Personal and Professional Growth: Reflective Report & Action Plan

This report is a reflective analysis of personal and professional development, employing Gibb's reflective cycle to assess the impact of university experiences on employability skills. It covers key stages: Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, and Action Plan. The reflection ...Read More

Personal and
Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENECES:.............................................................................................................................4
Books and Journals.................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Employability refers to the characteristics and qualities of an individual which make them
capable for securing and succeeding in their employment. Personal development and taking
responsibility for own actions are an important part of gaining success during academic and
professional life (Lejeune, Beausaert and Raemdonck, 2021). This can be done by completing a
self-reflection on past skills. Constructing aa detailed personal and professional development
plan helps individuals improve their employability. This is a reflective report in which the Gibb's
reflective cycle is applied to identify the role of past experiences in attending University and in
particular this module have affected development of personal employability skills.
MAIN BODY
Gibbs reflection model is one of the most useful tool that is used by the individuals to reflect the
cyclic model through six stages which is dependent on the experience of the individual. This
model was proposed by Graham Gibbs in the year 1988 in order to give a structure to the
learning that is derived from the experiences. This model briefly covers the examination of the
experiences that are covered by the individual which will help me in learning several aspects and
further planning accordingly (Ardian and et. al., 2019). Further the Gibbs Reflection Model is
being applied to my experience of learning in the university below by covering the six major
steps:
 Description- This is one of the foremost step which covers the basic information of the
whole situation and experience that I have gone through. This experience happened
during my graduation studies in the university. During the time I was studying in the
university I expected to learn several skills, knowledge and experience that will be
helpful for me in my academic and professional life. The result of the experience of the
learning was positive as I developed several skills and gained knowledge about several
topics in the university (Hamilton and et. al., 2020). Overall the whole experience of
learning in the university was helpful for me to developing and achieving several
personal objectives. This experience of learning will help me in my employability
process as well.
 Feelings- This is one of the basic step in which my feelings towards the whole
experience will be discussed. While I was studying in the university I got exposure to
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several opportunities which was helpful for me to learn several types of skills such as
communication skills where I developed both my verbal as well as written
communication techniques (Khan, 2019). Further several skills such as research, usage of
ICTs, teamwork, networking, time management and problem solving skills were
developed during my learning experience to which I feel that all these skills are helpful
for me to develop and grow in long term prospects. The thoughts about the experience
was overall positive which helped me develop my personal attributes. Evaluation- During my learning experience I used several approaches of learning to learn
different skills and knowledge. The things that went well while I was learning and
developing skills was that I got into a schedule which is helpful for me. The
communication skills that I learnt in the university was highly time consuming which was
the negative aspect in the whole process. The positive part of developing verbal and
written communication skills is that it is helpful in the professional life. This skill was
also helpful in establishing clarity in my academic life. Further the research skills is one
of the most common skill that I have used during my study in the university which is
helpful for me to research about several topics that are related to the area of interests. The
good part of the whole experience was that I was able to develop several skills during my
learning process which constituted a lot in my personal development process. My
contribution to the situation was that I dedicated time to learn every skill which helped
me in mastering each of the skills taught in the university.
 Analysis- Analysis is a major step in which the individual analyze the situation and
learning that they experienced. This part briefly covers the things that went and did not
went well during the whole situation. Through above situation and experience I analyzed
that the whole situation was constituted in my personal development plan. The personal
development plan was made by the university by ensuring that I make a good fit in the
industry in which I am looking to make my career in. In the earlier stages I was focused
towards the information that is derived in the whole experience process but in this
process my major focus was to extract some meaning out of the whole situation. The
above situation of learning in the university helped me gain a whole lot of information
about the industry (Rimmer, 2018). I developed some life changing skills through the
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process which I will be using during lifetime in order to increase effectiveness and
productivity in the quality of work that I do. Conclusion- This part is the second last component of my reflection in which I will
conclude the things that I have experienced during the whole situation. The reflection of
the whole situation is concluded along with the areas in which I have mastered and the
skills that I still need to work on in order to ensure employability. From the above
reflection and several steps it can be concluded that I learnt various skills such as
communication skills, usage of ICTs, research skills, teamwork, networking,
management and problem solving skills. Though I was exposed to learning all of these
skills but still I was unable to master few of these skills which are necessary in my
professional life and therefore I must develop these skills so that I can make progress in
my academic and professional life. The support of achieving decision making and
management skills is that after this experience I was able to deal with several situations
that are related with the different models. I was able to solve maximum of the case
studies which included the decision making process which proved that I have gained a
good command over this skill. The communication skills was my major area in which I
mastered during my learning process (Adeani and et. al., 2020). The major evidence of
mastering the communication skill was that I was able to communicate well with my
classmates and team members. My communication skills also helped me in well
establishing the ideas and strategies in my profession life which will constitute to my
overall personal development plan.
 Action plan-
Skills Time
period
Action plan Evaluation parameters
ICT skills 8 months The most effective way of
improving ICT is to take part
in online courses on video
digital tools in order to learn the
best way of utilising these tools
to communicate information in a
professional setting
The parameters for evaluating the
development in ICT skill is the
ability to effectively utilise digital
tools to communicate information in
present visual data in attractive and
easy to understandable manners. In
sddition to this the ability to quickly
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(Morariu, 2019). This not only
provides that knowledge but
also helps gain the credentials
for showcasing the proficiency
in ICT knowledge to potential
employers.
adapt to using new technologies is
another measurement parameter for
improvement in this skill.
Research
Skills
3 months The best way for improving
research skill is to learn about
the usage of CRAPP tool. This
all helps find the most authentic
reliable and useful sources for
conducting research in an
academic or professional
environment (Small, Shacklock
and Marchant, 2018). In
addition to this the usage of this
tool helps maintain academic
integrity which is also beneficial
power professional growth and
success.
The Evaluation parameter force
improvement in personal research
skill is the ability to develop
coherent and professional research
with accurate sources in a quick
manner. In addition to this the
ability to find authentic and reliable
resources on various topics to
conduct research is another
measurement criteria for the
development of this skill.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that Gibb’s reflective cycle is one of the most
effective tools for conducting reflection and past experiences in gaining knowledge from them.
Every stage of the reflective cycle helps an individual learn about their personal cell by
understanding the negative and positive aspects of different experiences. this cycle can be used
for personal and professional development and it not only covers you don't mind the strengths
and weaknesses open individual but also help individual develop an action plan to take
immediate action for personal and professional development. This reflective cycle can be used to
take action towards employability.
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REFERENECES:
Books and Journals
Adeani, I.S., and et. al., 2020. USING GIBBS’REFLECTIVE CYCLE IN MAKING
REFLECTIONS OF LITERARY ANALYSIS. Indonesian EFL Journal, 6(2), pp.139-
148.
Ardian, P., and et. al., 2019. Correlation between implementation case reflection discussion
based on the Graham Gibbs Cycle and nurses’ critical thinking skills. Enfermeria
clinica, 29, pp.588-593.
Hamilton, E., and et. al., 2020. The use of reflection tools to build personal models of problem-
solving. In Foundations for the future in mathematics education (pp. 349-366).
Routledge.
Khan, 2019. M.Y., PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
Lejeune, C., Beausaert, S. and Raemdonck, I., 2021. The impact on employees’ job performance
of exercising self-directed learning within personal development plan practice. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(5). pp.1086-1112.
Morariu, I. M., 2019. Philosophical counselling and personal development in the contemporary
world. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 18(53). pp.171-175.
Rimmer, A., 2018. How do I prepare a personal development plan?. Bmj, 363.
Small, L., Shacklock, K. and Marchant, T., 2018. Employability: A contemporary review for
higher education stakeholders. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 70(1).
pp.148-166.
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