Personal Development Plan that Would Help in Studies - Scholarship Essay Example

Personal Development Planning Assignment This paper is a personal development plan that would help me in my studies by developing key skills that I need to succeed, not only at school but later on at work. There are three parts: Time Management, Learning Styles, and Performance in Seminars. Time Management (750 words) The first part is on time management, what it is, why it is important, and what I must do to improve my skills on this aspect. I include a time management diary that I analyse for the purpose of learning important lessons for self-improvement. Time management refers to the knowledge and skills that one should have in order to do as much as possible in the limited amount of time that I have in one day. There are only 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, and like most students I want to do many things like enjoy my life whilst I learn and do well in my studies. If I do not manage time very well, I will not achieve both, and I put my long-term goals and objectives in danger. The starting point of time management is having clear goals in life. I would like to begin my personal strategic analysis by defining my personal mission and vision statements and the core values that guide me in life. I define my Mission as the basic purpose for why I think I exist. I define my Vision as my aspiration in life, what I want to achieve in the future. I define my Core Values as the standards of personal and professional behaviour that will guide me in realising my mission and attaining my vision (Cottrell 12). I believe that without a clear direction of where I want to go, why I want to go there, and the basic rules that will guide me in this journey of my life, it will be difficult for me to reach my destination, much less know how I will get there (Maxwell 168). I always try to find a reason for everything I do, and in this story of my life, I feel that I have a specific mission that it is my purpose, my destiny that is mine alone to fulfil. What is my specific Mission I can summarise my Mission Statement as follows: "I want to improve the lives of people by helping them achieve greater material security and comfort so they can fulfil what they realise as their purpose in life." If this is my purpose, how and what do I see myself doing in the future What is my vision My vision is to be one of the best professionals in the world in whatever it is I decide to do. I have many interests, and I think it would be too early to be too specific. At this stage, I aim to be good in what I do, and for this I need to learn how to manage my time well. The first step is to have a clear set of priorities so that when there is a conflict between two or more activities, I would do whichever is more important according to the priorities that I have. My list of priorities in descending order of importance is: Family, Studies, Friends, and Personal Interests. My family is first because I owe them everything I have and that I want to be. It is good that my family is supporting me to be a good student and a good person, so there are not too many conflicts between my family and the others in the list. My Studies are in second place, and although it is difficult, I am giving it more importance than my own interests or the requests that my friends make on me. I know that my studies would prepare me to face more challenges in the future and to succeed when I face problems and difficulties. My friends are in third place. When their different demands conflict with each other, I know how I would decide. A schedule or weekly log would help me. In Table 1, I show a sample weekly log of how I spend each day. The log contains an analysis of things that could be improved from one week to the next. I look at this log every weekend and analyse my activities for the week so that I would know how to improve myself in the way I manage my time. I also need to improve the way I learn so that I can do my activities efficiently and avoid wasting my time by learning as much as I can from tutorials, seminars, lectures, readings and discussions. This is why knowing how I learn, which I discuss next, is important to manage time and succeed. Learning Styles (750 words) The second part looks at my learning styles and includes an analysis of how I learn. This part also contains an analysis of my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) that are summarised in a skills audit, which is important if I am to make use of my strengths to overcome my weaknesses and if I want to rid myself successfully of my bad habits. My personal learning style or the way I learn best (Coffield et al. 14-15), based on my personal experience, is by doing, which means I learn best when I go over my mind several examples of how the lesson is applied and knowing how to do things on my own. I have always been independent in learning, and this is a difficulty that others find when they deal with me, because I think fast and arrive at conclusions ahead of many others. This is also why I have to learn how to work in groups and with others. I am also impatient when it comes to waiting for others to reach the same conclusions that I have reached. It happens very often that I already know the lesson, or what the professor is trying to say, and the others in the class continue asking questions to clarify what was just said. Of course, at times I can be rude, and this is something I need to change. Or sometimes I react by not saying anything and looking dumb, when what is already happening in my mind is that I am looking for ways to apply what I learned into my life. I want to always read ahead of the class, not because I want to show others that I know more than them, but because I want to know what I could not understand so I can ask the professor or tutor when the proper time comes. When I listen to the lectures, what happens is that doubts in my mind are clarified, and by the time the lecture ends, I already know the subject taken up. Sometimes, I have some questions but often, I am already working on applications and integrating the whole lesson with the earlier ones. I also learn best when I see diagrams on the board or on slides by lecturers. The more colourful the slides are, the better they register in my mind, and it helps me keep images in my memory so I could get them when I need them. My mind is full of coloured images of concepts. I also know when the lecturer is prepared or not. Good lecturers know when students are understanding what they are talking about, and poor professors want to listen only to themselves and do not care whether students learn or not. I am lucky that most of my professors are good, so we learn a lot or do not get bored when we attend lectures. I love listening to lectures by good professors who open my mind to what they know. I remember one who is so good that I looked forward to attending every class, and every moment I can get I would even attend a lecture because it was so interesting. I hope other professors can be like him. Most of his students love attending his lectures even if he is very demanding. Knowing myself gives me an advantage in learning and, I hope, in my future professional work. I made a skills and mission audit to look at my strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats that I would face in the course of my studies (Felder & Brent 57-58). I summarise them in Table 2. The strengths and weaknesses are the things I have inside me, good and bad habits that I have. I could use the good habits to get rid of the bad ones, an in this way I can improve myself. The opportunities and threats are those that I have outside of myself, the good and bad things that could happen to either encourage or stop me from achieving my goals. I am strong in self-motivation but weak in working and being patient with others. I need to improve on this point by improving my social skills. My greatest opportunity is to work in my dream company (secret for now), and my greatest threat is being a "study-holic." This is why I am devoting some time to be with family and friends, but this is easier said than done. My tutor can help. Performance in Seminars (750 words) The third part looks at how I could improve my performance in seminars and considers the difficulties and problems that I would face and how I would overcome them. Knowing my skills set and personal weaknesses would give me an advantage of the areas where I can face potential difficulties so that I can start preparing myself for them. I need to develop eight academic skills as a university student: (1) How to get reliable and useful data (2) Gaining new insights from data and observations (3) Critical analysis (4) Scientific reasoning (5) Logic and mental discipline (6) Sharing what I know (7) Working with and getting things done through others, and (8) Using time well so I can balance what I want with what I can do. These eight basic academic skills are tools I need to attain the higher level goals that are the purpose for my being in the university. These skills would help develop seven 'transferable' skills that are useful for me not only in my studies but in my life: (1) Oral and written communication (2) Ability to improve my learning and performance (3) Analysing problems and coming up with solutions (4) Working with and getting things done through others (5) Data analysis, and (6) Using computers, electronic databases, and analysis software. My goal to be a good professional starts by being a good student, and mastering these skills would help me be more independent and responsible, two qualities I need in my studies and in my personal and work life. Independence means learning as much as I could on my own or with the help of others like the tutors who want to help students like me. Responsibility means knowing what I have to do, when, and according to high standards I set for myself. It also means taking charge of what I do with the resources I could legitimately and ethically use to get things done and accepting mistakes when I commit them. As I develop independence and responsibility and master the academic skills, I would hopefully develop the three attributes that I need to perform well in my seminars: (1) Self awareness (2) Performance, and (3) Creativity and Ethical behaviour. Self-awareness means knowing my self better and accepting my self, knowing my strong points so I learn to use them and my weak points so I can overcome them. If I achieve this, I can be more confident, learn to respect and manage myself in my studies, and develop self-esteem, because knowing who I am is important if I want to express myself and understand others better. Performance means knowing my profession well so I can succeed, and includes having a broad and open mind, ready to learn from personal experience and learning from others who know more like professors and tutors. I have many things to learn, and I have to work with others and depend on them to get things done. Creativity means coming up with new solutions to problems, and contributing to what others know. Learning how I and the others learn, I could develop new ways of understanding and solving problems. I can also teach others new things or how to solve problems in different ways. Ethical behaviour means knowing the ethical (right or wrong) and moral (good or bad) ways of thinking and acting. Ethical and moral rules will guide me if I learn to follow them. I see these rules not as boundaries to limit what I can do, but as roads to guide me through the challenges in life. I am in the university to prepare myself for work and life. Developing these academic skills and attributes are important steps I have to take if I want to succeed. Knowing where I want to go, I need to know where I am right now so I can plan my path towards the future. I need to improve myself in doing research, analysing and presenting information, and communication. I also need to improve at teamwork, working with others, managing my time, and in the use of computers. I need to develop critical analysis so I can choose the right information. There is too much information in libraries and the Internet, so I need to learn how to assess the reliability of my sources such as journals, databases, articles, and surveys. Table 3 summarises my Learning Development Plan using the OGSM format. I hope to develop these skills during group work and in discussions with my tutor. Works Cited Coffield, F., D. Moseley, E. Hall & K. Ecclestone. Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16 Learning. A Systematic and Critical Review. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre, 2004. Cottrell, S. Skills for Success: The Personal Development Planning Handbook. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Felder, R.M. & R. Brent. "Understanding Student Differences." Journal of Engineering Education 94.1 (2005): 57-72. Maxwell, J. C. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1998. Tables Table 1: Sample Weekly Log Hours Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1-2 Rise and breakfast 2-3 Lectures and Seminars Research Work Free Time with Family 3-4 4-5 Library Research/Group Discussions 5-6 6-7 7-8 LUNCH BREAK 8-9 Group Discussions/Tutorials Group Work or Tutorials Sports 9-10 10-11 Lectures 11-12 Study Period 12-13 13-14 DINNER 14-15 Study Period Free Time with Friends Free Time 15-16 16-17 17-24 SLEEP Analysis for the Week (12-18 November 2007) Hectic week preparing several papers and group discussions. Fell behind in readings because of delays in gathering materials. I should get materials ready in advance so the group does not waste time. Friend's birthday party on Thursday destroyed my schedule so had to make up by missing research work on Saturday to catch up. Also missed party Saturday night to finish two papers. Lost sleep Friday and Sunday. Should finish studies ahead so this does not happen as I am sleepy the whole of next day. Table 2: Skills Audit Strengths Weaknesses Computer-literate Good at numbers Leadership skills Able to work hard Good manners Loyal to those good to me Responsible in meeting deadlines Dependability Courage and discipline Ambition to be professionally competent Must improve listening to and working with others (Team work) Impatient to get things done Impatient under extreme pressure Lack of Concern for others I have no business with Sense of initiative needs improvement Indecisiveness with some matters Pessimistic and always thinking of worst case scenario Too tactful with others: I say what is in my mind Opportunities Threats Working in my dream company (secret) Apprenticeship at a nearby firm Consult good professors and tutors Career opportunities are growing in my profession Economy is improving Social activities already affecting my studies Relatives and friends who visit during my study period Poor health and sickness if I lose sleep from having too many social activities Friends who like dangerous activities like extreme sports Getting a poor professor or tutor in the future Temptation to do something unethical Table 3: Learning Development Plan Read More