Importance of Self-Directed Learning

This assignment focuses on the importance of self-directed learning. Students are asked to reflect on why becoming more self-directed is personally significant, considering its impact on both personal and professional growth. The document also explores various methods of training and development that contribute to effective communication within a company.

Personal and Professional
Development
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Various approaches to self managed learning............................................................................3
1.2 Ways to attain lifelong learning ................................................................................................4
1.3 Benefits of self managed learning ............................................................................................4
TASK 2.................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Audit of personal skills..............................................................................................................5
2.2 Own development needs ...........................................................................................................5
2.3 Own development opportunities................................................................................................6
2.4 Personal and professional development plan.............................................................................6
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Procedure and activity required to implement the development plan.......................................7
3.2 Development activity as planned...............................................................................................8
3.3 Own learning against objectives................................................................................................9
3.4 Revised development plan.........................................................................................................9
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Investigate work based problem and solution to resolve it........................................................9
4.2 Different styles of communication at various levels................................................................10
4.3 Different time management strategies.....................................................................................11
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................12
2

INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development is considered as an activity that provides better
opportunity to the individual to improve learning and skills. In this respect, it can be said that self
managed learning is a procedure that facilitates individual to spot out diverse ways that can improve
their knowledge in order to meet needs of personal and professional development (Ashcroft, 2004). It
also facilitates people to use various tactics and strategies to acquire better knowledge that can provide
long term improvements in both personal and professional context.
In order to have effective learning about personal and professional development, report will
focus on work culture of health and social care sector. It will also emphasize on various types of self
managed learning that can provide long term development. It will also stress on various responsibilities
of health and social care profile in order to meet the objective of development. Personal and
professional plan will also be considered as a critical aspect that provides better development
opportunities to the individual. Furthermore, it will also demonstrate the interpersonal and transferable
skills that can be acquired by the individual.
TASK 1
1.1 Various approaches to self managed learning
As per the structured study, it has been spotted that there are number of self managed learning
which can be used by me to attain better understanding about health and social care aspects. It is
beneficial for me to attain better career opportunities. In this respect, it can be said that with an
assistance of self managed learning, I can enhance my knowledge and skills in order to overcome my
weakness (Boyadjieva, 2005). In addition to this, it can be stated that self managed learning will
facilitate me to have improvement in communication skills so that I can provide better support to the
team working activities.
Moreover, VARK learning means, I need to focus on four key factors that can impact or
enhance my learning and skills in an effective manner. Classification of key factors can be as visual
learning, auditory learning, reading learning and kinesthetic learning. In this respect, I can also
consider conferences and seminar as a medium which can enhance my knowledge (Clampitt, 2010). In
addition to this, I can also prefer training and development program to improve my communication and
time management skills. Other than this, Knolb learning is also one of the critical learning styles that
can enhance my skills. In this, it is essential for me to consider various aspects that can be classified as
concentrate experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation
(Dransfield, 2004).
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1.2 Ways to attain lifelong learning
In order to have lifelong learning it is necessary for me to focus on diverse strategies that can
improve my skills and knowledge. In this respect, I can concentrate on various motivation techniques
to boost my morale and acquire better career opportunities (Ottewill, 2002). It is necessary for me to
focus on acquiring skills and knowledge in order to meet the objectives of lifelong learning. I can also
attend various conferences and seminars in context of communication so that I can improve my
communication skills.
Moreover, with an assistance of training and development program, I can also gather
information regarding diverse factors which can facilitate me to meet objectives of lifelong learning. I
can acquire information regarding elements that helps in maintaining relations with other people.
Techniques of self learning also provide lifelong learning to the individual, it means that I can easily
enhance my skills and work quality (Throop, 2009). Other than this, in order to have lifelong learning,
it is also essential for me to focus on various responsibilities that health and social care professional
need to be accomplished. I can also evaluate my work activities in order to identify the loopholes so
that I can use various innovative ways to overcome issues and acquire long term improvements in
skills.
1.3 Benefits of self managed learning
It has been spotted that there are number of advantages that I can attain from improved focus on
self managed learning. With an assistance of training and development program I can easily understand
work culture and organisational operations. These kinds of improvement are also beneficial for
advancement in organisational operational activities. Improved level of understanding about
operational activities facilitates me to accomplish task in appropriate manner which have direct
positive impact on services of health care organisation (Dealtry, 2004). In the support of this, it can be
said that the self managed learning is also beneficial for improvement in skills of members that also
impacts positively on various areas in context of business development. It is also advantageous for
advancement in environmental conditions. A skilful employee can recognize the areas of improvement
and formulate plan to avoid problems and increases profit for organization.
Other than this, self managed learning also provides enhanced level of information regarding
diverse techniques which is beneficial for improvement in operational activities of health and social
care sector. Enhanced level of information can be attained to meet the needs of health and social care
sector (Hermans, 2014). If employees will have better information regarding various new techniques to
accomplish task then organisational productivity will also be improved in effective manner.
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TASK 2
2.1 Audit of personal skills
Always
appropriate
Mostly
appropriate
Not always
appropriate
Not
appropriate
Dress & Appearance √
Timekeeping √
Attendance √
Ability to work with
other people
√
Ability to talk to staff&
people who use the
services
√
Willingness to learn √
Willingness to take an
active part in placement
√
Ability to understand &
follow instructions
√
Willingness to ask for
help
√
Reliability √
Maintain confidentiality √
Safety conscious √
2.2 Own development needs
DEVELOPMENT NEEDS PREFERRED
LEARNING STYLE
ACTION REQUIRED
Short term goals
Improvement in
communication.
I can focus on visual and
audio tools
It is necessary to focus on day-to-
day interaction with co-worker
with assistance of meetings and
presentations (Tomlinson, 2004).
Medium term goals
Strong relationship with
services user
Use of audio tools I can focus on various
conferences as well as audio
Long term goals
Stress management Visual style I can consult various personal
techniques to improve my stress
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management learning
2.3 Own development opportunities
ACTIVITY (3MONTHS) SKILLS ACQUIRED TIME SCALE
Classroom Stress administration
capability
10 weeks
Classroom Communication with team
members and presentation
activities (Young, 2010)
7 weeks
Classroom Listening skills 11 weeks
ACTIVITY (6 months) SKILLS ACQUIRED Time scale
Team working Identification of service user
needs
15 weeks
Patient care unit Advancement in knowledge
regarding technological tools
and health care sector.
18 weeks
2.4 Personal and professional development plan
S.
N
o. Skills Status Opportunity Method
Time
frame
1
Listening
Ability 4
Overcome issues in context
to distractions
Positive feedbacks
from clients and
training manager 1 week
2
Problem
Solving
Ability 2
Improved focus on various
conflict situations to
understand key factors
Be able to identify the
problem of situation
that I may stuck in
(Achua, 2012) 3 week
3
Learning
regarding
technolog
ical tools 4 Workshop and seminars
Be able to perfectly
use computer and
search for resources
on the internet 2 week
4 Time
Managem
ent
3 Improved focus on time
management strategies
Reach to office on
time; meet with
clients as per
3 week
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Ability appointment
Dates Hours per day Activity undertaken
24/10/15 3pm-5pm 2hrs Attend conference to enhance
communication skills
25/10/15 4am-7am 3hrs Reading newspaper and
healthcare magazines
25/10/15 3pm-5pm 2hrs Training session for healthcare
services
26/10/15 6pm-9pm 3hrs Accessing various online
mediums to acquire knowledge
regarding latest technology
27/10/15 3pm-6pm 3hrs Coaching session to advance
my time management and
analytical skills (Cunningham,
2010)
27/10/15 6pm-9pm 3hrs Visiting patients at home
28/10/15 5pm-7pm 2hrs Take assistance or taking
counselling by expert to amend
my morale and motivation level
29/10/15 3pm-6pm 3hrs Meeting and conducting team
activities with my colleagues
29/10/15 3pm-6pm 3hrs Training for healthcare services
30/10/15 3pm-6pm 3hrs Consulting experts to improve
leadership skills and
observation skills (Rarelin,
2008)
31/10/15 1pm-5pm 5hrs Attending presentation and
seminar for improvement in
diverse skills
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TASK 3
3.1 Procedure and activity required to implement the development plan
Essential Qualities CURRENT ACTIVITIES FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Communication skills In order to amend my
communication skills, I focus on
seminars and conferences which
are organized by health care sector
and college (Wilde-Larsson,
2012).
I can attend various other
programs to amend
communication skills. I can
also consult experts for better
improvement.
Information about
organisational process
I can concentrate on reading of
various books and sources that are
available in college library to
understand culture of health and
social care sector.
I can focus on training and
development program to
accomplish task in desired
time frame and improvement
in knowledge (Throop, 2010).
Time management
skills
I can focus to avoid multitasking
so that work can be managed as
per given time period.
I can emphasis on various time
management tools such as
scheduling, sorting of task, etc
in order to meet objective.
Information about
technology
I can gather information about
various IT courses so that I can
amend my knowledge in context
of technology.
I can also attend various
training program to improve
technological skills and gather
information about tools.
Leadership and
decision making
ability
It is necessary for me to ensure
that my team members are
satisfied with my personality and I
am providing proper direction to
them.
With an improved focus on
reading books or journals, I
can amend my leadership skills
and improve self motivation
level.
3.2 Development activity as planned
In order to have effective implementation of planned activities, it is necessary for me to focus
on training and development program. In this, it can be said that I can prefer some experts to provide
me training on various aspects which can amend my skills and knowledge. It will boost my career
opportunities and also improve organisational productivity in indirect manner. I can also focus on
work based training in the consultant firm to gain greater knowledge about interpersonal and
motivational skills (Hildebrand, 2007). Other than this, in order to have effective development
opportunities, it is also essential for me to concentrate on diverse monitoring activities. For example, in
order to understand the development of leadership skills, I can take feedbacks from my colleagues and
team members. If responses are in positive manner, then it means my leadership skills are enhanced
and members are satisfied with leadership style (Davidison, 2004).
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Moreover, I can also emphasize on reading books and journals in context of diverse subjects
such as time management, communication, leadership, etc. I will also see case study videos to amend
my problem solving skills. It will provide me ability to identify various ways that resolve diverse
issues.
3.3 Own learning against objectives
In this respect, it has been identified by me that communication and leadership skills has been
improved in diverse manner which is beneficial for effective development of career opportunities. In
order to have better improvement in skills I have focused on number of activities such as training and
development, reading, etc. I have considered various approaches to overcome my weakness such as
communication and presentation but lack of confidence still creates interaction and presentation errors
(Beausaert, 2013). It means, it is necessary for me to have improvement in motivation skills so that I
can easily manage self motivation aspects. Moreover, I have also taken assistance from some experts in
order to understand the significance of communication skills.
Other than this, learning has also provided me information about various analytical tools which
can be used to evaluate the performance effectiveness. I have also focused on case studies or work
based trainings that developed my ability to deal with various work based situations (Clampitt, 2010).
It has also facilitated me to identify various new approaches that can be used to resolve day to day
operational conflicts. I have also participated in team work activities that have impacted my leadership
skills in positive manner.
3.4 Revised development plan
As per the structured analysis, it has been identified by me that communication and leadership
skills have improved to great context. But on the other side, it has also been noticed that the stress
management is one of critical issue for me and improper information about diverse stress management
techniques has impacted my performance (Boyadjieva, 2005). This clearly indicates that it is necessary
for me to focus on various ways that can improve my knowledge and skills in context of stress
management. In this respect, I can focus on training and development program from experts that will
provide me information about various factors of stress management (Dransfield, 2004). Moreover, I
can also reconsider activities that can amend my time management skills. Improvement in time
management skills is also advantageous for maintaining balance between stress management.
I can read various books and journals in context of stress management and time management
for effective development in respect of personal and professional aspects. In addition to this, I can also
observe my superior activities that they used to manage stress situations and effective accomplishment
of task.
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TASK 4
4.1 Investigate work based problem and solution to resolve it
Being a health care professional at NHS, I have faced few issues which have impacted my
overall performance in various manners. It has been noticed by me that the issues and challenges at
workplace occurred due to negligence and improper level of knowledge. Being a health care
professional, I have faced issues in context of motivation and improper planning. In this respect, it can
be said that self motivation level of mine was not proper and it has impacted my performance in
diverse manner (Ottewill, 2002). It is necessary for me to focus on diverse motivation techniques that
can amend my morale. Moreover, in order to amend my own motivation factor, I can also ensure about
communication and other skills as it will facilitate me to accomplish task in appropriate manner.
Effective accomplishment of goals is also beneficial for better improvement in motivation factor
(Throop, 2009).
Other than this, issues regarding planning are also one of critical factor so, it is essential for me
to focus on various books and journals that can provide me information regarding planning. In order to
have effective planning of activities, it is necessary for me to gather information about work culture
and needs of members so that activities can be designed in appropriate manner to meet goals.
4.2 Different styles of communication at various levels
It has been spotted that there are different kinds of communication techniques that can be used
at different levels of management. In this respect, it can be said that the classification of
communication styles can be such as verbal, non verbal, formal, informal, etc.
Operational: In order to have effective management of operational activities, it is necessary for
business firm to focus on preparation of daily worksheet. It is considered as a written communication
method which helps management to convey message to all activities (Dealtry, 2004). In other aspect, it
can be said that the written communication is also beneficial for employees while communicating with
top level management.
Strategic: In order to have effective design and application of strategies, it is also necessary for
health care firm to focus on formal communication. It will facilitate top level management to convey
strategic message to all members in appropriate manner so that activities can be planned in most
suitable way. In other words, it can be said that with an assistance of formal communication method,
top level management will have better support in order to implementation of strategy (Hermans, 2014).
Decisions regarding strategic tools can also be taken into account properly as per needs of employees.
Tactical: In this respect, verbal communication is one of most significant factor as it provides
an ability to deal with various factors during tactical decisions. With an assistance of verbal
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communication method, business firm can easily maintain standards and convey message to all team
members in an easy manner. It is also beneficial for management while dealing with various conflicts
and reduces impact of confusion aspect in appropriate manner (Young, 2010). In order to improve the
motivation factor, the management of health and social care can also use verbal communication. For
example, by providing information about reward policies with an assistance of presentation, motivation
level can be raised.
4.3 Different time management strategies
As per the structured study, it can be said that there are various kinds of time management
strategies that can be used by me in order to have effective improvement in time management skills.
Classification of time management strategies can be as prioritization, scheduling and execution. In
respect of prioritization, it is necessary for me to focus on designing the list in which tasks will be
numbered as per their priority. This kind of process is mainly useful for effective management of day
to day activities (Wilde-Larsson, 2012). I will prefer to do task as per their significance and need for
the company. Moreover, activities which are not urgent can be delayed for some other day.
Other than this, I can also focus on scheduling of all activities in order to have effective
development of time management skills. In this, it is essential for me to identify the key organisational
needs and tasks so that I can easily schedule tasks in proper way. It is necessary for me to ensure that
activities are well managed in manner that the all organisational responsibilities will be accomplished
in designed time frame. In the support of this, it is also essential for me to ensure that the all activities
designed must be implemented in proper way so that goals can be accomplished in effective manner.
CONCLUSION
As per the above study, it can be concluded that the personal and professional development is
considered as an activity that provides better opportunity to individual in order to improve learning and
skills. It has been spotted that with an assistance of self managed learning and other learning tools an
individual can have various developments in context of personal and professional aspect. In the support
of this, it can also be said that time management strategies and development plan are also considered as
critical aspect in personal and professional development.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Achua, C., 2012. Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. 5th ed. Cengage Learning.
Ashcroft, L. 2004. Developing competencies, critical analysis and personal transferable skills in future
information professionals. Library Review. 53(2). pp.82-88.
Boyadjieva, P., 2005. Towards a New Understanding of Education in the Globalizing World: Life long
Learning. Managerial Law. 47(4). pp.21-28.
Clampitt, P. G., 2010. Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness: Problems, Strategies, Solutions.
4th ed. SAGE.
Cunningham, I., 2010. Learning to lead – self managed learning and how academics resist
understanding the process. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International
Journal. 24(2). pp.4 – 6.
Davidison, N., 2004. Professional Development for Cooperative Learning: Issues and Approaches.
SUNNY publishes.
Dealtry, R., 2004. The savvy learner. Journal of Workplace Learning. 16(1/2). pp.101-109.
Dransfield, R., 2004. Business for Foundation Degrees and Higher Awards. Heinemann.
Hermans, H.., 2014. Toward a learner-centered system for adult learning. Campus-Wide Information
Systems. 31(1). pp.2-13.
Hildebrand, J., 2007. Bridging the Gap: A Training Module in Personal and Professional
Development. Kasrnac book publishes.
Ottewill, R., 2002. Student self-managed learning – cause for concern?. On the Horizon. 10(1). pp.12-
16.
Rarelin, A. J., 2008. Work-Based Learning: Bridging Knowledge and Action in the Workplace. 2nd ed.
John Wiley & Sons.
Robert, R., 2009. Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development. Cengage
Learning.
Throop. K., 2010. Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development. Cengage
publishes.
Tomlinson, H., 2004. Educational Leadership: Personal Growth for Professional Development.
SAGE.
Wilde-Larsson, B., 2012. Self-Managed and Coach Led Stress Management. Bookboon.
Online
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Activity 1 - reasons why becoming more self-directed is important to you. 2014. [Online]. Available
through: <http://www.selfdirectedlearning.com/becoming-self-directed/activity-1-why-self-
direction-is-important-to-you.html>. [Accessed on 20th January 2016].
Young, H. S., 2010. 15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/15-steps-to-cultivate-lifelong-learning.html>.
[Accessed on 20th January 2016].
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