Building My Foundation

In the Cornerstones Program, we have a set of Competencies that they wish for us to learn as we grow in this program. I will expand on the competencies that I feel i have improved on and on the ones I feel need or could be  improved. Many of these competencies were addressed in many of our assignments and readings. They were also made sure to integrate them in each class so that we could see how each theme connects with the NCC competencies.

Competencies that have improved:

• Values
• Global Understanding
• Information Technology

Competencies that need improvement

• Critical Thinking
• Strategic Problem Solving
• Effective Citizenship

Some of these competencies will be linked to the learning experience

However, first comes a self-assessment of skills that I feel need to mentioned so that it is easier to understand why I chose the competencies that I chose.

What I lack. . .

• Writing a strong paper with evidence
• Ability to work on assignments in a timely manner
• Looking at rubrics before turning in assignments
• Citing my sources

What I have. . .

• I pick up quick on concepts
• Actively participate in class
• Helping others
• Good memory to remember a lecture or certain things that I see

Coming into the Cornerstones program, I definitely knew that my main struggle would be in the many writing assignments that were going to be assigned. I know that my writing isn’t as strong as it could be and that it takes me a lot of effort to be creative when I write, because I am too used to just writing enough of the information that is being asked for.

It is because I recognize my lack of writing skill, that I am in this program now. I wanted the opportunity to learn how to write strong papers that contain enough evidence to back my statements and opinions. Even knowing that i would be throwing myself out of my comfort zone, it was something I wanted to experience.

True enough, for every paper and assignment, the main reason why I was deducted points was because my evidence wasn’t as strong as it could have been or lack of evidence. Please note that I am not saying this put myself down, but instead use it to instill a sense of urgency, in the sense that I need to try harder than what I normally would on an assignment.