Planning for Professional Development - Assignment Example

Planning for Professional Development: Introduction: This portfolio is a documentation of the specific personal and professional details that relate to my career aspirations as defined within my current studying of Planning for Professional Development. At the end of this course I hope to acquire sufficient knowledge and understanding of my career plans in terms of the pertinent theories on which the entire course is built. Moreover, I aspire to connect closely with the cognitive and intellectual development in line with the requirements of the course. The learning process should also supply me with the necessary planning and professional skills in ways that would help me develop feasible strategies towards the enhancement of the objectives of the course. In particular, I intend to harness the synergies of the other courses that I have learnt together with my current course to enrich my skills in planning and action. Some of the courses I have studied include interpersonal communication, counseling and psychology in community degree, politics of social policy, introduction to psychology and human development, counseling theory and practice 1, psychology of self-identity, and theoretical perspective. This portfolio will also shed light on the role of the theoretical perspectives towards the meeting of the general and specific goals of the study. In sum, the details supplied will provide a road map of experiences, skills, individual development, challenges, and opportunities that relate to the course. Key Learning Experiences: In my first year of learning, I had to contend with some of the professional aspects and terminologies in the course content, which seemed totally unfamiliar at first. I had to invest a lot of time and effort in understanding the underpinning concepts before I eventually connected with the details of the course. The preliminary aspects of the course involved significant aspects of professionalism which entailed a consistent search of meaning from multiple sources before embracing the basics of the course in a meaningful totality. I was also overwhelmed by the vastness of the course content, which required an exploration into the various linkages and relationships with other disciplines. One of the most fulfilling aspects of the course was the acknowledgement of the role of personality in professional development. At this level, I can now understand the dimensions of the course as understood together with matters of professional development. Among the many valuable experienced that I have learnt so far from the Planning for Professional Development course is the need for proper planning and the setting of goals towards measurable results. Professionalism entails an aspect of growth, which is usually realized in stages. As such, it becomes necessary to define the path towards professionalism along a longitudinal path with precise indicators of growth and development. I learnt that I had to develop a projection of my career projections and a think multiple scenarios in order to come up with a workable mechanism and schedule for the attainment of my career objectives. The need to broaden the perspectives on professionals is built on the fact that many professions connect with multiple disciplines, which makes it possible for professionals to work in more than one area of interest. In sum the experience I acquired in my first year enhanced my understanding of personal and professional development. The challenged I encountered helped me to learn new ways of seeking professional skills and knowledge on professional development. Skills Developed: In the course of learning the details of planning for professional development, I acquired various skills that helped me to adjust appropriately to the requirements of the course. A communication skills course helped to give me the necessary skills for communication within a professional environment. I had not positively identified with the professional essence in communication before I came into contact with the real basics. I have learnt that communication is a delicate art that requires proper balancing of skills in a way that makes it possible for proper articulation of facts as necessary. The proper use of words to make meaning is an art that should be nurtures with precision and skill for the purpose of enhancing both the literal and symbolic aspects of communication. Knowledge in organizational skills is a key requirement in professional development. I acquired special skills in the organization of professional matters in accordance with issues that link with specific objectives. The professional world is ruled by special timelines and schedules that should be met in order to achieve the overall goals within a firm or a situation. Without the acquisition of organizational skills, the professional world would be deficient of the required levels of order and consistency. This course helped me to achieve high levels of discipline that have enabled me to overcome some personal weaknesses that often affected my progress in various issues. These issues are both professional and personal. The pursuit of professional aims requires adequate organizational skills that lead directly towards quantifiable results within a given timeline. Individual Development: Planning for professional development entails a significant element of individual development. As I went through the various concepts of professional development, I learnt that individual development is a key factor that must run together with professional progress. This realization awakened me to the centrality of the human factor in the entire discourse of professional development. In my view, the human agent has an inherent capacity to either improve of deteriorate depending on the level of training and the organization requirements needed. On this account, individual development is a priority that must be pursued in a way that supports some aspect of consistency and harmony with professional growth. I am confident that the level of learning I have acquired has brought significant positive effects in individual development. Individual development flourishes the moment a person develops a strong sense of interest in a particular duty. A human being is born with multiple capacities. The training of planning for professional development involves the active directing of energies towards a particular professional cause. The training in this course helped to direct my interest towards my professional interests in a way that elevated my interests towards my chosen profession. In this regard, I find value in the manner in which the training helped to foster the values of professionalism in my scope of interests. Excelling in professional objectives requires the harnessing of individual capacities, skills, and potentialities in a way that promotes the ends of professionalism. In essence, the pursuit of professionalism should be considered together in line with the need to anchor the individual at the center of the whole discourse. Ways of Meeting Career Requirements: Every profession has various requirements should be followed by the student within and outside the curriculum in order to advance the objectives of the profession. In essence, negotiating the distance between the theoretical and the practical aspect of the profession is a matter that requires an assessment of the application of the skills in a realistic environment. The value of education is usually considered in terms of its relationship with the authentic nature of learning. Professionalism requires a practical approach to knowledge and skills for the proper application in the real world. As such, I understand the need for attachment in the pursuit of the requirements of the profession. The short-term and long-term objectives of the profession have to match the immediate and future objectives of the profession. Meeting career requirements in this field requires a well organized professional attachment in order to get the necessary exposure into the rigors of the profession. First of all, I had to identify the kind of fields where I could apply my learned skills and test their relevance in the field. I would also need to build connections and professional acquaintances in fields that relate with areas of interest. I would require fostering these associations in order to keep pace with the trends in the industry. Understanding the career requirements while still in the learning system enables the expansion of the insight into matters of professional growth in a way that connects with the dominant issues of the occupation. Planning for professional development requires the undertaking certain professional facts that promote the objectives of the profession. Notable Successes and Achievements: My first year learning experience in planning for professional develop was met with various notable successes and achievements in ways that contributed meaningfully towards the attainment of the core objectives of the profession. One of the areas where I achieved significant success was in the grasping of the vast concepts that connect with planning for professional development. In the course of learning, I understood the need to anchor my professionalism into the basic details that would help me unite with the aspirations I still keep about career growth. In my view success in the pursuit of professionalism is a matter that should begin with the acknowledgement of the role of personal character in the development of professionalism. The core objective of professionalism begins with the setting of the objectives that appertain with the specific aspects of the profession. At the moment, I have attained remarkable experience in the area of planning for professional development that has prepared me to participate in various tasks that relate with the profession. For instance, I have managed to put together various facts that connect effectively with the needs and requirements of the course. I have a clear view of the details of professionalism and the kind of path of growth, which I connected with as a result of the kind of knowledge the concepts I derived from the course. Essentially, the elements of success in professionalism have to be considered in terms of the specific focus on the matter of success. As such, it becomes necessary to reflect on the kind of goals and perspectives that connect with the element of progress. Such progress also entails such matters as problem-solving and crisis management within the sphere of professionalism. I have a strong conviction that the skilled I acquired in these areas will help me grow and solve future problems with remarkable efficiency. Challenges and Setbacks: Some of the challenges that I encountered in my first year of learning were mainly associated with lack of exposure. The process of adjusting into the realities of life required some level of commitment and consistency. The volume of reading and grasping required in the profession was significantly vast against a limited time frame. Confronting this challenge required an adjustment of the specific aspects of learning in order to improve my speed of learning. I had to customize various aspects of the information in unique ways that enhanced my learning process. I also consulted widely with experts in the field with the intention of solving some of the personal challenges of understanding, which came up in the process of learning. In many ways, addressing the challenges I faced in the main discourse helped me to transcend to the higher levels of knowledge within the entire discourse. The academic world is full of challenges that pose real threats to the proper acquisition of knowledge. There is increased need to develop a formidable strategy that would enhance the search for a proper solution. Another setback that presented at the preliminary stages of the study related with the knowledge gap in the higher aspects of knowledge. I did not have an approach that would enhance the learning process. However, I understood that it was necessary to develop a consistent work plan that would follow the kind of organization developed by the schedule. My strategy was to break down the difficult parts of the learning process into simple tasks that would make it possible to understand the most difficult aspects of the learning process. In my learning experience, I have embraced the need to identify my personal challenges in order to seek customized solutions that would ease the whole learning process. With the help of fellow students, I managed to go round most of the challenges and setbacks within the learning process. To some degree, I also managed to gather important problem-solving skills, which I still apply in similar learning challenges. Kolb Learning Cycle: Relating to the facts of this portfolio requires a review of Kolb Learning Cycle as developed by psychologist David Kolb. The Kolb Learning Cycle is a learning theory that explores the impact of genetics, environmental factors, and life experiences (Illeris 41). This theory provides a deep understanding of the various forces that connect with the general learning process. Kolb argued that genetics provide an important determinant to success, challenges, and levels of interest in the pursuit of knowledge. He argued that the environment also affects the level of learning and determines the extent to which people can reach in the pursuit of professionalism. Furthermore, Kolb held that life experiences provide important synergies in the process of learning because of the kind of world view and perspectives that are fostered by such experiences. Such experiences are largely felt in the area of knowledge acquisition and professional development. In my case, I believe that life experiences provided the bulk of the interest that pushed me into the pursuit of this profession. I have always preserved fond memories of some of the most fulfilling personal experiences that helped me to decide in favor of this profession. I retain a personal touch with various people including past teachers and experts who formed part of the positive experience that propelled me into the levels I have now reached in the pursuit of professional fulfillment. I would not really connect my interests with some genetic forces. However, I would easily contend that environmental factors played a key role in the fostering the pursuit of my professional objectives. I lived in an environment that values the role of professional conduct and personal development in different areas of knowledge. This environmental impact had some key impacts on the level of interest, conviction, and dedication I developed towards the profession. Conclusion: This portfolio provides a broad assessment of the key areas I have explored in my first year learning of the planning for professional development. The portfolio provides details of the challenges and successes that I have encountered and the ways in which I have addressed these challenges. In a significant sense, the portfolio also illustrates the many ways that I have sought to advance the pursuit of professional objectives. Essentially, the factors detailed in this portfolio should illustrate the manner in which external influences and personal convictions have sustained my pursuit of professional experiences. Planning for professional development is a matter that should begin with an acknowledgement of the kind of difficulties and challenges on the path of success. In this portfolio, I have also provided by critical input into the key aspects that connect with the details of professionalism. The pursuit of professional gains is a matter that involves the acknowledgement of the associations between the means of knowledge acquisition and the envisioned career objectives. Works Cited Illeris, Knud. How We Learn: Learning and Non-Learning in School and Beyond. London: Routledge, 2007.  Read More