“Where do I begin?”…………..
With anxious trepidation, just preparing for my first introductory workshop was far more daunting than the workshop itself! The questions to ask ourselves, the initial research, the reading required and the compiling of a mini presentation felt quite overwhelming. No place to just sit back online and take notes! Active processing of thoughts and participation was required!
For the 1st part of my presentation I decided to share a series of images that depicted my professional and creative identity. I worked in fashion industry as a technical and product development specialist for 17 years. This involved a large amount of collaborative work and travel resulting in a humbling amount of personal and professional growth. I shared images of my travels visiting other specialists and creatives/craft people around the globe which has shaped my own creative and professional outlook.
Another image I shared was that of a roadmap. The roadmap marked out all the questions we ask ourselves on the start of our professional journey’s. This forms part of my identity as a careers tutor and as I’m starting on a personal academic journey to obtaining my PgCert I thought it quite relevant as well.
The research I conduct in order to share what I had learnt about pedagogy and /or Pedagogic research was so challenging for the simple fact of “where do I begin?” How will I find something that literally “sparks” my interest. Fundamentally what can I read and understand? The language used in some of the papers I read was like a foreign language and truly head scratching!
However, I found something I could relate to. It was written by a careers and employability practitioner called Hannah Breslin who wrote a piece titled: Wittier, cleverer and more ambitious: Moving beyond a standardised approach to skills audit exercises ( Breslin.H 2017)
This piece introduced me to a principle called Ipsative teaching method for Self-Assessment.
The Ipsative model of self-assessment: Supporting students in identifying and reflecting on their own development and skillset.
As I use skill audits in my own teaching practice, this piece was so relatable and tangible that I felt reassured that I would be able to get past the fear of academic theory and make direct correlations between pedagogy/ pedagogic research and my own practice.
This piece raised many questions for me, namely the perceived lack of confidence students have in assessing and identifying their own strengths and skillset. What can I do in my teaching practice to help students overcome barriers and encourage them to feel uninhibited when promoting themselves as a professional candidate?
It was useful to know how the implementation of an ipsative model can help students be the author of their own skills audit, based on their own reflections rather than a prescribed tick list. That makes sense!
1st hurdle jumped. I’m on my way……..
References:
Breslin.H (2017) Wittier, cleverer and more ambitious: Moving beyond a standardised approach to skills audit exercises /SPARK / Volume 2.No . 1
