Recording Your Learning - Effective Practitioner
Reflection on your learning is one of the core elements of Effective Practitioner. It's important that you record and evidence your learning and reflections as this will not only support your professional development but will also provide valuable evidence for your personal development review and your registration requirements.
Some tips for recording evidence of learning
Your evidence and record of learning should cover all learning you have undertaken - learning within the workplace as well as any formal training or development you have undertaken throughout the year.
Ask your manager and colleagues for feedback (verbal & written), particularly if you've recently taken on a new area of responsibility or developed new a new skill. Record how you have used this feedback.
Reflect on a learning activity as soon after the event as possible. Very often we evidence and reflect on activities only when we are asked to provide evidence for a review interview or an audit of the portfolio. It's best to reflect, record and evidence when the event is fresh in your memory. You may wish to follow-up an initial reflection with a further review after a period of time to allow for a deeper, more objective reflection, particularly for those events or incidents which you found emotionally challenging.
Don't just focus on the number of hours completed on the learning activity - focus on the issue that you worked on and how you have improved your practice as a result. This 'output' based approach is a more valuable way in which to record your learning in the workplace.
Select the most appropriate methods to record your learning - this might be a paper-based form, online template or a digital portfolio. Select a recording tool and be consistent in its use - you need to keep a record of learning over time that can be easily collated and submitted as part of a review meeting or as evidence for your Regulator.
Periodically look back at your evidence collectively and record key strengths, your areas for development, what opportunities would be most beneficial - a bit like a map charting your critical learning situations.
Include evidence from as many sources as possible - it is not just about certificates.
Templates to record your learning
Click the links on the right to access and download templates for recording your learning in a structured way.
