Micaylah Cunningham

Core Skills

This page includes the six core skills: written communication, oral communication, intercultural competence, technology, analysis and interpretation, and problem solving. I have chosen one assignment for each core skill that I have done here at SPCC to show and reflect that I have learned each core skill through that specific assignment. Through much critical thinking, these reflections have shown me the skills and tools that I have learned through some of the assignments at my time at SPCC. Now I hope to share the skills and tools that I have learned at SPCC with you through my core skills page. 

​

Out of the six core skills, oral communication and problem solving would be my strongest. I have never considered myself to be a confident and strong public speaker. However, through the speech specifically that I have chosen for the oral communication core skill, it shows my progress and confidence that I have gained throughout the assignment. These tools that I have learned in public speaking will definitely continue to carry over into more speeches in the future. The other core skill that I would say is my strongest is problem solving. I chose an assignment in Chemistry for this core skill. Chemistry was one of my favorite classes at SPCC because it not only taught about science in the real world, but it also incorporated math, which I consider to be my strongest subject. 

​

The two core skills that I would say are my weakest would have to be written communication and analysis and interpretation. Writing/English is probably my weakest subject; it is the one I enjoy the least out of all of the subjects. When it comes to math, there is only one answer so you know if you got it right; however, this is not the case with writing. There are very few guidelines when it comes to writing and it's open to interpretation (also why analysis and interpretation was one of my weakest), which I have always struggled with. However, the artifact that I have chosen for the written communication core skill has provided me with more tools for writing. This has increased my confidence and comfort levels when it comes to English classes and writing papers.

​

Although some of the core skills are my strongest and some are my weakest, I am improving on every one of them through assignments at SPCC. All of the skills are still a work in progress; as the saying goes, there is always room for improvement. There is always more knowledge to gain and more skills to grasp. All of these things that I am learning now will continue to carry over to other assignments and tasks in the future. 

​

​

Written Communication

You will organize and express ideas clearly through written communication in a manner appropriate for the intended audience.

​

One of my very first papers written at SPCC was in ENG-111, titled Can Money Buy Happiness. For my paper, I decided to pick the topic: is a job that consumes most of ones time worth the money. I had chosen this topic because at the time the career I wanted to go into did not have a very high salary, which was worrying me. However, I had decided that I would choose a career based on if I liked it and if it would bring me joy, rather than picking a job based on the salary. Because this was one of my first papers at SPCC, it was a little bit challenging getting used to the certain formatting styles, such as MLA. I had only barely touched on MLA and APA in high school. One thing I learned in high school was how important thesis statements are. I had always struggled with coming up with a thesis statement that would work for the paper. Therefore, I set that as one of my smart goals: to construct a thesis statement that flows with the paper. The other smart goal I set was to correctly format my paper in MLA so that it was neat and organized. 

​

My first smart goal was to correctly use information from sources in an organized manner in my paper. After deciding what topic I wanted to do for my paper, I started searching online for sources that I could use. Once I had found enough sources to where I felt like I had enough information to work with, I started to write my paper. I made sure to utilize the sources in the spots where I thought they would make the most sense. For example, one of the sources I used provided information about how much people should make in order to be happy. I had to decide where I was going to put this information so that it would make sense and flow with the rest of the paper. I decided to put this information after the part where I explained that people take a high paying job and end up spending all of their time working instead of being happy. I put the information about how much money people should make after that to show that although people do not need a lot of money to be happy, they still need enough. This was to show a different side to the situation, because no situation is one sided. 

​

My second smart goal was to construct a thesis statement that flows with the paper. It took a great deal of planning before the thesis statement could be complete. Out of an entire paper, the thesis statement is the hardest because it has to sum up the into one sentence. Although a thesis statement is usually written at the beginning of the writing process, I focus on writing it once my paper is complete. This way, I already know what my paper is about; then I can go back and write the thesis statement based on what I discussed in the paper. When I do look back on the thesis statement that I had written for this paper (the last sentence of the introduction), I find it to be okay. It definitely could have been written better so that it showed the basis of my paper (that money cannot buy happiness). A better suited thesis for the paper after reading back over it, is a sentence in the last paragraph that says, "although it may seem worth it at the time, sacrificing one's own happiness for a little extra money is not worth it in the end." This sentence ties up the essence of the paper much more than the thesis statement I originally had. 

​

When writing a paper, using sources properly so that the information flows throughout can be challenging. It is not always so hard finding the information, as it is to take all of the information and figure out how to utilize it. However, once the paper has a general layout, it is much easier to decide which information is going to go where to make sure it all flows. Also, making sure that the thesis statement ties the paper together is important. From this paper, I have learned to better utilize my sources throughout my paper to make sure the paper flows. As well as, continued progress with writing better thesis statements. Both of these skills will continue to help me on future papers and assignments. 

​

​

Oral Communication

You will organize and express ideas clearly through oral communication in a manner appropriate for the intended audience.

 

The public speaking class (COM-231) that I took at SPCC was one of the most difficult, but most rewarding classes I have taken in college. Public speaking is one of those things that people will have to do at least once throughout their lives. So, learning the skills of how to speak publicly is very beneficial. COM-231 involved a few different speeches, most of which involved us being able to choose the topic. For my artifact, I chose the speech I gave on exercise, titled How Often do You Exercise. It was a persuasive speech that I did on trying to persuade people to exercise more. I chose to do my persuasive speech on exercise because exercising and staying healthy is something that is very important to me. Therefore, I wanted to choose a topic that meant a lot to me so that my interest in the topic would show during my speech delivery. 

​

There were two smart goals that I had set for myself for this speech. The first smart goal was to successfully write a speech based on the audience that I would speaking to. It was very important in every one of my speeches to think about who the audience was going to be. After I chose to do my persuasive speech on exercising more, I tried to find things that would relate to the audience so that they were more likely to be persuaded. Since everyone in the room was a student in school, I added in how exercise can relieve stress, especially school related stress. Stress is something that all students get at one time or another, so saying that exercise can relieve school stress peaks their interest. Before taking speech class, I did not know, or even realize, that you have to take the audience into account. This piece of knowledge will definitely continue to help me in future speeches. 

​

The second smart goal that I set for myself was to improve my public speaking skills so that the audience could better understand me. Thinking about having to speak in front of a class always makes me very nervous. I start to scare myself into thinking that I am going to do bad or that people are going to judge me. However, this changed in COM-231. The teacher had all of the students get to know each other so that when we would give a speech we would feel much more comfortable. Also, I learned some pointers that every speaker should have when giving a speech, such as eye contact, projected voice, annunciation, etc. When I get nervous during a speech I tend to look at the powerpoint to avoid contact. For this speech however, I tried to change that. Before the speech I encouraged myself that I was going to do well to keep from getting super nervous. I also tried to focus more on giving eye contact to the audience versus looking at the powerpoint. The last thing I worked on was making sure I read slow enough so that the audience could fully understand me. All of these improvements made for a better speech; and these tools that I have learned will continue to make for better speeches in the future. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

Intercultural Competence

You will develop awareness, knowledge, and behaviors necessary for intercultural competence. 1. You will develop intercultural competence that positively influences their identities and personal choices. 2. You will develop intercultural competence necessary for positive communication in cross cultural contexts. 3. You will understand the impact of culture on organizations.

​

In the United States and other places around the world there are culture trends that explain, in most cases, the difference between the way females act and the way males act. For a paper I did in SOC-210, titled Learning About Gender Through Clothes and Toys, my topic was to identify the similarities and differences among female clothes and toys and male clothes and toys. For this assignment I had to go to a clothing store nearby and study the clothes and toys of both females and males. Look for similarities and differences; as well as, how these relate to why males and females act the way they do. This assignment gave me a chance to learn about something that I had never really thought about before: culture gender comparisons. 

​

My first smart goal was to become more aware of culture gender differences in the United States and how this can be seen among other cultures. As I started observing the clothes and toys of males and females, I noticed some key differences right away. For the clothes, the female clothes consisted of mostly pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows, whereas the male clothes consisted of blacks, grays, greens, and browns. Looking at these differences made it clear to me why I typically see males in darker clothes and females in brighter clothes. For example, it is not very common for a male to wear pink. This really opened up my eyes to see that the clothes sold on the shelves influence what males and females wear from their early years, continued on to their later years. The toys were also very different among genders. Male toys consisted of trucks, monsters, and dinosaurs, while female toys consisted of dolls, dress up, and play houses. This also opened up my eyes to see why most truck drivers are male and why housekeepers, hairstylists, and makeup artists are typically female. It is because of the toys that males and females are associated with throughout their young years. Along with these many differences, there are some similarities among male and female clothes and toys. 

​

Relating to the similarities between male and female clothes and toys, my second smart goal was to become more aware of culture gender similarities. To my surprise, each section sold briefs. I found this interesting because I was not expecting to find briefs in the female section. Both sections offered roughly the same amount of selections of shirts and jeans. Which is another thing that I found interesting because there were a lot more male toys than female toys. Another similarity was that both sections of clothing offered sportswear. This one did not come as a surprise to me since both males and females play sports. Although there were not many specific similarities that I was able to point out, both males and females are given toys at a young age and both genders are "assigned," so to speak, certain clothes and toys.

​

Overall, doing this assignment broadened my knowledge about the differences and similarities between male and female clothes and toys. Along with how that affects the way they act and how they are portrayed in society. Also, after doing this assignment I am always looking out for differences and similarity between genders; as well as, between different cultures. This assignment will continue to broaden my thinking about the understanding of cultural norms in society. 

 

​

Technology

You will choose and utilize appropriate technologies to access, organize, and analyze and communicate information.

​

As time goes on, technology becomes a bigger and more prominent part of school and life in general. I am definitely a hands on person when it comes to most things, such as having the textbook versus the ebook. However, technology has some very useful benefits. One example of this would be the ePortfolio! For one, because the ePortfolio is online there is no way to lose it or toss it in the trash; it allows for me to keep everything in one place. It is a way to show all of the work that I have put forth in school to later help with in my future career. The other very useful benefit with the ePortfolio is that it has allowed me to represent who I am in my very own website. My first smart goal for the ePortfolio was to successfully create my very first website. My second smart goal was to create a theme that would best represent who I am.

​

Technology is used in almost every single one of my classes, whether it be for a paper, online test, or discussion. However, this ePortfolio was the first time that I have ever made my own website. This was definitely a new and challenging experience. Trying to figure out where all of the tools were and how the website worked was the most challenging thing. However, once I started playing around with the tools and I started working with it more, I got a better grasp of it. One of the first things I did was make all of the pages (welcome, introduction, etc.). Doing this helped to organize my ePortfolio into folders, so to speak. Therefore, I was able to better organize all of the information into its proper section. The next step up this ePortfolio mountain was figuring out what I wanted my overall theme to be for my ePortfolio. 

​

The neat thing about the ePortfolio is that it has allowed me to express who I am, which is not the case in most assignments in school. Most assignments include no personal thought and are supposed to be unbiased. Because of this, I had never really thought about the things that represented who I am. Completing the welcome page and introduction that are based solely on who I am was a great way for me to be able to show other people who I am and how I want to be represented. I brainstormed for a long time on what I wanted my overall theme to be for my ePortfolio, but after long deliberation I had decided. I wanted my theme to be a mountain representing my climb in life, like this ePortfolio for example. It is one step that I needed to overcome on my climb. I made sure to choose a background that would represent that (a mountain); as well as add in photos to show the things that most represent myself. Therefore, through images, background, and details in the welcome and introduction, I was able to successfully create a theme that represents who I am. 

​

​

Analysis and Interpretation

You will apply the basic principles of interpretation and analysis to synthesize information.

​

The artifact that I have chosen for this core skill is a paper I did in ECO-252, titled Bonds' Effect on the Economy. The assignment was to choose an article on an economical topic and write a paper based on that one article. This paper was about what would happen to bonds when/if Donald Trump came into office. The economy was hoping to see more jobs being brought back and the gap between the rich and poor decline. The economy was also hoping to see higher bond yields and lower bond prices by Trump coming into office. The paper also discusses how bond prices would be affected by inflation and deflation. Furthermore, it goes more into detail about what inflation and deflation are in case the reader is not familiar with these terms. 

​

The first smart goal that I had set for this core skill was conquering the task of being able to read an article and interpret the information into my own words. I achieved this goal through a few different steps. First, I quickly read through the entire article to get a sense of what the main idea was; and to see if this was the article that I wanted to write my paper on. Then, I read over the article again, a bit slower this time, to gather some specific information. I wrote down the information that I found important and which I thought would be useful in my paper. Lastly, I took each piece of information that I had written down, and wrote it out in my own words. This simple step helped a great deal when I started writing the paper because I already had some key points interpreted into my own words. This assignment of having to base the paper off of one article improved my skills of being able to interpret information from an online source into my own words. 

​

The second smart goal that I set was to take the information in an article and use it to write an organized paper in APA format. This goal was harder to obtain than the first goal I set because it required more critical thinking. After I read over the article and interpreted the information into my own words, the first thing I did to start my paper was to do the title page. From the English textbook, I knew that a paper in APA had to have a title page, body, and references page. After doing the title page, I started to brainstorm how I wanted to organize the body of the paper. I started with the introduction, discussing what the paper was going to be about. Then in the body paragraphs I talked about how bonds would be affected by inflation and deflation. The conclusion was next to wrap up the paper. Lastly, was the references page which included the citation for the article. This assignment helped me to better understanding APA formatting when it comes to papers; as well as, taking the main ideas from an article and turning them into a cohesive, organized paper. 

​

​

Problem Solving

You will apply the basic principles of mathematics and/or scientific inquiry to identify, interpret and evaluate and solve problems.

​

The artifact that I have chosen for the problem solving core skill is a lab experiment I did in CHEM-152: Gas Produced From Alka-Seltzer Tablets. The main goal for this lab was to determine the molar mass of CO2 and compare the experimental value obtained with the actual value. The next step was to write up a lab report on the experiment. In order to do this lab, we were required to follow a list of steps- known as the procedure- until we got enough information to start calculating to find the molar mass of CO2. We had to weigh a balloon with the gas of the alka-seltzer tablets inside; then pop the balloon and weigh the balloon with no gas in it. This allowed for us to calculate the difference between the two masses, which gave the mass of the C02. Then once all of the steps in the procedure were completed, we had to make certain calculations in order to find the molar mass of C02. 

​

The first smart goal that I had set for myself for this lab experiment was to follow steps accurately in the lab procedure in order to come up with a final result. The first thing I did when approaching this lab was to get all of the required materials, such as goggles, a balloon, etc. Then I quickly scanned over the lab to get a sense of what we were going to be doing; along with what I should be paying close attention to. Next, I read over the procedure and got all of the equipment organized before getting started. I completed each step in the procedure, being careful that I did not miss a crucial detail. If I had missed a step, this would have affected the final results of the lab. After I went through and completed each step in the procedure, I went on to the calculations portion of the lab. 

​

The calculations portion of the lab is where I had set my second smart goal, which was to accurately make conversions and perform calculations using PV=nRT(ideal gas law equation) to find the molar mass of CO2. The calculations portion of the lab was a bit more tricky because I had to use my own knowledge of math and science to figure it out, versus just following instructions. In order to figure out the molar mass of the CO2, a few different steps were performed. The first thing that I had to do was take the circumference of the balloon that had been measured earlier in the lab and use it to find the volume of the gas. This value was then converted to liters (L). Now having done this conversion, I could use this along with other information gathered to solve for n (the number of moles of CO2), in PV=nRT. The values for P,V,R,and T were all plugged into the equation to then solve for n, which was mol of CO2. Then another equation was used to find the molar mass of CO2 (g/mol). The last step was to calculate the percent error to see how close my calculation was to the actual calculation. The percent error ended up being 120%, which is not a very accurate percent. 

​

Although the percent error showed that my calculation was not close to the actual calculation, I learned a great deal from doing this experiment. It felt like a great accomplishment completing all of the steps in the procedure and coming up with a final result. Also, this was one of the first times that I had to take equations and material that I had learned from the course and apply it to a real scenario. It was neat getting to see how certain formulas learned in Chemistry can actually be applied to real life scenarios and labs. Having to apply it to a real lab was much more challenging than just doing some math problems or calculations on a paper because it required critical thinking. Applying the information learned in the course to the lab will help me to better remember the information for the future.