Who I Am As A Learner
Who I Am As A Learner
Who I Am As A Learner
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Introduction
This paper is aimed at analyzing where I stand as a learner, how I can enhance my
learning, and how the relevant skill set can be refined. Firstly, it is important to quote
the fact that this paper is not just a research to submit and gain academic marks but
holds importance much beyond the academics. The importance of this paper to me
is that it determines where I stand today and defines the direction for where I want
The paper presents various tests that I conducted on myself i.e. VARK, MBTI, and
Belbin, their outcomes, analyses of the outcome, and the justification based on my
made.
Section A: Who I am as a learner
VARK is one of the many ways meant to examine the various styles associated with
learning of individuals i.e. how do they learn. This test, VARK was formulated by
Fleming (2001), and is based on the existing nuero-linguistics model, which was
formulated by Eicher (1987). The term VARK is the compact version of Visual, Aural,
Read/Write and Kinesthetic sensory means that are used for learning information in
a given context. VARK test is based on the fundamental that each learner has a
most preferred style of learning and a least preferred style of learning, and thus, this
test is aimed at determining the same i.e. assisting the interview to recognize their
respective most and least preferred styles of learning (Fleming, 2007). Following is a
Write printed as words. Dictionary is the perfect example fitting this case.
K Kinestheti This stands for the preference towards using and sharing
movies, etc.
conducted this test on myself, to determine my own standing. The results of the
Visual 2
Aural 8 Figure 1.1 - My Score on VARK Test
Read/Write 8
Kinesthetic 7
(VARK Results (2008))
This shows that my inclination towards learning is on two styles, and high scores on
three altogether. VARK describes this as a multimodal learner i.e. myself because I
have good scores on three variables. Since the three variables have nearly the same
scores, the VARK guide will provide an insight on the lists and combinations present
To justify the results of VARK, I reviewed my past life, learning and outcomes. I
realize today that I have been getting good marks, infact very good marks from the
age of primary schooling to the university standards today through the read-and-
write subjects. Whenever the instructors used textbooks and lecture notes on
PowerPoint or any other mechanism, my focus was on reading the material rather
than attraction towards the pictorials. Other than this, I always have had this habit of
taking class notes for all the words that are spoken by the instructor and not present
knowledge with ease as I read across many texts like journals, newspapers, and
roots since the time of my childhood and therefore, led to a high score on
reading/writing aspect.
I believe I can appropriately utilize my preferred learning styles i.e. aural, read/write
and kinesthetic, since an implication of these also means that I can listen and write
simultaneously with complete concentration on both the things. A real life example of
this is that I tend to take active notes as I attended various seminars during my
academics. Other than this, I have this tendency of simultaneously making up notes
and looking up dictionary. Additionally, I have also practiced using the MP3 recorder
the re-listening. This ensures that I do not miss out on any point and have a clearer
Apart from this, I am trying to improve my visual weakness and planning to develop
some ways and means for its improvement. I have been scoring quite low in
charts, diagrams, and formulae. This impact was also witnessed in the courses that
have similar structural content like physics and chemistry, as I got low marks in those
too. This weakness stands out particularly when at the university level, the
mechanism used for teaching is via power point presentations that include flow-
charts, pictures, diagrams, graphs, etc. Thus, there outstands a need for my
improvement in this regard. For overcoming this weakness of mine, VARK suggests
to reconstruct images in various ways e.g. re-drawing pages from memory and the
use of words as a replacement for symbols or initials. According to VARK
suggestions for improvement, turning the visuals into words is another mechanism to
MBTI stands for Myers Briggs Type Indicator test – a test based on Jung’s Theory of
Personality Types. Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers were the contributors towards
the development of MBTI test (1985, cited at Quenk, 2000) that was meant to study
The subjects, hereby, are categorized by the normative self report measure, and
The respondents here get to know which of the combination is their type based on
2008):
information is mainly received directly from the external world, on the contrary,
information is received from within or the internal ‘self’ like sixth sense.
defines the processing skills of individuals with the information. Thinking is the
i.e. it defines people in the manner by which they reflect the means of their
1. Extraversion – Introversion
(Psychological Activities)
2. Sensing – Intuition
Carl Jung’s typology in three
(Dominant Function )
3. Thinking – Feeling criteria
(Dominant Function )
4. Judging – Perceiving Isabel Briggs-Myers added fourth
(Individual Preference) criterion
Figure 1.2 a Humanities criterion (Humanities 2008)
I conducted the MBTI test on myself and the outcome indicated that I have two
differing personality types (MMDITM “Basic Report”, 2008). The highest percentage
was for the ENFP personality type, while the second on the rank was the ENFJ (See
Appendix A2). Myers and McCaulley (1985, cited at Thorne & Gough, 1991, p.92)
who is an improviser rather than following a planned way of dealing with problems.
Moreover, ENFJ type is described by Myer, et al (1985, cited at Thorne & Gough,
1991, p.94) as radiating warmth and fellowship, placing a high value on harmonious
human contacts, appreciative of the good qualities that others have, and accepting
their opinions.
function’ on first two letters in the type code are much more important than the
others.
For ENFP, my dominant function is Intuition, i.e. orientation towards the outer world.
I have always promoted the exploration of new and better ways of doing things i.e.
attract my classmates. However, at the same time, depression, anxiety, and difficulty
in simultaneously working on both work and person stress are my weak points, i.e.
where I lag. I also possess rational thinking when it comes to friendship or
sentiments.
For ENFJ, my dominant function is ‘Feeling’, i.e. orientation towards the outer world.
I focus on and aim to build harmony in the world around me, assess the impact of my
decisions on other and vice versa, and behave in a giving way to others. For
instance, when working in a group format, I like to allocate and delegate work to my
ENFP and ENFJ differ in the facto of Perception and Judgment respectively. This
travel, I would refer to the various sources of information and devise a plan
Following is a tabulation depicting the differentiation in the two types and deployed to
Introverted Intuition
Figure 1.2 b The mainly different between from ENFP and ENFJ (Quenk, 2000)
dominant personality type of the organization to which one has to fit in for good. At a
more micro level, a person would be able to perform much better if they become a fit
in the team, and perform in accordance with the role expectation by the team. For
example, a person can only perform a leadership role better if they have a character
for it. This concept is compatible with the trait and theories of leadership.
Belbin (2003, p169) defines a team role is the tendency of individuals to behave,
situations. Belbin studied the behavior of managers from all over the world.
Managers taking part in the studies were given a battery of psychometric tests and
put into teams of varying composition, while they were engaged in a complex
styles and behaviors, and were assessed during the exercises. Results indicated
that different clusters of behavior were identified as underlying the success of the
teams.
Results from this research showed that there are a finite number of behaviors or
team roles which comprise certain patterns of behavior which can be adopted
naturally by the various personality types found amongst people at work. The
any management or work team. There are nine such team roles, clustered into three:
Investigator
accordance to the Belbin Test results (see Appendix A3), my personality suits to
various preferred and manageable roles in a team setting. As per the results, and
person; I have the sociability and adventurous sense of someone who likes to
explore new fields and grounds. On my work, I have a drive and courage to
overcome obstacles. Roughly I would agree with the My Self – Perception Team
Role Profile.
contribute the most in situations my special interest can be utilized i.e. in situations
where there is also an element of freedom for exploration and development of other
I can always ask a friend of mine to assist when my computer is out of order or for its
maintenance.
The report of the test also indicates my weaknesses i.e. my lack of drive and inability
generally I have strong ideas, but I look at things from unitary angle when
disagreed with my idea, a feel of dislike develops in my heart unintentionally for that
person.
personal identity, while allowing myself to develop interpersonal skills. And I need to
realize that am not a person who seems to be the originator of things, at least this is
something that is not visible from my character; new ideas may not always matter,
and therefore, I should look towards someone who can make a contribution in this
1.4 Summary
In the overall three tests, I understand that I am a Multimodal learner. I need to read
and utilize the Multimodal Study Strategies that can assist me in achieving better
personality, I realized that I am an extrovert; therefore I like to explore the new and
better ways for doing things. In a group setting, I like to develop my rapport with
people and create a positive atmosphere. Alongside, I also like to accept opinions of
But when it comes to the decision making aspect, I make decisions based more
heavily towards emotions rather than rationally. Furthermore, when I deal with
and my sister. Their opinions were nearly the same as the outcome of these tests,
however, I was surprised to find out that they disagreed on me being an extrovert,
After looked at the psychology behind modeling and Social Learning (conformity), I
realize that this is when a person learns to reproduce behavior exhibited by a model.
participate in outdoor activities and prohibited noise at home; they even discouraged
the expression of extreme joy and always preferred soberness. Moreover, in a family
that has an eastern country background and culture, people tend to reticent,
constricted, obey on parents and traditional rights and themes. From year to year, I
have learned to remain quiet within my home and the practice has moved to beyond
my home boundaries. Though having very rich ideas that can be fruitful many a
times, yet I do not share them with others. Therefore, this leads to misunderstanding
on how to allocate work satisfying everyone, the worry within myself to speak and
everyone, particularly with the radical changes coming along the job market today,
and the employers looking for employees with academic achievements also being on
the higher side and the need of intelligence rising from where it was earlier.
Following the same, I believe I need to develop and equip myself with knowledge
and transferable skills and have a proactive approach towards i.e. if a movement
forth is needed towards the career. Moreover, learning can assist in building up a
positive attitude, so that one becomes tougher and gains the ability to deal with the
difficulties of life.
Knowles (1981) states that learning is a lifelong process, and lasts as long as the life
personally in agreement with this statement. In accordance with the theory, life-long
Adult learning is different from teaching children because adults have different level
Adult learners identify their need to know, exploring their motivation to learn, and at
the same time, aiming at growth and development, through enhancement of their
learning motivation. This is based on their self-directed goals set with reference to
motivation to learn for the adults produces dramatically higher learning results and
the performance achieved. The results of MBTI and Belbin tests depict that I am an
extrovert with motivation to learn from others and explore opportunities. Therefore, I
can firmly state on the basis of the findings that I am a lifelong learner. I have high
with a hotel management job. This increases my requirement for knowledge in the
said discipline alongside the need to improve and refine my communication skills. As
derived earlier from the previous tests results, I do have the character for lifelong
learning, and if I synthesize my multimodal learning style, this can facilitate further
development in my career. In fact, I can acquire knowledge utilizing the three organs
- Utilizing the visual skills to learn from what I see while traveling, meeting new
Mariani suggests that a tentative definition of learning style could be the overall
Klingensmith, 2006, p 47). This definition has some important variables to be derived
According to the MBTI test results, I have an active role to play in my teams, and I
take the total ownership of a learning process and become more independent
learner. I can pay more attention to observe people, new things and self-reliance. At
the same time, when someone tries to favor with an open communication affiliation,
closeness and warm to other, I can imitate and learn from their behavior. For
would be gaining trust and good levels of cooperation. At the same time, some
clients do not have good emotions and are rather rational, so I would prefer keeping
possible extent, and try to listen to what others say and advice; this can assist in
building up the trustfulness on both sides. Subsequently, the internal and external
Besides, Robotham (1995, cites at Thorson, 2005, p 78) suggested that adults learn
any and everything in the initial stage; therefore, it must set the instruction by
following, i.e. once a learner becomes more proficient by applying the material being
offered.
As, I plan to move towards the career of a hotel manager after my graduation, I must
think in terms of the skills that I would want to acquire prior to my job. On a general
note, hotels require their manger to have good report writing skills and good
the need arises to specialize in a few, if not many, foreign languages, writing skills
and computer skills. Another important point is the fact that the manger is a front
skill, customer orientation and oral presentation. The foreign language skills such as
learning English and Mandarin, and the computer skills, I had learned at school,
which provides me a strong foundation to build upon. But the writing skill on business
interpersonal skills, implying that I can patiently listen to opinion of other people,
Once I work as a hotel manager for a few years, I aim to get a promotion towards the
this post needs individuals who can perform multitasking skills like marketing their
services, getting more business from the clients, hiring marketing individuals and so
on. I think I fit well to this right now and with the experience I gain in the next few
After graduating with a degree in travel and tourism management, I will plan to
pursue my career in hotel management industry. In the following section, I will use
the KASO analysis to describe the basic requirements on two advertisements (see
Appendix B). KASO implies the meaning as the knowledge needed for a particular
noticed that the second advertisement does not show detail information on job of
member service officer. But I will try to evaluate the job requirement along to other
similar occupation.
Knowledge:
In this advertisement, the business development manager should hold a degree with
Skill:
The skill set needed as per the advertisement requires the manager to have
Additionally, the employees are needed to be fluent in both verbal and written
languages i.e. English and Chinese, especially in Mandarin. Also the manager needs
to update the records of business contacts through internet, so the skills of MS Office
command over spoken and written English and Chinese. Proficiency in Mandarin
these three languages. Basically, the skill requirements on two jobs are almost
similar.
Ability:
The advertisement requires the applicants to have the ability to coordinate with the
independently, handle multiple tasks and meet tight deadlines becomes an unsaid
requirement. Besides this, the department operations rely on group work, hence
good relationship building and management are also the unsaid needs. In the job of
a member service officer, the customers’ flows are largely variant most of the times.
Most of the customers spend time there primarily after work or during public
holidays. Therefore, flexibility and working under pressure become the needed
Part of the job responsibility is to work with direct sales teams to develop vertical
some more unsaid skills that are needed for this job. In the job of member service
officer, being extrovert is also a need here, alongside being active and optimistic
In this section, I aim to analyze which of the two jobs match my personality traits and
Based on the outcome obtained from the MBTI test, my personality has been
Additionally, the Belbin test result shows that I am a resource investigator, who loves
to explore opportunities and develops contacts. Therefore, I can fulfill most of the
Based on my results for the MBTI test, my personality has been identified as an
Development
Manager
My personality &
ability
Require on Extroverted Flexible Good relationship Under
Officer
My personality &
ability
Figure 2.3 Compare KSAO with my personality
3. Conclusion
Previously, I did not plan on my career and life as I was also ambiguous about
discovery various aspects and traits related to my personality such as strengths and
weakness. After the three tests being done, I understand how to improve my
ground on my personality traits to find a suitable job, and then, I need to keep the
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McGraw-Hill.
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2008).
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2008).
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Macmillan.
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November 2008).
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Publishing Company.
17. McLynn, F.J. (1997) Carl Gustav Jung. London: Black Swan.
18. MMDITM ‘Basic Report’ (2008) ‘MMDITM Basic Report’. Available in the Appendix
19. Parkinson, M. (2000) How to master personality questionnaires. 2nd edn. London
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York: Wiley.
22. Thorne, A. & Gough, H. (1991). Portraits of type: an MBTI research
on 12 November 2008).
25. VARK (2008) ‘The VARK Questionnaire Results’. Available in the Appendix A
My CONTACTS INFORMATION
Country: China
Telephone: 21354xxx
Email: [email protected]
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Gender: Female
OBJECTIVE
therefore keen to find a new and suitably challenging role within a market-leading
organization.
EDUCATION
WORK EXPERIENCE
Assistant Nurse
Clerk
SKILL