Part A of this report will examine my learning styles, preferences, highlight any areas of weakness and suggest methods for improvement, using a number of recognised questionnaires. This will provide evidence to support my career choice and my chosen sub

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APPENDIX

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                                STUDENT No        

Project submitted in partial fulfilment

of the requirements of the

BA (HONS) Logistics and Supply Chain Management

of Northumbria University


DECLARATION

I declare the following:-

(1) that the material contained in this Project is the end result of my own work and that due acknowledgement has been given in the bibliography and references to ALL sources be they printed, electronic or personal.

(2) the Word Count of this Project is: Part A  …3893.....  Part B  …5503...

(3) that unless this Project has been confirmed as confidential, I agree to an entire electronic copy or sections of the Project to being placed on Blackboard, if deemed appropriate, to allow future students the opportunity to see examples of past Projects.  I understand that if displayed on Blackboard it would be made available for no longer than five years and that students would be able to print off copies or download.  The authorship would remain anonymous.

(4) I agree to my Project being submitted to a plagiarism detection service, where it will be stored in a database and compared against work submitted from this or any other School or from other institutions using the service.  

In the event of the service detecting a high degree of similarity between content within the service this will be reported back to my supervisor and second marker, who may decide to undertake further investigation which may ultimately lead to disciplinary actions, should instances of plagiarism be detected.

(5) I have read the University Policy Statement on Ethics in Research and Consultancy and the Policy for Informed Consent in Research and Consultancy and I declare that ethical issues have been considered and taken into account in this research.

SIGNED:  ..........................................................

DATE: ................................................................


Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my lecturer for all his help during this assignment.  I would also like to thank my university colleagues for their continued support.

Lastly I would like to thank my family and partner.  Without whose continual encouragement and support I would not have been able to complete this assignment.


Table of Contents

Appendix A – Reflective Statement        

Appendix B – Belbin        

Appendix C - VARK        

Test Results        

Test Questionnaire        

Appendix D – Myers Briggs        

Test 1 (18/12/07) - Results        

Test 1 - Radar Results        

Test 2 (24/02/08) - Results        

Test 2 - Radar Results        

Test 3 (07/04/08) - Results        

Test 3 - Radar Results        

My Personality Type        

ESTP Personality Type        

ISTJ Personality Type        

ISFJ Personality Type        

ESTJ Personality Type        

Appendix E – Keirsy Career Indicator        

Appendix F – Jung        

Test Results        

INTJ Personality Type        

Test Results        

Appendix H – Honey and Mumford        

Appendix I – Friends and Family Feedback        

Appendix J        

Curriculum Vitae        

Standard Application Form        

Job Description -        

Job Description –        

Appendix K – “How do I learn?” PowerPoint Presentation        

Last Page        

        


Glossary of Terms

CILT                        Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

EPRWG                Emergency Preparedness and Response Working Group

EU                        European Union

GPU                        Global Positing Unit

ICRC                        International Committee of the Red Cross        

IFRC                        International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies

LIS                        Logistics Information System

LSI                        Learning Style Inventory

LSQ                        Learning Style Questionnaire

MBTI                        Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

MSF                        Medecins Sans Frontieres

NGO                        Non-Governmental Organisation

OCHA                        Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SDR                        Strategy for Disaster Reduction

UN                        United Nations

UNHCR                United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHRN                United Nations Humanitarian Response Network

UNICEF                United Nations Children’s Fund

UNJLC                United Nations Joint Logistics Centre

VARK                        Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinaesthetic

WFP                        World Food Programme


Personal Development Project

Part A

Introduction

Part A of this report will examine my learning styles, preferences, highlight any areas of weakness and suggest methods for improvement, using a number of recognised questionnaires.  This will provide evidence to support my career choice and my chosen subject for discussion in Part B.

The questionnaires used to establish my preferred learning style are Belbins Team-Role Self-Perception Inventory, Myers Briggs Type Indicator and VARK questionnaire.

In addition I also took the Honey and Mumford Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ), Jung’s Typology questionnaire and Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences test to provide additional evidence.

Section 1

1.2 How do we learn?

As early as 334 BC Aristotle understood that everyone learns differently, “each child possessed specific talents and skills” (Redman, Walsh and Parkinson, 2003).  However it wasn’t until the early 1980s that academic research began in earnest in this area. (Reynolds, 1997).

There are currently a number of leaders within this field; Myers Briggs, Belbin, Fleming and Honey and Mumford.  There is at present no definitive research, however, confirming a right or wrong learning style (Evans and Sadler-Smith, 2006).  

Each of the questionnaires taken within this report produces different results: from personality type to preferred role within a team, which will be evaluated to show trends.  

It has to be noted, however, that learning styles are only to be used as a guide to identifying a preferred learning style.  According to Houle (1980) our life experiences can change the way we learn.

1.3 Previous experience and current approach to learning

So have any of my past experiences, both professional and personal, changed the way I learn?  

Since my early twenties I have worked all over the world in a variety of jobs, including short order cook in the rainforests of Australia to a manager at British Telecom in the UK.  Each of these roles provided me with invaluable knowledge that I have applied to everyday life, including how to interact with people from a variety of cultures and how to approach every situation with an open mind.

Prior to travelling, I trained to be a professional dancer, culminating in my final year performance in front of an audience of 4000 people. In later life, that experience provided me with the confidence to speak in front of large numbers of people, as well as being able to pick up new tasks quickly.

Everyone learns using the method they are most comfortable with and for me it is visual and practical.  In contrast I am least comfortable when learning from books, and academic routes such as lectures, academic journals and texts.  

According to Coffield et al (2004) learners become more motivated to learn when they are aware of, and understand their strengths’ and weaknesses and should learn to develop areas of weakness to broaden preferred learning styles.    

1.4 Working as part of a team

For most people their professional or personal life will involve working as part of a team.  These skills should be recognised and developed from an early age.  

I have always played an active role within sporting teams both at school and beyond, helping me to become a valued team player in my professional career.

One of the popular tests used to determine a person’s preferred role within a team is the Belbin ‘Team-Role Self-Perception Inventory’ method, which was developed by Meredith Belbin in 1981 to asses the  ‘strengths and weakness’ of individuals within a team (Moultrie, 2007).  

An individual's team role is established through a Self Perception Inventory; based on a questionnaire designed to establish a preferred way of working and preferred role within a team environment.  

Belbin originally identified eight key roles but added a ninth role in 1993, that of specialist (Belbin, 1993).  The addition of this role was to provide the professional expertise necessary in certain real life settings (Prichard and Stanton, 1999).

The nine team roles are summarised in the table in Appendix B.

The Belbin model is widely used due to its intuitive appeal and its relative ease for categorising individuals within a team and is often used to describe the “ideal team” (Fisher, Macrosson and Wong, 1998).

According to the Belbin test I am an Implementor and Specialist (Appendix B).  As an Implementor I am disciplined, reliable and conservative in habits.  I am also comfortable when taking practical steps and actions.  I would say this is a fair view of my personality and learning skills; I would like to think I am spontaneous and imaginative, but unfortunately I am not.  This was demonstrated during my youth during my art exams when I seemed unable to produce unique ideas and experiment with new techniques, due to my fear of failing.  This supports why my least preferred role within a team is that of a Plant.  I am neither unorthodox nor spontaneous in my approach to problems.    

All of these areas are key to learning and, according to Curry’s ‘onion’ theory (each layer of the onion representing one of a number of affecting factors with a central personality at the onion’s core), complement each other and provide us with the ability to learn (Sadler-Smith, 1999).

I feel the need to have a structure for everything that I do and when this structure is lacking I can feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.  Once a structure has been established I am very methodical at producing work, researching and performing within a team.  

Whilst at school I was a member of the netball team and played in the position of goal defence.  This is a non-aggressive role that supports the rest of the team and allows the goal attack to score the goals.  I have always been the supporting member within a team; ensuring work is completed on time and efficiently, equally I am not afraid to take the lead when I am comfortable with the subject matter and bring the team members together effectively.

To validate the results of the tests taken I asked friends and family to provide their feedback on my results (Appendix I).  An ex work colleague agreed with the Belbin results and confirmed that I am methodical and measured in my approach to problems and working with others.  However I feel this approach can be somewhat detrimental as I can sometimes think about things a little too long instead of pursuing the task in hand.

My second preferred team role was that of a Specialist. Although I do stay focused on a project until its completion I agree with my brother who believes I am more suited to the role of Monitor Evaluator.  I am not single-minded; if anything I am considerate of others feelings when voicing my opinions.  

I can remain focused, serious minded and will not relax until the task at hand has been completed to the best of my ability.  This has been a good personality trait within my previous employment as I have always been thought of as professional and respected team member who will give 100 per cent until every task has been completed.

 

Although I agree in principle with the results of the Belbin test I do believe the results are dependent on the situation and the type of team role you will naturally take. According to Watkins and Gibson-Sweet (1997) team members found they filled a different role within the team than the role suggested by the Belbin test.  

I know from my personal experience that if I am in a team with a number of confident characters I will sit at the back and not become involved until asked. This is an area I am trying to improve upon and I consciously try to actively participate in team discussions and meetings.  

I am currently working with a team of extremely confident people, who do not hesitate when giving their opinion.  I have made a conscious effort to actively participate in each meeting and also bring new ideas to the discussion.  This has pushed me beyond my preferred comfortable learning style but has helped me recognise and address my weaknesses.  In addition the support from my colleagues is helping me to achieve this and I feel more comfortable within this role.

1.5 Areas of weakness

Every learner has a preferred and least preferred style of learning (Fleming, 2007).  It is important to recognise and address these areas of weakness and not just ignore them. I struggle, and have done for most of my education, with writing skills.  I lack confidence in this area and as such have a mental block that often prevents me from completing a task as well as I would wish.  

If I am required to produce a piece of written work, either in a professional capacity or at university, I have a tendency to procrastinate, which then leads to a last minute panic and an even greater lack of confidence in my abilities due to the added pressure.  

My results from the VARK test have confirmed my least preferred learning style is Read/Write (Appendix C).  My score for this area is 5, whereas the results for the other areas; Visual, Kinaesthetic and Aural, are 13, 10 and 8 respectively.

The VARK test is a sensory/perception model developed from an earlier neuro-linguistic model (Hawk and Shah, 2007), consisting of four areas:

Visual – students have a preference for graphical and symbolic way of representing information.  

Read/Write – students have a preference for information printed as words.  

Aural - students have a preference for heard information, they learn better from lectures and/or discussions with other students.  

Kinaesthetic –learning involves physical experience of touching, feeling and practical hands-on experience (Fleming and Mills, 1992).  

My results for this test place me as a Multimodal Learner.  This is when the learner employs more than one of the VARK methods when learning.  According to Fleming (2007) multimodal results dominate the VARK database for all populations. But participants are often despondent with this result as they feel they have been put in an undistinguished category.  However this category shows the learner can use a whole sense approach (Fleming, 2007) and can change learning style, sometimes incorrectly, depending on the task required.

I am constantly trying to improve my Read/Write weakness and I have developed a number of techniques to help me achieve this.  Whilst working at BT as a manager of seven staff, I was frequently asked to produce performance reports used to determine an employee’s bonus.  

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As this was my perceived area of weakness I tackled the problem by reading and discussing past reports with each member of staff.  This allowed me to view the preferred style of reports and also gave me an understanding into how each member of staff perceived their strengths and weaknesses.  By breaking down the task into manageable pieces I found it easier to tackle, and it became less of an area of weakness and more of an area for development.

Attending university has tested my ability to write at an academic level.  To help improve this, I have ...

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