Report on Academic Skills: Personal and Professional Development

This report defines personal and professional development, emphasizing the importance of short, medium, and long-term goals with personal examples. It discusses the value of a Personal Development Plan (PDP) and provides a constructed example based on individual goals. The report also explores how author, purpose, reliability, and relevance affect source usage, evaluating eight sources used in the report. Key aspects include time management, academic improvement, and career aspirations, with a focus on aligning skills and resources to achieve desired outcomes. The report concludes with a discussion of the impact of source evaluation on academic and professional endeavors.

Academic skills and PDP

Contents
Task One:
Definition of the concept of personal and professional development
p
Description and discussion of the value of short term goals
identifying at least 3 personal examples p
Description and discussion of the value of medium term goals
identifying at least 3 personal examples p
Description and discussion of the value of long term goals identifying
at least 3 personal examples p
Description and discussion of the value of a Personal Development
Plan and construction of an example using my goals p
Task Two:
Description and discussion of how ‘Author, Purpose, Reliability and
Relevance’ affect the use of a source p
Task Three:

Ann evaluation of eight sources I have used in the report plan
p
References p

INTRODUCTION
Academic skills refers to progress as well as growth of students by adopting various skills
in their academic life (Trorey and Cullingford, 2017). It is important for young students as it
boost their development and allows them to accomplish various goals that they set for
themselves. For this reason, students can take various learning experiences from number of
sources where they can enhance their skills.
Task One:
Definition of the concept of personal and professional development
Personal development is associated with growth of a person through reflective learnings
which aids them to rectify their past mistakes and learn from those experiences (Bond and
Blevins, 2020). It comprises of functions that develops an individual's capabilities and potential
to improve their standard of life. Professional development described the process of determining
objectives and skills that an individual might want to achieve in future. It aids them to grow and
succeed in their professional career which further leads to promotion or better job opportunities.
Description and discussion of the value of short term goals
identifying at least 3 personal examples
Short term goals are things that an individual wants to achieve in near future. It helps an
individual to focus on task at hand and decrease procrastination (Hildebrand, 2018). It can be
achieved by defining activities that can lead to success and helps them stay motivated. My short
term goals in personal development are discussed below:
 Develop time management skills by properly organise all the tasks.
 Study and learn effectively to enhance my academic grades from previous year.
 I will also enhance my reading and writing skills
Description and discussion of the value of medium term goals
identifying at least 3 personal examples
1

Medium term goals are those target that takes a bit long time to achieve. The time varies
between two to six months depending on an individual capability to attain them (Dunn and
Doolittle, 2020). It allows person to make significant progress in both their personal and
professional life. My medium term goal are as follows:
 Improve my higher education grading so that I can get a good job.
 I will enrol myself in internship programs to gain some professional insights.
 I will join campus clubs for participating in extra-curricular activities.
Description and discussion of the value of long term goals identifying at least 3
personal examples
Long term goals can be described as an accomplishment that requires a sizeable time for
planning and executing (Davies and Curtin, 2017). Setting of long term goals are valuable for a
student as it provides a shape as well as direction to their lives and careers. My long term goals
are elaborated below:
 I want to go in a corporate sector with a highly paid job
 I want to gain experience of a manager in an organisation.
 I will try to achieve a promotion at my employability.
Description and discussion of the value of a Personal Development Plan and
construction of an example using my goals
Personal development plan refers to a combination of varied approaches and techniques
that are used by individuals for managing their growth as well as learning (Davies and Curtin,
2017). My personal development plan in relevance with my desired goals are as follows:
Goals Skills Required resources Activities to be
done
Status
Short term
goals
Time
management
skill
Stopwatches and
strict schedules
Fix time for each
task and use
stopwatch to analyze
that.
Initiated
2

Medium
term goals
Good grading in
higher
education
Books, academic
journals, lecture notes
and a time table
Attend college
lectures and self-
study at library
Initiated
Long term
goals
Leadership
skills
Taking notes and
seminars
Participate in team
building activities
Will initiate
shortly
Task Two:
Description and discussion of how ‘Author, Purpose, Reliability and
Relevance’ affect the use of a source
Author, purpose, relevance and reliability affects significant the use of source as it helps in
generating their authenticity as well as can be used in projects.
Task Three:
An evaluation of eight sources I have used in the report plan
Sources Author Purpose Reliability Relevance
Hildebrand, J., 2018. Bridging
the gap: A training module in
personal and professional
development. Routledge.
Judy
Hildebrand
Its purpose is
to find the
ways for
bridging the
gap in
personal and
professional
development
Moderate
reliability
High
relevance as
it help
individuals in
bridging the
gap of their
skills
Pugh, M. and Broome, N.,
2020. Dialogical coaching: An
experiential approach to
personal and professional
development. Consulting
Psychology Journal: Practice
and Research, 72(3), p.223.
Matthew
Pugh and
Natalie
Broome
It purpose is to
provide an
experimental
approach to
the topic
Low
reliability
Low
relevance
3

Trorey, G. and Cullingford, C.,
2017. Professional
development and institutional
needs. Taylor & Francis
Gillian
Trorey
Its purpose is
to reveal
tensions
between
managers and
employees
Moderate Low
Bond, M.A. and Blevins, S.J.,
2020. Using faculty
professional development to
foster organizational change: A
social learning
framework. TechTrends. 64(2).
pp.229-237
M. Aaron
Bond and
Samantha J.
Blevins
Its purpose is
to combine
system
thinking with
social learning
to understand
the topic
High High
Choudhury, T.K., John, K.
2019. Impacts of challenging
life experiences on
professional development in
graduate trainees. Journal of
Psychotherapy
Integration. 29(2). p.108.
Tabina K
Chaudhary
and Kendall
John
Its purpose is
to investigate
the linkage of
life
experiences
with
professional
development
High High
Davies, K., Curtin, M., 2017.
Impact of an international
workplace learning placement
on personal and professional
development. Australian
Occupational Therapy
Journal, 64(2), pp.121-128.
Kerryn Davis
and Michael
Curtin
Its purpose is
to explain the
workplace
learning at
international
level for
professional
development
Moderate Moderate
Xerri, D., 2017. Teachers' use
of social networking sites for
continuing professional
development. In Educational
Leadership and
Administration: Concepts,
Methodologies, Tools, and
Applications (pp. 635-659).
IGI Global.
Daniel Xerri Its purpose is
to demonstrate
the use of
social
networking
sites in
education
sector
Low Low
Dunn, R.J. and Doolittle,
S.A., 2020. Professional
development for teaching
Robbin J.
Dunn and
Sarah A.
Its purpose is
to describe the
need for social
Moderate Low
4

personal and social
responsibility: Past, present,
and future. Journal of
Teaching in Physical
Education, 39(3), pp.347-356.
Doolitte responsibility
in professional
development
References:
Bond, M.A. and Blevins, S.J., 2020. Using faculty professional development to foster
organizational change: A social learning framework. TechTrends. 64(2). pp.229-237.
Davies, K., Curtin, M., 2017. Impact of an international workplace learning placement on
personal and professional development. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 64(2),
pp.121-128.
Dunn, R.J. and Doolittle, S.A., 2020. Professional development for teaching personal and social
responsibility: Past, present, and future. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 39(3),
pp.347-356.
Hildebrand, J., 2018. Bridging the gap: A training module in personal and professional
development. Routledge.
Trorey, G. and Cullingford, C., 2017. Professional development and institutional needs. Taylor
& Francis.
5