Personal Reflective Diary - Essay Example

REFLECTIVE DIARY   08-OCT-2007 (week The first week of the professional studies module at the we took some time to get the chance to know each other. After doing so, Serena and Nic discussed the handbook to us stressing its aims and the possible outcomes from this experience. This made me feel a little scared. I feared that there is a possibility that I may not succeed this year, but I tried to remain calm and focused. As I see it, my confidence during this week is still not that high because this is just the beginning of the programme and I still have to adjust. I have to transform my anxiety into confidence (Jeffers 1999), so that these fears I have as of now can help me become a better student in the coming weeks. I believe that in order for me to triumphantly finish this academic year, I need to improve on learning, and this I can to by working harder. During the ICT lecture that I have attended last Tuesday, I encountered problems regarding the database table. Apparently, this was the major conflict I’ve had so far. I was able to overcome it however I am still a bit unsure of how to use it. This week was a little intense for me. 15-OCT-2007 (week 2) This week, I finally became conscious of the difficulty of jumping from one approach to another in order to keep up with the courses. First, I went to the library to research on for the Educational Development module. There I found books which will enlighten me better with our topic. Our lecture was about “how to take notes”, incorporating active learning in the lesson. During the lecture, we were given tasks and they were to be done as a group however at first I was not that engaged in the group work. It was then I realized that this was what the lecture was teaching me – to become more active and to be more engaged in tasks as much as possible. This is what I have to try, and I know that in so doing I will be able to understand the lecture better. Group tasks can help me explore more things, I learn from my group mates and in return, I contribute some knowledge. Perhaps, this is another aspect of active learning. I do not only learn from reading, but I learn from experience, not just of my own but of others as well. Mates are like authors, with the authors, you read carefully their ideas, with mates, you have to listen to them carefully and observe them. Through listening and observing, you learn new ideas (Voeks 1979). I also realized that I need to do some more reading during my spare time as this will help me as well.  Through active reading, we begin to search new ideas and in vigorously seeking, we find them – thus, reading turns into a quest for new awareness (Voeks 1979). 22-OCT-2007 (week 3) For this week, another group lecture was held. Through this lecture, we were given an assignment based on the formative assignment given in the lecture. Upon hearing about the deadline set for this assignment, I felt bothered because I knew I needed more time to do it – I still have to do a little bit of reading so that I would have ideas that I can write on the draft. Again, I am beginning to feel anxious, however anxiety is only typical. This anxiety can help me become more aware and more sensitive to what I have to do and what I have to accomplish (Jeffers 1999).Therefore, I will see to it that I begin this assignment tomorrow.   29-OCT-2007 (week 4) This is the forth week of the module and I am beginning to enjoy the activities. During the first few weeks, I missed my home so much that I was not able to appreciate the activities more. For our lesson, we were taught referencing and we used the Harvard system for it. Everything was discussed including how to properly reference a book, journal, article and other online resources. At the beginning, I was nervous about it because the university has high expectations for us, and they suppose that we familiarize ourselves more with referencing because it is needed every time we have an assignment. In the end, I was able to learn how to do it. I think that if I become better in referencing, I will be able to get higher marks. If I practice, it will be like an active learning wherein I have to gain experience in order for me to become better in what I do (Kolb 1984).   05-NOV-2007 (week 5) This week, I was able to create a good reflection of my experiences and how I am doing here. And from these reflections, I have learned that experiences can really help me learn more about myself and more about my environment (Csikszentmihalyi 1991). One lesson that I know that would be very helpful to me would be the one regarding how to make a good essay. Because of this, I plan to read more about this topic so that I can be able to make even better essays.  12-NOV-2007 (week 6) Today’s lecture brought so much fun. We played games, and then we all learned each other’s names. Because of these activities, I am able to open up more. Since I already know each of their names, I am not bothered anymore with group activities. I realized that team work is important and at the same time it is very educating. Perhaps it is only now that I have gotten to know my mates better that I am able to work with them better, because emotions toward other persons regulate how one can break out of isolation and find ways to enable himself to work with the others (Fessler & Haley 2003).   19-NOV-2007 (week 7) Today, the essence of team building was put to test. We have done some team building exercises. We saw the importance of good working relationship and how important it is in order for us to succeed. Together, as a group, we decided to stick together and work together to be able to ensure our survival. I realized that the combined and shared efforts and knowledge of the members within the group make the group smarter and more efficient in dealing with tasks (Surowiecki 2004). And I had the chance to do it again; I would have gotten more involved in the session. I should have forwarded more of my ideas. This session definitely taught me to be more open and to contribute more to my group. Perhaps this is what involvement means.  26-NOV-2007 (week 8) I personally do not like presentations because I don’t feel comfortable doing one. Today’s session was difficult for me because I had to do a presentation. It may seem like I may have a mild case of social anxiety disorder wherein I feel anxious speaking in public. However, this may just be due to the thoughts I had in mind which may have affect the actions I performed during the presentation (May 1996). Now as I look back, if only I could change it, I should have been braver. I should have done a better presentation in front of everybody. I know that someday, I will have to overcome this because I need to learn this – I need this to help me through my degree; and this will still be needed after I finish this degree.   03-DEC-2007 (week 9) Another session was held about presentation skills. Again I am feeling uneasy but I need to learn how to become more confident and how to psych myself into doing it. I know that these sessions are given for a reason, and that is to teach us how to do better presentations. By the end of the year, we will all have to do a presentation and I intend to do a great one. After all, I learned that work is not inherently disliked by an average person. It will depend on the conditions, affecting on whether or not that person would consider work as a source of satisfaction or punishment. If it is in the form of satisfaction, he may voluntarily do the work, otherwise it may be avoided. Thus, I have to be comfortable doing it otherwise I will not be able to pass this module. So practicing is a must. 10-DEC-2007 (week 10) This is the last session for this term before we part ways for the Christmas vacation. This is my tenth week in the university and I really missed my home already. During this session, Serena and Nic gave us feedbacks regarding our performance. They pointed out to each one of us our strengths and weaknesses so that we can be able to improve on the next coming assignments. Knowing my weaknesses and strengths is a good thing, because this gives me self-awareness. Self-awareness is important so that we can reflect on our functioning and be able to see how we do and how we deal with our situation (Duval, Silvia, & Lalwani 2001). 07-JAN-2008 (week 11) This week, I missed a session because I got sick.   14-JAN-2008 (week 12) David was our lecturer in the session about “employability”. He divided us into different groups, and from there we started to define employability and we discussed on the important skills that the employers need from higher education. Then, David addressed to the whole group when he introduced the thinking skills activity which stirred my interest. He asked us to complete a skills map exercise; and from looking at what employers look for when they recruit graduates we drew up our own skills map. In drawing our own skills map, we have to become aware of ourselves, to know our own skills require self-awareness (Duval, Silvia, & Lalwani 2001).   21-JAN-2008 (week 13) David gave another lecture and it was about Personal Development Planning (PDP) and CV writing. We defined PDP as a supported process to be able to develop an individual’s capacity to reflect upon his learning and achievements. He again divided us into smaller groups to look at the possible expectations of employers from the graduates. After which, we looked at the relationship between PDP and employability personal development planning. Also, we looked at the PDP website and went through its different sections. Lastly, we checked on different types of CV’s and how it can be properly done along with the covering letter. After this lesson, I can already improve on my CV and be able to make a better one.  28-JAN-2008 (week 14) This lecture about employability was the last that we are going to have with David and this was when we talked about being interviewd. Interview is the part of job hiring where employers would evaluate you and how you carry yourself. Because of this, it is important that you give a very good first impression, showing the interviewee your capabilities as a person (Demarais & White 2004). I believe this session was the main focus of employability because interviews can make or break employability. Aside from this, I also learned how to perform a job without having to suffer from any stress. 04-FEB-2008 (week 15) Our new lecturer, Chris, was introduced and he will be with us for the next three months. For his first lecture, he went through the research skills. From this lecture, I have learned the meaning of “research” and how it can categorized. It also taught me the proper construction of research questions which is needed to be able to produce a good research. I understood clearly the difference between quantitative and qualitative research, however when we tackled research design and methodology, I got confused with the latter. I know that this session is very important because in the coming years of my degree I will be doing some more of these researches. And then, working as a group, we were required to answer some questions. By the end of the session we were asked to make research for the next week. I plan on starting it on Wednesday. I have noticed that a lot of our activities focus on working with groups. Interpersonal skills is developed in this program, which is good, because knowing how to contract with other people can definitely lessen conflicts and can surely make work more manageable; effective functioning needs good interpersonal skills (Hayes 2002). As the popular saying goes, “no man is an island.”   11-FEB-2008 (week 16) The session for today revolved around research methods and data collection and their advantages and disadvantages. When Chris went through quantitative and qualitative methods again, I became confused. Although it may seem confusing, I know that I have to practice this lesson and apply it from time to time. One thing I have learned from this programme is that experience can be the best teacher and learning actively can make lessons more meaningful (Kolb 1984). Thus, for mew to understand the lessons better, I need to apply experiential learning.   18-FEB-2008 (week 17) Unfortunately for me, I missed the last session with Chris because I got sick. This made me realize that I will need to request from notes from my mates so that I can still have an idea of what I missed. This is an advantage of having mates that you can trust and depend on when you need them. Once trust is established between mates, it will be easier for them to work with one another (Fessler & Haley 2003)   25-FEB-2008 (week 18) During this session, we were grouped together in the lecture theatre. It was about careers and we had visitors who explained their organizations and what they could possibly offer to the students. Upon listening to what they had to say, I was able to think of what I need to do for my six week placement in my second year. This lecture made me realize that it is best that I should plan my goals so that I have a guide to what I really want to be in the future. Planning is a directive force which eventually leads us to the realization of our goals (Morris 2005).   03-MAR-2008 (week 19) Serena and Nic talked about the assignment brief and gave us the details for the presentation. We were told the things that are to be done for the presentation thus; we went to our own groups so that we can brainstorm for the presentation that we want to make. I realized that group activities are good because as what they say “two heads are better than one”, and it made me realize that working with others does not only make work load lighter (West, 2004). It also enables me to learn from others as well. With group activities, creativity flows, and with creativity development follows (Paulus & Nijst, 2003)    10-MAR-2008 (week 20) I missed another lecture because I had to go to my driving test.   07-APR-2008 (week 21) After the Easter vacation, this was the first lecture and this was about work placement. I am thinking that I would like my placement to be in a primary school just near to where I live. I know that if this is what I really want, I have to start searching now. In order for me to start this as soon as possible, I need to complete my CV first. After all, there is no harm in setting goals for the future. These goals will help me steer my life in the direction towards my real purpose (Morris 2005).   14-APR-2008 (week 22) I did not attend this session because my group and I will be having a presentation next week. So, instead, we tried to meet up to plan the outcome of our presentation. My group mates and I decided to brainstorm and share ideas regarding our presentation. Lines of communication should always be open (Corman & Poole 2000), for us to be able to straighten out whatever conflicts we have or for us to be able to simply share suggestions and propositions for the betterment of the project. 21-APR-2008 (week 23) The presentation that my group and I have been putting up for the past few weeks was held today. Our presentation was about “should only the clever people go to university”. Honestly, I believe that our presentation went well. Perhaps this is because we have learned to cooperate; for because of these group works that we realize that we can share with the group our individual strengths in order to come up with a better presentation (Axelrod 1985). Because of this, the weakness of one member is compensated with the strength of the other member. This is the essence of cooperation. 28-APR-2008 (week 24) & 05-MAY-2008 (week 25) for these two weeks, there were no lectures because we had to complete our reflective diaries which will be due by next week. 12-MAY-2008 (week 26) Today was the last group lecture for the Professional Studies for this year. Positively, I have done all my tasks and I was able to complete all my diary entries for this module. All in all, the experience was great and I have learned a lot, including time management and improving my interpersonal skills and steer clear of conflicts in doing tasks (Bolton 1986), in order to become more successful in whatever task is assigned to me. Trust is essential in working with others (Kramer & Tyler 1996), because it helps one person to open up to another person, and having open channels of communication through trust makes a better working relationship with others.  REFERENCES Axelrod, R 1985, The Evolution of Cooperation, Basic Books, n.p Bolton, R 1986, People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts, Touchstone, n.p Corman, SR. & Poole, MS 2000, Perspectives on Organizational Communication Finding Common Ground, Guilford Press, New York Csikszentmihalyi, M 1991, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper Perenniel, n.p Demarais, A, & White, V 2004, First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You, Bantam, 1st Ed., n.p Duval, TS , Silvia, PJ & Lalwani, N 2001, Self-Awareness and Causal Attribution: A Dual Systems Theory, Springer, 1st Ed., n.p Fessler, DM. & Haley, KJ. 2003, The Strategy of Affect: Emotions in Human Cooperation, Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation (Dahlem Workshop Report), The MIT Press / Dahlem University Press Greene, EB 1941, Measurements of Human Behavior, Odyssey Press, New York Hayes, J 2002, Interpersonal Skills at Work, Routledge, 1st Ed., n.p Jeffers, S 1999, The Little Book of Confidence, Rider and Co.,n.p Kolb, D 1984, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Prentice Hall,n.p Kramer, RM. & Tyler, TR 1996, Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA May, R 1996, The Meaning of Anxiety, W W Norton & Co Ltd; Rev Ed edition, n.p Morris, R 2005, The Cognitive Psychology of Planning (Current Issues in Thinking and Reasoning), Psychology Press,n.p Paulus, PB., Nijst, BA. 2003, Group Activity: Innovation through Collaboration, Oxford University Press, USA Pinker, S 2002, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Behavior, , Steven Pinker, Viking Press,n.p Surowiecki, J 2004, The Wisdom of Crowds Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Random House,n.p Voeks, V 1979, On Becoming an Educated Person: An Orientation to College and Life, 4 Ed., Saunders Survival Series,n.p West, MA. 2004, Effective Teamwork: Practical Lessons from Organizational Research (Psychology of Work and Organizations), 2nd Ed, Wiley-Blackwell, n.p Rusbult, C 2008, Learning Theories in Education, The American Scientific Affiliation.Available from: [ April 26, 2008] WebMed 2006, Excerpt from Social Phobia, Emedicine Instant Access to the Minds of Medicine, Available from: , [April 26, 2008]             Read More