Professional Development as IT Technician - Personal Statement Example

Professional development I am an IT technician working at Queen's Belfast, supporting software and hardware, networking, server platformsand I also provide IT training. In my job reflective practice is an essential part of continuing professional development (CPD) for technical professionals. It leads to future development in professional sphere, gives a solid basis for investigations and experiments, helps me promote my professional methods and strategies and custom them to create a systematic approach to tasks that are provided during my everyday practice. Unfortunately, there are some factors that disturb necessary reflective practice. At first, time restrictions do not give much air to reflective practice, as I have to solve numerous technical problems that should be settled immediately. Generally, my activity is not supposed to include much time for reflections, and custom practice also demands settling down definite concrete problems, rather than reflection in order to find alternative approaches or theoretical basis for professional strategies. Professional attitudes also comprise various kinds of activity, including technical support and resolving technical questions. Unfortunately, there are very few possibilities to implement mental activity for special theoretical reflections. But I need the time for mental activity, because it pushes me to self-development and this could help me in my professional sphere. In my experience over and over again I face the situations when technology outdoes the practice of tutor. These situations should be regarded from the point of view of the theory that comprises the notions of single-loop learning and double-loop learning. These schemes may be illustrated by examples from my professional experience. An example of single-loop may be a case when I have to print out a poster for a customer. At first, I need to choose a computer which is attached to the device. Then the poster is printed, I roll it up. The next step is to inform the user that the poster is ready and then I bring it to the reception and the customer collection for the user. As for double-loop learning, it is implemented in the case when after a virus that could damage the University system is reported; a team meeting is held out to find the most effective strategy to stop the virus. In this case the decision will depend upon the situation and possible effects. Often I implement reflection-in-action that is often described as thinking and making decisions while the situation unfolds. It involves changing the plans according to the circumstances of the situation. "The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation, which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings, which have been implicit in his behavior. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation." (Schn 1983: 68) Reflection-in-action may be characterized with the help of examples of single and double-loop learning. The former is implemented in the situation when I make copies of Microsoft CDs in QUB without changing the motives and governing variables. Double-loop learning is implemented in situation, when, for instance. A customer requires to provide him with a special equipment to be moved off, because it is old. In such cases I need to use a special program that is called autoclave to format a hard disk to delete the information. After that I contact Belfast City Council to learn about the costs, set a collection time and organize a session, where I will help a customer to get the equipment off. The practice described led me to use and explore the theories of Kolb. In order to make learning more helpful, Kolb (1976) came over with the idea that learners should go through four different stages. These stages are the following: the stage of experience, reflection, the development of new ideas and testing of the new ideas in practice (active testing): "(1) watching and (2) thinking (mind), (3) feeling (emotion), and (4) doing (muscle)". Kolb draws for the most part on the works of Dewey (who highlight the necessity for learning to be grounded in practice), Lewin (who talked about the importance of a people being active in studying), and Jean Piaget (who explained intelligence as the result of the interaction of the environment and the person). Passing through these stages should result, expectantly, in a more constructive learning experience. Kolb acknowledged that the usefulness of individuals in the four stages may be different. This approval of the individuality of students suggests that schooling and growth in some of the stages would be promising. Reflection is one of these stages. In this particular stage, the student 'mulls over' or analyze the previous experience stage. The reflection makes students concentrate on the actions taken, whether the students were satisfied or sure about their presentation and whether they understood that they could do better. I also seemed to act according to this scheme, while analyzing the results of the work that allowed some possible strategies. There are the cases where you may choose between alternative ways of solving the situation, and the result engages you to analyze and make definite conclusions that would be helpful to succeed in future. One more important issue to be described within this sphere is the learning spiral. What it looks like It is a curriculum framed as though to stimulate the thinking and understanding of students. It also allows a flexible approach to planning learning process in lessons, centered on thinking. Changing the strategy depending upon the situation and flexible thinking are of a great importance at present. Schon speaks about the problem of persistent transformation in our society that leads to necessary changes into our way of thinking. In his work Beyond the Stable State (1973), he says: "We must, in other words, become adept at learning. We must become able not only to transform our institutions, in response to changing situations and requirements; we must invent and develop institutions which are 'learning systems', that is to say, systems capable of bringing about their own continuing transformation." As far as the sphere of IT is concerned, there are a lot of problems to be solved, as technology is one of the most powerful tools of learning and teaching. In Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection (OTA, 1995), the authors define the skills the teachers should obtain, besides their professional skills, to make the use of computers in learning process effective. The first includes the exploration and understanding of the role of technologies, of what they can influence and support the learning process in the classrooms. One more important issue adds necessary knowledge about hardware and software and the means to apply them at school. They also found important the understanding of how to involve the students into the technology-based learning process. And, the last was the discussion of the optimal usage of technological means in learning and teaching activities The problem of the matter is, that if you are not regarded as the supporting technician professional that you are, it will lead you to a little support high level that is presented in a learning matrix presented by Daloz. He characterizes the learning settings by two dimensions - challenge and support and gives them the following implementation: HIGH LOW CHALLENGE CHALLENGE HIGH GROWTH CONFIRMATION SUPPORT LOW RETREAT STASIS SUPPORT The matrix was slightly modified and improved by Jim Butler who gave it the following shape: HIGH LOW CHALLENGE CHALLENGE HIGH +GROWTH +CONFIRMATION SUPPORT -LIMITING -DEMEANING LOW +SOARING +ILLUMINATION SUPPORT -RETREAT -STASIS The matrix gives some possible ways of how the situation may develop. I'm going to change so that I won't end up in a support high challenge situation. I need a possibility to develop my personality and step to a new level of my own development and get a promotion in my professional sphere. Each of the quadrants gives the chance to succeed or fail, although they allow different volume of knowledge and different possibilities. Although each quadrant provides us with both positive and negative outcomes, I need the one that will lead me to a higher level of education without loosing my self-confidence. In my professional activity I have come to the conclusion that reflection is needed to be implemented at all levels of my job in order to make it more effective. This conclusion made me to undertake a BA course in professional development. This course is directed toward multiple purposes. At first, it should systematize my knowledge and forge a scheme that would help me use my knowledge more effectively. It also would improve my skills and make a sphere of their implementation broader, giving a theoretical base for my professional methods and strategies. As far as my personal development is concerned, the course in professional development would stimulate my self-improvement and my creative activity. Thus, the course should promote my professional achievements, as well as bring me to a new level of my personal development, which would in future direct me to higher grades of professionalism. I think that purposeful and regular work on formation and development of the professional reflection at all levels of system of continuous education increases the needs for self-education. This need implemented into actions would lead to successful improvement in other spheres or personal and professional development. I can't but mention that studying and development of a professional reflection of the student, as the future experts, as well as the experts that desire to come to a new level in professional sphere, like me, should be carried out completely in all its aspects and displays. It should be carried out in view of individual personal features of the future professional and specificity of his professional work. I consider that this work on formation and development of the professional reflection should be delivered in school system of system of training and then to continue it in high school and university. According to my own practice, the preparation of highly skilled experts at the modern level implies not only the organization of deep, system and qualitative mastering of fundamental knowledge, formation of the appropriate practical skills, but also the development of the motive and required spheres, abilities to self-realization and creativity. Read More