TEMPLATE FOR REFLECTIVE LEARNING JOURNAL

Guidelines for completing the Reflective Learning Journal

Templates

Studies have shown that reflection upon one’s learning is key to a full
learning experience. For this reason, you will be required to keep
reflective journals as part of your professional development.

How long will it take?

As a rough guide, each journal entry should take approximately 20-30
minutes. You may take more or less time depending upon your time
constraints and the amount of detailed information you wish to include.
Feel free to add comments but the minimum requirements are included in
the template. I suggest you check out the exemplars first for ideas on
how to complete them.

What should I write?

Don’t worry about how you write. Spelling, punctuation, grammar etc are
of no concern whatsoever to the program. We are trying to access
experience and thoughts.

Don’t worry if you discover your answers overlap or if you feel one
question has already been answered in response to another. Try to write
something, no matter how brief your response may be to each question. If
you find that you have nothing to comment on in certain sections note so,
may be this is telling you something important about your practice?

You are not limited to space provided in the template, each section
expands to accommodate different amounts of information.

NAME: NICKIA G MILLS

GROUP:1H
SUMMARY OF WHAT WAS DONE (DON’T DESCRIBE EVERYTHING, BE
SELECTIVE)

 Day 1 – 12-03-2011, Working as a Delivery Driver for Tesco. I arrived at work at

07:00 HRS at which point I proceed to the clocking terminal and swipe my clock in card. I
then proceed to the despatch point where I check the driver’s schedule, which I check to see
what trip I have been allocated on. After identifying my trip number I check the allocated slot
for the driver’s manifest and receipts for customers. I then check for the van park ( which is
assigned to each vehicle) and contained inside are:
 Drivers log book & Vehicle check record
 Missed appointment card
 Telephone (Mobile)
  Reach device (which customers sign once they have received their shopping)
I then proceed to do my vehicle check (which I check fluid levels, tire tread, lights etc.) I then
proceed to the diesel fuel point to refuel the vehicle. After which I do a content check, where I
check the number of crates on the van (i.e. ambient, chilled and frozen) against the manifest.
Once all checks have been carried out, I set up my satellite navigation system and program in
the addresses of the customers on the manifest. I then professionally and carefully drive to the
customers in order as detailed by the manifest whilst paying attention to any special or
appropriate delivery instructions. On arrival at the customers address I then proceed to unload
the crates containing their shopping (as per the manifest) and load them onto the trolley. Once
I have done this I then take the receipt and the reach device along with the shopping to the
customer’s door. I then politely greet the customer (i.e. Hello, Good Morning/Evening, How
are you today?). After the customer has received their shopping, I then get them to sign the
reach device then I hand them their copy of the receipt before saying “Goodbye/enjoy the rest
of your day”. I then repeat this process for the remainder of customers on the manifest and
upon completion I drive back to the depot, where I park my van in any available slot on the
loading bay. Once parked, I would then complete the driver log book with the relevant
information, such as the actual return time, the current millage. I then upload all the
information from the reach device (such as delivery times and signature and missed
deliveries, if any) onto the computer mainframe by simply selecting and following the menu
on the reach device. Lastly I would debrief the manager of any incidents that may have
occurred during the working day, after which I would clock out for the day.

 Day 2 – 2-02-2008, Working as a Bus Driver for Arriva London. I would arrive at
work 04:15 HRS to commence my shift at 04:30 HRS. I would use my Module to sign myself
in as well as check in, I would then check allocation sheets for trips and vehicle running
number. At this point I would then put on my reflective vest as this is a safety requirement
whilst moving around the compound. I would then go to the yard (where all buses are parked)
and check for my running number (which is found on the sides of the bus). Once I have found
the bus that has my running number on it, I would then use the door release button located on
the outside of the bus by the front door to gain access to the bus. Upon accessing the bus, I
would check the condition of the bus (clean etc.). Using my T-Key I would open the drivers
cab and adjust my seat and mirrors to my requirements then check that the gear is in neutral
before I insert my fob key into port and start the bus. Whilst the bus is running, I would then
use the controls to turn on the inside and outside lighting, the hazard etc. I would then do a
360 degrees check of the vehicle from the outside to check for any defects (i.e. dents or
damage to bodywork, lights/ indicators are in working order, etc.) providing all is in working
order, I would then get back in the cab, turn off the outside lights and/ hazards lights as
required and using the relevant controls check the horn is working by pressing it and the
windscreen wipers are working by pulling on its control. Once complete I would check the
petrol gauge and the tax disc before filling out my vehicle check schedule. I would then do a
radio check with the controllers after inserting my module into the ticketing unit and having
signed myself onto that bus’s ng number. After completing my visual and audio checks I
would then depart the depot and drive to the terminus where the first leg of the journey would
start from. Once I am there I would then change the destination roller to reflect where the bus
was heading and also do a test to ensure the communicator (the voice telling each area or stop
as it is being approached) was on and where necessary adjust the volume to an appropriate
level. I would then open the door to allow passengers on at the appropriate time after
completing my log sheet (information of the times arrived and departed from each bus
terminus, this is done for every leg of the journey). I would then invite waiting passengers on
while greeting them and with the added courtesy of a smile. I would seek the address any
questions posed (e.g. can you tell me if this bus goes to Paris?), if not I would give a possible
alternative to enable them to get to their required destination. I would drive towards my
destination (picking up and letting off passengers along the way as necessary). Cash
transactions are somewhat outdated as the majority of customers use Oyster Cards to travel on
buses. But when necessary I would perform cash transaction via the ticking unit to enable
those customers without Oyster Cards to purchase a ticket for their bus journey. This consists
of taking money and giving required change. I would repeat these steps while continuing to
greet all passengers and attending to their questions/queries until I have arrived at my
intended destination. I would ensure that all passengers have departed before pulling away to
the rest area (where you stay for 10-15 minutes while you complete your log card and
adjusting the destination roller to the new destination). The whole process will be repeated
again until the required number of trips where completed. Depending where the last trip
finishes. If it is not at my starting destination I would then run the bus back light (without
passengers) to the depot before completing my log card and removing my module from the
ticketing unit and switching off the bus. I would then go back into the building, hand in my
log card to the admin staff then using my module I would clock out and leave the premises.

 Day 3 – 9-11-2012, working as an Administrator for SSP, my contracted hours of

work was based from 9am -5pm. The main function of my job was to provide administrative
support. I would normally start the morning using my well-polished communication skills to
welcome clients by perhaps saying “good morning sir / madam and welcome to select
services partners. How may I be of assistance to you?” And then direct them to an
appropriate person to assist them further. My role required me to be well organised as this
skill along with my ability to communicate effectively at all levels was tested rigorously each
and every day. I would answer the telephone, taking incoming calls and also making outgoing
and follow up calls. I was required to (using my organisational skills) make travel bookings
for company officials (air, ferry, rail or hired car and if required hotels). During the day I had
to (using my organisation skills and my ability to prioritise), manage the dairies of senior
managers, manage emails and other correspondence (letters from the post which I had to flag
up for action, that is to say ensure that it only got to the person who was meant to see it).
I would carry out other tasks such as:
 Photocopying (Incoming and outgoing correspondence / letters and forward to
relevant personnel and clients.
 Typing (letters to creditors, memorandum to staff, emails etc).
 Filing (Master copy of all letter, Minutes of meeting, Staff Appraisals)
Having a very good knowledge in the following areas below enabled me to carry out my job
to a very high standard:
 Prioritising - Managing dairies
 IT skills – Letters, Reports, presentations
 Communications Skills (both written and verbal)
 A good grasp of the English language (Spelling and grammar)
 Attention to detail and my ability to show initiative.
After leaving for lunch for 1 hour I would return to the office and continue my day to day
office duties as detailed above until the business day is over at which point I would clear my
desk, sign out of any emails and close down any document that I have open on my computer.
Once I have completely and securely shut down the computer I would leave the building.

 Day 4 – 14-11-2000, Working as a Customer Advisor at Barclays Bank PLC. I would

arrive at work at 08:30 HRS, first thing I would do is sign myself in on the staff sign in/out
record sheet. My team leader would then hold a morning meeting that consist of setting daily
sales targets for all till staff (e.g. promoting life and home insurance and booking
appointments for the Personal Bankers). Once the morning meeting is over I would then use
my safe combinations with my team leader who will use their safe combinations to open the
money safe (two combinations are needed to open the safe) to take out the tills. Once I have
been giving my till, I would then check the seal is securely on and has not be tampered with,
once I have checked the till seal is ok I would then have to check the seal number and sign in
the TAB (Till agreement book) to confirm that I have taken out the till and that the seal
matched the seal that was put on and signed for the evening before. (All tills have a security
seal which is put on to seal the till every evening. All seals must be signed for by the person
closing the till and in the morning by the person opening that till). I would then open the seal
and unlock the till point and remove the money from the till bag and place it into the actual
till point. Once all the money from the till bag has be unpacked into the till point it would then
be time to reconcile the till (till balance). I would log onto the system using my smart card (a
card registered to each employee’s personal employee number/staff number) using a password
set by the company that is personal to me. Once on the system I would go to the ‘balance till’
function on the computer and proceed to input the values of each denomination of monies
within the till (e.g. 5 x £50, 14 x £20 etc.) Coins are put in as figures as opposed to the
number of coins (e.g. 10p = £5, 50p = £12.50). When I have done inputting all the figures
relating to physical money in my till I will select the ‘calculate’ button on the screen at which
point it will have two figures at the bottom of the screen if both figures agree then the till has
be reconciled and is ready to use. If not there will be a figure showing how much the till is out
by at which point the team leader would have to check be the previous days transactions to
find the error made in order to rectify it (e.g. delete and correctly process) before I can
proceed with any transactions for that day. At 09:00 HRS the branch will be open to
customers. As customers approach the till point I will carry out various transaction, such as
withdrawals and deposits of cash and cheques. At times customers request other transactions
like, Transfers (both UK and International), Bankers Drafts (guaranteed cheques issued by the
Bank), Money Orders (International Cheques), Travellers Cheques (Sterling or Foreign
cheques for use in other countries), Travel Money (foreign Currency) etc. During the day
whilst accessing customers’ accounts carrying out the requested transactions I will check what
Direct Debits customers have coming out of their accounts (mainly looking for Direct Debits
going to other Banks) this is to identify if they have any Life or Home Insurance with any
other bank in an attempt to offer Barclays products that may be useful for each individual
customer. Then ask questions (e.g. Are you interested in having a discussion with a Personal
Banker about the Life and Home insurances that Barclay’s current offers?). If any customers
show an interest, I would either walk them over to any available Personal Banker or book
them in to return at a later time. Any time I would leave my till point (printing, faxing, filling,
appointment walk overs, lunch break etc.) it is my responsibility to assure my till in locked
with the keys and the keys are on my person at all times. Also throughout the day staff
members will need to access the Secure Area (where the Money Safe and Till points are
located), it was the responsibility of myself and all till staff to follow the correct security
procedure when opening the door for other staff members allowing them access into the
secure area. I would check the camera (be vigilant) to make sure there is nobody hanging
around by the secure door, press the button to allow access whilst covering the alarm until the
member of staff has opened and closed the door behind them. Transactions are carried out all
of the business day until the branch closes at 17:00 HRS. Any customers remaining in the
branch when the doors are closed must be served before any till points are closed down for
Till Balancing. Once all tills have been balanced, Till Seals will be issued for each till point. I
would then pack all the monies from the till point into the till bag and seal. I would then sign
that I had sealed the Till bag and write the seal number next to the till number and my name.
Once two members of staff have put their combinations into the safe and the safe has been
opened all till bags will be put into the safe by the team leader. We will then have a Team
Meeting to discuss the daily targets that had been achieved or not achieved and share best
practices in how to maximise sales of particular products. After the Team Meeting I would
sign out on the staff sign in/out record sheet and then proceed to leaving the building. All staff
could only leave the building once the safe had been locked and the security system had been
set.

 Day 5 – 1-1-2002, Working as a Sales Assistant/Customers Service Assistant in Next.

I would start my day at 06:00 HRS in smart appropriate attire (trousers, shirt and black shoes).
When I arrive at the store I would sign the time I arrived into the Employee Attendance
Record Log. Once I have signed in I would got to my locker and look away my personal
belongings. The store would open at 06:30 HRS. Firstly I would go around the shop floor
checking that the clothes are in the correct size orders, on the correct hangers and that no
clothes have fallen off onto the floor. Once I have finished doing my checks of the store, I
would then go to the front of the store and using my exceptional customers service skills meet
and greet the shoppers and assist them when required in looking for goods and products. My
day to day role consists of Stock replenishment (putting out new merchandise), dealing with
customer queries (size request, stock check, missing labels etc.),giving advice or guidance on
item selection to customers, reporting any problems to my supervisor (missing and/ damaged
security tags), general tidying of the store (picking up clothes, sweeping etc.) using my
confident and polite manner and my engaging personality I would interact with customers to
make myself approachable at any time. As this role was very demanding I was required to be
physically fit as the majority of the day I was on my feet constantly lifting large loads of
stock. During the day I would take in deliveries of stock, check them off against the order and
delivery receipt to assure that the quantity and sizes were all correct and agreeing with that
listed on the order form. At the end of the day I would along with all my team members go
around the shop checking that the shop is clean and tidy (picking up clothes, sweeping,
moping etc.) When all is complete I would then sign out and leave.
NEW LEARNING:

What did I learn that was new to me?

I learnt that communication is a key part of all work roles. Excellent communication skills
will enable you to be able to effectively communicate with all different kinds of people at all
different levels. It is a very vital tool to ensuring customer satisfaction.

What insights did this new knowledge give to me?

The insight I gained from acquiring this knowledge was that prior to being able to
communicate effectively, I was shying away from situations in which I had to deal with
customer queries. However, since the improvement of my communication skills took effect, I
became much more confident and also my working day became a lot less stressful.

Did it help me see something in a new light?

Yes, it has helped me to see that, having the sound knowledge and the appropriate abilities to
do a certain type of job will most definitely lead to greater job satisfaction. It will also lead to
individuals becoming much more confident which then enables them to progress much
further within organisations.

Did it help me understand something that I didn’t understand before?

It helped me to see that running away from a problem or weakness is not necessarily the
answer. But, with perseverance and dedication there is light at the end of the tunnel.

What new skills and competences did I gain?

I became a much more confident individual. This then enabled me to go on and tackle other
tasks which were previously outside of my remit or at least that was my belief. Subsequently,
I acquired new skills such as being able to do public speaking, being a much more effective
leader, better able to delegate etc.

Will the new skills and competences enhance my role?

These new found skills and competences will most certainly enhance my role as well as take
 me over and beyond that of my current role. My response is due to the fact that since all of
this development took place, a whole new world opened up for me. I have been selected on
many occasions to carry out tasks that can be describes as over my pay scale, and this
selection was done whilst ignoring or not even considering other individuals who held
positions that were senior to mine (i.e. that work load would automatically have fallen
directly to them / a more senior appointment). In addition to this, I have also been
subsequently promoted in which I assumed the responsibilities of a new and higher position /
office.

How do I think this might be useful (in practice, in my studies, in my life)?

This will definitely be useful in all three fields listed above. This is because, being a
confident individual who is able to communicate effectively coupled with having the right
attributes (e.g. knowledge, organised, ability to lead etc) will certainly open doors in life as I
will know and believe that nothing is beyond my reach thus, if I want it and is prepared to
work hard enough to achieve it, then it will be mine. This will apply in all areas of my life
(i.e. work / practice, studies and as a whole, in life in general).

PERSONAL REACTION

How did I feel about what was done? (Did it affect me emotionally and if so how?)

I felt very proud and happy, but most of all I felt relieved that I had surpassed that hurdle. I
now welcome new or changing situations and challenges in life.

I would say that yes it did affect me emotionally as I could now socialise more and enjoy my
time in and out of work. As the stresses of work doesn’t just stop the minute your finish work
to go home. But, it prolongs and continues even into your personal life.

What did I like or enjoy and why?

I most definitely liked and enjoyed the fact that I could wake up and actually looking forward
to go into work. I also liked the fact that I was free from stress and constant strain which
where preventing me from achieving my true potential

What did I dislike and why?

I wouldn’t say that I disliked any of these changes, however, if I had to, then it would be the
fact that everyone within the work place would see you as a target from which to get
assistance and the frequent occurrences of having to tend to such instances or situations could
sometimes become a burden as it meant that I had much less time to carry out my own main
functions relating to my workload.

What did I find easy to do or understand and why?

I found it easy to take on new tasks and challenges, even those in which I wasn’t
knowledgeable. This may sound a bit weird but I can assure you that it is not. The reason
behind this is that I now had the confidence coupled with ‘the know how’ to carry out the
required research and where necessary (and this was something that I wouldn’t have done
before due to lack of confidence) the wisdom to seek advice or ask other more experienced
work colleagues for assistance where needed.

What did I find difficult or challenging to do or understand and why?

I sometime still found it a bit difficult to ask the opinion or advice of other work colleagues in
order to complete certain task. However this was more down to my own personality issues as
opposed to anything else. Moreover, I am aware that this is something that I need to address
and is currently improving or getting over this defect in my personality (having too much
pride).

ACTION TO BE TAKEN/DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Is there any action that I will take as a result of what was done?

I will endeavour to ensure that if I do not know something or if I am weak (require

development) in a certain area, that I find the appropriate channels and seek and obtain the
relevant assistance and guidance as opposed to sitting and suffering in silence.

Do I need to plug gaps in my current skills, knowledge and abilities?

I most certainly do. This is the reason why I am current doing this Diploma after which, it is
my intention to carry on with my studies to attain an honors degree with respect to this
discipline.

I will then seek employment within a management capacity either at my current place of work
or at other organisation where I will be able to move up the hierarchal structure. I am also
aware that there will be other operating programs or software packages that are peculiar to
that business that I will have to learn, however I will be equal to the task.

What further development activities do I need to undertake in order to enhance my

current role?

In order to enhance my current role, I will need to attend and successfully complete the
employees’ management program for which I have already been selected. This is an in house
management training scheme that is run by the organisation and is for members of staff who
has been identified and selected (from amongst their peers) due to that fact that they have
been seen to possess the capabilities and drive to progress within the organisation.