INSTRUCTIONS: Weighting: 50% Submission type: Essay style Academic References: A minimum of 6 academic and professional literature references must be cited. Word limit: 3000, not including references. Appendices not allowed. Task: Write a reflective learning essay based on the diary notes you made during each week of session. The learning diary is used in this unit as a means for you to reflect on the overall content of the course, your experiences throughout, and the meaning that the content and experiences have for you and your life at work. In your reflective essay describe: 1. Your perceptions of managing change when you commenced the unit. Have these perceptions changed? 2. Your ideas and observations that you have had in response to the learning experience. What did you find confusing, interesting, difficult or inspiring, and why? 3. How the unit learning experience has developed your change management knowledge and skills in relation to a previous or current change project in your work or personal lives. Demonstrating an understanding of the theories of change is also important. The essay should be personal, reflective, and engage with the academic evidence. Background A particular focus of the course is on stimulating: 1. Intellectual intelligence, or thinking things through. 2. Emotional intelligence. An awareness and handling of the emotions of yourself and others. 3. Action intelligence. A confidence and ability to act and reflect upon action in situations of complexity, uncertainty and conflict. You will also need to demonstrate an informed and thoughtful understanding of the key issues, arguments and materials presented in the unit. A reflective piece is a critical reflection of the information discussed in the unit. Does this information resonate or challenge you? If so, in what ways? If not, why not? Reflective writing should also be informed by your own experiences. Reflective thinking involves sharing information during and after the process of learning and thinking has taken place. It involves considering how and why you think the way you do, together with an examination of your beliefs, values, attitudes and assumptions that form the foundations of your understanding. Reflective writing also allows you to use different modes of writing and language, including: 1. Describing change. 2. Explaining change. 3. Expressing change. What do you think, feel, or believe. How you might lead change in the future. Suggestions for developing the content: 1. Key Reflections on the Lectures and Learnings Briefly discuss key elements of topics covered and your experience of the class sessions, highlighting the points important to you, and any questions you might have. Explain how the material (or certain aspects) apply or might apply in your life (work, study, play, relationships). Briefly discuss content and process of the exercises and activities, and any outcomes or results. Have the activities challenged or changed your views on leading change, or reinforced them? 2. Key Reflections on Selected Readings Briefly discuss the content of key readings that you found relevant - how the concepts, views and interpretations they offer relate to the lecture, case studies, discussions and class learning. Critique the readings: what were their strong and weak points, and why do you think so? Background to the journal This course is based on what has come to be termed a 'constructivist' view of knowledge and action. Within this view, learning is: 1. Experiential: As illustrated in David Kolb's Learning Cycle (1984; 2005), learning is an active and iterative process of experiencing, reflecting, conceptualising and experiencing. In your journal your commentary should focus on your experiences, the reflections you have, the generalisations you make and how you experiment with and explore further what you have learnt. 2. Problem-Based: As summarised in Savery (2006), an active and engaging approach to learning that encourages personal inquiry and sustainable learning involves identifying relevant and messy real world problems, and using problem cases, situations or projects to help define the problem so that you can explore solutions. Feel free to interrogate and question all assumptions and arguments, and use the opportunity in your journal to capture relevant learnings in a way that will be valuable for you in the future. 3. Holistic: Genuine and sustainable learning and development involves experiences that include the head, the heart and the hand. In your journal it is important to demonstrate that you are using your Head. This is the cognitive dimension of learning, something emphasised as crucial by the established management academic Peter Drucker: the importance of a good manager being able to ‘think things through'. Your heart is the affective dimension of learning, heightened awareness and regulation of the feelings and emotions of yourself and others. Your Hand is the embodied dimension of learning, not just talking and feeling differently but acting in new ways, applying what you learn to your own experiences, breaking and creating habits, being ready to try something new' with creativity and confidence. 4. Reflective Practice Think of your learning not as the acquisition of technical expertise but as a chance to reflect on your experiences, and how you might grapple with acting more effectively in challenging situations. Schon emphasised, in particular, ‘reflecting on action' while you are acting, 'reflecting on action' after you have acted and before the next time, and 'reflecting on reflection on action' in assessing how you are setting yourself up to learn (or not) in your work and your life. Since Schon's time, there has been a greater degree of emphasis on reflection that includes emotions and feelings, conscious or unconscious denial, grappling with cultural prejudices and political biases, and the role of collective dialogue and collaboration in stimulating such reflective learning (Thompson and Pascal, 2012). In your journal take the time to reflect on such issues, noting in particular any reflections in or on action that you have undertaken, or how you might further your opportunities for further reflection in the future. References Fischler, R., 21012, "Reflective Practice." In B. Sanyal, L. Vale & C. Rosan, eds. Planning Ideas that Matter: Livability, Territoriality, Governance, and Reflective Practice, (Cambridge MA: MIT Press,), pp. 313-331. Gazibara, S., 2013, Head, Heart and Hands Learning – A Challenge for Contemporary Education, Journal of Education, Culture and Society, (1): 71-82 Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. Kehr, H., 2017, Motivate yourself with visions, goals and willpower, Ted-X, Youtube, 9 February https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iulisjRIcVI Kolb, A. and Kolb, D., 2005, Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 4, No. 2 pp. 193-212\ Kolb, D., 1984, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall https://people.ok.ubc.ca/cstother/Learning%20Styles%20&%20Learni ng%20Spaces.pdf Said Business School, 2013, Heads, Hands and Hearts - Oxford Strategic Leadership Savery, J. R. (2006). Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem- Based Learning, 1(1): 9-2 Schon, D., 1983. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (New York: Basic Books). Thompson, N.& Pascal, J. (2012) Developing critically reflective practice, Reflective Practice, 13:2, 311-325, Vince, R., 1998, Behind and Beyond Kolb's Learning Cycle, Journal of Management Education, (22)3: 304-319.