My Learning Journal: Supporting Workplace Study

Supporting Workplace Study
My Learning Journal
This learning journal is a personal resource that you will build up during your study of the Supporting Workplace Study course. You will use it to
record your thoughts for specific activities in the course, and you can add to the journal at any time with further notes and observations. Once
you have completed the course, we hope that this journal will be an invaluable source of information in your role as a supervisor/mentor.
This Journal is designed to be filled in online, but you may print it and write in it instead if you prefer. If you use it online, you will need to open
the journal to complete some of the tasks. Don't forget to save it every time you use it.
Name:
Organisation:
Date:
My Learning Journal
To go straight to a specific task, hold down CTRL, point to the task title and click.
Module 2...........................................................................................................4
Colleagues' opinions...........................................................................................4
My roles as a supervisor.....................................................................................6
Benefits to my work practice...............................................................................8
Module 3...........................................................................................................9
My experience of the supervision process.............................................................9
A recent day’s work experience..........................................................................11
My first experiences at work..............................................................................12
Others' first experiences at work........................................................................13
Confidentiality.................................................................................................15
Valuing and managing emotions........................................................................16
Dealing with conflict in relationships...................................................................17
Module 4.........................................................................................................18
SWOT analysis.................................................................................................18
Offering support..............................................................................................20
Progressive focusing.........................................................................................21
The pitfalls of not listening................................................................................22
Open and closed questions................................................................................24
Improving communications...............................................................................25
More about learning styles................................................................................26
Module 5.........................................................................................................27
Creating a supportive environment for supervision...............................................27
Setting up the first meeting...............................................................................28
Newcomers.....................................................................................................29
Ajay's supervision session.................................................................................31
Promoting professional practice.........................................................................32
Ending supervision...........................................................................................34
Looking ahead.................................................................................................35
Module 6.........................................................................................................36
Collecting material for portfolios........................................................................36
Using portfolios................................................................................................39
Portfolios and formal assessment.......................................................................40
The Open University Centre for Professional Learning and Development Page 2 of 50
My Learning Journal
To go straight to a specific task, hold down CTRL, point to the task title and click.
Work in progress.............................................................................................41
Using a lens of observation and description.........................................................42
Using a lens of analysis and evaluation...............................................................44
Using a lens of synthesis and speculation............................................................45
Supervision tensions........................................................................................46
Module 7.........................................................................................................47
Looking back at supervision..............................................................................47
Development plan and learning contract.............................................................49
My Learning Journal
Module 2
Colleagues' opinions
Think back over the past few days or weeks. What opinions have you heard experienced colleagues express about the
performance of less experienced colleagues (including trainees or students on placements, if you have them)? These
opinions could be just passing remarks or perhaps accounts of specific incidents.
Opinion expressed My notes
My Learning Journal
Opinion expressed My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 2
My roles as a supervisor
What roles do you think you will have to play in your Professional Supervision? What tensions might arise? Record your
ideas in this document. Don’t forget to refer to the explicit advice and instructions provided by the course to which you
are linked.
Role Possible tensions My notes
My Learning Journal
Role Possible tensions My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 2
Benefits to my work practice
What benefits do you expect or hope to achieve for your own work practice during supervision?
Benefit My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 3
My experience of the supervision process
Think about your own expectations of the supervision process. Use this document to answer some key questions. You
may choose to record your initial expectations of professional supervision and compare them with the reality of
professional supervision as it develops in practice.
Question My notes
What do you hope that you and the student will gain
from the process?
What would you like to see happening in supervision

sessions?
How do you want the relationship between you and

the student to develop?
How can the process of supervision help the student to

learn and develop good practice in their organisation?
My Learning Journal
Question My notes
What do you think is good practice in professional
supervision?
What are the skills and attributes of an effective

supervisor, and do you think you have them?
My Learning Journal
Module 3
A recent day’s work experience
Describe a recent day’s work experience.
 What were your plans, hopes and timetable for the day?
 What actually happened?
 If the two were different, in your experience is this a frequent occurrence?
As you think about this, consider how the work patterns of external agencies, the local conditions (such as weather), the availability of
resources, the availability of staff and the needs of other organisations may affect the intended or normal running order of the day.
In short, what impinges on your day to alter what you originally planned to do?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 3
My first experiences at work
Think back to your own first experiences in your current work.
Question My notes
Were you made to feel inferior, useless, in the way? If
so, how?
Were you helped to become a useful colleague? If so,

how?
What were the experiences you now consider to have

been influential in your development? Who or what
produced these?
Did you feel intimidated by the environment?
My Learning Journal
Module 3
Others' first experiences at work
Think of the student/trainee that you will be supervising. They may or may not already be familiar with the work
setting. What will their first experiences in the work environment feel like?
Question My notes
What does this workplace look like if the person is
seeing it for the first time?
What does it feel like being a stranger here?
If this is their usual workplace, how does it feel being

a student here too?
What sort of person is the student?
What experience do they have of the work?
My Learning Journal
Question My notes
What do they know already?
What do they need to know?
My Learning Journal
Module 3
Confidentiality
Think about your role as a professional supervisor in relation to confidentiality.

How would you explore this with the student? Where would you go for support if you were uncertain about a sensitive
issue raised during a supervision session?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 3
Valuing and managing emotions
How do you value and manage emotions in your own practice?
How does this affect your practice as a supervisor?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 3
Dealing with conflict in relationships
How easy do you find it to deal with difficulties and conflict in relationships?
How can you prepare yourself to deal with potential conflict in professional supervision?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 4
SWOT analysis
Use the chart on the next page to fill in as many features of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to you as
a professional supervisor as you can.
Use the checklist of ideas to help you. Include as many things as you can, even if you think that some of them are quite
similar. If you aren’t a Professional Supervisor at the moment, then imagine you are in the role and do the same
activity.
A Checklist for Professional Supervisors
These are only suggestions to get you started. They’ve been taken from ideas by a variety of
professional groups.
Strengths might be: personal strengths, communication skills, and so on.
Weaknesses might be: a lack of confidence, feeling that you can’t express difficult issues as well as
you’d like, or a recognition that you don’t always listen to colleagues very carefully.
Opportunities might be: studying, examining your own work again, developing more communication
skills, these course materials, going on a course, or talking to colleagues.
Threats might be: lack of time or resources, or understaffing.
My Learning Journal
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
My Learning Journal
Module 4
Offering support
Think back to the last time that you were with a colleague and you found yourself offering them support. Play the scene
over in your mind and write an account of it. As a starting point, think about what went on, who said what, and how
you saw yourself as offering support.
My account Notes
Now compare your SWOT lists with this account. Try to find an instance of each of the features you listed under the
headings Strengths and Weaknesses. Mark sentences in your account with an S or a W (or use the Notes column) if
you think they indicate particular strengths or weaknesses. Now try opening this up and go through the same process
with Opportunities and Threats, i.e. by marking sentences with an O for Opportunities (incidents which could provide a
learning opportunity) or a T for Threats where issues or incidents hindered you from providing learning or support.
My Learning Journal
Module 4
Progressive focusing
Keeping the progressive focusing diagram in mind, where does supervising lie on it for you?
My Notes
My Learning Journal
Module 4
The pitfalls of not listening
Make an assessment of your own listening skills by indicating whether you fall into these traps often, at times or never.
Pitfall Often At times Never

Overemphasising bad news
Ignoring good news
Closing your mind to the message in advance
Interrupting the other person’s flow
Allowing yourself to be distracted by what’s going on around you
Trying to hurry people by finishing their sentences for them
Assuming you know what they are going to say before they say it
Focusing on facts and ignoring other aspects of a message
Failing to pay enough attention
Thinking about your own input instead of listening
Looking at what you have recorded here, what are the main listening areas you need to work on and how will you do
this? Record your thoughts below.
My Learning Journal
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 4
Open and closed questions
Write down four open questions which might be useful to you in trying to assess your student/trainee’s intentions when
discussing an event they have brought to supervision. Then write beside each one the equivalent closed question. An
example has been included to start you off.
Open question Closed question

"How do you think the conversation with that customer went?" "Don’t you think it would be a good idea to make sure that you talk
to customers somewhere private?"
My Learning Journal
Module 4
Improving communications
How can you communicate with the trainee/student in a way that makes them feel respected and heard?
What techniques and approaches could you use with the student if they appear to be finding it difficult to communicate
with you?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 4
More about learning styles
Think about how you yourself learn. How do you learn best? What different experiences have you got of helping other
people to learn? How could you try to meet the student’s individual learning needs and learning styles in supervision?
Question My notes
How do you learn best?
What different experiences have you

got of helping other people to learn?
How could you try to meet the

student’s individual learning needs
and learning styles in supervision?
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Creating a supportive environment for supervision
How might you create a supportive environment for supervision?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Setting up the first meeting
Consider these questions when you are setting up your first supervision meeting.
Question My notes
What do you need to negotiate and
clarify before you first meet with the
student/trainee? How will you set
about doing this?
What would you expect the

student/trainee to have planned and
prepared before the first supervision
session?
How will you negotiate the agenda for

supervision?
How do you plan to structure

supervision sessions so that they are
focused on the student/trainee’s
learning and reflective practice?
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Newcomers
Make some notes on what helps and hinders newcomers who join the organisation.
Question My notes
What helps newcomers to settle into
their workplace?
What hinders newcomers from

settling into their workplace?
How can other staff help them?
What can be done to make a

newcomer’s first days in a new work
setting more enjoyable?
Now think about the last person who came to your work setting and their early experiences there.
My Learning Journal
Question My notes
Did staff take into account the
newcomer’s past experiences?
Did the newcomer feel valued and

respected?
How confident did the newcomer

seem about their roles?
Do these experiences raise memories

of your own experiences of being a
newcomer?
Are the work settings described

similar to your own?
What ideas do you have about

changes you could make to your own
work or arrangements in your work
setting?
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Ajay's supervision session
As you listened to the audio clip could you identify times where Ajay and his supervisor moved between the four
quadrants of the Progressive Focusing model?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Promoting professional practice
Consider a recent supervision- type situation in which you have been involved. Ask yourself what types of knowledge
your student/trainee was using and developing as a result of the incident. You may want to consider knowledge under
headings such as:
 professional knowledge
 practical/technical skills
 interpersonal knowledge.
Now think about the extent to which you contributed to the student/trainee’s development of these various forms of
knowledge.
Type of knowledge Examples How I contributed

Professional knowledge
Practical/technical skills
Interpersonal knowledge
My Learning Journal
Type of knowledge Examples How I contributed
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Ending supervision
Think about how you might end your supervision of your current student/trainee (or how you finished supervision with
a student/trainee previously).
Question My notes
What might you discuss in your final
session with a current or previous
student/trainee?
Does the course for which you are a

supervisor have any formal
requirements for this session?
What on-going support can you

anticipate for your current student?
My Learning Journal
Module 5
Looking ahead
Think about the areas of practice that your student/trainee wants or needs to develop from this experience. How might
they continue to receive the benefits of the supervision process they have been through with you?
Question My notes
What areas of practice does your
student want / need to develop from
the experience of supervision?
How might your student continue to

receive the benefits of supervision in
their continuing professional
development?
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Collecting material for portfolios
Think about the materials that you could collect for a portfolio. You will find it helpful to structure your data collection,
and a sample form has been included here for you to use.
As a reminder, these are the examples you have already seen:
 Examples of work undertaken, such as forms completed, work reports written, notes taken at a meeting, minutes of a meeting or
presentations written by the portfolio owner, etc.
 Reflective accounts of interactions at work- with customers, colleagues, managers. These can be informal notes.
 A work diary with details of work undertaken.
 E-mails written and received
 Formal records of events, such as presentations attended, minutes of meetings attended, etc.
 Real examples of work completed, such as a marketing plan, PR materials, a questionnaire, a personal fitness plan for a client, etc.
 Evidence of managerial supervision, coaching and appraisal outcomes (with appropriate permissions).
My Learning Journal
Process recording form
Date of session:
Questions My notes
Who was involved (an individual, a
group or a community)?
What happened?
Description of session
What went according to plan, and
what was improvised?
Why, in your view, did the session

happen the way it did?
Did the work raise any dilemmas or

Reflections
problems for you or for others?
What influenced your approach or

decision?
What are the implications for what you
do now with this work?
What does this experience tell you

about such situations in general?
Short-term
implications How does this link to any theories you
have learnt about?
What are your short-term

development needs, and what support
will you need or have available?
My Learning Journal
Questions My notes
What do you take away from this
experience for your future work?
Long-term What are the implications for your

implications (if any) organisation and the wider context?
Are there any gaps in your

understanding that need to be filled?
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Using portfolios
Think about what the weaknesses might be of using a portfolio to demonstrate achievement, to demonstrate knowledge
and as a place to write about good practice.
Question My notes
Can you think of a weakness of using
a portfolio to demonstrate
achievement?
What might be the weaknesses of

using a portfolio to demonstrate
knowledge?
What are the weaknesses of viewing

a portfolio as a place to write good
practice?
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Portfolios and formal assessment
If you or your student/trainee use portfolios now, to what extent do they fulfil the functions to demonstrate
achievement, to demonstrate knowledge and as a place to write about good practice?
Aspect My notes
To demonstrate achievement
To demonstrate knowledge
As a place to write good practice
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Work in progress
How comfortable are you with the messiness that reflects a “work in progress”? Do you put preliminary notes and
feedback into your portfolio?
My notes
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Using a lens of observation and description
Make some notes about a recent episode where you were actually making an assessment of what a student/ trainee
was doing. (If you are new to the role of supervisor/mentor, think instead about an occasion when you made an
assessment informally of a colleague or some-one you manage at work.)
Use these prompts to help you.
Describe the range of people involved:

 staff
 clients
 others.
Describe organisational structures and processes:

 routines
 procedures
 mechanisms.
Describe resources
My Learning Journal
Question My notes
What happened?
Who was there?
What was the outcome?
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Using a lens of analysis and evaluation
Consider the episode again and look at your own performance in assessing the student/trainee’s piece of work.
Question My notes
What was I looking for here?
How did I ‘do’ the assessing?
What went well?
What could have been improved?
Should I have done it in a different

way?
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Using a lens of synthesis and speculation
Return to your incident yet again.
Question My notes
What would have helped you to do it
differently?
What change(s) can you make for the

future?
My Learning Journal
Module 6
Supervision tensions
What might be some of the differences between professional and line management supervision?
Question My notes
What might be some of the
differences between professional and
line management supervision?
How could you explore these

differences with the student as you
begin professional supervision,
particularly if you are also their line
manager?
What do you think is and isn’t the

business of professional supervision?
My Learning Journal
Module 7
Looking back at supervision
Now that you have come to the end of the process, you may find it useful to spend some time reflecting on your
experience as a professional supervisor and identifying any implications for your future work practice and learning. You
can use the questions here to help you do this and, if you have kept a written record of your experience, you may want
to use that as a further aid to reflection.
Question My notes
What were your initial expectations
before you took on the role of
professional supervisor, and have
these been met?
In what ways was the reality of the

experience different from your
expectations?
My Learning Journal
Question My notes
What might you do differently in the
future?
What have you learnt that has been

particularly successful, which you
would like to transfer into your future
work practice?
My Learning Journal
Module 7
Development plan and learning contract
Identify between three and five skills that you intend to develop. Transfer these skills into your development plan
below.
In order to decide how to progress your development for each skill, identify:
 The action you intend to take
 Your success criteria
 A start date and a target date for completion.
Enter these details into your development plan.
Once you have finished your development plan and learning contract, you might like to discuss your skills audit, needs analysis and the plan
with your line manager.
An example has been included, in italics, to help you get started.
Skill needed Action to be taken Success criteria Start date Finish date Evidence
How to search electronic Complete relevant Identification of relevant 19 August 31 August List of key words.
databases to access activities in Session 2 literature List of papers found,
relevant literature showing where you read
the abstracts.
List of papers where you
went on to read the full
paper.
My Learning Journal
Skill needed Action to be taken Success criteria Start date Finish date Evidence

My Learning Journal: Supporting Workplace Study

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Supporting Workplace Study

Opinion expressed My notes

Role Possible tensions My notes

Benefits to my work practice

My experience of the supervision process

What would you like to see happening in supervision

How do you want the relationship between you and

How can the process of supervision help the student to

What are the skills and attributes of an effective

A recent day’s work experience

Describe a recent day’s work experience.

My first experiences at work

Think back to your own first experiences in your current work.

Were you helped to become a useful colleague? If so,

What were the experiences you now consider to have

Did you feel intimidated by the environment?

Others' first experiences at work

What does it feel like being a stranger here?

If this is their usual workplace, how does it feel being

What sort of person is the student?

What experience do they have of the work?

What do they need to know?

Think about your role as a professional supervisor in relation to confidentiality.

Valuing and managing emotions

How do you value and manage emotions in your own practice?

How does this affect your practice as a supervisor?

Dealing with conflict in relationships

A Checklist for Professional Supervisors

Strengths might be: personal strengths, communication skills, and so on.

Threats might be: lack of time or resources, or understaffing.

The pitfalls of not listening

Pitfall Often At times Never

Ignoring good news

Closing your mind to the message in advance

Interrupting the other person’s flow

Allowing yourself to be distracted by what’s going on around you

Trying to hurry people by finishing their sentences for them

Focusing on facts and ignoring other aspects of a message

Failing to pay enough attention

Thinking about your own input instead of listening

Open and closed questions

Open question Closed question

More about learning styles

What different experiences have you

How could you try to meet the

Creating a supportive environment for supervision

How might you create a supportive environment for supervision?

Setting up the first meeting

What would you expect the

How will you negotiate the agenda for

How do you plan to structure

What hinders newcomers from

How can other staff help them?

What can be done to make a

Did the newcomer feel valued and

How confident did the newcomer

Do these experiences raise memories

Are the work settings described