| CODE | SWP1004 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Personal Development and Reflective Practice | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 8 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Social Policy and Social Work | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit will be based on group learning. In each session, theoretical material about a particular aspect of personal skills needed by volunteers and a reflective application of these skills to the volunteering experience will be presented. There will be time for discussion and participation in experiential exercises. The skills which will be tackled include communication skills, giving and receiving feedback, assertiveness, time management, stress management, mindfulness and managing anxiety, conflict and conflict management, self-awareness and self-disclosure, teamwork, appreciating diversity, problem-solving, decision-making, public speaking, leadership and building self-confidence. Aspects of reflective practice which will be tackled include what reflection is and how it can be applied to the volunteering experience; the advantages of being reflective and how reflection can be adopted as a personal stance and the knowledge, values and skills required to be reflective and how these can be developed. Students will also be expected to carry out their own independent study on the subjects presented during the group sessions. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims to: - Explain and describe the skills needed in volunteering; - Provide participants with the opportunity to learn and practise these skills; - Enhance the volunteering contribution of participants; - Provide participants with the opportunity to reflect on their volunteering experience; - Encourage participants to explore and appreciate the benefits of being reflective; - Use the group environment to help participants reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the social skills needed in volunteering; - Identify which social skills are needed in which situations; - Describe the different elements of reflection; - Identify how reflection can be applied to volunteering; - Develop personal and relational insight, recognising and working upon those aspects that are beneficial or detrimental to the volunteering experience. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate a mastery of the social skills tackled in the study unit; - Demonstrate reflexivity in the group discussions; - Employ reflection when seeing how best to deal with situations they are meeting in their volunteering experience. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main texts: - Bassot, B. (2016). The reflective journal. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. - Corey, G. & Corey Schneider, M. (2010). I never knew I had a choice (9th ed.) US: Brooks, Cole, Cengage Learning. - Maclean, S. (2016). Reflective practice cards: Prompt cards for social workers. Staffordshire: Kirwin Maclean Associates. Supplementary reading: - Bassot, B. (2016). The reflective practice guide. New York: Routledge. - McKee, J. & McKee T.W. (2012). The new breed: Understand and equipping the 21st century volunteer (2nd ed.). Canada: Simply Youth Ministry. - Newmark, A. (2015). Chicken soup for the soul: Volunteering and giving back. Connecticut: Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing LLC. - Rochester, C., Ellis Payne, A. & Howlett, S. (2014). Volunteering and society in the 21st century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. - Schon, D.A. (1991). The reflective practitioner. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Independent Study and Group Learning | ||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Samuel Fenech |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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