Reflective Journal

This was the first day of the lecture on the social context of professional practice. The first part started with a brief introduction of all the module team who would be working with us both on lectures and seminars. Azar Sheibani also explained to us how to access the web learning module. During her introduction there were some shout out from some students and this made it difficult for me to grasp most of what she was trying to explain to us especially on how to use the web learn. Therefore, I decided that after the class I would have a small conversation with her maybe she could go through it again with me. Also during the introduction, some student came in late, so she had to stop talking so as to have them get settled before she continued with what she was saying before she was interrupted. This made me think that it was not appropriate if the actual lecture start and some students come late and interrupt. I was glad when she reported that we had been given the grace because that was the first week, and that as from the following week any student that is late for more than 15 minutes will not be given the chance to get in for the lecture for the day. This experience made me realize that my college days were over and that I should work out a way of going to class early because I would not like to miss any. Furthermore, the introduction aspect of the module helped me in knowing most of whom my module team would be and how I can get in touch with them if I will not be able to attend any lecture or seminars for the day.

After the introduction, Dr Tele Amuludun went through the module assessment procedure with us. He pointed out that we were going to be assessed through, short essay, group presentation and reflective diary which we were going to start working on in the next lesson.

In the same note, the experience I had in the first lecture of the day; Introduction to ethics, that was given by Baljit Soraya gave me depth understanding of the difference between value which is the important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Similarly, I learnt about ethics and morals which mean accepting what is right or wrong. After the lecture we precede to our seminar rooms but unfortunately we couldn’t locate the room on time. We eventually manage to find the room which was a relieved for all of us. The seminar was started by Dr Tele and he asked us to suggest some ground rules for the seminar and some of my mates suggested that we should be punctual, work together as a team and lastly, put our phone on silent mode. This was acknowledged by all. Dr Tele also asked us about what we consider to be our values and some of my mates said respect; respecting each other in the group because we are at all equal and some of us are not from the same ethnic groups, this experience helped me to consider and understands more about what values is all about.

Week 2: 11/10/12 Developing Reflective Practitioners

The topic for this lecture was on developing reflective practitioners and this was delivered by Dr Tele Amuludun. For someone to be a reflective practitioner, the person should be able to look back at the work he engages in at regular intervals and the process he has made. Also, such a person must consider how they can improve on it. The topic was being received well by all of us in the class because some were asking question which did show their understanding of the lecture. I observed that some were taking note as well while some were demonstrating their understanding by use of body language such as nodding. The point of the lecturer and why the lecture is useful is that is going to help me in career and is going to assist me to be more objective about my experience and by extension give me more control over my learning and development.

Furthermore, I observed that during the lecture some student comes in late and this interrupted the lecture for a while as they settled down. According to Sigmund Freud, lateness is an anal characteristic. Freud gave an illustration of a child who had difficulty with toilet training, he said such a child would have a similar challenge in time management when it came to the other self management task like punctuality (Karen, 1992). That made me reflect on what I was to do in order for me not to be coming late since I wouldn’t want to be in the situation of coming in late during lectures.

Similarly, the lecture and the seminar motivated me to want to work more on being a reflective practitioner and to focus on being an active listener. In this lecture I learnt that in order for me to be reflective practitioners, I needed to acknowledge my role as a theory builder. Also, should I work on my ability to be a good listener, it is going to help me to succeed in my chosen career and I will be able to demonstrate this to my client by showing them I understand whatever question they might ask me.

Week 3: 18/10/2012 Sociology and Common Sense Part1

The lecture for this week was given by Peter Hodgkinson on Sociology and common sense. He started the lecture by explaining to us the difference between Sociology and Common sense. Sociology enables us to understand the structure and dynamics of the society, while common sense determines what is seen and how it is to be explained ( Mills, 1960). During the lecture, I observed that some student were able to demonstrate their understanding by answering some question that we're being asked on the topic in an attempt to test our understanding of the topic. Also, I observed that most of the students were not clear enough on what is common sense in the beginning of the lecture. However, as the lecturer differentiated between Sociology and common sense, we were able to see that sociology is not the application of common sense and also common sense is not always common and sensible because it does not always predict reality accurately. The lecture helped me know how society is structured and it helped me to figure out how it works. I also learnt about the culture of other people and what makes it unique. After the lecture, I proceed to my seminar group and we were asked to form a group of four by Dr Tele and discuss about “GAY MARRIAGE”. The task was difficult for my group members because of our individual believe on the topic and this lead to arguments among us. Some believe that gay marriage is not a marriage at all; the reason being that most of us come from Africa, where gay marriage is not recognized and not being practiced. We however reached a conclusion that since we were in the western world, we didn’t have to be judgmental and biased on the issue because being gay does not forbid anyone from their society and is being recognized as the norm of the society and we have to embrace whoever is in that position and give them any support we can.

Week 4: 25/10/2012 Sociology and Common Sense Part 2

The lecture started this day on continuation of Sociology and common sense by Peter Hodgkinson. He said common sense determines what is seen and how it is to be explained. The experience I had in this day's lesson was to help me to think critically and analyze some social issue and ask questions rather than taking it as a fact. After the seminar I went to my seminar room and Dr Tele asked us about our understanding of the lecture earlier. Some students said the lecture helped them to ask questions instead of accepting the facts of the society. Dr Tele told us to acknowledge our roles as individual in making sense of what is happening in the society. The seminar made me reflect on what was going on in the world and to ask questions instead of taking things for granted. I needed to be more complexity rather than being reductionist. Furthermore, we were to form a group of four and discuss on the topic which says “society is like a family”. Initially the task was seen as equally a difficult task among us, however, the cooperation between my group members made us to come up with the same answer.

Week 16: 31/12/2013 Group Presentation on Community Profiling

Regarding this week the instructor advised us to form groups composed of six individuals and come up with a good paper on community profiling. The group unanimously agreed on profiling concerning the London Borough of Croydon. The members of the group were to be involved and participate actively in the entire process of discovering much about the Borough. The group sought time to build and express its opinion on the area we choose.

Considering that this was the work that the group had to present, the group was set to carry out an extensive study of the area. The first aspect that the group considered was to carry out a visit to Croydon library so as to collect all relevant information that was needed to make the presentation a success. As such arrangement as to the time and the venue for the group first meeting was decided. At this point, various appointments were done including the one to chair the group which did fall on me. Having various positions filled, the group sets out to gather the information. Individuals’ roles and responsibilities in the presentation process were also clearly defined by each person having something to do. As the group leader, I was no doubt very active in as far as the process of strategizing and coming up with solutions to those issues that arose or were brought forth by other members.

In fact there were so many questions that group members had in an attempt to understand and come up with a valid conclusion to our study problem. Members often engaged in brainstorming and active discussion and these needed be controlled. Being the group leader, I got an opportunity to improve my level of understanding especially on diverse methods of dealing with social and academic issues. After agreeing on the notes and other materials that we were required to us in our presentation, the challenge was just how to put the information in PowerPoint to ease the process. I at this point to the challenge and assist my group in preparing power point notes since most are not computer literate and by extension have no knowledge about the use of PowerPoint.

Having done this, the group was confident that it can successfully make the presentation. The presentation was to be conducted according to how roles and responsibilities were divided. The decision on the day of presentation was accepted by all group members unanimously. There was no other business to carry out in the group and having successfully accomplished our goals, the group was dissolved.