Personal Learning Journal  Details of Task: Reflection is the individual equivalent of review and evaluation and is an essential component of the learning process. The subject has a considerable app

  Personal Learning Journal 

Details of Task: Reflection is the individual equivalent of review and evaluation and is an essential component of the learning process. The subject has a considerable applied component which requires students to trial  and practice theories, ideas and tools learned in class and on-line. This assessment takes this one step further. Students are required to select one topic from the material in weeks one to four and reflect on how this topic impacted their life, career, studies and personal or professional relationships. The assignment should discuss personal learning experiences based on topics covered in weeks one to four. They should not include what was discussed in class, but how these topics relate to previous learning, such as work or childhood experiences. The topics that students may choose from include: Flow Engagement Bias and stereotypes Strengths (limit it to your top three) - do not discuss weaknesses One of the four components of HERO - Hope, Self-efficacy, Resilience or Optimism Appreciative focus - learning from success The learning journal should consist of the following sections:      1. Your Learning experience (1000 words) Choosing a topic, write a story about what happened in your life and how the topic you have chosen (see above) relates to this event. While you can structure the journal as best suits the event, you might like to include the following in the learning experience, these are not headings just something you might like to weave into your story: ● Give your experience a name ● When did it happen? e.g. month / year ● A description of the event, your personal learning and the situation / context ● Your actions and reactions ● What did you learn from the event as a result? BEX5604 Professional development - Semester 2 (S2-01) - 2019 11 ● What did you learn from the event as a result? ● Tie the event into the academic literature, how does it align with what the researchers say about the topic? As you write it up you may want to write about the event and then discuss the literature separately, tying the literature to the event in a separate paragraph. Alternatively, you might like to combine the literature with the discussion of your event, highlighting where your life event supports or contradicts the research. Include at least eight (8) academic references in your discussion. Start with the readings from the reading list but make certain you go beyond these readings in your literature search. Please use academic articles, not websites and do not reference the lectures. Do not use topics from other subjects in your discussion, stick with the content from this subject. You might like to aim for 300-400 words for your story and the remainder to discuss how the story fits in with the academic research on the topic area. This section answers the ‘who’; you obviously and anyone else that is in your story, the ‘what’, specifically what topic you have chosen for your journal and lastly, the ‘why’, the impact that this event had that made you realise you needed to shift or address. The impact of the event can be either positive or negative. Your story may be about something that went well, that you want to use or see more of in your life, or something that showed clearly how you needed to change. Our preference is that you choose a positive event, however if you have a negative event that you deem as offering more value to your future, use it.      2. Vision for the future (500 words) Based on your learnings in the previous section, describe your best possible life in some detail at a future point in time. You might like to use a 12 month period or a little further out, up to a maximum of three years. Try and sit back and dream about what your future would look like with these changes in place, or you may have already identified where you will be. Have some fun putting this into words. Make sure you discuss how your chosen topic impacts upon your future success. Discuss not only your career but your life as a whole. This section answers the ‘where’ question, such as a country, or business sector.      3. Action Plan (500 words)  In this section you must outline how you will go about developing / bridging the identified areas for growth in sections one and two. The action plan should highlight what you expect to achieve, time frames, how you will assess your improvements and the necessary resources you will need to get you there. Where necessary the plan should be supported by appropriate literature and use of selfassessment tools and diagnostics (e.g. – the articles and self-assessment resources available on Moodle). This section answers the ‘how’ and ‘when’ questions. Specifically, what will you do to accomplish your goals and when will you have completed it. The when is important as it is likely that you will have subsections of tasks that you need to do to accomplish your overall goal. Consider using S.M. A.R.T. goals in this section (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based). Using a table works well for your Action Plan which outlines the goals and specific actions you will take by specific dates. Use landscape mode for your table so it is easier to mark.