Professional Development Capstone Assignment
Questions
What is the value of a checklist?
Checklists have many uses that allow people to get work done in a more efficient and less stressful manner. The act of making a checklist forces the person to think about all the things that have to be done. This naturally organizes ideas and tasks in your head. After the checklist is made, you can use it to keep on track and make sure you didn't miss anything.
What do you plan to improve upon while at Turing
Something I would really like to work on is my procrastination. In every instance, I've always been able to turn in assignments on time. Although the assignments get turned in, when I procrastinate, the whole ordeal becomes very stressful. If I had just finished early rather than on-time, I would have much less stress and anxiety. I feel like my classmates and the structured assignments will help me during my time at Turing to complete tasks early.
Reflection Questions
- What is your greatest strength and how do you know?
My greatest strength is resilience. There are many instances in my life where I was tested by going through really bizarre or terrible things. I am always able to center myself and get back to what I need to be doing. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be so resilient, allowing myself to take care of myself before getting back to work.
- How do you work best?
I work best when large tasks are broken down into smaller ones. I really enjoy using the pomodoro timers to keep myself on track. I tend to work better when I am alone and I have someone available to ask questions. Usually I dislike working on group projects, but I know that will have to change at Turing.
- What is your greatest area of improvement?
I need to work on my procrastination. I tend to leave things until the last minute. I have always been able to turn in things on time, but the quality definitely takes a hit. I hope I can fix some of this problem at Turing.
- How do you hope to maximize your strengths for your new career in software development?
I can use my resiliency to continue working on things even when there are other stressful things going on in my life. Also, when there are a lot of different things that I have to do at once, I can quickly organize my thoughts using a checklist. After I make the checklist, I can start working by using the pomodoro timer.
- How might knowing about your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer?
It's definitely important to know your strengths and weaknesses so you'll be able to grow. Without understanding what you need to work on, it's very difficult to see the change that you need to make happen. When we know our faults, we can slowly work on them. Sometimes if we are lacking in a particular area, we can find someone else who is strong at that thing. Thus making a better, well-rounded team.
- What efforts do you make to manage your learning process? Are these efforts successful? What challenges have inhibited your ability to manage your learning process effectively?
The most important thing for manaing my learning process is my interest in the subject. If I am not interested, I am not going to learn the material. It's important to make things fun when learning something that isn't interesting to me. Something that has inhibited me has been my procrastination. It's difficult to learn things fully and fluently when you don't have ample time.
- How do Sierra's and Coate's material relate to your current process for learning?
Learning is all mindset. If we start our learning process by thinking, "I can learn this," then we will be able to do it. I truly believe everyone is capable of doing calculus, it just depends on if people think, "Oh I'm not a math person." My current mindset for Turing is that I know I will be able to do this.
- What role does your emotional state of mind play in your learning? How do your successes and failures at learning affect your emotional state?
Emotions play a huge part in learning. When we are stressed or sad about something, it creates a fog in our brain. After my roommate got into trouble my sophomore year of college, I couldn't stop thinking about so many negative emotions. It hindered my ability to perform well in school. It's important to be able to have someone to talk to in order to release that pressure and allow learning back in your life.
- How will you prepare yourself to be at your best with your learning process while at Turing?
My mindset currently is, "I am going to do great at Turing." I truly believe that will happen, so in a way, it's definitely going to happen. I am excited to learn the material and I will be able to stay interested at every step of the way. I am looking forward to being able to perform with excellence.
