technology to create a variety of professional, effective visual aids that will add to my presentations and help the audience better understand the information I am presenting. I feel that this writing ePortfolio does an excellent job showing my abilities and growth regarding my use of technology. Just like this website, I used Wix to create my site. Using this website-creating tool was very foreign to me as I had never used this medium or created a website/ePortfoio before. Because this was all so unfamiliar to me, I was unsure of how I was going to create my writing ePortfolio. All I knew was that I was going to figure out how to utilize the tools and resources given to me in order to create the best writing ePortfolio that I can in order for my audience to have an accurate understanding of my work along with who I am as a person.
I learned how to use visual aids in order to compliment my work- such as learning formatting, design aspects, creating a design and main idea themes throughout the entire writing ePortfolio, how and when to attach a variety of different types of documents, and organization. When incorporating all of these new skills into my writing ePortfolio, a clear, easy to understand website was created while showcasing my unique identity that is shown throughout. Using these tools helped me learn how to create a just-right balance between making the writing ePortfolio personal while still remaining professional.
One example of this is using the relaxing, warm, and calm coordinating colors (mainly oranges and blues) to showcase my peaceful, warm, inviting, and compassionate personality in my writing ePortfolio. I used imagery containing nature (flowers, birds, leaves, and plants) to compliment this as well. None of my visual aids are overwhelming to my audience which is important for the flow and purpose of this project to reach my audience effectively.
The second technology core skill that I achieved was that I learned to create a professional, effective writing e-portfolio website that accurately shows my strengths, willingness to improve, hard work to improve and achieve my goals, passion for learning, and what I have to offer professionally. As I have lightly started to mention earlier, my writing ePortfolio holds so much specific content regarding reflection. My welcome page invites the viewers of my ePortfolio to explore and explains my purpose in creating my writing portfolio, my future plans, and an overview of my writing ePortfolio. The about me section of my writing ePortfolio gives my viewers an insight into who I am as a person and what I am passionate about.
Next, my writing ePortfolio has a page that holds a reflective essay looking back on my experiences and overall growth in my writing. The revised essays page has attached within it two revised final draft papers that I completed for this course. An example of an original text I wrote, with a revised version of the text, and a reflection of the process is in my composing and revision process page. A reflection on the peer review process along with an example of my work reviewing another student's paper is shown in the peer review page. Last but certainly not least, the final page is titled wildcards and it has a personal poetry piece displayed along with an annotated bibliography I completed for my public speaking course (COM-231-2B5) that I took at South Piedmont Community College in the Fall 2019.
Displayed in each reflection within this artifact is my determination to continue to work hard in order to improve and accomplish both my personal and professional goals. My openness and desire to learn is clearly shown throughout these reflections, the welcome page, and the about me page as well. The revision processes shown in this writing ePortfolio show my continuous growth in my personal life journey along with growth in developing my professional writing, communication, and technology skills. I'm very proud of how my writing ePortfolio turned out, and I cannot wait to continue to show my personal and professional writing growth in it as I continue following my dreams and becoming closer to my long-term goals.
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking occurs when a learner identifies, interprets, analyzes, or synthesizes before developing and implementing solutions in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience. Put differently, critical thinking is the ability to use skills such as reasoning, evaluating, problem solving, decision making, and analyzing to come to a conclusion. I chose my DNA fingerprinting and recombination lab from the BIO-110-2W1 Principles of Biology class that I completed during the Spring 2020 semester. This artifact does an excellent job at showing my understanding and development of this skill during my time at South Piedmont Community College.
In this assignment, I had to analyze DNA data from a model crime scene investigation in order to determine which suspect is guilty of eating the cheese. My first SMART goal for the critical thinking core skill was that I will learn to identify biases in sources. All preconceived notions or biases that I had about any of the suspects had to be let go of completely in order to accurately and fairly come to a conclusion. After eliminating any biases I held, I was able to use the information I was given to logically make an educated prediction of who I think ate the cheese along with then allowing the DNA evidence to speak for itself rather than letting any interference occur from any previous biases held.
I found the process of sorting through any possible biases to be quite difficult as many biases aren't easily recognizable- especially if they are my own. While difficult, this process also brought to me a better understanding of the world around me and taught me how, when, and why to always determine possible biases before coming to a conclusion when faced with any type of problem- whether an academic, scientific, professional, or personal issue.
My second SMART goal for this core skills was that I will learn to find and evaluate existing evidence from relevant, credible sources to solve a problem. DNA is the most credible a source can be as science can be proven with absolute certainty. Using a credible source (DNA in this particular artifact) paired with credible problem-solving techniques (such as Gel-Electrophoresis and DNA fingerprinting in this case) results in accurate and fair conclusions to problems.
When given information or doing my own research, I have learned that I must step back and remove any personal relations I may have to sources in order to determine if a source and the information within the source is both relevant and credible. The process of realizing my interpretations could actually be wrong due to biases I may not even previously known I had, identifying these biases, and using critical thinking skills to find the truth has all been a difficult yet rewarding experience. This process was difficult as second and third guessing myself and others seemed a little unnatural to me as defaultly trusting has always been a struggle of mine. The more I practice, the easier this process continues to become. This process can be used to solve issues that have no initial clear, obvious answer that requires critical thinking skills to solve.