Question+1+What+kind+of+learner+are+you?

​ Question 1: What Kind of a learner are you?

This may include the learning opportunities both in the classroom, in the work place and as part of your self directed study.

_ Add your responses under the line below.
Wow... I'm finally first at something!!

I am a visual learner. I like hands on learning and I feel that I respond best to 'hands on' learning. 1. The outcome of my swot.. Umm.. The outcome of my swot analysis has shown me that I am very critical of myself when I try to think about strengths. I feel that my main strength is perseverance. I never give up. Giving up is failure and that is not an option. My main weakness is my 'time management' skills as I always like to leave things to the last minute. Opportunities.. I have a great support system within my group of friends... I have a couple third year students 'willing' to start a study group with me and I have an awesome partner that will look after the girls and keep them out of my hair. Threats to my study are mainly health and family related. My youngest daughter hasn't had the best health since she was born and has ended up in hospital a couple times. I am also sick at the moment so I am kinda scared about the 80% attendance.

2. In regards to becoming a teacher I feel that the SWOT analysis has shown both positive and negative aspects of my personality. My main strength when dealing with children is my maternal instints. For instance being able to tell by a childs cry whether they are hungry, tired, need a nappy change or in pain. Each cry has a different emotion and facial feature behind it and I feel that I can tell the difference. Another strength is patience. As a teacher you need to be able to keep your cool and not blow your lid everytime a child plays up. My weakness as a teacher would probably be my insecurities towards public speaking and singing. I hate my voice and I think it would take awhile for me to be able to start a song in the centre like the other teachers do. My opportunities would be overcoming my fears, if that is an opportunity.. The threat to my career as a teacher would be time management. Teaching includes organising your day ahead of time and I would need to work towards organising myself.

I don't know if I did this right so please tell me if I need to redo this..

Sara Beazley.

What kind of a learner am I?

Filling out the SWOT analysis in class was a great opportunity for me to review how I learn. As I was given this task, a blank was drawn. I immediately heard the negative voices from my past saying “you can’t do it!” This was my opportunity to fight through, to find my own reo/voice! When we finally shared our outcomes, I found solace in hearing my peers voice similar strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I felt I was in good company!

My kaha/strength's were the most difficult to find! I do know that I have good organisational and computer skills and a desire to achieve. These skills will set me up well for a constructive learning and teaching environment. My peer’s also helped me realise that my life experiences and what my own children have taught me are also valued strengths. Ngoikoretanga/Weaknesses come all too easily, but my biggest challenge ahead is maintaining whakapono/belief in myself and getting a balance between time spent studying and quality time spent with whanau. My most welcome wā kia puta/opportunity is to be able to share and learn from the experiences of my peers in class and from my colleagues in my Centre. My most dreaded tuma/threat is the unforeseen, which can bring on mataku/fear, pēhi/stress and matemate/illness.

My purpose is kia kaha... be strong in my learning, be strong in my teaching!

Rhonda Warner

__**Aimee Watson**__

Upon reflecting on my main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats I found that my SWOT analysis centered on focus. I have the determination to achieve, yet under estimate my abilities as a student.I also discovered it was much easier to analyze my weaknesses than it was my strengths. Most of my weaknesses are focus related - time management, distractions in class and under estimation of my abilities. These can all be overcome with more focus on why I am studying. This is one of my strengths – the drive and determination to achieve. I have made a life changing decision and don’t want to give up easily. We all have a great range of opportunities available to us to help with our learning. The relationships I have with my centre support person, lecturers and peers are opportunities that I intend to take full advantage of. I will be drawing on their expertise and experience in the field to grow my knowledge and understanding of children. I am threatened by outside commitments and the possibility that I may take on too much. By developing my time management skills, I will ensure that I am able to remain focused and absorb as much information as possible.

The outcome of the SWOT analysis: I'll look at **Threats & Weakness** first; Like Aimee, when I review my SWOT analysis, I see that my threats are focus related. Some quite valid distractions like family needs, and others like time management, lack of organization, and procrastination, can be overcome with discipline and implementing good habits. I am a practical/relational learner. Translated means I like being with people, I learn by listening and talking to others, but also need some alone time to process my experiences. At this early stage, I feel supported in my study by my family, the lecturers at Unitec, and hopefully in Kindergarten, when I start this week too. A study group would be a huge help, we could support and encourage each other to stay on track.
 * __Michelle Johnson__**
 * Strengths and Opportunities**:

What kind of learner am I?
After thinking I had completed the SWOT analysis in class, I actually came back to it later that evening and added a few more words! My initial thoughts would be that the Weaknesses box would be filled to the brim, but in actual fact the Strengths box had just as many entries, if not more! When you can step back and really analyse yourself, it can come as some surprise that you are a capable, positive learner. I had to take a moment to question what type of learner I am. I think that I am a" hands on" learner, but in fact I am also a visual learner. Is it possible to be one or more? I think it is, depending on the task that is being asked of you. Like, Sara I am fairly critical of myself, which is probably why it surprised me to see that my Strengths box had just as many entries. I have also had time away from my Centre, to reaffirm my teaching practices, where I fit in and the type of person I am. And more importantly how I approach learning and teaching to the children.

My Opportunities (support) would be my work colleagues, lecturers, learning facilities at Unitec, my partner, classmates. I like the idea of study groups, being able to discuss the work during the week, floating ideas around and being a support network. One of my main Threats would be if one of my children, partner or myself became ill during this period. Stress would be another Threat that could cause illness or failure in the course. Taking on too much with work, family and study. I guess these are all fairly manageable and prevention plays a huge part.

My overall view of writing the SWOT analysis was that the experience was to allow me to reflect on myself as an individual, a teacher and a student. As we all travel on this wonderful journey we will probably find that our analysis will change, be altered or extended as we become more competent learners and teaches.


 * __Danielle Booth:__**

I found that my SWOT analysis was greater in the weaknesses and threats. To me i see this as being like this because i often see the bad or worse in myself before i see the good, but although my challenges out number my strenghs, my strenghs over power my challenges. For example; some of my strenghs are being determined and stubborn, although these don't seem like postives at first, when you combine them with my postive out look and the fact that i absolutly hate to fail, they motivate me to achieve my goals, there for i can over come my challenges (weaknesses and threats) of laziness, easily stressed (because of taking on too much), illness and emotions/moods/feelings. So in all, although I will have many challenges in the duration of this course, i will over came them to successed in the end, I hope.

I also agree with what Fal'e said above, in which she mentioned that our SWOT anaylsis allow us to reflect on ourself as individuals, from the point of view as a teacher, a student and what ever else influences our lives and that they will be subjected to change as our we travel through our journey.

__OUT COMES OF MY SWOT ANALYSIS__

The out come of swot analysis as been formal and can could have very interesting affects on the outcome of my learning as a student but also as teacher working in a centre, if I was placed into different situations in a classroom of children ages between 0 – 2 and 2 – 5 year olds the scenarios could effectively be completely different. If we look into each of the four areas on the diagram, these are the following results. Keeping in mind the each will be relating to the two different scenarios. Some of the weakness the could affect me are that I tend to lean more towards helping people first rather than considering my own feelings or emotions. Finding the correct content to use for essays is difficult for me. Not being able to understand the entire question in full. I tend to get the wrong idea of what is being asked of me. As part of being an affective teacher one needs to have the confidence to be able to sing, read or even improvise in a classroom type of situation. This in affect is a completely un-nerving and a foreign concept for me. One of the significant threats and a potential distraction is with my on going medical health, which could have a great affect on my classroom and study time. Another big threat is my lack in confidence in talking in front of people. Not being able to feel confident in reading a book, to a classroom of children aged between 3 – 5. I have discovered that I am more confident with the under 2’s, my lack of confidence lies in the 3-5 year age group is due to my stutter. I have one major opportunity which I think over the long time will have a huge benefit for me, I have the confidence to be proactive and seeing what needs to be done, I have the future of being committed to a expanding my knowledge to source out new ideas or resources that could better support me to be a great teacher. Strengths are, that I have great time management which can help in either situations, I have skills in conflict resolution which I would like to be able to implement on a smaller scale into classroom environments, I also have great leadership skills. Overall the outcome of my swot analysis has been a huge eye opener and each part of it will affect my learning and teaching in different ways, which will be discussed about in the next question.

__SO WHAT ARE MY STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS IN MY LEARNING TO BE A TEACHER?__

My strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can both impact my teaching in many different ways. Lets first discuss my **weaknesses**. I mentioned above that I found it incredibly difficult to read or participate in song with children of a certain age group. This is due to my stutter. I tend to stutter when I am nervous. Having lots of faces staring at me can be very daunting for me, this will defiantly have a impact of teaching at first, once I get used to the children my difficulty should decline. Moving on to my **strengths**, I believe I have a lot to offer to the learning of children. I am a very active listener to children I believe that a critical part of being a responsible teacher is to listen to children. The Philosophy of Reggio Emilia has a very important and I think incredible view on the importance of listening and I would like to share it **“//Listening to children has changed the way in which we think about children. It has changed our understanding and perspectives about how and what children learn and out image of the child. We have been able to see more clearly the amazing potential for children, their richness, their talents, their understanding and views of the world, their feelings about themselves and other children around them as well as the adults who engage with them”//** Another important strength that I have that I would like to role out as a student teacher is my experience with conflict resolution. I have done a lot of work for young adults but I want to bring it down to a smaller scale. For example if two children were having an argument and started to hit one another I would like to give them the change to tell each other how it felt, the for them then to give each other a hug. Also passing on the message that it is not okay to hit one another. Moving on to talk about **opportunities**, I mentioned about the motivation to learn and up skill as a teacher and as a student. There is always new content coming up, and I believe a critical part of being a teacher is being able to listen to other people’s views, and have a willingness to learn more content. Finally my **treats** to being a teacher. If we look further into my medical impact of teaching. Part of being who I am and the condition I have, has certain implications and can prevent me from doing certain tasks, for example my hand eye coordination is not so good. I would like to leave you with something to think about. Try to overcome your weaknesses this, you may find it easier to pursue your opportunities. Try to pursue your opportunities that maybe influence your strengths. If you feel threatened in a workplace in anyway try to find the strengths in the centre and work towards them.

In regards to the question how I learn, I would have to say that I am a very visual orientated or socially orientated learner. I learn best when in a group environment, so we are able bounce ideas off each other. That I tend to learn from other people and gain there experience on that situation/topic. I also find it a lot easier to engage and remember information, if I see it as a visual form, or if we put it into practice. For example our learning from class we can put straight into action through our learning/teaching in a centre.


 * Jesse Greenslade

Jaime' Oosthuizen:**

The outcome of my swot analysis was very interesting to me. I never thought of actually sitting down to find out what my strengths,weaknesses, threats and opportunities where. But doing this in class really made me think about the outcome and what I have to focus on and what I can continue feeling confident in during my learning.One of my strengths are that I am able to feel confident in asking for help from friends. I know this because when I dont understand something asking my peers for their perspective on things makes me paint my own picture and really gives me a better idea on things.This also relates to me as a teacher because if I can't figure a child out or I'm having trouble trying to get through to a child I can ask other teachers for advice on maybe their personal experiences.Another strength of mine is family support, my family are great at supporting me. They know when I'm stressed out when it comes to assignments and something as little as sharing the load with me helps a lot. I feel this is important in becoming a teacher because you dont want to overload in taking to many things on, that wont help you or the child in learning. My threats was mainly friends and health related. Lately I've been feeling under the weather and sitting in class last week I really wasn't feeling well. I dont think I focused as much as I should have but I was determined to not miss anything. I tend to get sick a fair bit so that will definitely play a huge part in my learning. Another threat for me would be transport. I have my learners license but have not been out on the road so I have to take the shuttle which means getting up extremely early to get to course on time. this however is a strength when it comes to my centre because it is just down the road so no early traveling for me. my opportunities would be I am able to have an open mind. I get so frustrated when people cant see the bigger picture. Or to actually sit and think why would tat be happening etc. For me before jumping to conclusions I sit and think about what could be making the situation as it is. This is defnitely important in being a teacher becuase no child is different and also teachers will have different teaching methods. Im glad this is an opportunity for me because you need that when being a teacher. My only weakness I had in my analysis was being tired a lot of the time. This I wll have to overcome some way because it will affect my learning and also my teaching.

So what kind of learner am I? I find myself to understand things better, when I'm put in the situation. I like to be in hands on situations, so I can actually get in there and participate. 'm also a learner who likes to brainstorm with others. I find putting more than one brain together helps paint a bigger picture.

__Anita Jacobs__ ** I enjoyed doing the S.W.O.T analysis but found it extremely difficult. Like a lot of people I do a really good job at finding my flaws but struggle at finding what I am good at. I felt because we had the option of sharing/ not sharing in class I could be completely honest with my answer’s which was a relief and it helped me to learn a lot more about myself.

Strengths that I have is I love getting feedback, once I have started a assignment I will not stop, when I understand theory learnt in class, I will not forget it and I have confidence to speak my opinion in small group discussions. My weaknesses include leaving things to the last minute, feeling I can not do something if I am struggling, afraid to ask questions in class and hate public speaking. Opportunities are that I have a great support system that all have faith in me and what I can accomplish and all back me up. My threats would be my patience, emotions, afraid to ask questions and trying to do too much.

After writing my discussion on Rose’s review on the creative process it made me think about how I learn and the influences people have on my learning. I feel the way I learn is by positive attitudes and support. If someone is showing me how to do a task and I am doing it wrong but they talk to me about it telling me what I can do to achieve a better outcome I will be able to achieve the task with confidence, but if I get negative feedback I will get defensive and more or less give up on the task feeling I cannot do it. I think this has helped me to realise what I need to work on so I can benefit from the learning opportunities I have offered to me and that I can achieve anything as long as I believe I can do it.

__**Jay Joshi**__

I have never written down my strength and weakness before, but it was quite an interesting exercise. The outcome of my SWOT analysis showed that though I have strengths, I have threats and weakness that I have to overcome. I will definitely have to work on my time management skills so that I have balance in my family, work and student life.


 * Strengths:** Looking at my strengths I have found that I am a determined and I persevere when I put my head into something. I am very passionate about children. Working with them, gives me great deal of joy and satisfaction. I had realized my passion lies in teaching children and I was determined to make changes in my life to pursue my dream. My strength also lies in my social skills, I like interacting with people and I like to think I am a positive person most of the times. My life experience as a mother has given me abundance of experience and has taught me valuable lessons (which I would not have experienced otherwise).


 * Weakness:** My weakness would have to be that I procrastinate and get distracted easily and do not remain focused. My time management skills are definitely something I have to work on. I have also realised that I am not very good at resolving disputes between children and will definitely have to work on it and ask for more guidance.


 * Opportunities:** My opportunities are my lecturers at Unitec that make lectures interesting, my centre supervisor (who is a wealth of knowledge and information), the different learning facilities at Unitec, my friends and family who support me in what I do.


 * Threats:** I have many family commitments which have to be given priority along with my studies. My mother has not been keeping well for quite some time (which always worries me). Ill-health of family members and unforeseen event are one of the biggest threats that I face.

My strengths and opportunities will help me in achieving my goals and I know I will have to overcome my weakness to be successful.

__**SUE DAVID**__

1. The outcome of my SWOT analysis test was very valuable to me as it gave me an opportunity to stand back and acknowledge those areas of my learning that I feel I am comfortable with and those that I will have to work on to improve. It has given me a clearer understanding of where I need to put my energies to succeed and that I //can succeed// by ensuring I put the effort in to acquire good work habits and to eliminate the bad ones. It has also made me realise that there is a great deal of support and help at Unitech which I can draw on when the going gets tough, which I’m sure it will from time to time and as Rhonda mentioned, that I am not alone.

2. Learning to become a teacher -I enjoy group discussion and I am confident in speaking out and asking questions in class, don’t worry, hopefully I won’t be //that student// that everyone goes “Oh not her again”!! -I also have children and believe that is a strength as I have learned a lot from them and a great deal about myself from them. -I have reasonable written skills and can express myself in a clear confident manner. - I have come to this course with a hunger to learn and with a great deal of enthusiasm.
 * Strengths**

-I do not have the best computer skills and will be forced to improve these as I go. -As I have not studied for quite some time I am unsure when to take notes and how extensive these should be. -As I haven’t studied for a while I also feel I may find it difficult to retain information. -My time management is a constant work in progress!
 * Weaknesses**

-It is really refreshing to know that the class is obviously very supportive and willing to share their strengths with others, hopefully I can reciprocate. -The resources and help and support from Unitec. - Having the opportunity to go straight out to the Centre to put into practice what I have just learned. - Having a mentor at the Centre to guide and support me. - the whole journey of self discovery and questioning those habitual thoughts or ways of doing things. Becoming a critical theorist.
 * Opportunities**

-Unforeseen family issues or commitments -Limited broadband time -Computer complications.
 * Threats**

//**Anjani Prakash**// I really enjoyed taking part in this analysis as I had never before realized there are so many factors, positive and negative, which affects my studies directly and indirectly, daily. Identifying them as below was a step closer for me to achieving my goal. My SWOT analysis are as follows: Strengths
 * even with English being a second language for me, I think I understand and communicate in English quite well
 * determination to finish successfully
 * experiences with my own children, nieces and nephews

Weaknesses  Opportunities  Threats
 * blank memory when really concentrating to remember something
 * may not be able to grasp all taught in class as it's being sometime since I attended school
 * emotional grieves
 * leaving my studies to the last minute
 * forming study groups in class and weekends as well. For weekend study, students living in nearby suburbs can get together
 * use of libraries
 * fantastic tutors
 * family support
 * work experience centre, support supervisor and other teachers at centre
 * learning from hands-on experiences with children at work experince centre
 * after school (family) commitments
 * illness
 * unforseen events
 * mood for studying
 * doing assignments, essay writing, referencing correctly
 * time management

Through above exercise, Iam able to draw on these strengths and use all opportunities provided. By highlighting my weaknesses and threats, Iam able to work on these consistently and improve as I strive to succeed.

=Bora Joung= As I was given the SWOT analysis, I didn't really had to think about I was going to write. I wrote one, "work well in quiet condition", for my strengths and I was thinking for awhile what other strengths that I have. Instead of wasting my time thinking about the strengths, I jumped in to weaknesses and I was quite shocked to find myself writing non-stop about my weaknesses and it was keep coming out of my head. I never thought I had that many weaknesses. I thought this analysis was a great opportunity for me to look back and know better about myself.

One of my strength is my positive attitude like Jay Joshi's. I was trained from young, to be always positive. My weaknesses are time management, short attention skills. I don't set myself in time and I always get late and leave it until the last minute. For opportunities, I have supportive friends and learning centre. I have friends from year 2 that can help me and Te Puna Ako (learning centre) as well. My threats are illness and my moods.

It might be really good to improve my strength of positive attitude when I become a teacher. Children will like the way I do things and the way I treat them and in that way I could be a good role model to them. I might have to reduce my weaknesses and really start to get around myself and actually do thing on time and being organised. If I don't get organised as a teacher, the worst thing that can happen is messing up the day of children. I really don't want children to go home and tell their parents that they didn't do anything or just played at the centre. I need to learn to control my mood because it I'm not in the mood and I'm in the child centre, it might show and it might also affect my strengths.

Liz Reedy

Well through doing the SWOT analysis I found out that I had more to put into threats and weaknesses then strengths and opportunities. So I will start with my** strengths **which would have to be having some life experience, being open to new things for example my study place, new people and knowledge. Taking one day at a time. Then there is** opportunities **Being able to expand my knowledge in teaching children but not just in an early childhood enviroment this knowledge could also be used in the home. Meeting new people walking the same walk as me also being able to build great foundations and strong friendships through my studies. Being able to have the support and faith of my whanau. Now looking into my** weaknesses **I see myself having trouble trying to write out my thoughts and writing effectively in my own words. Trying to find time to fit in my home life, school and work. Lastly on this subject wrting an essay I find hard because when my mind has a thought on how a topic should be it is hard to move my thoughts to something else which I then find I am misleading myself. Laslty are my** threats **which I find are based alot more around my home life for example kids getting sick, my husband losing his job, the older children getting into trouble etc, as long as my home is algood I can put in 100% into my studies.Lastly would have to be something I am really good at, taking on to much and not being able to recover. So I feel I could use this as a guide to see where I could push more energy into some areas and grow in other areas. Also now that I am aware I could start reducing some of my weaknesses and threats and building on my strengths and opportunities.**
 * Kia Ora

Milly Crawford**, Now my computer is back up and running I can do some work. Having a read through what you as a Class have found out about yourself really makes me think what my true threats and weakness are but then on the positive side what I have to offer such as my strengths and opportunities.**

//THREATS// Life Personal Commitments These are big things as we all know and from my past experience being a student isn't all that easy when you have a lot of bills to pay and life starts throwing you hurdles with family friends and emotional over load its hard for me to get out from under that which leads me into my Strengths.** //STRENGTHS// Goals Experience Knowledge Support I feel that these things will keep me fighting for what I really want out of life I cant wait to be a qualified Teacher. With my Experience and Knowledge I think I will bring to our class practical knowledge for our assignments. My support net work is vast with a lot of friends that have been in education for many years, and colleagues and family I am sure, will help me when I need the encouragement.** //WEAKNESSES// lack of concentration when over loaded time Under standing of big literature Essay writing Referencing I lack a lot of writing skills in terms of University Level I wasn't one for school in the past so I will need more concentration in more classes than others so I can better those skills that are lacking.** OPPORTUNITIES Options Family Colleagues These things are great I can't wait to have new roads open for me fulled with changes and exciting new things.
 * Work
 * Ideas
 * Worry about others more than myself
 * New Changes

Sara Tanielu-Seve 1. In summary, the SWOT analysis was a new experience and for me it brought a sense of realization, excitement and challenges of my new beginnings. The focus somehow of my analysis was altered based on my circumstances of being a working mother, a teacher and especially being a student. The atmosphere in classes is encouraging and it was great hearing the contribution from everyone which will help with strength enhancement, condensing the weaknesses, developing more opportunities and managing the threats. 2. My strengths were slow to identify particularly with becoming a teacher after being an administrator for many years (still doing that at Centre), however, before the call to study, I have had some time with the children on occasions when I was to substitute. I feel that my communication skills were more effective through listening to the children, their parents and my work colleagues. The differences of our children can be so obvious and I somehow always look out for those who seem to be by themselves, the quiet ones and the ones that tend to just follow. I would sit next to them and ask if they are ok, start a conversation or maybe just sit in case they wanted to talk to me. I find that the weaknesses in my analysis are dependent on me and how I would progress through the responsibilities I have in my life. I believe that I am capable and would rather focus on what areas I could improve on. Any opportunities presented are achievable, and knowing what would be beneficial for us and our children can be done. Becoming a member of Te Atatu in Unitec is a great opportunity which will be rewarded with my learning development and the skills to be able to support and teach our whanau. My first thought of threats would be what would be the obstacles that might prevent my progress and would I make a good role model for these little angels – of course yes, so for me it would be to stay focused and positive.

Merrilee de Simas-SWOT Analysis

I definitely like a variety of approaches to learning, so it makes sense that I am multi-modal.My strengths are what I have learnt through being self employed and being a mother[No end of challenges there!]Being self employed for many years meant I have had to learn how to be fairly self motivated and disciplined.Another stength is that I really enjoy reading and learning new things,so I am looking forward to being challenged.On the down side I have been out of study for a long time,and my brain is not used to working so hard! The cogs are turning a bit slowly at the moment,let's hope they speed up!.I am also not used to such tight deadlines and being quite so busy.Also a big weakness is my tendency to get frustrated when working with computers! My opportunities[support] would be the ability to ask questions and talk to Teachers,as well as bouncing ideas off other students.The encouragement from friends,family and colleagues will also be a great help. The threats to my learning would have to be pretty similar to what mot people find challenging in their lives-outside stess in all it's numerous forms,taking on too much,family issues,housework etc.I know that I have to work on keeping centred,and allowing myself time to 'wind down' and rest properly.This way I can recover my energy and enthusiasm, and hopefully keep on track!**

__Nimlesh Narayan__ The outcome of my (SWOT), strength/kaha, weakness/mate, apportunity/waa kia puta and threat/tuma was really challenging.SWOT analysis had both positive and negative effect on me. (Ryan, P., M., (1999). (2009). //The Raupo Pocket Dictionary Of Mordern Maori.// SWOT analysis goes along side with learning in the classroom,in the workplace and as part of self directed study.My strength will always be asking for help.It is not a crime to ask for help from classmates or Tutors, if anything is not clear from class activities or discussions.The opportunities I am looking forward is, to join a study group where more and different ideas and information will come up on subject being discussed.I have less knowledge in I.Tskills and i have not studied for a long time as this will be the weakness. Threats for me in this journey, as becoming a teacher, is unfore seen events, such as accidents and death in family.This will have bad impact in my learning.
 * I am a doing and experiencing things learner.When any subject is being taught to me,I need to practically do and learn because it helps me remember.

__Victoria Mattson__ 1. Discuss the outcome of your swot analysis as completed in class. I am a visual learner, so writing down all my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats helped me see them clearer and become more aware of them. By being aware of them will help me utilise my strengths and opportunities to my benefit as much as I can. It allows me to be aware of my weaknesses and threats, which also help me to focus attention on them so do not affect my learning and journey to become a teacher. Sharing our different ideas in class, I was able to see maybe people were in a similar situation with many people having the same threats and weaknesses as me. This was good to know as together we can support each other and I felt not so alone. At first like many other students such as, Fal’e, Sara, Danielle and Anita I found it difficult to see my strengths and I can be over critical of myself. When I stared to think of different strengths and could see them I felt more confident and capable. It brought a sense of belonging, realisation and excitement of the three year journey ahead of me.

2. Discuss your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your learning and becoming a teacher. The SWOT analysis has lead me to be able to see both positive and negative aspects of my learning ability. A main strength which will benefit my learning is I am extremely motivated when I enjoy what I am doing. Early childhood is what I have always wanted to succeed in. My time management skills will also benefit me as a teacher as I am always on time and make sure that I get done everything I need to complete within the time limit given. Still being familiar with writing essays and essay styles will benefit my learning, allowing me to spend more time on weaknesses. Negative effects on my learning and becoming a teacher include the cast amounts of reading involved. I am going to have to set aside time when there are very little distractions and adapt to the amount of reading involved. Another weakness I have come across like a few other students is I don’t enjoy singing as much. I am not used to all the songs and I don’t like hearing my voice when I sing. Over time I hope this will change and I will become more comfortable with the idea. I think it is important to be aware of the threats that may impede in my learning to becoming a teacher. A threat to me is being in such a big class with so many different people. I feel I might not be as confident as I may normally be in this large group environment and this could potentially lead to me being too shy to ask questions resulting in a challenge to my learning. Also a threat to my learning could be if I was unwell. When I take on too much I tend to become sick and very tired. Being aware of all of this I can help prevent them from affecting me and my journey to become a teacher. I feel it is important to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to ensure that I become the best teacher that I could possibly be. Opportunities available to me at present include the different support services that Unitec has to offer us. It is important that I take advantage of the teachers in the centre that I am working at and the support that they offer me. I also see other class members as an opportunity as we can discuss ideas, help each other, and build and grow together in learning and becoming a teacher. The SWOT analyse has made me become more mentally aware and prepared to what to expect out of myself and what I need to work on. I hope over time my SWOT analyse will change as I grow and learn and become more confident. Strengths: Still familiar with essay layout and writing Have good ideas Good IT stills Good time management and always on time I like to present my work tidily Have good motivation when I enjoy what I’m doing Weaknesses: Cannot spell well Dislike singing Like to keep busy so have to make sure I prioritize in correct order Sometimes get distracted Loose motivation and interest when I am unsure about something Don’t enjoy too much reading, not use to it. Opportunities: Different support services Being able to interact with other class members and share ideas Having moodle to ask questions Having own laptop to get my work done on Threats: Having lots of people in class so not as confident as I could be Not getting behind in work and leaving it to last minute Taking on too much Unexpected illness **

=__Kushla Browne__=

I found that the swat analysis really helped me in identifying what my areas of need were. I, just like others were suprised that I had pretty much even numbers when it came to my strenghts and weaknesses. I now know what I need to work on in order to get the most out of my learning and also what I need to do in order to complete my bachelor in ECE. I find that I am varied in my learning styles and I need to use different techniques when tackling situtations, eventually I hope just like Lizee that my strengths will be far greater than weaknesses.

Strenghts: **My strenghts are public speaking, researching, support, determination, time management.**

Weaknesses: **My weaknesses are as follows, having an academic voice or understanding of academic literacies, essay writing and organisation.**

Opportunities: **My opportunities are as follows, Family support, Work support, study groups.**

Threats: **The threats I may encounter are**, **Unforseen events, illness, finding study time when really busy.**

__Lizee Harris__

__What kind of a learner am I?__ The SWOT analysis has also shown me visually the things in my life I have achieved and need to work on. ** __Outcome of my SWOT analysis__ **__:__** __Strengths__ · Communicating with people · Creative · Positive attitude and outlook on life · Experience with children · Determination **
 * I am a kinesthetic learner. I process information best through a “hands-on” experience. Actually doing an activity normally is the easiest way for me to learn rather than sitting and listening. After doing my SWOT analysis I realized that it was so much easier to find the negative things in my life then the positive things. I found I had to think hard about what my strengths are, where on the other hand it was easy to write down my weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I would like my threats and weaknesses list to shrink throughout the journey I have started, and to start to overcome the fears I have that have made my weaknesses.
 * · Interacting with children

__Weaknesses__ · Essay writing/ Formal writing · Easily distracted- listening for a long period of time · Procrastinate- Time Management · Public Speaking – I’m fine talking to people I don’t know or getting to know or have known for a long time but as soon as I’m front of these people in a large group I’m terrified at talking. · Reading allowed **
 * · Spelling

__Opportunities__ · Friends and class mates · Study Groups · Facilities around the campus to improve my learning · Family support · Work, centre **
 * · Lecturers

__Threats__ · Other commitments · Social things · Mood · Stress · Taking on too much · Illness
 * · Time Management

When given the task of completing a SWOT analysis, I glimpsed down on my page and I found that my weakness, and threats over ruled my strengths and opportunities. As we had the opportunity to share our SWOT analysis with the class, like Rhonda I felt a great deal of relief that other class peers had also had similar weaknesses as mind. While Nic was making notes on the board of our strengths, I realised that I held quiet a few of them, but my lack of confidence and doubting my-self was other one of the weakness that stoped me from seeing my strengths. **

Strengths: - Growing up in a very multi-cultural area I respect diversity and am very cultural sensitive - Haven previously studied early childhood education, this has set a foundation into my studies **
 * - I feel I work well in team work and group discussions with peers

Weakness: - My lack of bad time management may have an effect on my learning - I inherited my fathers bad memory which can become a set back in my study **
 * - As a child I found a weakness in Academic Literacy and have always had problems especially with reading and grammar

Opportunities: - Taking opportunities to join study groups - I work better in quiet spaces taking time to do assessments at home when no-one is home - Unitec library has great Early childhood resources for example books and DVD’s **
 * - Through the Unitec I have discover that there are free work shops available to help students with Academic Literacy

Threats: - Living in a rural area inter-net access is not available - Unfore-scene events my take place **
 * - I enjoy doing sports in my spear time, so these types of after school commitments could be a threat

Mandy McMaster


 * __PATRICIA KENDRICK__

When i was completing the SWOT analysis in class it became clear to me straight away that i new my weakness and it wasn't hard for me to come up with a lot relating to academic writing. It took me awhile to find my strengths and i needed help from pears to explain to me what they may be. I think that me being dyslexic and always having trouble in the pass with academic literacy, it was hard for me to see pass what iv already been told! My strengths may not lie in the writing side of my learning but definitely still being used all the time to make up for my weakness. My threats are nothing that can be changed, but by looking at them written down i could see possible things for me to try work on at home and at my work try not to get distract by them. Opportunities mostly came from what unitec could offer me and it was good to no that some of my weakness could be helped with programs set up here at unitec. In class i think that the teachers feed back that will give us on our work, will really help us all work on these things we have learnt from our SWOT analysis. **

__SANA AWAN__

What kind of a learner am I?

The SWOT analysis has also shown how many oppurtunities I have which is really good.**
 * After doing my SWOT analysis it is now clear what my strenghts are, weaknesses, oppurtunities and threats. I want to overcome my threats and weaknesses, and being more organised will help me achieve this.

Outcome of my SWOT analysis:

__Strengths__
 * This was one of the hardest boxes to fill in because I could not think of the strenghts in me. Soon enough I looked at what I am good at.**
 * Interacting with children
 * Positive attitude
 * Communicating
 * Meeting new people from different ethnicities and cultures
 * Experience with cousins and family friends
 * Goals
 * Support
 * Determination

__Weaknesses__
 * My weaknesses are something I will be working on this year, and by the end of the year I would love my weaknesses to be my strenghts.**
 * Public speaking- I am too shy when it comes to me speaking infront of the class or a lot of people
 * Essay writing/ Formal writing
 * Easily distracted
 * Time management
 * Being organised

__Oppurtunities__
 * Oppurtunities are my lecturers, friends, work colleagues, family, support groups/study groups, students in class and the use of libraries and interent.**

__Threats__
 * Threats came to my mind first which isn't so good and something I need to improve on just like my weaknesses.**
 * Work timings
 * Family committments
 * Illness
 * Mood
 * Traffic
 * Stress- One of the main things I need to overcome because I stress over tiny things too much
 * Being behind in class

__Caroline Malaesilia__

//Strengths//
 * work well individually
 * having an open mind
 * getting work done and on time
 * helping others out
 * determination
 * interacting with children
 * respect for myself and others
 * take great pride in everything i do

//Weaknesses//
 * expressing own opinions
 * asking for help when I need it
 * give up easily
 * going off track, not fully concentrating
 * leaving things to the last minute
 * easily distracted

//Opportunities//
 * great lecturers
 * supportive friends and class mates
 * facilities around the campus to improve learning
 * family support

//Threats//
 * taking time with assignments
 * personal and family issues
 * easily influenced
 * attendance
 * always being late

//So what sort of learner am I ??// AARON BELL
 * When doing the SWOT analysis, I found that my weaknesses are probably one of the main points that I want to accomplish and overcome. I discovered one of my weaknesses was not expressing my own opinions and that is something i want to really improve, because I'm not the type of person to discuss openly in a group or within the class, so I take notes from class and prefer to go over them in my own time, I work more effectively as an individual.**

I also realised that my preferred learning style of working through problems alone is mostly due to my fear of being wrong in a situation or looking foolish but with such strong support in and out of class I see this as an opportunity to develop my confidence in working with others. **
 * I found doing my SWOT analysis very helpful; especially having a concrete idea of what my weakness are and what opportunities I have waiting for me. It seems that physically writing things down made things more manageable and clearer on what I should be focusing my attention on and what strengths can help me.

STRENGTHS
 * Clear goals and direction of what I want.
 * Support from family and friends
 * Able to understand concepts and ideas well. **
 * Able to understand concepts and ideas well. **

WEAKNESSES **


 * PROCRASTINATION!
 * Spelling as I’m slightly dyslexic
 * Time management **

OPPORTUNITIES **


 * To establish study groups to help with my procrastination
 * Looking at procedures to manage my dyslexic
 * Developing friendships with other students in a helpful environment **

THREATS **


 * Illness
 * Family commitments
 * Financial stresses
 * Overwhelmed with work load, both work and study
 * Attendance **

Les Queenin


 * Completing the SWOT analysis test helped me to take a firmer look at myself and visualise my strengths and how I can increase them; hopefully I will also decrease some of my weaknesses.

I feel my greatest** strength **in learning to be an early childhood teacher is my ability to connect with children on their level. This ability has come from experiences with my own children, I find it easy to embrace my inner child and I have always had a great repor with younger children. I try to have a lot of enthusiasm and get stuck in with the children either during play or with quieter activities such as reading stories and puppetry.

My biggest** weakness **is my arthritis; it has had such a big impact on my life. I also find it hard to remain focused and on track which doesn’t help with my academic confidence. My last two weaknesses are common; these are procrastination and time management. I have never been very academic which is why I have always been in trade orientated professions.

Some** opportunities **I have on offer to overcome my hurdles and bring me closer to being an early childhood teacher are the services at Unitec including Te Puna Ako (The Learning Centre), this offers a range of short courses and workshops in the main areas students have trouble and the Disability Services which help people who have learning difficulties, offering advice or equipment. I also have great support from my centre manager and my family.

Some of the** threats **I may face in my time at Unitec will be my arthritis, it is very unpredictable when it comes to having ‘flare ups’, hopefully getting enough exercise and planning a balanced diet will help keep them to a minimum. Another threat is my family commitments, but with the help and support from my wife and extended family we should be able to keep things running smoothly.

After reading many of my classmates SWOT evaluations I am sure that with working together and sharing our teaching experiences we will all be able to graduate in three years time as the best early childhood teachers that Unitec has produced.

__Abby Pine__ 1.) I was very surprised as I did my SWOT analysis as I started thinking straight away of all the weaknesses and threats/barriers that could prevent me from my completion of the course and study. These weaknesses like time management and getting easily distracted (losing focus) along with the threats of work, family and friends were able to (once I wrote them down) bring out all my strengths. For example when I’m not being distracted I am able to sit down and focus on the task at hand and be able to think and plan things out, I am also very open to new things, always willing to give new things a go and have a positive attitude to most things put in front of me. It was also quite a relief when comparing the analysis to other peers in class and wiki as similarities between my analysis and theirs were showing alot, this making me feel supported that I was not the only one trying to face these and that we are able to work on our weaknesses together, build strengths, manage the threats and create opportunities. 2.) My ** strengths ** towards learning to become a teacher are not so much big things but small skills I think I possess: I am a good listener and will realize if I have done something wrong note it and be sure it’s done right next time, I am also consistent and will always try to be positive and be the best I can be. ** Weaknesses ** : I try to please people instead of focusing on my own needs, getting thoughts into words, retaining information, no experience in a centre before which can be a disadvantage. ** Opportunities ** : Meeting new people, learning new things not just in lectures but in my centre and from other students too, new experiences- just by being at Unitec I’ve had new experiences, also at my centre it’s a great opportunity to experience actually being a teacher! Knowing there will be many more to come makes me happy. ** Threats: ** Time management-as I am still very young social life is a big thing instead of going out I need to stay home and study! Work- being a waitress makes me tired as I do late nights. My overall view of the SWOT analysis is that if we did not have the weaknesses and threats, strengths and opportunities would not be able to arise and be recognized almost as if they challenge each other and there can only be one winner but it’s up to us to decide who wins-strengths and opportunities or weaknesses and threats? **

__Robin Clark__

1. Discuss the outcome of your SWOT analysis as completed in class. I had 3 main weaknesses when I wrote down my S.W.O.T analysis, them being; I leave homework until the last minute, I have a large fear of doing oral presentations in front of my peers, and I am unconfident with essay writing. Because of my tendency to procrastinate, I have bought myself a diary this year and am going to do my best to keep on top of my studies. It is very important that I do not get behind on my classes as I need to pass every class to complete the 1st year of A Bachelor of Early Childhood, and am only aloud 1 re-submit per assessment. Over my past 2 years of high school my teachers have told me that I am capable of writing essays and doing pubic speaking, however I have created this fear of them through comparing myself to others and thinking I am not good enough. These are defiantly 2 important weaknesses of mine, as both essay writing and oral presentations are going to be a large part of my course requirements. I have already recognized these fears and am going to do my best to get over them -however, they are defiantly weaknesses as I do not know how long it will take to get over them. After having done a week of this course I have come to the realization that we are going to learn a lot about ourselves as people and as educators. This, I have put as my first opportunity on S.W.O.T analysis, as I think it is very important that we know who we are, before we begin to teach others how to become people themselves. I think that learning who I am as an educator will benefit me not only in class and in a centre, but it will also give me new skills which I can use in everyday life. Having the opportunity to learn who I am and then being a forum in which I can project it off on other people will be a great opportunity. In doing this course there will also be the chance for me to overcome my fears of public speaking and essay writing, this is a very important to me. Although I have marked it as a definite weakness of mine, I believe it is something I will be able to overcome with the support and challenge of this course, this then allowing it to not be just a weakness, but an opportunity also. I have grown up with a very European family, and have not been introduced too much Maori throughout my life. This course will also allow me to learn more about the Maori culture, and gain a new level of respect for others that have grown up differently to me. I have the opportunity to not only learn about another culture, but learn some new language, this I am looking forward to. One of my main threats to finishing this course would be my emotional state. Something I must take into consideration when planning this course is that emotions are very unpredictable and can change very quickly. They have the ability to divert focus from study when one is upset and can take away the drive for success if one is down. This is a threat to me, as I tend to feel overwhelmed when I have too much on my plate and get very stressed. If something large is happening in my social life I will sometimes struggle to find a way to create a barrier between work and friends. This is a threat to me as it may make me unfocused and cause me to miss out on work in class or not make a deadline because of being focused on other things. The two other items I had written under threats were; social distractions, and taking on too much. These are both briefly discussed in the paragraph above as they relate in some ways. Taking on too much cause me to become stressed, this then making my emotional state a threat to my learning. However, it is not only my emotional side to social distractions that are a threat to me, I also consider activities such as parties and seeing my friends outside of class a threat, as it will possibly take time out of my study. When I have an oncoming assignment or task to complete this may become an issue. One way to overcome this is to keep a diary and keep note of when my next assignments are due. These strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats all create who I am as a person. I feel it is important that we have recognized these at the beginning of the course as it allows us to see the bigger picture and begin the year with a focused pair of lenses. **
 * When we were asked to do a S.W.O.T analysis in Academic literacy, my results did not surprised me. As I have just come out of high school I am very aware of what my strengths and weaknesses are as a student and I’m aware of what I need to work on. Immediately I wrote down my strengths as; feeling confident in putting forth my opinions, feeling confident participating in class discussions, having organized paper work, being very willing to learn, and being very enthusiastic about doing this course. All of these are going to be very helpful when studying and sitting in on lectures. Feeling confident in putting forth opinions and participating in class discussions will allow me to ask questions when needed, and will help me gain a clear understanding of what is required of me in assignments and class activities. I will be able to broaden my mind, as I will not be scared or fearful of asking if I am an unsure or confused. –this may benefit others as I may ask questions that are waiting to be answered. Being enthusiastic about this course will help me as I will be encouraged to study. I have already found myself looking forward to the classes and getting very involved both mentally and physically with the class discussions and defiantly I see this as being one of my strengths. I am willing to do the tasks put forth to me, and am determined to do my best in this next year.

2. Discuss your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your learning to become a teacher. Having done a week in my centre already, I have found that my enthusiasm for the course has enabled me to do many tasks and activities without complaint. I’m am eager to learn new things and try new activities, making it not only easier on other staff members, but also on myself. My weaknesses do not really transfer into the physical side of teaching, as they are very theory and/or classroom based (Procrastination with homework, unconfident with essay writing, and unconfident with oral presentations in front of my peers). However, although the practical side doing a bachelor in ECE may not relate to my weaknesses it defiantly relates to my opportunities. My main opportunity whilst doing this course is to learn more about myself as a teacher, as well as learning about myself as an individual. Working under other staff members will give me the opportunity to watch the way they work, and then develop my own style from their practice. Working with children of different ages and ethnicities will give me the opportunity to be tolerant with my ways of teaching and my thoughts surrounding it. My main threat in a centre would be my emotional state, being tired or exhausted will be a disadvantage when working in a centre as children require a lot of energy and enthusiasm. After working the centre for the past couple of days, I have found that I take a liking to, and get along with some children more than others. This is another area of an emotional threat, as I need to insure that I treat all the children equally and do not discriminate for insignificant reasons. I need to learn good teaching practice and insure that all children get the same leave of teaching and are disciplined in the same way. All of these things are thing I am going to work on over the next 3 years as a student teacher, whether it is in the classroom, or in a centre I look forward to it. Jesse said something very interesting, //“Try to overcome your weaknesses this, you may find it easier to pursue your opportunities. Try to pursue your opportunities that maybe influence your strengths. If you feel threatened in a workplace in anyway try to find the strengths in the centre and work towards them”// I think what he has said is important, our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats **do **integrate and I think that once we realize this we will be able to overcome what we feel are our weaknesses, and in doing so get some great outcomes as teachers.**
 * Each of the 4 things anaylsed in our S.W.O.T can not only be related to study and class work, but can also be strongly related to being a student teacher over the next few years. My 2 first strengths were feeling confident in class discussions, and feeling confident in putting forth my opinions in class. Both these strengths will benefit me in different ways when working in a centre. Confidence in myself will benefit me when doing mat times with the children. As well as having confidence in the classroom with my peers, I am also confident when with and around children. I hold no fear in dancing and singing with the kids and have no worry of what I look like while doing it. This will benefit me strongly as doing mat times will be a big part of my experience as a student teacher. Confidence in putting forth my opinion will also help me when working in a centre. When I feel there is an issue which needs to addressed, either about another staff member, or a child I will have no hesitation to do so. This will gain good working relationships with myself and other staff members. My organized paperwork will come in handy when needing to do tasks such as my portfolio, observations, sleep charts and children’s portfolios.

I find I learn most effectively by being practical. Being out there in the real world in real situations. In our case with the kids. I'm a big fan of trial and error. It works well for me as I learn from my mistakes. In class when we were filling out our swot analysis sheets. Like many of you Threats and weaknesses came to mind first and I found it hard to stop. I have never been good at English. Writing, reading, spelling and grammar. I sometimes find it hard to understanding what I'm reading. And writing down what I have got in my head on to paper. so I admit I have a heap of fear. My biggest threats would be stress and fear followed by work, time, money issues and having a social life. My strengths are keeping positive. Preparing enough time to study each week and my determination to reach my goals and dreams. knowing that my friends and family are all so proud of me gives me heaps of motivation but mostly having already worked in a center for a year I feel I have learn't a lot that will give me confidence in our up coming practicums. The opportunities I have is all the support from family, friends and work colleges. The support services, libraries and study groups at unitec Paula Bacon

What kind of learner am I? I did the SWOT test and pretty much filled up every box. Some of my strengths are also my weaknesses... I have trouble verbalizing my views sometimes, as I dislike upsetting people which can hold me back from saying what I really feel, not that I have trouble talking, I just like to avoid confrontation and upset. It will be hard to deal with conflicts and differences, with children and adults when I come to teach (mostly the parents). This of course can also come under the threats as it can hinder my learning, but it also can be a good traight as I think people SHOULD consider others feelings when in group situations and compromise where possible and be open to new ideas. One of my strengths is that I have had many years experience with children, not just my own, but in kindys, playcentres and with the numerous children brought home by my own. I have had to deal with differences and compromise and children learning all the time, so this is a real bonus for me and I will be able to draw on these experiences when the time comes, as a teacher. I love art and singing... not that I'm good at both, art is a real passion of mine, in all its shapes and forms, but like Sarah I have an awful singing voice! I was so bad; I was turned down by the intermediate choir! I love it though, and kids don't seem to care much. My mum had a shocking voice, but one of the things I remember about her most was all the little ditties she used to sing all the time. I didn't really care that her voice wasn't too great, so I don't consider mine will hold me back either. I am a positive and determined person, willing to go the extra mile to achieve in these next few years. I'm an all or nothing girl, so once I've made my mind up to do something, I see it through, hopefully I won't take on too much because I do have a history with this. Hence none of the answers surprised me as self examination and goal setting has featured predominately during the last couple of years of my life. When Sarah mentioned that she struggles with a sick child often, I can empathize whole heartedly as I have one of those at home too, however it has got better as she gets older, although I worry that this could be a hindrance and threat to my studies. If it's any conciliation Sarah, it has got way easier with age and my older two are a great help to me now. Opportunities are opening up to me now and with the resources, life skills already learnt, older more independent and supportive children ( my son is in second year IT here) I feel the time is right for me to run with it. I intended to be a teacher when I left school, nearly thirty years ago, so sometimes we go in full circles. The last twenty years have been spent being a mum and an artist, something I share with my children and have taught and participated in many craft/art groups over the years and has set me in good stead for teaching others. Sarah and I have a lot in common as the only real threats to my studies will be time management. Being a solo mum now, means that I am the only port of call when anything needs to be done. I don't have the best eyesight or hearing so sometimes I miss things, however with the supportive students that are already showing their willingness to help others, I don't see this as a real problem. Keep me on task guys, I talk too much and I'm a procrastinator too Michelle...
 * Hi this is Cathy Bolton**

Suria Iuvale

From my analysis I was able to clearly identify what my strengths and weaknesses were. My strengths are mainly to do with my love of art. I am creative and like visuals and things like diagrams, colours, mind maps and anything that involves using my creative side. One other strength of mine is I am a hand’s on type of person. I like to get in there and try it out. Not afraid to get my hands dirty. This is how I find I learn best, when I do hands on activities. My weaknesses were based around my focus. My main weakness is that I lose focus and interest in things when it becomes boring. For example when in a class environment and the teacher is talking and reading on. Not involving the students as much in the lesson I lose interest in the class. I think that this also ties in with my other weakness of reading. If what I am reading is not interesting or has no pictures or visuals it is like my brain switches off. This is a weakness that I have to overcome and find ways where I can keep my focus on the lesson or task. My other big weakness is that I put others before me. I would always help someone else out and see if they were ok before doing my work and this sometimes leaves me doing what I need to do last. My opportunities were that I have a great support team at home, work and school. I am able to get help and support with my studies from my colleagues at my centre and from my family members. Also there are study groups that I can be a part of at Unitec. There is also the Learning support centre also at Unitec. My threats were time, organisational skills and other people. I feel that I will have to just be more prepared and organised in that way time wouldn’t be a threat. As for the other people being a threat eg boyfriend and family, I just have to explain to them that my studies are important.**
 * I found the S.W.O.T analysis activity very helpful as it helped me to identify my own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It was also good that as a class we shared what we all had on our analysis and it made me feel ok and not alone, knowing that I wasn’t the only one with weaknesses.

Suria Iuvale

__Penny Lin__ My weaknesses are time management and language. I am quite bad at time management. For example, when my friends ask for help, it is a bit hard for me to reject even I am busy. I need to learn how to control my time better otherwise it will affect my learning to become a teacher. I also think teacher require good time management skill to teach children. For language, I am still learning English and Maori. This affects my study because I need more time to do my assignments and readings. I think my opportunities are online resources, lecturers, friends, and learning centre. I always got great support from friends and tutor from the learning centre. For threats, I think mood and time are the biggest threat for me. I cannot concentrate on my study when I feel stressed, tired, and sick. As for ‘time’, all the things might require to be done in the short time .**
 * I think SWOT analysis is a good tool to learn about myself and it is good to review it once in a while. Just like other people I find a bit difficult to think of my own strength but easily to think of my weakness. I think my strengths are willing to learn or try things even I am not good at and I come from different culture background. The first strength will help me to learning to become a teacher. Because in the 3 years of study and training, there must be something that I am not good at and I need to learn or overcome with. For the second strength, I think I can be supportive to a child if the child has similar culture background as me especially, when a child just immigrant to NZ.

__Victoria Walters__ __Strength__ Time management **– I like to make planning ahead for the week with family situation, I always draw time table, menu, kids involvement, (eg sport plans) and then I put them up on the fridge where my family and I could check now it does help me and I guess I am procrastinator in the family. Also I am good at organisation.** Researching **– I often research for something what I am look, eg libraries or internet for my liking, often I love to look around for new recipes to try out. Also I like to be arriving on time. I have made commitment to complete my Bach of Teaching in 3 years time to achieve myself as a Preschool Teacher of the Deaf. J ** __Weakness__ And also my communication isn’t up at the academic level, I am not that confidence to speak up or making speech in public – I know that I would have to build up my confidence for that!** __Opportunities__ I would like involve the support group, making friends as well. Of course I could teach you NZSL (sign language)! J And good support from family, work colleague.** __Threats__
 * I find the SWOT does helpful for me to see look to identify of what areas am I.**
 * My** weakness **are I have a lack of understanding the academic language, the context of assessment/essay which I usually take a bit of time to get myself understand what I am to understand what I have to do, and also getting them hand in on time on the due date.
 * Unitec’s learning support centre to help me out with essays, improving academic literacy.
 * I have fears of getting my grade results, assessment delay, behind in class work, finding study time would affect me due work hours and family situation, eg sickness, housework and DIYs (I leave that to my husband J ), marriage and stress/emotional and unforeseen events.

What kind of learner am I?

The SWOT analysis is something new to me, but certainly can be put to good use. By knowing my strengths I can now strive to achieve better grades, I will do this by; focusing on my dedication, determination, patiance and positive attitude. I tend to feel that I may have a few more weaknesses then strengths, but the way I look at it is that my strengths are alot more powerful so I can overcome my weak points; like fatigue, IT skills, writing skills, memory and shyness.Opportunities are all around, not only for me but for everyone. There are support groups in Unitec, also a learning centre and different courses/workshops that anyone is able to take. I am personally interested in the IT workshop, it would be ideal to gain the skills I require. I also have other opportunities like: forming study groups, use of the unitec library and all its resourses, having great tutors and family support. The threats that concern me are my busy home life, poor time management skills and sometimes everything being 'too much'. With my strengths and the opportunities I have,I believe that these threats and weaknesses will not stop me from being the best Early Childhood Teacher I can be. The SWOT analysis has taught me that everyone is different, and thats the way its surpose to be. This gives us an opportunity to help and bounce ideas off of one another not only in the classroom but in the workplace as well, this way we learn and better ourselves, others and the children we care for. It has also taught me that as a teacher, there is always a way to counter-act any problem; for any negative there is a positive, and if you believe this then you can do anything, solve anything and overcome any problem.

Nicole Wheat**

__Paula Rudd Swot Analysis__


 * The SWot analysis was thought provoking and has made me have a good look at my strengths and weaknesses and how these will affect my ability to become a confident capable teacher. Determination and commitment to succeed at my chosen career as a teacher are two of my major strengths. My desire to be a good role model for my three children is a strength and one which will easily adapt to the workplace. My interest in people and pleasure in seeing children grow and become independent individuals are positives as well.

Weaknesses, there are a few which may cause stumbling blocks but having identified them I will be more able to conquer them. My main weakness is self confidence. This is a major weakness as I feel teachers need to have self confidence in themselves and their ideas to be effective teachers. The more knowledge and experience I gain the more this weakness will fade. Threats to becoming the teacher I desire to be are mainly from outside sources. My children could unintentionally be the biggest threat. They are supportive of my effects but illness is beyond all our control. I will also need to learn to put my study ahead of them, when appropriate. The opportunities box luckily overcomes alot of the threats to succeeding. I have the support of many great people from my family to teachers and work mentors and peers. As long as I have the confidence to call on them for help when needed, success is assured.**

//__Messina Larsen__//

Strengths Having a determined mind set and wanting to do well in all tasks. Being creative and neat and putting time into things when I know they will be shared (posters and presentations). Doing a job properly and with my effort placed into every aspect of it. //My strengths can improve my learning a a great deal in the means of doing a job properly with my effort put into it while also having a creative mind set which would be a great asset to have being a teacher.//** Weaknesses Not having a long attention span and getting bored easily. Making the time to study or finish homework after class (procrastinate). Speaking in front of large groups of people has always been one of my weaknesses although i feel i am slowly starting to come out of my shell as i mature. Not sharing my ideas and thoughts most of the time. //My biggest weakness i would have to watch while learning as a teacher would be not sharing my own thoughts and ideas or speaking up when i feel something is wrong.//** Opportunities When any resources relevant to current work arise i take them as an opportunity to gain more knowledge on the subject. Peers and tutors may also become an opportunity to move forward with more understanding. //I think opportunities will always arise while learning and moving forward, taking such opportunities will only increase my knowledge and understanding of the role, furthering me as a person and becoming better equipped as a teacher.//** Threats In the past when attending school i found that family and personal issuess interfered with schoolwork at times. Threats such as sickness and injury can also hinder anyone within a learning or work related environment. //Keeping on top of work i feel is very important at this stage of learning and working towards my goal.//
 * The SWOT analysis is a great way to sit down and think about the pros and cons of our learning styles, or in this case our 'strengths and weaknesses'. It took me some time to really think about the four seperate boxes and what to write inside them so I ended up taking it home to finish it off with a bit more time on my hands. After giving the exercise a bit more thought this is what i came up with:**
 * Willing to try and give anything a go (academically or physically).
 * Referencing
 * I thought that study groups would be a great opportunity to take on board in the means of sharing ideas and helping to gain a better understanding if someone becomes stuck on a certain task as there may be others in the group that have the same problem.
 * I find distractions are one of my biggest threats and find it very easy to be distracted by anything, whether it be other people in the same room or noises from outside.

__Sara Tanielu-Seve__ Being able to read the comments from others is quite amazing especially realizing that most of them relate to me. I have gone back and read my analysis and have realised that one of my many __weaknesses__ is not learning to relax and right now is being too critical of myself. I have found that the environment with the children is as calm as they want it to be or hectic depending most probably on myself and how I fit in, and realizing that the children need to smell and feel me (quoting Whaea Carol). I feel I analyse any situation too much instead of accepting that things have happened and asking where do I go from here.**

__Rose Adams__
 * The outcome of my SWOT analysis.

Well it came as no surprise to me that I had more points in my weaknesses and threats than my strengths. I am very critical of myself and I am great at putting myself down and saying I can’t do it. Although it made me feel good to see my opportunities box was full of all the things I want to achieve. I have a fantastic group of friends and flatmates who are all there to help as soon as I ask; they know how important it is for me to finally do this. I also have a fantastic partner who would do anything for me. I have a great family who is proud of me and want to help. So it really is starting to make me want to believe in myself because if all these people do, then I should also. I have found that we have a great class who come from so many different backgrounds and experiences. Everyone is very supportive, I feel I can ask for help and learn so much. I believe Unitec has a great support system also. I really like how honest everyone is being and it makes me feel comfortable to be honest. I feel this is really going to make a huge difference to my learning.

Starting with my threats and weaknesses, I feel my weaknesses and threats go hand in hand. I’m a fantastic procrastinator, I’m easily distracted and I am a slow writer and my confidence in spelling is low, which I find makes it hard for me as it lowers my confidence in myself. I’m also a bit lazy when it comes to getting something started that I don’t want to do. I get easily stressed which effects my moods. I’m also good at taking on too much and I don’t have the best time management skills, this will be something I need to work on. I’m shy and quiet and not very confident with public speaking. These are all things I believe I can overcome to help me become a great teacher.

My strengths and opportunities; I’m good with children and enjoy helping them to develop and learn, so I’m determined to up skill and learn more and different ways to continue this. I want to further myself and I think this will really help when it comes to my teaching. Being positive and encouraging children is something I am good at. Having a fantastic support system will help me to achieve my goal of becoming an ECE teacher.

**Nadia Khan that I will face in examining opportunities and threats in following certain policies as a teacher
 * Swot analysis has given me a clear insight of knowing the strengths and weaknesses,

As far as strength is concerned I have gained same while working in different centres with children of different cultures and ethnicity. My social activeness has also given an impetus to my strength while interactions with parents. I always felt parent-partnership in the centre is good for the children. The knowledge of learning style has given me a life career and relationship performance.

As far as weakness is concerned I really feel disturbed when I am lacking the usual or normal strength or power to achieve a desired objective. I learn first and then do it in my way. Usually I am not in a hurry and post pone the urgent task to be undertaken till the last movement. But I never failed in doing the same.

Opportunities: I don’t miss any good opportunities and always try to avail it. Presently I am availing the opportunity of studying in an esteemed university in good and loveable environment with the class-mate and well learned lecturers. All these factors are having a good effect on my learning outcomes. I am also getting full support of my family and friends to achieve my objectives in the Unitec.

Threats: I find this only while travelling at night after the class if I am alone on my way to my home. Again here my family and friends are providing me every assistance to achieve the desired objective.**

__Sharyn Griffen__


 * My SWOT analysis really helped show me I do have strengths that are useful because I normally doubt myself with a lot of things. I also found areas that I do need to focus on changing or improving instead of ignoring them and it is nice to know I am not alone in the time management struggle. It makes me a little excited to have a goal to work towards- improving my weaknesses and trying to eliminate threats. It also helped me become aware of what areas I could struggle with when I do become an early childhood teacher. I am looking forward to seeing what my next SWOT analysis looks like.

Strengths and Opportunities: I found that my strengths come in areas of finding out information, and observing instead of just jumping straight into something without thinking. I have a passion for children and love to watch and help them learn and I think it is so important to have that otherwise it could have an impact on the child if they are with someone who does not really want to be around them. I am quite watchful of children and observe before I suggest an idea to the child so that I don't disrupt them figuring something out. I tend to be quite creative which is a big help when you have to think on the spot at times with children. With opportunities I think that working in groups helps because people bounce ideas off one another, they feed off each other. Being placed in a centre while learning is great because I am already learning ideas and approaches to different things and I can also find help on campus which I will take up when needed.

Threats and Weaknesses: With weaknesses, I tend to leave things to the last minute which is quite stressful and if it was an assignment it can also impact my mark. Time management is a huge weakness and I need to learn to find a way to control this even if it means drawing up a weekly timetable and a separate study timetable. One thing that will help with working in groups is that I can learn what key points to note down as I sometimes write a lot more then I need to just in case I miss something. With threats I have to be careful I don't take on too much because I want to help with different things and I also find if I don't sit close enough to the board in a class room, it is easier for me to get distracted and pay attention to other noise in the room. Also being afraid to give something a go can stop me from trying and makes me lose confidence which I have to work on to get back.**

__Carly Bean__


 * I believe I work best when I am focused on one thing, and I learn more when I teach someone else, or when I am writing about the subject, so I therefore need to explain/vent what I have learned in order to process the information and have it solid in my mind.

My biggest weakness in my learning is my time management and organisational skills, because (as stated earlier) I like to work on one thing at a time. So I believe I need to improve on spreading my focus on a number of subjects/assignments, which will then have a positive impact on my learning to become a teacher.

I believe the best opportunities for my learning lie within the people I know. I have the support on my sister who is a registered and very successful early childhood teacher, so I know that if I have any worries, questions, or even if I simply want to expand my knowledge on something I can go to her. As well as my sister I have a number of work colleges, some of whom are studying (like myself), and others who have graduated. I also have my classmates and tutors who are there to assist in my learning if I need them.

I think the biggest threat to my learning is my time management skills both within my studies, and managing my studies with other aspects of my life (e.g. work, social). I need to set a plan to manage this issue, so I may have time to focus 100% on my studies and my learning to be an early childhood teacher.

I am pleased with the outcome of my SWOT analysis, as it has allowed me to recognise certain aspects of my learning that I need to work on, which will allow me to become a better teacher.**

TORI SEFUIVA..


 * 1) 1- **the SWOT analysis is not that new to me but I have used it in health back in college. Using SWOT has shown me that I have so many things to work on but on the other hand I have many positive things to be proud of. But the hardest thing is writing it down and realising my weaknesses. =)**

Strength **- My biggest strength that I feel will help me on my journey to becoming an early childhood teacher is being open minded..I am not one to judge a book by its cover and going into anything in the near future with an open mind will allow me to be successful. Another strength is that I have so much support that I can barely handle it. After losing my father my family have come closer together and when someones struggling there is always a hand that reacheds out to you. I am able to work well with others, support others, I am very determined and quite independent but I love communicating with others and being able to be apart of a team.** Weakness- **The biggest weakness I have is I am easily distracted. I could be really into something thats going on but as soon as someone speaks off subject I literally forget what I was doing..I giggle alot too!!!Time management and prioritising..I am one to leave things last minute or find excuses and also if I want to party I will...but its in my nature..I will still get the work done, I just need to swith my priorities around a bit.** Opportunities- **Study groups would be a good one for me..having others to keep me distracted with something worth while rather then off topic..** Threats- **Falling ill would be a threat, when I get sick I don't really want to do anything. Work, just completely nacked would affect my studies, Stress over essays and work, Family commitments as well.** After reading through everyone elses answers I have realised that we all have similar SWOT eveluations..I am sure with all of us having similar answers that we can help one another to break down the barriers holding us back and extend on our strengths rather then the weaknesses. I have found it very interesting reading through everyones discussions on their strengths and weaknesses etc. I think it's really helpful to know that we have a lot of similar challenges and issues,as it gives us a sense of not 'being the only one'. I really like what Jesse said about pursuing your opportunities, I think a lot of issues "fall into Place" when we have the right attitude. I have a lot of respect for the solo mums out there ,in their determination to make it work. Also I wholeheartedly agree with Paula Rudd when she says she wants to be a good role model for her child, and I really think this course is going to teach me a lot of useful skills that I can apply to all areas of my life.**
 * Merrilee de Simas

Chanel Dwyer

Strengths Weaknesses Threats Opportunities
 * I enjoy learning new things in class that will support me through my journey of becoming a qualified teacher. It has always been my goal to become a teacher and learn all there is to know to develop into a confident, qualified, and experienced teacher. I can relate well to a majority of the lessons as long as I go home and revise on all the knowledge we have been taught. I find most of the information we learn very interesting and understanding and know if I find something difficult there is always class friends and lecturers to gain assistance from. I find that I take pleasure in comprehending information when the lecturer is explaining the topic and the significance it has. I also benefit from learning in class when I am in group discussions as I seem to gain a better understanding with others views on that certain subject.
 * I am able to plan a routine during each week which allows me to arrange the times I study, to be present at work, and relax now and then with family and friends. It is important to organize my time while studying as it will allow the week to flow better putting less pressure on myself.
 * One of my strongest weaknesses is my reading, spelling I think having these weaknesses will slow down the process of my learning. It is hard for me to take in new information when I have to read, as I can not immediately develop an understanding until I have red over that information several times. I find this incredibly frustrating as reading is a big part of learning new things in our everyday lives. I struggle to spell words that I have not seen before this disturbs me because no matter how much I try to sound out complicated words I still can not pull it off until I ask someone for help. I think I need to build more confidence in reading in front of a class even if there are words I may come across that are difficult to sound out.
 * Sometimes I get into a state of mind where I do not think I can complete my readings and assignments even when I manage my time occasionally I allow my confidence to slow the process down of understanding new knowledge. I constantly attempt to achieve my studies by being constructive and assuring that I will succeed my journey
 * I am fortunate in having access to the library as there are a range of books, videos and articles that I can get a hold of, this will benefit my studies given that I have a variety of options to choose from.
 * I can also attend study groups which will provide me with extra information from class friends and different views on certain subjects. Working together is an advantage on us students because this can improve our understanding while developing new skills that we will need to take on as a teacher.

Chelsea Buchanan:


 * Upon looking at my SWOT analysis I have come to realise that I have listed more weaknesses than strengths. I suppose this is due to my self consciousness I sometimes find in myself as a learner. But looking at the strengths and opportunities I see in my life override all that negativity.

The opportunities I have listed are: My family and friends giving me their unconditional support and the inspirational and powerful lectures that I currently attend with my supportive and helpful fellow classmates. Also I find that a nice quiet little study area is most beneficial for concentration and focus. Another opportunity is my resourses that I am given: text books, handouts, websites etc.

My weaknesses and threats would be my dyslexia, which has challenged me throughout my learning where I would find it difficult to read and spell, however by attending spelling lessons and reading incessantly, this has helped me a great deal, so much so that I am quite confident in academic writing. This dyslexia has never hindered me from achieving all that I strive to achieve. My threats are getting ill and distractions from my everday lifestyle and current commitments.

My strengths is my determination to face up to any challenges and obstacles that may trip me, also my unwavering focus of becoming a professional early childhood education teacher, where I will learn every step of the way throughout this journey and will continue learning.

__Jayne McCullough:__ ​ Outcomes of My SWOT Analysis. The results of my Swot Analysis were extremely interesting. I’ve never thought very hard about my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, or actually sat and wrote them down. By doing this in the class I found I actually had to think about this. I thought I would have more weaknesses and threats than anything else but to my disbelief the boxes seem to be relatively equal. First my strengths I would have to say that it is my support system; My family and friends are probably the strongest of my strengths, they pick me up when I’m not at my highest point, provide encouragement and are supportive and they give me a loving, nurturing environment, even though we maybe a few hours’ drive apart at the moment, this support and relationship gives me the strength to deal with most things life throws at me. J  However this strength is just as much a weakness because I am a family girl through and through (my friends are my family as well, that’s how close we are). I would do pretty much anything the world for my friends and family, I need to spend time with them to succeed as they are a big part of my happiness, I enjoy spending time in their company they make me who I am, however the distance I have to travel now to see them won’t always work out to my advantage however I realise this and plan to work on working around this, because my family are the most important thing to me. Another of my strengths would be I feel it valuable to receive constructive criticism, I know through previous experiences that it is valuable to receive constructive criticism because without it we won’t learn to grow from our mistakes we won’t be able to generally improve. I feel it is very important to my own personal growth and development, because I have found I can grow in some cases dramatically from this. Another would be my interests in Art, I love being creative, anything arty and crafty loving what you can make outer little resources and using my imagination. I also love watching and helping children build and create arty and crafty things I love this because I can express myself and show children it is okay to express yourself in this creative visual way. I have always been into art and craft and see this as a very strong strength because, children seem to love art and I hope to instead of express my views as art so much I would hope to express myself in my words more so. Moving onto my weakness’s as I said above my family and friends is both a strength and weakness. Another would have to be my time management skills, although I am aware of this, I still struggle with it. (I admit not having my mum here every day to wake me up and do practically everything like washing, cleaning, and cooking for me etc I am struggling with as I did have it made at home.) I am also a procrastinator, I always leave things to the last minute and I struggle with things that I do that I consider not being perfect in my opinion. But I am aware of this and I am trying to strive to be less of a procrastinator and perfectionist so therefore I’m trying not leaving things till the last minute. Another one of my weaknesses would have to be my spelling, I am a terrible speller and I don’t half the time realise this until it’s pointed out to me. I am trying to work on this, with the help of my friend. My opportunities would include having a support person at my centre that is willing to share their knowledge and experiences with young children and just in general in centres. It would also be the other qualified teacher in the centre who is willing to tell you necessary points of an observation, because of this I feel I have the best opportunity that is right for me to help me in my studies. I would also have to say that another opportunity is my family members who are also in the Early Childhood field, I see this as an opportunity because I can draw from their knowledge, and experiences, I feel that this is valuable because if there is a situation I feel that i need advice on i have a range of people to draw advice from. One of my threats would be my time management skills, I always leave things to the last minute have done for my whole life and I definitely want to change this! J  I plan on keeping my time management under control and not leaving things till the last minute which will be my hardest task of all. Another of my threats would be distractions like, friend distractions and TV distractions, pretty much anything that I know will distract me I tend to let things distract me to avoid from doing long tasks just because is pose I’m lazy in that sense, I would rather be hands on, that sit down and write things.

The outcome of My Swot showed me that I am visual learner and that I tend not to ask many questions when I class because I feel like the “spot” light is directly on me and I do admit I do feel intimidated with this. So I tend to try and work things out myself and struggle away because I suppose the easiest way to put it is that I don’t want to come across as being dumb. In regards to me being a teacher I think I will be able to work on my weakness’s and threats and my strengths will be an asset because children love art and I love art to be honest, I am pretty much a little Child at heart I love to be messy play games and run round as my friends know so I think these are an asset! J\ **

=Koroseta Timu= strengths: **Some of my strengths are that I enjoy learning new things that can help me become a better teacher. I work better by myself and I like hearing other peoples point of view, I think it helps me grow more as a teacher. In saying that I also find that when I reflect on lessons in my own time, weither it be at home or on the bus ride back to the library, I can always find that I relate to many of the lessons that have been taught over the pass month which I find is another strength. Also my supportive family, especially my best friend who I consider a sister are a major strenght because I seriously wouldn't have got to this "space" that I'm in without these people.**

weaknesses: **One of my major weaknesses would be that I am reluctant to ask for help even when I know I need it. I also don't do well in big group discussions which is why I don't usually contribute to class discussions. I also find completing assignments on time a mission, I've never been one to hand class projects in on time unless its a group project. I find that writing is another weakness of mine, especially writing essays.**

opportunities**: Opportunities that I have come across is the opportunity to study at Unitec. The support that I receive from my family and friends would be another opportunity that I receive, because I know that many people do not have support as they go through and get further education for themselves.**

__threats:__ **I threat to my learning would be that I am lazy. I can never keep up with due dates. I also do not have a computer at home so it is difficult to keep up with the online learning.

//__Noriko Asada__//** //Strengths// ・ I am an organised and responsible person. ・ I have a passion to be an educator. ** // Weaknesses // ・ I do not have confidence in English. <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I am not good at time management. I will not be late for school and work however when I use computer, I also open the internet explore and be lazy to do homework. ** // Opportunities // <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I have a nice place to do my 15 hours work experience. <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I am lucky to be in NZ. <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I have wonderful classmates and lecturers. ** // Threads // <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I might have unexpected illnesses. It took long time to figure out what my SWOT is. Especially strengths part because I am not affirmative person to talk about my good points to someone. However I talked with Nic and she helped me to find my strengths. I have some ideas from my culture for instance, Origami and Japanese language. I can share my knowledge with children and also I would like to share my culture in the class as well. About my weaknesses, I have a big problem with my English and I should practice more writing in English and ask more questions to lecturers. I will try to seek more help when I need it and I have great classmates to assist me. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I can use two languages.
 * <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I always worry and think too much.
 * <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ I have a place to study my desire course at Unitec and there is a great learning centre to help my study.
 * <span style="font-family: 'ＭＳ 明朝';">・ My family live in Japan including 95 years old grandfather therefore if something happen to my family I need days to spend.

__Maryann Arei__

//Opportunities//** Weakness Strengths Threats
 * //In doing the SWOT analysis i found out that like many other of my peers I found that my weakness tend to overshine my strengths. However through my strength and opportunities i found that i possess some of the qualities that reassuared me that I do have the stamina and determination to get through this level of acadamic study.//
 * meeting new people
 * study group
 * graduating with a Degree
 * gaining new life experince
 * Procastinating always
 * lateness
 * time management
 * essily distracted
 * short attention span
 * Phone- as i tend to text when im bored in class, and in doing so i tune out of the lesson and out of concentration.
 * Easy going person
 * open minded
 * unerstanding
 * empathic to others
 * good listner
 * Friends
 * Family
 * Social Life
 * After school commitment
 * being sick
 * stress
 * and pushing your limit

__Jade Lochmann


 * Strengths**__

Patience Understanding Fair Confident Entertaining Caring Observant

__**Weaknesses**__

Time management Easily Distracted Reading


 * __Opportunities__**

Make new friends and meet new people Gain more knowledge To prove i can succeed
 * To become an ECE teacher

__Threats__

Sickness Distraction Time management Underestimating myself Lack of income

I found from doing this SWOT analysis has been a huge eye opener for me. I never realised how much strengths i actually had. I found it easy to pick out my own weaknesses and threats where as i struggled with my own strengths which lead me to ask friends and family what i was good at, the list of strengths transformed infront of me. I was suprised and couldn't understand how i had missed all my strengths for nothing and focused more on my weaknesses. This is where in the threat of underestimating myself has clouded my awareness of these strengths that i will now value. **

Siale Palanite

SWOT is not a new strategy for me but I need to work hard on my weaknesses such as procrastinated, and time management. My family is my biggest thread. I am fortunate to have good lecturers and class mates that assist me as I go along with the assignments. My strength is my own language which is Tongan, working with young children, meeting people and learning new things.**
 * SWOT reminds me of a question that my eight year old boy asked one day. He said, "mum what are you good at"? I replied, "nothing." He said, "but you are busy some times at doing our house works. Is that what you are good at?" I said yes, most mothers are like that. They are good at house works and other thing too like reading and helping you with your timetables and your home work. Being a mother and a student at the same time is not easy.

__**SWOT Analysis**__ This was an interesting task to complete and I, like Fal’e was surprised to find that my strengths and opportunities outweighed my weaknesses and threats. This activity made me aware that through writing everything down we could be more capable than we realise, but because our weaknesses and threats are often viewed as negative, they seem much bigger than they actually are. When I analysed my weaknesses and threats I realised that aside from unforseen events all of them had a solution. My strengths and opportunities are tools for me to use to find these solutions. As far as my learning preference I need a variety of ways to learn, favouring kinesthetic and visual learning. It has been enlightening deconstructing how we learn as it then gives me the opportunity to reflect and change. In the past I have felt that there were aspects to my abilities that could not be changed but now armed with my swot analysis and learning preferences I can see the way forward and the future looks bright! I am social and enjoy collaborative learning although I am not reliant on this as I also enjoy working autonomously. Being social and friendly has helped me settle in with my team at my kindergarten and we often chat and laugh together. I have a passion for early childhood and I am dedicated to getting my degree (although I expect at times my enthusiasm will wain!) I like order and strive to have organization in my life; I just bought a filing cabinet to create a system in my study. I have good communication skills. I am not afraid to ask questions, which is useful both in lectures and at my centre when I have questions about how to tackle various situations that arise. I have had 5 years work experience with children, mostly with the under fives and this gives me confidence as I feel I have a good idea as to what makes children ‘tick’. Supportive family Paid position to do my work experience Learning centre at Unitec for academic support Supportive lecturers and interesting lectures! Support from workmates New friends from tech, it lightens the load of studying when you have like-minded people to talk to who are going through the same stresses and workload. Memory Organization Essay skills Grammar Unrealistically high standards Self doubt Taking too much work on Procrastinating Moods Unforseen events Getting sick from contact with sick children Going under 80% attendance at Unitec
 * Strengths:**
 * Opportunities:**
 * Weaknesses:**
 * Threats:**

When I view myself as a work in progress and a lifelong learner I feel more comfortable with my current abilities. I was originally concerned we would be expected to be writing at a high academic standard as soon as we started our degree and this made me question how successful I would be. As Fal’e said we are on a journey and I like that our journey is not only learning ‘how’ to teach but also how to ‘learn’.
 * Maia Thompson**

__Nicole Korff__ bad memory timemanagement asking questions when unsure losing focus I find that straight after classes I forget all the information that has been given to me. I think this is because I tend to loose focus easily when the information provided does'nt interest me. I also feel shy to ask questions to the lecturers because I think my question might be irralavent to the topic so therefore I might embarrass myself. My strengths being dedication attendance note taking communication with peers My dedication to becoming an ECE teacher means that my attendance in class is good. I can note take in class and I am confident that the note I take are useful for me to refer back to. Opportunities family/friends Te tari awhina Maia My family and friends are my biggest support network and are always behind me to help push me through my studies and lend a hand when need be. I am greatful to have such a bunch of supporting whanau and friends.Unitec provides students with a range of support to help throughout my years to become a teacher. It is of great importance that I utilise the support that is provided. The threats issues outside of uni being sick mood My biggest threat to studying at unitec would be becoming sick. Like most people I find it hard to get motivated when I am sick. I usually don' do much but sleep when I am so this would prevent me from attending unitec. It may also cause me to fall behind with my studies.**
 * The SWOT analysis enabled me to open my eyes and really work towards improving my weaknesses. My weaknesses are as follows

__Michelle Smith__


 * I found it to be both enjoyable and challenging drawing up my SWOT analysis. My weaknesses were the first section that I did as they just came to me. my biggest weaknesses are time management and being out of study for a long time. I found that I have a lot of ongoing opportunities which will be a huge advantage in helping me achieve my goal of becoming a teacher. My opportunities include The Learning Centre, which I have used already. Also family support, lectures and staff at my centre. My biggest threats are unforeseen circumstances, which everyone is going to have, family issues that may arise and illness. Lastly the area that I found the most challenging, my strengths. This includes having a positive attitude, being motivated and determined to pass. Also my sixteen month daughter has given me some experience with young children.**

Cassandra Deane __My strengths:__ I am a good listener when it comes to learning because I listen to others opinions and work well in groups. __My weaknesses__ I am a person that will leave things last minute and I have trouble managing my time. __My opportunities__ I am very lucky to have a supporting family and my friends are alos there for me, Our lecturers are there when we need them and I have found them very helpful when I hav been stuck on something. __My threats__ My lack of motivation can sometimes cause diffuculty in my learning, I also am a visual learner so I find it hard sometimes to understand things if it is not put in to a picture and I also find I understand things better when I do things hands on .My time management is something I need to improve on as this will effect my learning .**
 * The swot analysis helped me to understand the qualities and disadvantages I have as a learner and has also help me to see what qualities I need to improve on as a learner.

//** Strengths: **// // Creativity, honesty, approachability, patience, positivity, and a strong will to learn. I enjoy leadership as well as working within a group. I deal with issues calmly and am confident and forthcoming with the knowledge and personal experiences I have gained along my path of life. // //** Weaknesses: **// // Time management is my biggest weakness, and although I believe I perform well under pressure, it is un-necessary stress which I carry right up to the due date. Secondly, I have a very short attention span and tend to “switch off” when in class. This has always been a problem for me because I don’t learn by repetition; I am a fast leaner and only need to be told once. Passion fades quickly for me when I get bored. // //** Opportunities: **// // The opportunities are endless! I am in a class with 60 inspirational people, all with their own experiences to share, the biggest opportunity for me is to get to know each and every one. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as a person and develop as a teacher. // //** Threats: **// // Sickness is of great concern to me, I have a low immune system and seem to catch most “bugs” going around, and it takes a long time to recover. Family matters contribute largely to my moods, when all is well I am a box of birds, but on the flipside I can become introverted and quiet. // This SWOT analysis I will be using in the future and hopefully look back on and be able to rub out those weaknesses and threats and add to my strengths and opportunities. I am glad to have identified these 4 areas, and can now see in plain view what needs work and the things I am content with.
 * __Karmella Taylor__ **
 * The SWOT analysis was a fantastic way for me to break down the main factors of my learning. I was surprised at how hard it was to identify my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and I noticed it was much easier to list weaknesses than it was to list strengths! My analysis revealed the following: **

//__Melody Sun__//

1.Definitely, I see myself as a visual learner as I learn way faster when I actually see the demonstration than just reading books or listening to other people’s explanations. I did the SWOT in the class and it made really clear to me that what my strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats are. It helps me to know what I am good at and what I still need to work on to improve. It is really good to sit down and think about myself and give me another idea of how to use my strengths to reach my goal and how to work on my weakness to make sure it won’t affect my success toward learning.

2.Strengths :Though outcomes of my SWOT analysis I realised that my main strength is that I have perseverance and never give up things no matter how hard it is for me. I think if you give things a try you will still have some hope of success but if you not even bother to try to achieve you will never be able to achieve. I also have a really good attitude towards learning and I am a quick learner if I use the suitable way of learning. Also I am very open to everything and willing to learn anything that I need to know but I don’t know yet. Because of my young age I think I am very open minded and that is one thing you have to have to become a early childhood educator.

Weakness:I discovered amount of weaknesses that I have. Language has always been the biggest problem for me ever since I came here. I came to New Zealand 4 years ago with no English and no matter how hard I studied I am still can’t compare to the local students which mean I have to work twice harder than normal local student to catch up the difference and due to my another weakness which is bad management I sometimes don’t have enough time to work twice harder. So even though I achieved everything I need but I am not someone that is outstanding. The language also caused another problem for me is that I can’t really fully understand everything that teachers tell us in class and also because of the lack of confidence in English I am not able to ask questions during class time because I really feel uncomfortable to speak in front of lots of people without preparation.

Opportunities: school gives us a really good opportunity to achieve what we want to do as we have all the excellent teachers to help us whenever we needed and willing to direct us to the right track. Also we have the library to give us all the useful sources that we need for our learning and also the learning centre is there for me to go in if I have any problem with how to write essays, and other problems. My family also give me the opportunity as they are really supportive and take care of most things within the family so I don’t have to worry too much about family business, so I can focus on my study and my work.

Threats: Time management have always been a threat for me. Due to the bad management which don’t give me the enough time for my assignment and that means I might fail my assignment which I have to pass everything to get this bachelor. So I am very worried about my time management. Also the attendance is another threat for me as we required at least 80% attendance and I am afraid if I get sick and miss more than 20% sessions I will need to drop the paper which I really can’t afford to as I have to pay more than $16000 each year for my school fees. ​


 * I see myself as a <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">visual learner, I learn much better when seeing what is talked about in a visual way instead of in written form. When reflecting on my SWOT analysis I found that I had more points written down in my weaknesses than in my strengths. I find it easier to think of the negatives than the positive aspects of myself. When we all discussed our SWOT analysis’ I realised that I was not the only one, others thought of the weaknesses and threats before they their strengths and opportunities.

I found when filling in my SWOT analysis that my ** **strengths and opportunities** are that I have determination to succeed and I know that I can achieve anything so long as I work hard for it, and do not give up. I have a great amount of support from my friends and family, they will be there to support me through everything no matter what. A big opportunity we all have are study groups, study groups will be a great way to discuss and throw around ideas between each other.

My **weaknesses and threats** ** are that I am a bit of a procrastinator and need to focus on improving my time management skills. I have always been like this; however since starting at Unitec last semester I have improved as I know I absolutely cannot afford to leave assignments too late, I just need to manage my time more wisely. My threats are that I help others before I help myself. I like to be there and help other people, which results in me not having enough time etc to do the things I need to do. Sickness is also a threat. I do not get sick often, although when I do come down sick I always end up very sick, never anything simple and easy to get rid of. Carrol Bell**

Opportunities
 * Oppurtunities are my lecturers, friends, work colleagues, family, support groups/study groups, students in class and the use of libraries and internet.**

Threats** Threats came to my mind first which isn't so good and something I need to improve on just like my weaknesses.
 * Work timings
 * Family commitments
 * Illness
 * Mood
 * Traffic
 * Stress- One of the main things I need to overcome because I stress over tiny things too much
 * Being behind in class