Reflective Journaling in Informal Education - Coursework Example

Reflective journaling (Informal Education) Working with people requires a background of learning, which inculcates a process of participation in a community as well as individual. Working with an individual has become a significant focus in the community or organizational development. This paper evaluates the process of working, with individuals, to achieve change with a focus on the environment where conversation can be facilitated as well as how to engage people to plan and commit the change. There are five elements, which can enable individuals to achieve change in a working process (Jeffs & Smith 1999). The first one is assessing what may be going on in the process in order to assert your role. The second element is engaging the individual in a conversation so that questions, as a third element, are raised. After that, the questions are considered in line with what is discerned as making life flourish. The last process is where the individual develops a response (Jeffs & Smith 1999). In order to work with individuals and make change possible, one will need to focus on the last element where the individual will respond to a situation and change its status. In order to have an individual make a response to a situation that he/she want to change, it is necessary to make use of Gerard Egan’s model of helping (1998). This model is skill focused and works in phases while providing guidance on helping individuals to discover, and making change possible. Engaging individual is paramount, and this process should be carried out in a calm environment so as to make change possible. The best way to engage an individual is through conversation, which would lead to planning and reflection. Egan analyses that planning goes on throughout the process of working and engaging the individual towards the intended change (1998, p.301). The conversations are facilitated in an environment which can be formally or informally organised. In a formal environment, one has to sit with the individual and map out actions. There are some advantages that can be attributed to planning with the individuals on where to carry out the conversation and learning. First, it will help the individual to be disciplined and prevent him/ her from being overwhelmed by the process of engagement. It will also provide means of developing better strategies as well as allowing for a deeper appreciation of both the obstacles and the final steps (Egan 1998, p.301). Where the conversation is arranged informally, the educator must pay close attention so that they select the best setting for the activity. This may also involve the individual in activities such as brainstorming, making a list of proceeding as well as suggesting frameworks for stimulating thinking. In this environment, the lead person should develop new understanding and the meaning of such new elements in terms of concrete activities and actualizing change. At work, involving other people is essential if results are to be attained. As is with individual, involved people will come up with plans in the process of their conversation. These could be in the form of inconsequential activities, which should be done to realise what has been talked about. Helping people to develop a response to a situation may involve such actions as; making a call, enquiring for some information and even talking to a friend on how the intended change is to be achieved. In this case, I use strategies for action where I explore the work to be done so as for people to translate priorities into accomplishments, which would lead to the solution of the problem (Egan 1998, p.29). Moreover, it will be essential to figure out the sorts of activities they want to undertake and see whether their goals are attainable. Therefore, possible ways will be explored, in conjunction with people, on how change can be attained by achieving goals. In this case, the simple question for the people will be; what they need to do in order to achieve the change they want. Quick and un-interrogated decisions will be self defeating, and they are characterised by situations where one tries something and fails at advanced stages (Jeffs & Smith 1999). To avoid this, carrying out simulations to people and letting them think of various ways of achieving goals is an essential step (Egan 1998, p.30). The other way of working with people to plan and commit to change is to choose the best strategies to attain the change. This involves working with them to select the strategy that suits them, their available resources, abilities, talents, temperaments, as well as their timetable. For this case, I usually try to avoid getting involved in creating divisive or partisan issues of proposed strategies and actions. Lastly, creating a successful plan detailing how people will accomplish their plans will be essential. This is usually carried out by them, and as their facilitator, I ensure that they do not come up with overly sophisticated plans which could be self defeating (Egan 1998, p.30). To ensure this comes out successfully, I usually challenge them to provide answers to what they think their campaign for constructive change look like and what they “need to do first, second and so on” (Egan 1998, p.272).  In this process of enabling individuals and people to plan and commit to change, keeping a journal becomes an essential undertaking. In most cases, there are strategies of working which are challenging, others successful and others unsuccessful. Keeping a journal is helpful for reference; considering that different situations will require different approaches (Jeffs & Smith 1999). It will be essential to have a record of common challenges and how they were overcome in some successful situations. Therefore, these facts will require recording so as for groups to refer and compare their cases. Keeping a journal, therefore, deepens my knowledge as I get to revisit the strategies which succeeded and those which failed. Using the records, I am able to give the best guide based on factual records on planning strategies, which can bring the intended change. The journals, therefore, not only work as a guide to students but also to me as their guide. Reference List Egan, K 1998, The Skilled Helper. A problem-management Approach to Helping, 6th edn, Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove. Jeffs, T & Smith, MK 1999, Informal Education. Conversation, democracy and learning, Education Now, Ticknall. Read More