Reflecting on Skills: A Personal and Professional Development Report

This report is a reflective analysis of a personal and professional development experience, specifically a skill improvement campaign. The author utilizes Gibbs' reflective cycle to systematically examine the experience, including descriptions, feelings, evaluations, and analyses of the campaign's impact. The report details the skills enhanced, such as communication, research, and time management, while also identifying areas for improvement, like written communication and ICT skills. The author reflects on the campaign's strengths and weaknesses, including the need for more practical application and improved team-working skills. A concluding action plan outlines steps for future skill development, emphasizing practical implementation and the development of skills needed for personal and professional growth. The report highlights the importance of continuous learning and self-assessment for achieving individual and professional goals.

PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
GIBBS’ REFLECTIVE CYCLE.....................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Reflective writing is basically an analytical a piece of writing where the writer explores a
real or an imaginary event or an experience and adds personal reflection in its meaning. There is
an integration of feelings and emotions of writer in the complete writing rather than making it
descriptive (Asfeldt, Hvenegaard and Purc-Stephenson, 2018). The purpose of this report is to
reflect on the experience where the skills of an individual are enhanced and the ways in which
they are developed. The complete report used the Gibbs’ reflective cycle which has sic phases
which helps in describing the experience systematically. It is basically a detailed framework
which helps in examining experiences and its cyclic nature also helps in repeated experiences
and also allows us to learn and plan the things that were good as well as bad which must be
improved in further works for personal and professional development. The report overall
expressed the need for developing the new skills and enhancing the existing skills for developing
the person personally and professionally.
GIBBS’ REFLECTIVE CYCLE
Description
I have attended the skill improvement campaign that has supported my skills
improvement and development. This campaign has guided me to boost my existing skills along
with developing new skills to enhance my overall capabilities of performing operations. I also
carried certain skills like verbal communication skill, research skill, time management skill and
at some level problem solving skill. All these skills I carried has allowed me in performing my
operations in the best way possible. Some skills I am not good at are written communication,
ICT skill, self-management skill and some other skills. The skill development campaign I
attended has guided me in improving the overall personality of mine (Design, Allen and Wolf,
2019). This campaign has guided me to boost my existing skills along with it supported various
techniuques that can develop my new skills so that overall development of my personality can be
conducted. Different strategies suggested that can drive the improvement in my overall
personality. We are also suggested evaluation techniques to assess the growth and development
in my existing skills and new skills I am going to acquire as a result of this skill development
campaign.
3

Feelings
I have a feeling that this skill development campaign would guide me in developing my
overall potential. Skills play vital role in boosting the growth as an individual. I feel also the
strategies and tactics that are suggested in the skill development campaign I attended would
guide me in right direction towards improving the overall personality. Tactics that are suggested
to develop skills such as communication skill, ICT and other relevant skills will be beneficial for
me in achieving the best level of personality development (O'Brien and at.al., 2020). I also feel
that this campaign is a right way to develop the personality as it just not focuses over developing
new skills in an individual along with it also guide to boost the existing skills an individual
possess. Skills denoted as the potential of a human being in performing various operations. I feel
like this campaign is a much needed campaign for all professionals and students to improve the
career and academic growth and also in regard to development of the overall personality as an
individual.
Evaluation
I have evaluated that this campaign I attended is an effective as it focuses on the overall
growth of the personality of an individual. The experience of the skill development was both
good and bad. I experienced good things as well bad things. We were introduced about the
sessions to be conducted in the training program at the initial stage of the program. I also
evaluated that we were clear about the timing of all session that made us ready for the entire
campaign. Some bad experience I have done was that some of our issues remain unsolved due to
resilience approach of management. In the end one conclusive session could also have been
taken to project all key points associated with the entire training session.
Analysis
After attending the skill development campaign, I analysed that I have improved my
certain skills which I can use in my life to prove myself better (Tawanwongsri and Phenwan,
2019). I realized that I am now able to write all my feelings and opinions in much better way
which I was not able to earlier. I was weak at expressing my ideas in the written form. I also
realized that my ICT skills are also boosted up and this was realized when I started writing on the
4

computer rather than on a piece of paper, I was able to type my feelings but I was not able to
resolve all the problems which I faced during this. This shows some inefficiency in
implementation of the campaign. This could be improved by integrating practical knowledge
along with theoretical one which can help the individual to practically analyse the situation
before actual implementation (Sweet and et.al.,2019). The good thing in all the sessions was that
our existing skills were firstly tested, then the new skills were taught to us. this made easy for us
to brush up our existing knowledge and to develop the new one. I also realized during the
campaign that my self-management skills are also enhanced through this campaign as whenever
I faced any issues during that, I strived hard to solve it on my own then at last I asked my mentor
to teach me the ways to solve it (Wareing, 2017). I never at once believe in asking something to
others rather I try to implement it so that I can learn on my own.
Conclusion
I learned that whenever such programmes whose aim is like enhancing the skills,
changing the behaviour where human values are integrated, there must be everything which can
be practically imagined. Along with the delivery of theoretical knowledge, the tutor must give
the opportunity to the students so that they can try the teaching practically and come to know
about various issues they can face in the future while using those skills (Wain, 2017). I also
learned that I am weak at making the decisions even so my decision-making skills must be
enhanced and the campaign must implement in a practical way by considering different
situations. I also concluded that I felt myself weak at coordinating with others which made me
feel excluded. This made me realize that I am weak at my team working skills so I must give the
suggestion in the campaign that I must be taught about the 5 stages of team development i.e.,
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning which are evaluated by Brue
Tuckman in his theory of Team development (Sekarwinahyu and et.al., 2019).
Action Plan
If I get a chance to attend such campaigns in upcoming time, I would not be completely
depended on the tutor rather I must make my move. I could implement the things practically
after the campaign instead of waiting for tutors to force us to gain practical knowledge. I could
have implemented thins on my own and then go to the tutor regarding the issues faced by me and
5

ways in which I can resolve them. I will also try to learn the numeracy, academic skills and the
team working skills which I think are needed in every phase of life so that I can work
collaboratively with others to achieve certain goals pod personal and professional development.
CONCLUSION
Therefore, the above report was a reflective writing which helped me to share my
experience of enhancing my skills. The views were expressed in the form of Gibbs’ reflective
cycle in which the six phases helped me to experience my learning in a step wise manner and
also helped me to segregate my views. It was overall a good experience which taught me the best
things and also made me realize about my weaker areas which must be developed in order to
develop me personally and professionally.
6

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Asfeldt, M., Hvenegaard, G. and Purc-Stephenson, R., 2018. Group writing, reflection, and
discovery: A model for enhancing learning on wilderness educational
expeditions. Journal of Experiential Education. 41(3). pp.241-260.
Design, A. I. S., Allen, B. and Wolf, A., 2019. Panel T20-P03 Session.
O'Brien, J and et.al., 2020. Multisensory perception, verbal, visuo-spatial and motor working
memory modulation after a single open-or closed-skill exercise session in
children. bioRxiv.
Sekarwinahyu, M. and et.al., 2019, February. Development of problem based learning for online
tutorial program in plant development using Gibbs’ reflective cycle and e-portfolio to
enhance reflective thinking skills. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1157,
No. 2, p. 022099). IOP Publishing.
Sweet, L. and et.al.,2019. Developing reflective capacities in midwifery students: Enhancing
learning through reflective writing. Women and Birth. 32(2). pp.119-126.
Tawanwongsri, W. and Phenwan, T., 2019. Reflective and feedback performances on Thai
medical students’ patient history-taking skills. BMC medical education. 19(1). p.141.
Wain, A., 2017. Learning through reflection. British Journal of Midwifery. 25(10). pp.662-666.
Wareing, M., 2017. Me, my, more, must: a values-based model of reflection. Reflective
Practice. 18(2). pp.268-279.
7

8