Personal and Professional Development: Skills and Kolb's Cycle

This report provides a comprehensive overview of personal and professional development, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and skill enhancement for career growth. It delves into essential employability and study skills, including communication, research, ICT usage, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving. The report also examines Kolb's reflective cycle, detailing its four stages (diverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating) and how they contribute to effective learning and skill development. It highlights how these skills and the reflective cycle can be applied to enhance individual capabilities and achieve long-term success. The report concludes by summarizing the significance of continuous skill development and the application of Kolb's cycle in achieving professional goals.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
The personal and professional development plan assist to make better learning so that
sustain growth is measured throughout a career. It is essential to make continuous learning under
which continuous advancement of skills and knowledge is increases by ensuring that safe,
continuous,legal, effective and continuous effort is induced with perfection (Choy and Chua,
2019). It is processed with the aim to manage own learning and belief over continuous period of
time. It is an endless process that processed with repetitive growth and by enriching these skills
working experience has drive while maintaining lead in terms of motivation, happiness, richer
and fullness etc. The report consist of reflection of employability and study skills through Kolb's
reflective cycle.
MAIN BODY
The employability and study skills enhance the probability of getting or developing
successful career with better employable. It is also being used to make suitable relation in
between personal development and study skills that has better contribution towards gaining more
success in future period of time. It basically includes different set of skills that is as furthermore
described below as:
Communication skills (Verbal and written): It is a skill in which ability to make and
transferred clear and transparent information or message is delivered. In support of this skill I
have processed effective communication by making effectual understanding about listening and
its fundamental prospect that urge to interact. It might have processed vocally, written, non-
verbal, body gesture, expressions and visually as well (Ciucci and et. al., 2018). It is much
essential as it intend to improvise quality of life and added professionalism within working
behaviour. In this I have tried to maintain eye contact, establish good vocabulary, listen
efficiently, represent my idea and belief clearly, write clear and concise manner that seek more
benefits. I have develop strong personal interrelationship which is important element while
managing or working within an organisation.
Research skills: It is a skill that enlarge an ability to find, collect, search, interpret,
analyse and evaluate certain set of information by making better evaluation of specified subject.
It is used to shape up future while analysing and knowing new information so that better
adaption and evaluation is processed. It is a skills that is more vital as it is used while making
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report writing, identification of customer need and demand, development of new product,
maintain an eye on competitor strategy, achieve better outcome and while keep updating with
technological advancement. It shows capability of mine that is I am able to suggest new concepts
and ideas that is adopted by business to make positive changes (Fedotova and et. al., 2018). I
have demonstrate this skill with support of dissertation, group projects, experiments and
assignment. It helps me develop SMART objectives through which modified structure is
achieved with perfection.
The use of ICTs: It stands for “information communication technology” and the usage of
digital technology consist of mobile phone, computer, send email, tablet, internet browser and
other platform as well. It basically involve spreadsheets, database, word processing, search
engine and power point presentation. It is usually associated with technical skills in which
analytical and creative skills is implied to complete certain activity. In this I have make
collective usage of diverse range of technological tools and technique that is used to process
communication. I have create, store, develop, disseminate and manage several information in
effective manner. In today's era everything is changes towards technological improvement thus if
I effectively learned communication technology.
Teamwork: It is a skills that sought to make effectual alteration within workplace in
which essential modification within professionalism is induced with perfection (Hildebrand,
2018). The employee advancement always allowed to get connect and collaborate with the
diverse workforce. It is resulted in strong team working in which both virtual and face to face
communication is processed. It is developed while working in group as it is an integral part of
internship through which various opportunity for developing suitable relationship is getting
advanced. In this I have enhance communication, time management, problem solving, listening,
critical thinking, leadership and collaboration skill is developed with continuity. It helped me to
intensify career advancement by making hands on learning experience, capstone project, group
work by which core values of professionalism is increases.
Time and self-management: In this skill strong time management is processed under
which each and every task is prioritise by avoiding distraction and maintaining clear focus on
completion of certain action (Makovec, 2018). It is more useful while achieving better heights
within workplace so that work is completed or meet with assigned period of time or at deadline. I
have worked for to complete all the task as on time by delegating all the rules and responsibility
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in appropriate mode. Thus I am able to make sustain control about my thoughts, actions and
feeling that assist to manage my skills with perfection. I will achieve all the suitable direction
with my work as by seeking all the opportunities that is developed from certain pathway. In
addition I have maintain clear focus on developing personal responsibility such as organisation,
self-awareness and motivation, accountability, stress management and goal setting.
Problem solving skills: In this I have manage all the difficult situations of workplace as
by analysing each and every prospect under which that redundancy has developed (Mashizume
and et. al., 2020). I have developed better assessment of situation and its solution under which
suitable decision-making is achieved with usefulness. In this ability of mine to determine various
situation is identified by enhancing active listening, creativity, dependability, team building,
analysis, communication, decision-making etc. It is more essential for career development as
under this job specification and technical abilities is increases.
Kolb's reflective cycle: It is a model that is referred to “experimental learning” in which
an individual has experienced, reviewed, evaluate, analyse each and every stage of cycle in
systematic manner. It is a cycle that was established by David Kolb in 1984 and basically
involve four stages such as observation, abstract, active experimentation and conceptualisation. It
is used to develop effective learning as by working on continuous process or in cyclic format.
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(Source: Kolb's learning styles and experimental learning cycle, 2017)
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Diverging: It is a stage in which learning is processed with better dependency as while
processing the concept with feeling, analysing and watching each and every prospect. It is
usually based in between two basis such as concrete and reflective observation. Thus it is
processed while maintaining clear focus and concern on different situations through which
suitable outcome is achieved with perfection. In this new experience is encountered in new
situation as while reinterpretation of learning and existing experience (Prestridge, 2019). It is
even more helpful while resolving various complex conditions by ensuring that perfect balance is
maintained. It is suitable for development of research skills in which better knowledge is
interpreted of certain topic.
Assimilating: At this stage of learning logical fragmentation is progressed as while
involving parallel support of different ideas, concepts and thoughts. It is used toenhance working
criteria not by making appropriate judgement but by making clear explanation of suitable task. It
consist of enhancement of thinking abilities along with imaginative capabilities by which
working suitability is increases in suitable manner. At this stage brainstorming abilities of an
individual is developed that make everything more easy as in terms of knowledge development.
It is also known as reflective observation as by making new experiences. In this inconsistencies
is removed as from understanding and experience. In this problem solving and team work skill is
developed by making balanced in between daily activities.
Converging: It include abstract conceptualisation that provide adequate reflection in
between new idea and accurate modification that help to achieve effective learning. In this
practical involvement is induced with support of experimentation and conceptualisation. There is
different level and styles that improvise in ordinate mode (Salter and Rhodes, 2018). In this
stage information is processed within timely basis thus advances attractiveness in constraint
mode. In this ICT is getting advance and modifies and include various languages as like C, C++,
Java, Microsoft etc. In this ability to manage, accessibility, spreadsheets and probability of
optimised outcome is developed with adequacy.
Accommodating: It is a stage at where learning tend to be more practical in which
consideration of view point is most effective aspect. In this work is processed with active
experimentation that used to maintain focus on perfect balance. It is used to measure perfect
attribute in between feeling and doing by making logical interpretation. It is used to make time
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management and to enhance communication skills. As the learner applies all its ideas to advance
all its working standards in appropriate manner.
In support of learning cycle I have easily enhance my working capabilities and abilities
that helps to attain long term success and development over continuous period of time. In this
balanced effort is induced in which I have easily advances my working capabilities. In collective
format I have develop personal and professional development so that long terms benefits are
attained within certain period of instance.
CONCLUSION
It has been summarised from above report that personal and professional development is
processed with support of continuous advancement of skills, abilities, attribute, experience and
knowledge. It is used to achieve better heights in future period of time by which long term
sustainability is achieved with perfection. In this employability and study skill is increases with
support of Kolb's reflecting cycle so that learning is completed in rationale mode.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Choy, W.K. and Chua, P.M., 2019. Professional development. In School leadership and
educational change in Singapore (pp. 69-86). Springer, Cham.
Ciucci, E. and et. al., 2018, April. Personal and professional emotional characteristics of early
childhood teachers and their proneness to communicate with parents and colleagues
about children’s emotions. In Child & Youth Care Forum (Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 303-316).
Springer US.
Fedotova, O.S. and et. al., 2018. Empathy as a part of professional culture of the specialist. In
The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences (pp. 32-40).
Hildebrand, J., 2018. Bridging the gap: A training module in personal and professional
development. Routledge.
Makovec, D., 2018. The teacher’s role and professional development. International Journal of
Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education. 6(2). p.33.
Mashizume, Y. and et. al., 2020. Experiences within a cross-cultural academic exchange
programme and impacts on personal and professional development. British Journal of
Occupational Therapy, p.0308022620929887.
Prestridge, S., 2019. Categorising teachers’ use of social media for their professional learning: A
self-generating professional learning paradigm. Computers & Education. 129. pp.143-
158.
Salter, M. and Rhodes, P., 2018. On becoming a therapist: A narrative inquiry of personal–
professional development and the training of clinical psychologists. Australian
Psychologist. 53(6). pp.486-492.
ONLINE
Kolb's learning styles and experimental learning cycle, 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html>.
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