Arts1000 Final Reflection PDF

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Charmion Taylor: 46353070

Final Reflection Opening Remarks: I participated in Arts1000 during my first year of engaging in my double degree. Currently I am studying a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Indigenious Studies. Acknowledging that one of the key learning outcomes for this unit was for students to “recognise and advocate for the role of the humanities in the society” (Macquarie University, 2020), as presented in the unit guide, I hoped that my participation in Arts1000 would allow me to enhance my knowledge of the different humanities fields and their importance. Furthermore, I aimed to keep an open mind to new enlightenments and concepts that the key topics may present and to be consistent with my work. I believe Arts1000 was an effective unit to introduce the different humanity disciplines to students and help them come to terms with the importance of developing their transferable skills. What Are Some of The Key Lessons Learnt In This Unit About The Value of Humanities and Social Sciences? Why Are These Lessons Important? In addition to wanting students to acknowledge the important role the humanities play in society, this unit encouraged students to recognise the differences between the disciplinary approaches, value the Bachelor of Arts transferable skills while reflecting upon their learning and skills development (Macquarie University, 2020). Through introducing students to the themes of societal transformations, modes of communication and ethic, governance and justice (Macquarie University, 2020) this unit demonstrated justifications for why studying the humanities and social sciences is essential. As cited by this unit, Helen Small’s text “The Value of the Humanities” (2013) suggests that the humanities help in areas of our personal and social happiness (Lectorial, Week 1, 2020). As Professor Nicholas Smith reminisced on the meaning of work from a philosopher’s perspective, I initially became educated on this idea (Lectorial, Week 2, 2020). Before attending Smith’s presentation, I mainly associated work with being an activity that involved earning an income. However, in comparison to this discouraging viewpoint, I became enriched by the extract “Meaningful Work” which lists reasons on how work can be valuable to individuals (Veltman, 2016) and Smith’s reflection on Veltman’s suggestions. Consequently, through engaging with the discipline of philosophy, I was introduced to a new, fulfilling perspective on my interpretation of work. This ultimately allowed me to recognise that by studying the humanities I can become aware of how to deconstruct notions to find positive alignments in them, ultimately contributing to my wellbeing. Furthermore, through completing this unit’s content in relation to storytelling, law and justice, I came to recognise how the humanities can help an individual understand how and why social contexts may be constructed in particular ways. The materials that the Department of Indigenous Studies and Politics provided on the Northern Territory Intervention during weeks ten to twelve particularly allowed me to recognise this as I became able to comprehend the reasoning and social implications of the Intervention. Furthermore, I also came to develop this knowledge through engaging in week five’s reading, “The Value of the Humanities” , which suggested, “the humanities are disciplines of memory and imagination, telling us where we have been and helping us envision where we are going” (American Academy of Arts & Sciences, as citied by Deloitte, 2018, pg. 10). This is 1

Charmion Taylor: 46353070 an important lesson for all individuals to learn particularly in our globalized society where cultures across the world are increasingly integrating. Additionally, through engaging in the humanity disciplines it allows people to critically unpack social regimes to continually recognise what is happening around them, ultimately helping people to develop strategies that will help our society to continue to move forward. How Did I Go About Learning in This Unit? Which Tasks an Activities and Learning or Teaching Approaches Helped and Which Hinder My Learning? To study Arts1000, I was required to participate in weekly readings, videos, “Individual Readiness Assurance Test” (IRAT) quizzes, ‘lectorials’ and tutorials. Recognising that the combination of these weekly tasks can be quite demanding for one unit, to ensure that I was engaging with this unit effectively, staying organized and developing a weekly structure was key. I appreciated the unit coordinators’ dedication to upload the weekly readings and IRAT tests each Friday and the ‘lectorials’ every Wednesday. Their commitment to ensure that the weekly content was uploaded within the schedule encouraged me to stay consistent with my work. Writing down key points that I found to be either fundamental or interesting was another tactic that I strove to use weekly to help enhance my understanding of the unit’s core themes. This helped me unpack the heavier readings such as week two’s “Gifts in a World of Commodities: The Ideology of the Perfect Gift in American Society” (Carrier, 1990) and week twelve’s “Ask Us…This Is Our Country’: Designing Laws and Policies with Aboriginal Children and Young People” (Doel-Mackaway, 2019). As a result, I was able to comprehend the questions in the IRAT tests better and complete my Skills Portfolio more efficiently. However, although some guest speakers incorporated the weekly readings into their presentations clearly, such as Professor Ben Spies-Butcher who aligned to Standing’s book “The Precariat” (2011) (Lectorial, Week 3, 2020), I found as the unit transitioned online, the lectorials didn’t connect to the readings as comprehensively. This dismantled my ability to understand the readings and interest in the lectorials. The transition online also became a huge obstacle to feeling motivated to extensively plan out my assessments as I have increasingly felt dependent upon my laptop. Consequently, I feel I have not completed some tasks to the best of my ability. Nevertheless, I believe that the online structure of Arts1000 was appropriate and the discussion forum provided students with an accessible way to still communicate with the unit coordinators. Which Are the Three Skills from The Skills Framework Which I Feel That I Developed the Most in Studying This Unit? This unit was aimed towards students taking into consideration how the transferable skills presented in the Bachelor of Arts Framework can help individuals advance in modern life and work environments (Macquarie University, 2020). Through engaging with the provided materials and activities, my involvement in this unit has allowed me to strengthen my capability to reflectivity think, engage with interpersonal communication skills as well as to implement and apply knowledge when necessary. As noted by Professor Mary Ryan from Macquarie’s school of education, reflective thinking is encouraged in many of their learning activities (2020, 00:01:34-00:01:48). Recognising this, I can appreciate the opportunity that the Skills Portfolio assessment provided me to reflect upon the unit’s themes and tasks. Through being required to demonstrate my own personal understandings on the unit’s 2

Charmion Taylor: 46353070 readings and videos while also having to consider the marker’s feedback to help improve my assessment, the series of portfolios allowed me to practice my reflective thinking skills. Furthermore, my involvement in the unit’s ‘Team Based Learning’ (TBL) discussions assisted me to enhance my interpersonal communication skills. This is because the TBL conversations required me to acknowledge how to effectively present my perspectives in regard to my own and other people’s interpretation of the weekly IRAT in a manner which was responsible, patient and respectful over an online platform. These are essential practices that I can apply when engaging with tasks in Indigenous Studies as the ability to respectfully communicate knowledge is recognised to be a core value in the field (Kennedy, 2020, 00:02:42-00:02:50). In addition, through reflecting upon this unit, I believe I have become better at interpreting and implementing acquired knowledge when having to execute decisions and tasks. Through participating in the IRAT quizzes, this unit provided me with the chance to practice applying information, that I had gained from the essential readings, to ultimately choose the most appropriate answers in the weekly test. With this new skill development, I hope to fulfil Ryan’s suggestion that the understandings gained from studying the humanities can be applied into educational contexts (2020, 00:00:44-00:00:56). I believe that the collaboration of these three skills that I have developed over the course of this unit are great assets that will grant me opportunities in future employment as they’re universal and timeless. What Steps Should I Take to Further Improve My Approach to Learning as A Student In The Bachelor of Arts or Other Degree? By participating in Arts1000 I have been able to incorporate elements from all of the six groups in the Transferable Skills Framework into my studies which has strengthened me as a student. However, recognising that some weeks I found the content provided in this unit dense and labor intensive, I believe I need to enhance my ability to efficiently unpack texts and their key concepts. To achieve this, I need to improve in paraphrasing texts to become better at recognising authors’ main points. This will be helpful in other degrees because it will improve my time management and allow me to integrate essential information. Furthermore, recognising that at this stage I will be having to complete another semester off- campus, I believe I need to improve my engagement with all online activities. Although in this semester I made sure that I completed the necessary work that would contribute to my final grade, I feel my participation in other areas such as the weekly tutorial activities was poor. I believe to improve my dedication in completing all provided tasks across the rest of my degree I will need to extensively plan out my weeks and maintain a positive mindset. These are important practices that help build motivation.

References Carrier, J. (1990). Gifts in a World of Commodities: The Ideology of the Perfect Gift in American Society [Ebook] (pp. 19-37). Retrieved from Leganto https://ap01.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/readinglist/citation/33533586230002171? institute=61MACQUARIE_INST&auth=SAML

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Charmion Taylor: 46353070 Deloitte. (2018). The Value of the Humanities [Ebook] (p. 10). The Value of the Humanities. Retrieved from iLearn https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/pluginfile.php/6300965/mod_resource/content/2/Deloitte %20Insights.%20%282019%29%20%E2%80%98The%20path%20to%20prosperity%20Why %20the%20future%20of%20work%20is%20human%E2%80%99.pdf Doel-Mackaway, H. (2019). ‘Ask Us … This Is Our Country’: Designing Laws and Policies with Aboriginal Children and Young People [Ebook] (27th ed., p. 35). International Journal of Children's Rights. Retrieved from iLearn https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/pluginfile.php/6390603/mod_resource/content/1/The %20International%20Journal%20of%20Childrens%20Rights%5D%20%E2%80%98Ask%20Us %20%E2%80%A6%20This%20Is%20Our%20Country%E2%80%99%20Designing%20Laws %20and%20Policies%20with%20Aboriginal%20Children%20and%20Young%20People.pdf Macquarie University (2020). ARTX1000 – Humanities and the World. [online unit guide] Retrieved from https://unitguides.mq.edu.au/unit_offerings/122498/unit_guide Macquarie University. (2020). iLearn: ARTS1000 Humanities and the World - ARTX1000. Retrieved from iLearn, from https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/course/view.php?id=39048 Macquarie University. (2020). Transferable Skills Framework [Image]. Retrieved from iLearn BA Hub https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/pluginfile.php/6248067/mod_resource/content/0/BA_FRAMEWO RK.pdf Macquarie University. (2020). Values, Methods and Contributions of our Disciplines: Indigenous Studies [video]. Retrieved from iLearn https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/mod/book/view.php? id=5572359&chapterid=208718 Macquarie University. (2020). Values, Methods and Contributions of our Disciplines: Education [Video]. Retrieved from iLearn https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/mod/book/view.php? id=5572359&chapterid=208715 Macquarie University. (2020). Week 1 Lectorial Slides. Lecture. Retrieved from iLearn Arts1000 Unit https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/course/view.php?id=39048 Macquarie University. (2020). Week 2 Lectorial Slides. Lecture. Retrieved from iLearn Arts1000 Unit https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/course/view.php?id=39048 Macquarie University. (2020). Week 3 Lectorial Slides. Lecture. Retrieved from iLearn Arts1000 Unit https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/course/view.php?id=39048 Small, H. (2016). The value of the humanities [Ebook] (pp. 23-30). Retrieved from Leganto https://ap01.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/readinglist/citation/33842803140002171 Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat : The New Dangerous Class [Ebook]. Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved from Leganto

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Charmion Taylor: 46353070 https://ap01.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/readinglist/citation/34184321610002171? institute=61MACQUARIE_INST&auth=SAML Veltman, A. (2016). Meaningful Work [Ebook]. Retrieved from Leganto https://ap01.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/leganto/readinglist/citation/33533581110002171? institute=61MACQUARIE_INST&auth=SAML

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