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Module 1: Who am I?

Who am I?

Welcome to Module 1 where we will explore what makes us tick and how that knowledge can help us grow as learners in lots of different settings. Over the following activities, module 1 will explore what it means to be self-aware, how we can identify our own strengths and areas for growth and how we might adapt to change.

Prepare

 For this module you will need your physical or digital process journal as well as a partner/group/class to chat to where appropriate.
Personal Development

Personal Development is just one of 5 themes explored across the whole of the PPS course. Each of these themes has subskill areas as you can see in the visual below. In these modules we will explore a theme by itself, combined with another theme as well as combined with all the themes together.

  Consider the skills and sub-skill areas here and how familiar you are with them. Make a note or discuss with a partner your ideas to the following questions.

Are they words you have come across already? Why might they help you with your studies and working in different contexts in the future? Which ones are most important to you? Which ones do you most want to work on?

Use this presentation to accompany you through this EXPLORE, DEVELOP, REFLECT and EXTEND stages

Activate

Key question: How can I identify my own strengths and develop areas for growth?
To get the most out of your CP course, you do need a system that threads through the entirety of your course and not just limited to an introductory topic. So whatever you develop here can be used throughout your course.

In this module we are going to start by considering 'who am I?' - what are you really about? Have you ever articulated this properly?

The following exercises are inspired by and adapted from The A Level Mindset by Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin. The authors make use of their bespoke VESPA system to develop growth mindset in teenagers aged 16-18. Through targeting Vision, Effort, Systems, Preferences and Attitude, you are able to weather successfully the stresses and strains of a challenging sixth form course.

Explore

Remember you can use this powerpoint to accompany you through this EXPLORE, DEVELOP, REFLECT and EXTEND stages
Visual journal

This is a great opportunity to start as you mean to go on and create a visual journal to accompany your PPS course as well as other core elements. This can be a physical or digital journal that you feel comfortable using. Expressing and developing your ideas does not = writing lots. You can use images, voice notes, sticky notes, art, music ... whatever works for you. The first exercise will get you to try this out so give it a go.

Vision Board
Create a 'vision board' of your likes and dislikes as a good way not only of finding centre and identity but also bypasses questions such as 'what do you want to be?' or 'what is your goal?' You need time to develop your goals - maybe to find some aspirations but also time to have the confidence to acknowledge ambitions you might have. These exercises can be completed as a visual journal, a large piece of wall art, a prezi or powerpoint presentation ... as long as it is visual, and easily accessed and seen, you can experiment with different modes.
Step 1. Vision board: 'All about Me'
Below is the early stages of a vision board created by a student.

Consider the image and the accompanying questions. 


 

Development

Where does your focus lie? Find images that engage or inspire you from your interests and home life: music, languages, art, film, media, sciences, politics, environment, theatre, technology, social media, sport ...  to name a few.
Extension: This exercise can be extended both now and at any stage, by including images that capture your past, present and future.

Develop

Questions to delve deeper

These questions focus on a your attitude to work and life as they are inextricably linked when it comes to a  understanding yourself and what makes you tick.You may want to develop your vision board from Explore further after considering these questions[1] 

  1. Name five things that make you smile.
  2. If you could only take one subject, what would it be?
  3. What do you find it easy to do? Think both work and in home life
  4. What jobs do you avoid doing? Think both work and in home life
  5. What are you doing when time flies?
  6. What job would you do for free?
  7. You suddenly have a free afternoon on your hands: what do you choose to do with it?
  8. If you were given an afternoon off to work at home, what subject would you choose to do?
  9. Do you leave some work until the last minute? Think of the last piece that you did this way and finish the sentence 'I left it until the last minute because ...'
  10. Name five things that make you sigh.
  11. What would you try to do if you were guaranteed to succeed? Why?
  12. List the first words that come into your head when you hear the word 'happiness'.
  13. List the first words that come into your head when you hear the word 'stress'.
  14. If you could start a company, what would it be for?
  15. What do you talk about with friends? Is there anything you would like to talk about with friends but you don't?
  16. When was the last time you dismissed doing or trying something new? Explain that choice. What if you had done it?
  17. When does time fly and time drag?
  18. Name five things that make you cry.
  19. Who would play you in the film of your life and why?
  20. What is guaranteed to distract you?

Reflect

Part 1: Giving feedback ...
SHARE all vision boards around the classroom like a gallery or easily visible online so you can look at each others' work
Analyse: Before anyone explains their choices, what can you ascertain abotu each other from your vision boards?
Interview: Now, working with a partner, interview each other about your vision board. Remeber there are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers/
Synthesize and evaluate: What similarities can you find across the vision boards? Why is this significant?
Reflect: What has made you thoughtful here?
What is missing from your boards?
What did you forget to include?
What does your board have that no one else has?
Is there anything you did not want to include or share?
Is there anything that surprised you about this exercise?
Part 2: Final reflection
Looking at your vision board, what have you learnt about yourself? What did your learn about yourself and your peers in Part 1: Reflection? Have you identified any areas of strength or areas for growth already?

Extend

This is the part of the module where we make connections to other areas of your course and the wider world. After all you exist in more than one personal and professional setting.
LO1:  Identify their own strengths and areas for growth
LO2: Demonstrate the ability to apply thinking processes to personal and professional situations

LO3: Recognize and be able to articulate the value of cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity
 

LO4: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of communicating effectively and working collaboratively

LO5: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Create an initial mindmap of where you stand with all the elements of your course in terms of LO1, LO2 and LO4

Footnotes

  1. ^ Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin, The A Level Mindset

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