UK Centre for Materials Education
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Professional development is not a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly important. The continuing pace of change in materials science and engineering means that what we learned in our initial training courses soon becomes dated and irrelevant. It has been estimated that the half-life of technical knowledge is about seven years.
And so we need to learn continually as we work. This requires a skill set all of its own, a skill set we need to learn for ourselves as teachers and mentors, and a skill set we need to instill into our students for their future benefit.
This workshop has two principal objectives:
| 10.30 | Registration/tea/coffee |
| 10.45 | Introductions and welcome |
| 11.00 | Task 1: |
| Consider how your job has changed in the last five years and reflect on what you have learnt over the past 12 months. How have you learned it? | |
| Outcome: variety of learning situations | |
| 11.45 | Presentation 1: |
| Reasons for professional development (economic environment, skill requirements etc) | |
| 12.00 | Task 2: |
| Take one of the things you have learned over the past year and identify why you learned it. Was it by choice or were you selected? Who benefits from your new learning? How useful was the learning? | |
| Outcome: discussion on fragmented or focused approach to CPD | |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 13.30 | Presentation 2: |
| Definitions of PD and PD skills | |
| 14.00 | Task 3a: |
| Develop a personal profile | |
| Task 3b: | |
| Describe the strategy of your employer | |
| Task 3c: | |
| Highlight your training needs and develop an action plan | |
| Task 3d: | |
| Review barriers to your professional development and consider how they may be overcome | |
| 15.30 | Presentation 3: |
| Some reflections on reflection | |
| 15.45 | Tea and close |
You will be shown how to produce a personal development plan and will leave with one of your own.
