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SELF AWARENESS AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT Week 3 STARTER 1) In pairs think about a situation that you have been in recently that didn’t go how you wanted it to or where you learnt something about yourself. What was the situation? 2) What did you learn about yourself? 3) What can you do better next time? REFLECTION You have just reflected ie looked back at an event and asked questions (retrospection) You have also looked forwards and asked questions (prospection) Using reflection of either sort (retrospective or prospective) or preferably in combination helps us learn Doing this as a matter of course is reflective practice and is vital not only to academic success but also career success LEARNING OUTCOMES Identify different levels of reflective writing Define and evaluate the importance of self awareness Critically review techniques of self development REFLECTION CONTINUED Reflection is self assessment of practice/competence in a given situation Being reflective means looking for learning points within the scenario It develops this further by identifying learning/development needs Then action planning how they can be fulfilled REFLECTIVE WRITING EXERCISE In small groups: Read Jenny Moon’s reflective writing framework Read the 3 scenarios Discuss and agree the level of reflection in each of the scenarios using the framework. Give reasons for your answers. REFLECTIVE WRITING FOR ASSIGNMENTS When writing reflectively you need to use the first person (I) This does not mean that you don’t have to reference literature It means when referencing what the literature says you need to comment on if it describes your experience and if so why and if not why not REFLECTIVE LOG Writing encourages reflection as: It is an active process that helps organise thoughts It is revealing It encourages self-dialogue There is a tendency to be honest It encourages commitment It is the link between emotions and learning You should have already started HOW RELEVANT IS REFLECTION IN THE WORKPLACE? “These days what managers desperately need is to stop and think – to step back and reflect on their experiences” (Gosling and Minzberg 2003*) If you feel that you need to develop your reflective writing try this basic on line tutorial: http://intralibrary.rlocetl.ac.uk:8080/intralibrary/open_virtual_file_path/i1026n2 4186t/reflective_writing/reflective_writing.html For something more in depth read more of Jenny Moon’s work: http://www.cemp.ac.uk/downloads/resourcesforreflectivelearni ng.doc WHAT IS ‘THE SELF’? o Self defined in terms of the self-concept; 2 aspects: Personal identity = defines self in terms of unique personal attributes or interpersonal relationships Social identity = defines self in terms of group membership Self-esteem = our positive and negative evaluations of the self concept HIGGINS (1987) SUGGESTS THAT WE HAVE 3 ‘SELFS’* 1) Actual Self – how we currently are 2) Ideal Self – how we would like to be 3) ‘Ought’ self – how we think we should be Large discrepancies between actual self and ought/ideal self motivate change Failure to reduce discrepancy can lead to negative emotions *Higgins, E.T. (1987) Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychology Review, 94 319-340 COOLEY ON HOW WE COME TO KNOW THE SELF Looking Glass Self (1998)* Cooley’s theory acknowledges the importance of other people in our concept of self Stresses the extent to which our self-definition is dependent upon others’ evaluation and feedback *Cooley, C.H. (1998) On Self and Social Organisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press HOW DO WE COME TO KNOW THE SELF? Self-perception (Bem, 1972*) Observing our own behaviour (reflection) Highlights the existence of an ego defence system, egocentricity Eg in judging our own behaviour we tend to rate our contributions as being more important then anyone else’s * Bem, D (1972) Self perception theory. In L Berkowitz (Ed) Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol 6) 2-57 GROUP WORK In small groups research and present your responses to the following: Why is self awareness important? What are the methods of developing self awareness? (NB: what have we done so far on this module, PDP, Management Capabilities) What are the strengths and drawbacks of the methods you have identified of developing self awareness SELF AWARENESS DEFINITION & BENEFITS Self awareness can be seen as awareness of your individuality Benefits: Know what you like/don’t like, strengths/weaknesses to make suitable chooses Aware of your likely behaviour response in certain situations Know how you learn best Improve strengths and develop Weaknesses Can help direct your career and Other important life choices METHODS OF SELF DEVELOPMENT SO FAR ON THIS MODULE Ads Disads Reflection Quick, available Single view point Psychometric tests Lots Credibility Different answers Construction issues Reading, on-line courses etc Self directed Easy to access Motivation No input from others Feedback Get another view point Can be bias, more/360 degree is better Critical Friend Challenges assumptions Concerns about how they see you Critical Incident analysis Gives evidence of certain Hard to be objective skills/behaviour Feedback analysis Useful insights Takes time, may not review LEARNING STYLES REFRESHER Honey and Mumford’s work based on Kolb’s learning cycle 4 styles: Activist, pragmatist, reflector and theorist If you can’t remember your style take a test: http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/pageassets/campai gns/nations/wales/hewales/herepresentation/honeymumfordlsq.pdf HOW DOES YOUR STYLE LIKE TO LEARN? Group together with others with a similar style Discuss and research how your learning style likes to learn What did your find out? You could include this in your assignment particularly when considering how to address a weakness/build on a strength LEARNING LOG QUESTIONS If you are finding it hard to get started try answering these questions: What happened? How did I react? What did I learn about myself? What would i do differently next time WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW Review the QAA requirements for study at Level 5 and 6 and consider the differences Identify academic strengths and weaknesses Consider ways to build on strengths and address weaknesses Reflect on your FD to do the above & tools we have used so far this year Create an action plan based on your findings to ensure successful academic progress to level 6 DONT FORGET TO INCLUDE THE REQUIREMENTS FROM THE LEARNING OUTCOMES IN YOUR REFLECTION eg the important of self awareness and a critical evaluation of techniques for improving it (pick a couple) Update your learning log and remember to hand it in next week On going: Act on your action plan and keep a note of outcomes (for assignment 4) NEXT SESSION Start to look at the 2nd assignment Visit from A&W and Brookes Career Service to discuss the ‘Milk Round’ and graduate study options