Pdp Reflective Report

This reflective report will focus on the importance of the initial induction activities and how they have the content of my PDP. The four subjects within the induction activities are Referencing, Academic Writing, Reflection and Personal Development Planning. This reports will discuss these activities individually and link them (where possible/appropriate) to areas within my PDP. As reflection was the key driver to forming the PDP it will naturally become the main focus of this report, also, having previously written many essays and papers through my previous education and studies, academic writing and referencing is an area that I more comfortable with compared to reflection. The ethics of academic writing and referencing will be discussed

Having the ability to self-reflect is key to personal development, it allows me to learn from errors that I have made in the past, and hopefully not make the same errors again. Done well and effectively, reflection can be an enormously powerful tool to examine and transform practice. (Finlay, 2008, 10). Once you master the ability of self-reflection, you will have the power to make life changing decisions about your behaviour. Reflection is something that we do implicitly as part of being human, underpinning our identities through a process of negotiation between our sense of self and our experiences of others (Demetriou, 2000, 210). It is one part to reflect, but it is essential to act upon these reflections, making changes to ensure where required. During my studies, I will periodically review my PDP, further reflecting on my progress, bearing and strengths and

Using the SWOT analysis, I have been able to identify areas of strength and areas of weaknesses. I will look to draw on my identified strengths during my studies, using enthusiasm and relying on my communication skills to produce robust pieces of work. Having an enthusiastic approach to studies will ensure that I work within the set timescales. I will actively seek on to overcome my weaknesses; over-loading and taking a laid back approach. A laid-back approach to studies will ultimately end in poor time management, which could lead to missed deadlines. Regular review of my PDP will ensure that I remain on target with my aims, it will also give me further opportunity to self-reflect, as David Kolb said ”Knowledge is continuously derived from and tested out in the experiences of the learner.” (Kolb, 1984, p.27) Within Military Officer Training, the principles of Do, Review, Learn and Apply are discussed and encouraged throughout life and the Personal Development Planning is an excellent example of that