Personal Development Plan (PDP) is a system developed to help capture the interactions between the achievement gaps and the self actualization or realization.
Personal Development Plan does not only involve the learning session, it also include formations of ways through which the learning needs will be achieved.Personal Development Plan can be used for more factors other than to capture the interactions or discussions between the interrogator and responder, whereby issues are agreed upon during the discussion. Personal Development Plan is a document formed at the end of a discussion and the participants have come to an agreement (CIT, 2002).My purpose and practice of PDP?PDP can be used in working, learning, social environments, or during job interviews to help in capturing the relevant information about a new task environment or office. A PDP has purpose of capturing the agreed upon points during a discussion.
The points agreed upon are to be used for the following reasons: knowledge and expertise acquisition to improve study performance, adapt to changing learning environment and to achieve personal and organizational goals. As a student having a regularly updated and reviewed PDP helps in identifying task needs which a justification from management and learning theories (University of Glasgow 2009).How do I plan my PDP in managing my semester studies?To plan the PDP to manage my semester well I consider the following. First, the way in which semester studies are carried out in various subjects in our learning institutions depends on the syllabus aims and the objectives to be achieved.
Therefore, a successful PDP will depend on the management and learning theories should be considered that are in line with my career goals. According to strategic intent theory, the success of a person depends on ones ambitions and dreams (Hamel & Prahalad 1989). So being a humanist career student, I will end up making the best out of the PDP along humanity courses.It is therefore necessary to develop the humanistic learning theory or style to drive them throughout the semester (Merriam & Caffarella 1991). In addition, I have to develop cognitive learning style to have the insight to work diligently to meet set goals.
The second, issue that I consider is planning what is to be learnt or knowledge to acquire. The requirements to be achieved in a PDP will depend on individual’s morals for the activity.According to Mourkogiannis (2005), it is what a goal setter believes to be right or wrong that will guide one to achieve a given goal. The learner is likely to adopt behaviorist learning theory to be able to change behaviors accordingly to suit a given need or requirement. These goals will be broken down to achievable objectives under very specific and realistic time frames.
Third, I will plan resources required and the steps forward to meet the required objective. In this case I will adopt social and situational learning theory to easily interact with others to acquire the needed skills and knowledge hence achieve the set goals.Through social and situational learning theory, I will learn how to interact freely with others to gain new skills and knowledge on how to effectively carry on through out the semester. The moral purpose management theory will help people discover the new skills to help him or her achieve the goals (Merriam & Caffarella 1991).How well I managed my semester studies?According to management theory by McGregor theory Y (1960), I viewed my work as a normal task to be done daily under minimum supervision.
Having adopted the cognitive learning theory, I am confident for examination and prepared for the future job as a motivation to take me through the semester.I requested for any additional work to be done and creatively used my knowledge to accomplish them successfully. All this was achieved through the participatory management that was been practiced in the institutions (Merriam & Caffarella 1991).By adoption the theory Y by McGregor (1960), I was motivated by the nature of studies and put all my mental focus towards the set goals. I did not require any external control or pressure in order to perform in my studies.
I was motivated by the fact that my future job satisfaction will depend on how hard I work now in preparedness for the future responsibilities. Theory Y enabled my creative perceptions and genius in handling difficult tasks so that I am prepared for future professional conduct and soft management skills.
