Leadership and Management in Early Years

Summative Assessment Contents

Report

Title Reflective report on your progress in development of skills for the course, (including information from formative assessment); using feedback from tutors, peers and colleagues. Introduction Deciding to go back to university was a big decision for me and it has had a big impact on my life. It involved changes to my routine, and it means that my time cannot be devoted to family and friend, or to other things that I really like doing.

But I really want to achieve something and this involves some changes and sacrifices, and I am ready for the challenges that await them. According to Cottrell (2011), students should developed critical thinking skills. That improves their attention and observation and help them to priorities their goals and manage their time efficiently.

Aim

My most important aim is to identify how to manage my time so I can succeed my work, and study and manage my family demands efficiently. According to O’Hara (1998), I’ll need to identify how to study and to allocate an environment where I can study without disturbance of my demanding family. I need to develop an understanding of my professional skills, my strengths and weaknesses, therefore, using the knowledge to enable me to increase my development and progress as an individual.

To make my study life as smooth as possible, I need to identify my study style. According to Kolb (1984), people learn in different ways and have different learning styles. It is important for students to identify their learning styles at the beginning of the study program. The best way to approach for a student is to gain a secure knowledge of a variety of learning styles.

Objective

At the beginning of my study program, there were a number of things that needed to be done. According to Macleod-Brundell and Kay (2008), my time at work and home needed to be better organised so that I could use my available time as best as possible. This can be accomplished by avoiding substitute activities and make a ‘to do and not to do list’. Also, my family needed to understand that I would need some private time to study and concentrate on my work to be able to successfully complete a degree course. This can be achieved by using and evaluating the information around me, to understand how I work as an individual. Using feedback from colleagues has stimulated me to think more deeply about me and my thoughts. It gave me a clear idea of how I am perceived by others. According to Reed& Canning (2010), knowing our learning journey and important changes in our thoughts, values and attitudes help us to identify who we are.

Reading different experimental learning approaches to study skills, was a great help for me in identifying these skills.

Helping others out of my areas of expertise will help me to gain knowledge of subjects I do not discovered yet. Also, working effectively as a member of a team will give me a chance to share ideas within the team and learn from their experiences (Belbin 1993). Personal skills During many years of working as a nursery nurse and also running a family, I have learnt to be patient and act diplomatically in different circumstances. My passion for study started from young age, however, my academic studies started with BTEC level three in childhood studies.

I have studied medicine in Iran and having knowledge of medicine and receiving First Aid training regularly allows me to be able to treat minor accidents at work and home when needed. At my work place, I have proved that I can work successfully on my own initiative and also be a confident team player and communicate with my colleagues, children and their parents effectively. According to Belbin (2010), nine tram roles, I believe I can be a team worker, shaper and resource investigator, which means I may not be able to promote decision making but I am observant, enthusiastic and reliable (Appendix 1).

Feedback from colleague’s questionnaires According to Carver, Howard & Lane (1999), learning styles are basically different approaches to learning each student has their own unique way which influences their learning development. Using feedback questionnaires enabled me to see how I work and what my colleagues think of me as a team worker and as an individual. I asked 10 members of staff, i have worked with during past 6 years, to agues think about my professionalism, openness, self-management, positivity and responsiveness (Appendix 2). Data analysis from colleagues Feedback Questionnaire pic] Table above demonstrate strength in most areas, however, there is room for improvements, and I need to be more flexible and accessible to my colleague. Study style According to Griggs (1984), the correct learning style is important because it can help to increase the academic performances of the students. (Carol, 1992) suggests People learn in different way, and it all depends of on each person’s preferred learning style. It is helpful for students to identify their learning styles and also for the lecturer to address a variety of learning styles in their teaching plan.

Stellwagen (2001), argued that flexible combinations of learning and teaching styles allow students to develop effective ways of gaining positive educational outcomes. However, because I am only attending to my lectures once a week I found myself in a huge disadvantage to combine my learning the teaching style. According to Paige- Smith, & Craft (2011), understanding my learning styles helps me to alter and improve it accordingly. According to a learning style questionnaire, I am a pragmatist. This indicates I am an active experimenter (Appendix 3).

Time Management questionnaire Managing my time to study is one of the most challenging tasks I have had to endure. I am working full time and also have a demanding family and life style, therefore, I have to study past midnight every other day for few hours and also visiting MDX University library every weekends. According to Macleod- Brudenell & Kay (2008), filling a time management table, making to do list and not to do list, avoiding distractive activities, are some of the affective ways of managing study time.

Therefore, I completed an organisation and time management test to give me an indication of sort of things I do at the different times (Appendix 4). Data analysis from organisation & management chart [pic] Looking at the chart above indicating that, the majority of my time spent on my family, however I am aware that my family may disagree on this statement but according to Jones and Mc Creery (2009), data aleays shows an individual explanation of the study. Chart below shows how I would like to spend my time during a week. Appendix 4). [pic] Also, I took an online time management test called Mind Tools, taken from Moodle. Mind tools indicate how good my time management is, I score 49 on the test which indicates that I am managing my time very effectively. However, there is still space for improvement, as I need to set a goal to avoid frittering my time away on a confusion of conflicting priorities. (Appendix 5). Presentations Undertaking a presentation was another problem, yet to endure this as it was a very first time I had to do one.

Collaborating with other students was motivating and this enabled us to encourage and support each other. Cottrell (2008), suggests student can gain self-assurance by asking questions in lessons and by being an active learner and member of the group. To make a good presentation, we had to research about the subject carefully. Learning about Harvard referencing was a challenge and we researched and collected information from books by Pears & Shields (2010) and by Directorate of Learning Resources (2010), and based on those information we made our presentation.

My greater fear was to stand up front of the whole class and deliver the relevant information to the lecturer and other students in an interactive way. Keeping an eye contact, smiling, correct body language and tone of voice during a presentation can affect the attention of the audience (Moyles 2006). Feedback from Tutors Feedback from my tutor was mainly positive, however pointed out that I need to make sure my referencing is correct and advise me to proof read my work before submission. Verbal feedback was very positive and indicates that maintained good interaction with my audience (Appendix 6)

Feedback from Peers Presentation feedback showed that we managed to deliver our power point successfully and the audience enjoyed and understood the presentations. (Appendix 7) Areas of further development Referring to tutor’s feedback on my previous assignment, I need to make sure my referencing is accurate and all books are in the bibliography. also I need to proof read my work before submission. Action plan The following development requires further improvement: • Being flexible and accessible towards my colleagues. • Managing my time efficiently.

Concise referencing and bibliography

Proofread my work before submission To address above points:

• Spend more time with my colleague in my free time to get to know them well in order to be able to communicate effectively with them.
• Complete the personal development plan will give me a chance to know myself better and allow me to use my strengths as an individual and develop my weaknesses to be my strength as well.
• By reading more books about Harvard referencing. Before submitting my assignments I will make sure that another member of staff proof read my work and grammatically check my work before submission.

Conclusion

Overall, from my research and the feedback i received from my colleague, peers and tutor, i believe that my learning style is generally well balanced between active reflective and instinctive. However, it is important for me to improve my personal development skills. This requires me to be a more efficient team worker and increase my confidence when presenting in front of an audience.

Bibliography

1. Belbin R (1993), Team Roles at Work, 1st Ed, Oxford. Butterworth Heinemann.
2. Belbin R (2010), Team Roles at Work, 2nd Ed, Oxford. Butterworth Heinemann. Carol M. 1992), Understanding Different Learning Styles. http://www. ndt-ed. org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/classroomtips. htm. Accessed 20/11/2012.
3. Carver, C. A. , Howard, R. A. , & Lane, W. D (1999). Enhancing student learning through hypermedia courseware and incorporation of student learning styles. IEEE Transactions on Education, 42(1), 33-38.
4. Cottrell S (2008). The Study Skills Hand book. 3rd Ed. Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. Cottrell S (2011). Critical Thinking Skills. 2nd Ed. Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. Directorate of learning resources (2010). Harvard Referencing Student style guide. nd ed. Sunderland: City of Sunderland College. Griggs, S. A. (1984). Selected case studies at preferences of gifted students. Gifted Quarterly, 28(3), 115–119.
5. Judge B, Jones P & Mc Creery E (2009), Critical Thinking Skill for Education Students. Exeter. Learning Matters Kolb D (1984) Experimental Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. New Jersey.
6. Prentice-Hall. Macleod-Brudenell I & Kay J (2008) Advanced Early Years. Harlow. Heinemann. Moyles J (2006), Effective Leadership and Management in the Early Years. Berkshire. Open University Press.
7. Paige-Smith A & Craft A (2008), Developing Reflective Practice in the Early Years. Berkshire. Open University Press. Paige- Smith, Alice and Craft, Anna eds. (2011). Developing Reflective Practice in the Early Years (2nd Ed).
8. Berkshire: McGraw Hill, Open University Press. Pears, R. & Shields, G. J. 2010, Cite them right: the essential referencing guide, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Reed M & Canning N (2010), Reflective Practice in early Years, London, Sage Publication Ltd. Stellwagen, J. B. (2001). A challenge to the learning style advocates. Clearing House, 74(5), (5), 265-268.