Reflective Reports On Learning Through Reflection

Introduction and Background

This part of the report will reflect upon the second week of the event from the PPDI module. I will share the experience and knowledge gained from this module while using the gained knowledge of the reflective model. The major purpose of this study is to understand and learn from experience. To learn in a better way, it is important to gain experience, theoretical learning is not always helpful, at times, it is essential to experience and share that experience with all to give the experience some meaning and the learning can be found. This is how reflection takes place, but to present in a structure, some models were created, which are helpful in doing so. Therefore, the second-week experience will be reflected in this section of the report (Dosser & Nicol, 2016).

David Kolb Reflective model

For presenting week four experience, reflection, and leaning, I have selected David Kolb Model, which was learned during the Module.  

David A Kolb propounded this theory in 1984. According to this theory, there are four stages, through which reflection can be presented:

Stage Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	Action
Concrete Experience	Having an experience
Reflective Observation	Reflecting on the experience
Abstract Conceptualization	Learning from the experience
Active Experimentation	Trying out what you have learned (Schon, 2017)

Stage one: Concrete experience

This is the initial stage, where the experience is been taken place, and while having the experience, what exactly a person feels is been presented. To initiate the application of this stage, I would share my experience of the second week from the module. In this week, the main concentration was on self-awareness through reflective study and EQ that is the emotional balance of ourselves. For this, an EQ test was conducted that consist of 341 question. To enhance the challenge the tutor distract by making us view some of the videos in between. The video viewed by us at the first was a visual where a lady was dancing anticlockwise and clockwise, after that, a dress was shown to us and we were asked to determine the color of the dress and lastly, we had to listen to an audio which was either saying Laurel or Yanny.

Stage two: reflective observation

At this stage, the model is expecting to present the reflection over the gained experience. This means, that at this stage we have to describe the feeling in our words which were there when the experience was about to initiate or was going on. Before this experience, I was not expecting that the test would be so lengthy and would be helpful in any learning. Moreover, I was unable to understand if I would be able to understand this week test or module part or not. When the week started, I was quite afraid and was off to see the length of the test. I was too daunting, but after while the module was conducted and I was into that movement, I realized that I was discovering a lot many new things about myself, which I was unaware of before.

When the lecturer started to show the first visual video and the dancing woman which was moving anticlockwise and clockwise. All the students of the class were quite confused because some believe that the lady is moving clockwise, nevertheless, some observe lady move in an anticlockwise direction, which was shocking to believe that how the same video can be viewed in a different form. Then I realized that the movement was just up and down, which every individual, as per their personality, perceived differently. Similarly, the dress, whose color was to be told by us, we all saw that dress in different colors, the reason being the same, that every individual is different, and see the same but perceive differently.

Reflective Report 1: One-Week Event

Moreover, the last task that was to listen the audio and tell what it has said, I believed that this would be something that is heard same by everybody. However, when the class was observed, everybody listens to different words, that was Laurel or Yanny. This shows that all the senses of an individual work same, but the understanding is very different. I was able to recognize the difference between hearing and listening. The experience was very funny and surprising to feel that every individual is unique and perceive different things and meaning to the same video and audio (Snow, 2015).

Stage three: Abstract Conceptualization

From this stage of the reflective model, the learning that has been gain after experiencing a particular event is described and presented. Through this stage, the experience taken is given some meaning and a motive to have that experience. This stage is considered to be crucial for the presentation of experienced event reflection. For this stage, the learning from week two included the interesting experience from the EQ test, from the experience is learn quite such things about myself, which was not observed by me yet. The major learnings included:

• Leadership quality – after the experience, my leadership quality was enhanced and observed by me. This tended to be a great learning for me to know that I have great leadership qualities and I can use those, in future as well
• Empathy – another thing that I observed about myself from the experience was that I have empathy towards others, and the understanding as well. I can observe this because I was able to understand other emotion and my own emotion, and can relate to them
• A different perspective – the major learning, includes that the perspective of every individual is different. The same situation can be assumed and understood differently and in a unique way. Moreover, it was understandable that it is not essential that if your and another person is contrasting the view, then another person is wrong, it was known that the two of the aspects which are different can be true to their perception.
• Hearing versus listening – these two terms were learned from the experience, after the audio listening and identifying the task, I can tell that there is a relevant difference in hearing and listening. The hearing is what the audio is approachable and reached the ears of an individual. Nevertheless, it is not necessary that that person, which means that the understanding is important for a person to listen to something and remember what was said, grasps what has been a reach to an individual.
• Patience – patience play an important role, which was learned from the experience. As the outcome was not the same for all the individuals, I observe that people become impatient, and the need for patients to reach a result is important
• Time management – when the length of the test was observed, the tension was created, but the learning of time management and its importance to complete a task was learned through the experience of the second week
• Overcome distractions – another learning from the experience was how an individual can overcome distraction, and concentrate over a thing. The tutor added distraction for the test, and we learned how to handle this distraction effectively to pass the given test(Fook, 2018)

Stage four: Active Experimentation

This is the last stage of the reflective model, to present the reflection. According to this stage, whatever we have given meaning and learned from the experience, it has to be implemented in near future and bring in to the practice. From the experience of the second week of the module, whatever we have learned that was already discussed was utilized by me after that week, like the time management skills were utilized by me in next projects, task, and even in the daily work routine, to work more effectively and efficiently (Gantt, 2018).

John’s reflective model 

In case the model used for this reflection would be John’s reflective model, which was propounded in 2006, then the presentation of the reflection would have changed. The factors that included in this model are

• Aesthetics – it includes the experience we took
• Personal – this include self-awareness, which would be leadership quality and empathy
• Ethics – this includes moral knowledge, that is that every person has a different perspective
• Empirics – it includes scientific knowledge, that is the time management, learning, and hearing
• Reflectivity – this includes how this can be linked to the already taken experiences (Warner, 2015)

Conclusion 

To conclude this task it can be said that for the reflection of second-week activity of the module, David model of reflection considered to be effective, the reason being better understanding and presentation of reflection. Moreover, the four stages of the model were in an experience, which included the experience that I had or felt. The reflection, that is what I feel while the experience was taken by me, the thing that I got to learn new, which were not into my observation, or known by me before the experience, and lastly, how this learned thing was utilized by me in future. The major learning that was considered from the experience were leadership quality, empathy, a different perspective, hearing versus listening, patience, time management, and overcome distractions. The same would be differently executed if another model, say John’s model of reflection would have used.

Task2: a summative reflection of ten weeks

In this part of the report, the summary of all the weeks that I have experienced will be reflected in a structured form. For this part, the model of reflection that I am going to use is one of the most popular models, which we also learned in the first week of the module, which is “Gibbs reflection model.” The relevance of this model is that is very presentable and is easy to understand also. Moreover, it is the most approachable method for structured presentation of Reflection (Carnall, 2018).

David Kolb’s Reflective Model

Gibbs reflective model

Graham Gibbs propounds this model in 1988. According to this model, there are five stages, through which the experience we have gained from the module can be presented and provide a meaning to the individuals, it has been reflected as well.

From the diagram, the six stages of reflection are as follows, which will be used for presenting my experience of the module:

1. Description – according to this stage, the experience, or what actually happens at the time of experience is presented. My experience with the ten weeks include:

• In the first week, we studied Gibbs reflective cycle and its importance, used for our weekly journal. We understood all the stages this week. The problems that we faced in this week were that ID scanner was not working in learning rooms and due to that, we had to use the manual register. Moreover, the personal reflection was tested in a workshop class of EVER (University, 2018)
• In the second week,  as we have already discussed, at this stage EQ test was given, and to test so various distraction through audio and video was done by the lecturer.
• In the third week of the module, the theory of Tuckman was considered for the learning. This included the way a group of people deals with a project or task from the starting formation of the group or team to the end of the completed project. Four members were there in a team to complete the PPDI project for that day. I was selected as a team leader(Densie & Simosi, 2015).

• In week four, we had told to log in to the website, of CESIM simulation for the project at PPDI workshop. For the introductory session, we were precisely introduced and they suggested us to watch a video on YouTube that was CHIMP PARADOX. Moreover, we did a BELBIN test that week(Cottrell, 2015)
• In week five, the CESIM trial was run in this week workshop, we were grouped together to create 12 questions minimum for KAHOOT. This week we also experience the online conflict test, for which I scored 78
• In week six, we experienced a new learning, which was Kotter Distinction between leaders and managers. We experience to learn leadership and the relevant difference in managers and leaders.
• In week seven, we had a lecture on how to structure the portfolio of PPDI project. Moreover, an Enneagram test was conducted, and my result for the test was Type two – that is the helper (Cesim, 2018)In Week 8, I experience to watch a video related to the creation of the context of evidence, presentation, and report writing skills. Nevertheless, the problem occurs where I had an issue with not completion of the various task in my group and they hold me back from my own task completion.  

• In week nine, a meeting of the group was conducted, to discuss the project progress. Moreover, I completed the self- organized learner questionnaire.
• In week ten, in this week no major activity was conducted, as this was the week of completion of the project and waiting for the desired results(University, 2018)

1. Feelings – according to this stage, the emotional response of the person are structured. The feelings and thoughts during the experience are presented at this stage. The feeling and the mindset which I was feeling at the time of experience included:

• When the workshop was not started I was not sure if this module ort workshop will be helpful or not, and I was not aware of the evaluation and reflection, or its  model, or relevance
• When the workshop begins, in the first week, I was quite confused and frustrated, and as the ID scanner was not working and it would have affected my attendance. Moreover, Gibbs learning was theoretically clear.
• In week two, I was tensed seeing the length of the test and was not sure if it was able to do or not, and the confusion increased, when the video and audio were seen differently from every individual.
• In week three, I did not confirm if I would be a good leader, but as I was selected as a leader, I felt that I must have a leadership capability that I was selected for a reason by the tutor.
• In week four and five, the CESIM solution login experience was good and I felt confident when more sense was provided to CESIM
• In week six, I felt good about the leadership skills that I have and justified by my result for the same. The experience of motivating the group member was also felt by me at that stage
• In week seven, my eyes opened when I realize flaws in the project, and that we are going in the wrong direction and it let myself down. Moreover, I thought I am a reformer, which was not the same as the result.
• In week eight, I felt annoyed as watching the video I realized how I have been doing my task
• In week nine, I realized that we need to cooperate with each other in the group to succeeds and need to make efforts to accomplish the goal of effective completion of the project(Tran, 2017).
• In week ten, we did not know what we are going to do in this last week of module. But when we were experiencing the same, our project was completed and there would be no further activity conducted in the module. The feeling was good that that we have finally accomplished what we entered into, but at the same time the bad feeling of end of something good was also there. The team we were working in, had become very close to me, I used to start enjoying working with those guys, which won’t be the case anymore.

1. Evaluation – according to this stage, the experience is to be evaluated, for which went well and what did not. From my module, at this stage, I would include that there were various activities, in some activities I realize my leadership qualities, and motivational, skills. Nevertheless, there were points where I was demotivated when the task was lengthy, and our group was not able to complete the task on time and most efficiently(Hebert, 2015).
2. Analysis- according to this stage of this model, the interpretation of the situation was done. Moreover, it included the meaning and to the experienced situation and which was evaluated. In layman language, at this stage, what we have learned from the experience is been included in this stage. The learning from the module included

• Time management – this is the major learning from the module, it can be said that managing time so that task is completed in time and effectively
• Coordination – from the module it can be learned that coordination is very important for any activity to perform, especially when it has to do in a group or a team
• Motivation – in the later weeks, I realized that I need to motivate my team members to accomplish the project. For this, I got to learn motivational skills to motivate myself and others
• Leadership styles – moreover, with the help of leadership test conducted, the leadership styles were learned, I get to know that I am a Steward leader
• Models – the various reflection models were learned during the module learning, these models were turned out to be very useful in my career and better presentation of experience(Skillsyouneed, 2018)

1. Conclusion – at this stage of reflection model, the experience gained is concluded and summarized. To conclude my experience from EVER module, I would like to include, that is was confused if the workshop would have any relevance, and will be helpful in future or not. However, as and when the week goes on and my experience was going well, as I have to learn many things, I realized that I have the leadership ability while various test conducted in weeks of the module. There were negative points as well, where I was disappointed with myself, and my work as a team(Fattore & Vittandi, 2018).
2. Action – according to this last stage, the learned things will be included in the near future, so that the negative things faced could turn into positive and would not hamper the work in future. The coordination learned from the module is applied in near future to complete the task in time and in a better way(Kerzner, 2017).

Career and Personal Development Plan

According to this task, a plan is created where personal career and development would be structured and presented in a process. This included my own reflection over the learning, achievement, or performance. Moreover, the plan included my personal, educational, and career development. Moreover, through this, I can realize the method to enhance my professional skills, through my strengths identified and diminish weakness.  This structure included the personal analysis, where my strengths, opportunities, aspiration, and results would be included. Secondly, I will set the goals for myself, through a structured form. Lastly, for the task I will set objectives for myself, this includes short terms, medium term, and long-term objectives (leicester, 2018).

A. Personal Analysis 

STRENGTHS	OPPORTUNITIES
· Decision making · Leadership ability · Communication skills · Relationship building · Quick adaptability	· Conflict handling · Team management · Time management · Project management · Structured presentation
ASPIRATIONS	RESULTS
· Leader · Better work environment · Project accomplishment · Leadership style application · Effective motivation and communication · Maintaining harmony	· Team leader · Coordinated team · Achieved task · Timely completion of the task · Managed team · Cesim project completion (sourceofinsights, 2018)

B. Setting Goals 

What do I want to learn?	What do I have to do?	What support and resources will I need?	How will I measure my success?	The target date for review of results.
Reflection models	Theoretical learning and practical practice	Learning module	Effective application of the model	5 weeks
Leadership styles	Learn styles and their characteristics	Learning module, and self-awareness	Application of style to the project	5 months
Time management	Better management of time	Time grid matrix study and understanding	Application in the project for timely completion of the project	6 weeks
Conflict management	Understanding the conflict reason, and try to control that	Team cooperation	Increased harmony, and improved performance of the team	10 weeks
Structured reflection	Reflection models learning	Learning module, and practice opportunity	Application of learned reflection models (kalpana, 2018)	10 weeks

C. Personal Objectives 

Short-term goals (next four months)

· Cooperation · Team management · Conflict handling

Medium Term Goals (next 2 – 3 years)

· Effective Communication · Motivating skills · Coordinating skill · Better productivity

Long Term Goals (following 3 to 5 years)

· Enhanced leadership skills · Better project management · Reflective skills

Short-term goals (next four months)

• Cooperation – in near future I would like to achieve the ability to effectively corporate and make other cooperate in the team and an the organization
• Team management – the ability to manage a team or a group of people, I am expecting to accomplish within four months
• Conflict handling – this one of the major problem, which is responsible for the lower productivity of a team, which was also faced during the module. Therefore I want to achieve the skills to handle conflict in a more organized and better way to enhance the productivity and management (Vergas, 2017)

Medium Term Goals (next 2 – 3 years)

• Effective Communication – this is something, which is required in the overall career of anyone. Therefore, with practice, I wish to achieve the most effective communication skills in two to three years
• Motivating skills – the motivating skills are achieved with practice, and take time to inherit. Therefore, I expect these skills to be achieved by me in long-term, as it is necessary to be a good leader and manage a team well, to keep them motivated to perform well in a team for the respective project
• Coordinating skill – coordination is another factor that is required by the manager to attain within the team. I wish to be a good leader, for which I need to coordinate the work and human resources within my team.
• Better productivity – by taking many small task and projects, I would like to improve my productivity and try to enhance my team productivity to achieve more enhanced productivity for more visible projects(Frich, et al., 2015).

Long Term Goals (following 3 to 5 years)

• Enhanced leadership skills – leadership is not something that an individual can adapt in a month or year, to become a good leader and achieve those skills to the maximum, it becomes essential to go through a lot of practice and step one by one stage. Therefore, I am expecting myself to work for a year and achieve the goal of most effective leadership skills.  
• Better project management – the project to be managed in a most effective way without the chance of any issue, delay, and with a large budget, it needs practice, and I want to reach to this goal after the practice of three years or more (businessdictionary, 2018).

Conclusion 

This task from the report can be concluded that we had to assess ourselves, and what career we are aspiring in near future. For which, I was supposed to assess my strengths those were Decision making, Leadership ability, Communication skills, Relationship building, and Quick adaptability. Another factor includes an opportunity for myself in near future; these include Conflict handling, Time management, Project management, Team management, structured presentation.

Then the goals were to set by me, which included Reflection models, Leadership styles, Time management, Conflict management, and Structured reflection. Last part was to set an objective for myself, which I wish to achieve. The long-term goals, that I will try to accomplish in three to five hours, these include Reflective skills, Better project management, and Enhanced leadership skills. Medium term goals are, Effective Communication, Better productivity, Coordinating skill, and Motivating skills. Short term goals include Cooperation, Conflict handling, and Team management.

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