Professional Development: Reflective Journal on Tasks and Module

This report explores professional development and the use of reflective models, specifically the Gibbs reflective cycle. It discusses the tasks and activities completed in the module and their impact on learning and skill development.

Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in PPT............................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
Preparation of reflective journal..................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Professional development can be defined as the process of maintaining or learning
professional credentials which are required to be focused by individuals to reach career goals.
While planning to reach the predetermined targets it is essential for students to make sure that
they have developed academic and employability skills (Allen and Penuel, 2015). For the
purpose of developing them individuals can use different types of reflective models which is
beneficial to enhance skills such as interactive, communication etc. In this report Gibbs reflective
cycle is used to demonstrate learning from tasks and whole module.
TASK 1
Covered in PPT
TASK 2
Preparation of reflective journal
When all the individuals share their personal experience with others then it is known as
reflection. It is an opportunity for a person to experience the events that were faced previously
and share the feelings of that time with others. With the help of it, thoughts could be
reconsidered by people. There are various types of models which could be used by individuals to
write a reflection. These are Kolb's and Gibbs reflective cycle. In order to write the my personal
reflection I have selected the second method which is described below with all its elements:
Gibbs reflective cycle: It was published by Graham Gibbs in year 1988 for the purpose
of facilitating individuals to share their personal thoughts about the events which were
experiences by them previously. In order to write reflection on completion of previous task and
the module in general which has contributed in the achievement of my employability and study
skill set this model is being used by me (Gibbs reflective cycle, 2020). There are six different
elements of it which are described below:
 Description: While studying in university different tasks were allocated by the lecturer to
me and other students of my class. We always try to complete the assignments on time so
that we can obtain higher scores. While completing the course I was tasked to write about
corporate social responsibility and reasons for practising it along with the challenges
which could be faced by organisation while doing it. All the information about the task
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was required to be presented in the form of power point presentation. Apart from this,
there were various additional activities which were performed while completing the
whole module. These were preparing personal development plan, identifying strengths
and weaknesses of self with the help of SWOT analysis etc. While working on the project
all the students were allowed to take help of lecturers so that they can complete the task
successfully. Before starting the project related to CSR I was not aware of its concept in
depth therefore I took help of my tutor and tried to complete the task successfully
(Golombek and Doran, 2014).
 Feelings: While completing the task of CSR I realised that it is a great opportunity to
brush up my research and employability skills which is beneficial for me to develop my
ability to write appropriate and accurate content in my report. After completing the whole
presentation of CSR, challenges and its importance I realised that it has enhanced my
knowledge about corporate social responsibility and the way in which it can benefit
organisations (Kennedy, 2016). When I was researching about the CSR in competitive
business environment I felt that it is helping me to develop my communication skills as it
asked others to guide me. Along with this, preparation of personal development plan and
other activities of whole module were advantageous for me as all of them helped to me
assess my strength and weakness. By delivering the presentation my verbal and written
communication was improved as it was a great opportunity for me to improve my
qualities.
 Evaluation: The activities which were performed by me for successful completion of all
the tasks and other processes of module resulted in positive as well as negative
experience. The thing which went well was my enhanced communication and research
skills which is very important for me to get desired job in future. I was not having good
ICT skills and while completing the CSR task I had to deliver a presentation which was
the biggest challenge for me. I tried my best to deal with it and asked the lecturer to guide
me to make a best power point presentation. It has also benefited me to enhance my ICT
skills so that I can perform same tasks successfully in future. While completing the
personal development plan I realised that my time management capabilities are not
appropriately and to attain success in my career I was required to develop such abilities.
For the purpose of developing the skill plans to perform all the activities were formed by
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me in advance. It helped me to complete all the tasks step by step and meet the deadlines
successfully. The successful completion of the project helped me to determine that I have
good team work and problem solving skills because I dealt with all the issues such as lack
of ICT skills properly. While studying the module different tasks were allocated to me in
team and I worked effectively and supported my team so that the group activity could be
completed properly. In such activities other members also performed very well and
contributed in the successful completion of all the tasks (Nicholls, 2014).
 Analysis: While completing different types of projects and other activities of module I
performed well and tried to meet the predetermined goals so that higher marks in
academics could be obtained by me. I was able to complete the CSR related report
successfully because of my good research and communication skills. If these abilities of
mine would not be used by me properly then it would not be possible for me to perform
all the tasks properly. The presentation which was delivered by me was not appropriate
because of my weak ICT skills. The whole module was very beneficial for me because it
has helped me to enhance my time management, problem solving, team work etc. skills.
Now I have vast knowledge about corporate social responsibility, different challenges
which could be faced by organisations while practising CSR in competitive business
environment and reasons behind it.
 Conclusion: From the tasks which were completed by me while working on the module
helped me to enhance my learning and develop different abilities. Successful delivery of
CSR presentation helped me to improve ICT skills and now I am able to prepare PPT by
my self and complete it successfully. I have also learned the way in which I can complete
the projects in the specific time period for which I am required to prepare a plan in
advance and perform different tasks step by step. In order to complete such tasks
successfully in future I will be required to develop some major skills such as ICT,
problem solving, planning and keeping clam in difficult situations. It will help me to deal
with all the negative situations in positive manner and complete all the tasks properly
(Olsen, 2015).
 Action plan: It is very important for me to do something different if I will be allocated
same tasks in future. For this purpose, I have decided to be prepare in advance for all the
difficult situations, take help of classmates while delivering presentation etc. In order to
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develop all of them I will ask the lecturer to help me so that I can handle difficult
situations properly. Other steps which will be taken by me in order to improve required
capabilities I will also analyse my old work and develop a personal development plan. It
will help me to determine all the mistakes which were made by me last time and all the
weaknesses which may affect my work (Stewart, 2014). After determination of all these
key elements I will find solutions for all of them and make sure that they get developed. I
will make sure that I act differently next time by performing all the academic related
activities properly.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that professional development is the
process of developing employability skills so that desired jobs could be acquired by individuals
successfully. While planning to write a reflection Gibbs reflective model could be used by
individuals as it helps to reconsider all the previous events. There are six different elements of it
which should be focused by an individual writing a reflective report. These are description,
feeling, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. All of them are required to be written
one by one to make sure that actual experience is recorded in the report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Allen, C. D. and Penuel, W. R., 2015. Studying teachers’ sensemaking to investigate teachers’
responses to professional development focused on new standards. Journal of Teacher
Education. 66(2). pp.136-149.
Golombek, P. and Doran, M., 2014. Unifying cognition, emotion, and activity in language
teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education. 39. pp.102-111.
Kennedy, M. M., 2016. How does professional development improve teaching?. Review of
educational research. 86(4). pp.945-980.
Nicholls, G., 2014. Professional development in higher education: New dimensions and
directions. Routledge.
Olsen, B., 2015. Teaching what they learn, learning what they live: How teachers' personal
histories shape their professional development. Routledge.
Stewart, C., 2014. Transforming professional development to professional learning. Journal of
Adult Education. 43(1). pp.28-33.
Online
Gibbs reflective cycle. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.eln.io/blog/gibbs-reflective-cycle-model-1988>
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