Learning from Experience

Unit 2

Learning from experience

Objectives

By the end of this unit you will have:

· Attended the Unit 2 meeting with your SSC tutor

· Reflected on your experience using 5 reflective logs

· Recorded your volunteering / employment hours of work

Unit 2 Evidence requirements:

(To be included in your portfolio)

Tick (q) when completed

q  Completed 5 reflective logs

q  Completed a record of hours spent volunteering / working with signature from a project supervisor

Reflecting on your volunteering experience.

As part of the SSC you are required to complete 5 reflective logs.

This activity is designed to help you reflect, gain insight, learn and write about your volunteering experience.

For some students, the experience of writing reflectively may be quite new. If you need some guidance or pointers, ask your SSC tutor who will be happy to talk you through the process.

We’ve included some examples of logs for your reference.

For each log that you write, follow these steps:

Step 1 – Choosing a topic

Think about an incident or series of incidents from your volunteering from which you have learnt something. It is best if the learning relates to your personal development needs identified in Unit 1 – i.e. your work on Key Skills, Learning Styles, your SWOT analysis, and of course your Personal Development Plan.

Alternatively, start with an area of personal development – for example, improving public speaking skills – and think about different occasions during your volunteering that you’ve been able to develop or use that skill.

Chose a title for your log which sums up your theme – for example “Dealing with aggressive behaviour”, “Improving confidence”, “Planning for an event” etc.

Another productive area to reflect upon is your own role within your volunteering organisation – how does your work contribute its wider goals, who do you interact with and why, how well supported do you feel? You might also write about your induction – that is, how well you were prepared by the organisation for your volunteering.

If you are volunteering in a number of places, you might choose to compare them.

Step 2 – Reflecting on the experience

Jot down what you thought about the incidents. Think about the following questions:

o  Why have I chosen this topic and these incidents?

o  What happened?

o  What did I do?

o  What did others do?

o  How did I feel about what happened?

o  How did others feel?

o  How would I do things differently?

Do this in rough first, and write it up neatly later.

Step 3 – Reflecting on your learning

Now concentrate on what you’ve learned from your experience:

o  What have I learned from this?

o  How does it relate to my PDP?

o  How does it relate to my learning styles, SWOT analysis and my key skills?

o  Are there any new goals that have arisen from this experience?

o  What should I do next to continue my personal development?

Again, scribble down your thoughts in rough, and then write it up.

Each log should be between 300 – 600 words.

Example 1

Volunteer in Night Shelter for the homeless

Talking to Guests and Colleagues

Part 1: Reflection on experience

After I have completed my formal duties at the night shelter, I often take the time to sit down and chat to some of the guests. Many of them come from a variety of backgrounds and often have many interesting stories to tell. One guest in particular was with the Navy for many years and has seen many countries and been all over the world. He was able to tell me all about different cultural events and festivities he had seen, the many friends he had made and languages he had been able to pick up on his travels.

I learnt a lot about capital cities and certain international events which I had not known before. I wondered why someone as experienced and intelligent as he had ended up becoming homeless.

As I later found out, a high proportion of homeless adults are ex-service personnel. They often find civilian life very hard to adapt to after having existed within such a rigid structure of daily living and they are used to having their food, clothes and accommodation taken care of for them. They are often left feeling lonely and unable to live independently of others. Some may have also been involved in active conflict and this can leave them with mental trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder which is often left unresolved.

One of the shift leaders also became involved in the conversation between the guest and myself and I was intrigued as he related to us some of his stories. The shift leader was also quite knowledgeable and told me that when he had been a student, he became involved in an internal scheme where students in Commonwealth countries were sponsored to go and study in a university of their choice in another Commonwealth country as part of an exchange programme. He, himself a Nigerian, was able to go and study for a three-year programme in India. In fact, he studied in an area of the Punjab which I know fairly well so I discovered that we had much in common. I also learnt a few things and found much of what he had to say very interesting.

Part 2: Learning from the experience

I felt that by taking the time to get to know much more about the guests and colleagues I learnt some things which I hadn’t known about before. Looking back at my SWOT analysis I have listed as part of my ‘opportunities’ section that I ‘hope to learn more and meet new people from different backgrounds’. I feel that this is one of those experiences which fulfils this particular criterion.

In some ways, this may also be adding to my communication skills as I have to be able to relate to a variety of different people from a different background to my own. In relation to other areas of my SWOT analysis I have identified being a ‘friendly and reliable person’ as one of my strengths and I suppose by being friendly and approachable I can get to know more of the shelter guests and earn their trust.

Example 2

Volunteer at Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA)

Maintaining management and communication skills

I was asked to help with the running of ACTSA’s inaugural HIV/AIDS conference, which brought together participants from the economics, health, political, trade union, environment and NGO sectors. My role was to meet and greet the delegates, hand out welcome packs and direct them to where they needed to be. Throughout the day I was also on hand to answer any questions that the delegates might have about the location of the facilities, refreshments or seminars. In order to manage the event efficiently it was also important that I knew where both I and the other volunteers were supposed to be at any time.

Whilst the delegates were all senior professionals, with many years of academic and work experience, I was able to converse comfortably with them and maintain a high level of professionalism when explaining the day’s format. It was also important to be enthusiastic and welcoming, whether I was talking to the first or the fiftieth delegate to arrive. I was able to draw on my excellent communication skills that I had developed whilst running society events, particularly when talking to potential members at society fairs and welcome events.

It was essential that, despite the rush of people, the welcome desk was kept tidy, especially given that volunteers were rotating between roles. A new volunteer would need to be able to clearly see where the badges and welcome packs were. My experience of running registration desks at the Young Jains conventions was valuable as it taught me the importance of order when trying to welcome, register and direct a large number of people in a logical fashion.

The day was excellently organised because each volunteer had been briefed beforehand and provided with a full timetable of events. The packs had been prepared in advance and name tags arranged in alphabetical order for easy access. The ACTSA team had previously visited the conference centre to familiarise themselves with the facilities, which made them feel comfortable in their surroundings on the day. Thus forward planning proved to be the team’s biggest asset and allowed them to deliver a very professional, polished event. The only learning point was that delegates were not given an allocated time to fill in their feedback forms, thus either people quickly ticked the relevant boxes without putting considerable thought into them, or promised to post them after the event, which only a few people followed through with. It is always possible to improve on some aspect of an event but with only a few detailed responses, the team collated few opinions on what should be changed and how. Having said that, the following week, we did have a very important debrief where action points from the event were recorded with target dates. I believe that this meeting was as significant as the event itself, for taking ACTSA’s AIDS work forward.

The event highlighted for me that skills developed in one area can easily be transferred to another, and prove to be invaluable in an otherwise unfamiliar situation. As a representative of ACTSA, which is a campaign organisation, it was important that the image portrayed was one of professionalism, passion for development but above all, the ability to effectively run an event or project. By doing so, the delegates, and the organisations that they represented, would be confident in working in partnership with ACTSA or any of the other organisations invited on the day, which would build strong relations for the future. This is essential if the problem of poverty, and particular AIDS, is to be combated in a multilateral way.

Example 3

Volunteer on befriending scheme for elderly people

Improving Time Management: Making Time for Volunteering

Reflecting on experience

Even though I started university in September 2003, it was not until a year later that I decided to take a step into doing volunteering work. Having seen and heard of the volunteering opportunities and activities which I could get involved in, thanks to the well-connected and well-run Voluntary Services Unit at the university, I decided that now would be a good time for me to do some volunteering before the pressures of working life beckoned.

I admit that I was a little concerned as to how much time the volunteering might take up, and I wondered if this commitment as well as other demands on my time might compromise my studies. In addition, as I did not have a structured timetable for my studies, I thought that this might result in difficulties in establishing routine weekly visits. During the induction to become an Age Concern volunteer in November 2004, it was reassuring to know that the organisation only required us to commit at least one hour a week to the elderly person whom we were to visit. We were also told that that after the initial period of 6 months, it was then be left to us to decide if we wanted to extend our commitment as an Age Concern volunteer.

In January 2005 I was introduced to my elderly person for the first time and it was decided that I would be visiting her once a week on Wednesday afternoons, which was also a half-day for me. This arrangement was convenient and worked for the both of us, and I was able to make it for most of the sessions apart from the occasional engagement or two. At this point I also discovered the importance of open communication and honesty with her and her son. Whenever I could not make a session I just had to tell them so that they knew what was going on and they were very understanding, which was most helpful. They were also very accommodating when it came to exams, when they reassured me that it would be okay if I could not visit during the period of exam preparation.

Since September 2005, I have changed my visiting times around as Wednesdays will now taken up by afternoon lectures and seminars. Thankfully both my elderly person and her son have been wonderful in accommodating the reshuffle and I am glad that so far I have been able to stick to the arrangement with ease as well as juggle both volunteering and work with no great difficulty.

Learning from experience

Volunteering in the Good Neighbour Scheme on a weekly basis has provided some sort of structure to my routine, and given me something to look forward to besides the dreary lectures. The experience has also taught me to get involved in other things in order to enrich my life as well as to make a positive difference in the life of another person; it has also affirmed the fact that the university experience should not just be about the books.

With regards to my time management in particular, I feel that I have been able to successfully make my visits work round my weekly schedule, thanks to the kind understanding of my elderly person and her son. As we get along well and communicate readily, I am able to tell them my problems such as with transport or timetabling and they readily accommodate me. My time management skills have improved especially when it comes to timing my visits and making sure I get on the Tube early enough so that I will be able to reach the flat on time. I also have been learning to balance work and visits and frequently check that I will be able to spare enough time during each visit to have a good unhurried chat. I am very determined that my commitment to these visits is not just a flash in the pan.