Continuing Professional Development: Skills, Reflection, and Action Plan

This article discusses the importance of Continuing Professional Development and the skills developed through attending a module. It utilizes Gibbs Reflective Cycle to reflect on the experience and provides an action plan for future development. The article includes a professional development log and covers topics such as communication skills, research ability, use of information communication technology, teamwork and networking, and time management.

Continuing
Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Skills learned by attending this module..................................................................................1
Gibbs Reflective Cycle...........................................................................................................3
Continuing Professional Development log.............................................................................4
Action plan with objectives to hone these skills in the future................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Continuing Professional Development can be explained as the combination of approaches,
Ideas, and techniques that are helpful to manage the learning and growth process of an
individual. Continuing professional development is very important for improving personal
development and academic growth for achieving the best results effectively (Alt, 2018). This
personal reflective journal will discuss various skills that were developed by me during the
module or session for enhancing my employability and study skills. It will discuss various skills
that I have developed by attending this module and how it has helped in achieving the
professional and academic skills. Moreover, it will explain the use of a reflective cycle for
reflecting over the learnings that I have gained from the module.
MAIN BODY
Skills learned by attending this module
The professional development is a continuous process and it can be obtained through
continuous learning. Continuing professional development is explained as the combined
approaches, methods and ideas that are helpful for managing the learning and growth process of
an individual. With the help of modules I had attended in the university, I have achieved various
skills and abilities that can be helpful and improve my future career, employee ability and
academic success. The skills that are large by attending this module are as follows:
 Communication skills: It can be explained as a very essential part for interacting with
each other during the module (Ding and Bruce, 2017). Communication can be defined as
the transmission of data among the people through verbal and nonverbal means. By
attending the module I learnt about the ways I can communicate with the people and how
its effectiveness can be improved for creating the best impact on them. I learnt that for
communicating properly students need to listen carefully with open mindedness and
proper attention.
 Research skills: It refers to the ability of an individual to identify and discover new
things by constantly searching in different areas of aspects (DiPaola and Wagner, 2018).
With the help of research skills I was able to discover new knowledge and concepts about
different perspectives for completing the projects. I researched through various online
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means, books, journals, research articles, etc. for gaining extra knowledge and
understanding various concepts during course work.
 The use of ICTs: In the rapidly developing world the technological advancements are
much more complex and the requirement for technological skill development has also
enhanced. The students are required to develop the information communication
technology skills for enhancing their abilities for using technology. With the help of
effective ICT knowledge during the module I was able to use various technologies such
as social media platforms, online calling, video conferencing etc. that can be helpful in
advance in the employability and study skills.
 Teamwork and networking: It can be explained the ability of individuals to work with
other people, in groups and in organisations (Lillis and Bravenboer, 2020). During the
module the requirement for teamwork and networking was very necessary because
everyone needed to interact with each other for creating effective projects and high level
assignment works. With the help of teamwork and networking I was able to work with
others and improve coordination among each other for gaining a higher level of
performance.
 Time and self-management: With the help of time management skills an individual is
able to manage their activities effectively without wasting time. During the module I was
able to schedule my tasks so that wasteful activities can be eliminated and self-
management activities can be improved. In order to utilise the time effectively I decided
to schedule my work and eliminate the wasteful activities by managing the personal or
self-activities. I eliminated certain activities such as over use of smartphones for
unnecessary purposes, gaming time etc.
 Problem solving skills: It is explained as the ability to determine the causes of a problem
and identify solutions for them in an effective and efficient manner (Link, 2020). With
the help of problem solving skills I was able to determine the problems and create a mind
map for eliminating those problems effectively. During the module course work I have to
face many problems regarding the completion of assignments, conflicts among the team
members, Idea classes etc.
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Gibbs Reflective Cycle
For reflecting on the skills that I have learnt by undergoing through this module can be
well understood with the help of Gibbs reflective cycle. The model is a good way to work
through an experience and reflect on the aspects that I have learnt through the module. Gibbs
reflective cycle for detail understanding of my learnings during the module and -course-work is
as follows:
 Description: During the first week of the module I was able to develop understanding
about the seminars and discussions that help me to communicate effectively with the
other students. During the seminars and discussion activity in the conference hall
lecturers as well as the fellow mates were present (Succi and Canovi, 2020). The lecturers
have provided good descriptions about various concepts and theories for enhancing the
learning activities and improving the communication through interactions. During this
seminar and discussion activity we needed to understand the concepts that were discussed
by the lecturers and we needed to present our views on the respective topics. The other
fellow mates have to do the same and this led to an open discussion for improving the
interaction and communication among each other. I was there to learn about the various
concepts that can be helpful in improving my communication through the discussions
with each other.
 Feelings: During the group work assignment in the module I was able to work with
others to develop better coordination among each other. This was not the only case, I
have to deal with the research activities for improving the overall performance of the
group assignment. For this reason, I started to research new things by visiting the library
and constantly upgrading the knowledge by reading new things about the assignment
topics on the internet, books, journals etc. which was quite interesting for me.
 Evaluation: During the module everything happened according to the plan and the
learnings and outcomes were fantastic (Xu, 2021). The only thing that I faced a challenge
with was ICT skill because I was not having complete knowledge about it. I was able to
produce accurate results and on agreed deadlines that enhance the overall performance
during the module and session. During the module I excelled my abilities and
understanding knowledge about the ICT skills by constant learning and efforts. I had
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developed sound communication abilities, time management and problem solving skills
that were helpful for enhancing my development activities.
 Analysis: I think that our initial decision for working in a group was very effective
because we developed natural collaboration by effective team building skills and better
leadership qualities. We supported each other's work during the module that helped to
develop effective communication and leadership quality (Cosenza and Buchanan eds.,
2018). With the help of group thinking activity I was able to develop the team working
and leadership skills that were helpful in creating positive assumptions for achieving the
targets by unified efforts. I understood that various skills such as communication,
problem solving ability, time management, and research ability are very important
considerations for becoming an effective person in a team.
 Conclusions: During the module I learnt that if a person wants to be successful in their
professional and personal career then they need to develop certain skills and abilities.
With the help of effective communication skills a person is able to interact effectively
with people and get the work done with full potential. I understood that the team leading
ability and problem solving can be utilized together for improving the team performance
and resolving the problems or queries among each other as well as outside the
environment. The abilities such as research and information communication technology
can be helpful for improving the overall employability skills and academic skills.
Continuing Professional Development log
Event Description Learnings Outcomes Application
Communication Understanding
about the
concepts of
communication
and effective
communication.
Communicatio
n for
improving the
overall
communicatio
n abilities and
interaction
with the people
The concepts of
communication
for developing
skills for being a
communicator
and effective
influencer who
can interact with
Through
observation of
communicatin
g with people
and evaluating
communicatio
n practices in
order to
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for creating
higher impacts
on them.
people with
efficiency.
improve the
leadership.
Team Working
and Management
In order to
interact with
team members in
order develop
and enhance
quick decision
making
(Matthews and
Pilkington,
2018).
In order to
learn the
effective tools
and techniques
for taking
better business
decisions for
achievement of
organizational
goals.
Various learning
and personal
development
skills in order to
take decisions
related to
organization.
Focusing on
the past
decisions and
including team
members for
meeting the
future needs of
the
organizations.
Research To learn new
concepts in order
to the knowledge
about new
concepts,
theories,
methods, ideas,
understandings
etc.
Researching
abilities and
skills for
understanding
new thigs
discovering
ideas, aspects,
methods,
concepts, etc.
Learned new
concepts that
helped in
completing the
assignment and
achieve higher
level of
performance,
effectiveness
and efficiency in
academic
coursework..
Through
joining library,
reading books
a lot,
continuous
learning,
online sources,
newspaper
journals etc. in
order to gain
extra
knowledge and
expertise over
things.
Action plan with objectives to hone these skills in the future
Objectives Resources Actions plans Measuring Time required
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Criteria
Team working
Support from team
members and
various resources
such as time to
time schedules.
Taking active part in
the team meetings
and group
discussions for
enhancing
interactions among
group members.
Comparing my
past achievements
with my present
objectives and
performance with
my teams.
1 month
Time and self-
management
The plan of
activities and
various other
scheduling the
activities for self-
mgmt.
Prior planning of
activities in order to
gain knowledge
about the use of
various resources.
Through regular
checking upon the
time frame
involved in past
and present
operations.
2 months
Problem
Solving
Taking part in
critical problem
solving activities,
volunteering for
high level tasks
etc. (Toews and
Zagona, 2022).
Focusing on
continuous
participation in
development
activities,
volunteering for
given tasks.
Solving the
conflicts among
the team members,
and other people to
evaluate the
ability.
2 months
ICT Skills
Understanding and
reading about
various ICT
models and
theories.
Undertaking the ICT
development courses
by IT skills
development
programme and
Computer courses.
Keeping a track
record of the skills
gained through
continuous tests
and examinations.
2 months
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CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the bug report that professional development is very important
for improving personal development and academic growth for achieving success in the career.
Moreover the report has been describing the various skills that are learned by attending a module
such as communication skills, research ability, use of information communication technology,
teamwork and networking, time management and various other skills. Furthermore, the Gibbs
reflective cycle is utilized for reflecting on the experience and aspects that I gained from the
module. Along with this, it has been providing a professional development log to understand the
learning experience by attending this module. Finally, it has been providing an action plan with
objectives to hone these skills in future and create better employability and academic
development.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alt, D., 2018. Science teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning, ICT efficacy, ICT
professional development and ICT practices enacted in their classrooms. Teaching and
teacher Education, 73. pp.141-150.
Cosenza, M. and Buchanan, M. eds., 2018. Visions from professional development school
partners: Connecting professional development and clinical practice. IAP.
Ding, A. and Bruce, I., 2017. The English for academic purposes practitioner. Cham,
Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
DiPaola, M. and Wagner, C. A., 2018. Improving instruction through supervision, evaluation,
and professional development. IAP.
Lillis, F. and Bravenboer, D. W., 2020. The best practice in work-integrated pedagogy for degree
apprenticeships in a post-viral future. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based
Learning.
Link, C., 2020. A Quantitative Assessment of the Effectiveness of a Global Online Professional
Development Course to Enhance 21st Century Skills in STEM Instructional
Design (Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri-Saint Louis).
Matthews, L. and Pilkington, R., 2018. Developing Teaching Standards: A professional
development perspective. In Handbook of quality assurance for university teaching (pp.
397-408). Routledge.
Succi, C. and Canovi, M., 2020. Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing
students and employers’ perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 45(9). pp.1834-1847.
Toews, S. G. and Zagona, A., 2022. Collaborative Professional Development to Support
Inclusive Instruction. Inclusive Practices. p.27324745211039745.
Xu, Y., 2021. Instructional Leadership Strategies Enhance Teacher Professional Development on
Student Motivation of Learning 21st Century Skills. International Journal of Social
Science and Education Research, 4(2). pp.147-160.
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