1. Lesson 13 – Reflexivity & Employability Skills
SimVenture Evolution
Lesson 13 – Reflexivity & Employability Skills
03/12/2019

2. In lesson you looked at the financial obligations a company and reviewed cash flow, profit & loss and the balance sheet.
Summary of Lesson 12
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3. Gibbs Reflective Model – Employability skills
Overview of what we’re going to cover today:
End of course employability skills questionnaire
How to write reflectively
An example of reflexivity
In this lesson you will be learning how to think and write reflectively (this is called self-reflection) because it is a core skill relevant to business and management and a great life skill to master.
You will also be completing the final employability skills survey so that you can use the information to write your reflective essay.
What is Self-reflection – it is a self-analysis and an awareness/sensitivity to diversity in terms of people and cultures. This includes a continuing appetite for development.
Self-reflection is also the ability to think about what you’ve done, learn from it and consider whether you would take the same action or decision again.
A self-reflective essay is often part of an assessment so learning how to do it will give you a structure for your assessment if you have one as part of your studies.
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4. Survey Monkey Link for end of course questionnaire.
Along with your Journal entries it will be great for you if you can see the development of your employability skills throughout this study programme.
So please go to this website and complete the survey.
At the end we’ll do it again and then you can use this information along with your journal entries to reflect on your progress and add skills and competencies to your CV thus making you increasingly employable.
You will also be able to access both the survey you completed at the beginning and this final survey so that you can compare the two so that you have additional information for your reflective assignment.
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5. Gibbs Reflective cycle
We’re now going to introduce you to Gibbs’ reflective cycle which encourages you to think systematically about the phases of an experience or activity, and you should use all the headings to structure your reflection for each and every reflection.
This is not the only model of reflection and you should explore other models because you may prefer a different model of reflection.
The reflective cycle makes you think about the positive as well as areas for improvement.
Reflection is important because looking back in order to think about what we have just done, helps us to make changes in our interactions with people, and to get better at what we do.
You can use reflection is all aspects of your personal and career paths.
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6. Reflections on ….
How SimVenture Evolution has developed your employability skills e.g.
Self-management
Team working
Problem solving
Application of IT
Communication
Application of numeracy
Business and customer awareness
Positive attitude
Learners should find a quiet time somewhere so that you can think about what you’ve accomplished during the simulation.
You should reflect in all aspects of your learning having played the simulation.
At the beginning of the course you were asked to evaluate your employability skills before the simulation started and again at the end.
Between the two points you now need to identify where the most learning took place.
This is really important as you will be able to talk to potential employers about how you have developed these skills thus making your application stronger.
Think about the CBI employability skills in the slide above.
Having completed the start up survey and the completion survey which of the employability skills have you developed?
Can you provide evidence from the simulation to prove your point?
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7. CBI Employability Skills
Review the employability skills defined by the CBI listed below.
Which one(s) have you developed and provide some evidence from your experiences within the simulation and working in a team (if you worked in a team).
CBI definition of employability skills:
A positive attitude (readiness to take part, openness to new ideas and activities, desire to achieve)
Underpinning:
Self-management – readiness to accept responsibility, flexibility, time management, readiness to improve own performance
Team working – respecting others, co-operating, negotiating/ persuading, contributing to discussion.
Business and customer awareness- basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the need to provide customer satisfaction.
Problem solving- analysing facts and circumstances and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.
Communication and literacy-application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy, including listening and questioning.
Application of numeracy-manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts.
Application of information technology-basic IT skills, including familiarity with word processing, spread sheets, file management and the use of internet search engines.
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8. Survey Results
Before the simulation began you would have completed a self survey of your employability skills and a copy was sent to the address you provided.
If you did not complete the survey at the start of the simulation you cannot complete it now because the simulation has finished.
When the simulation finished you would have completed a self survey of your employability skills and a copy was sent to the address you provided.
You will need both of those documents to complete the reflective exercise.
If you only have one that’s fine but your reflection will be incomplete and you will need to talk about why you allowed the situation to occur.
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9. CBI Employability Skills
Review the employability skills defined by the CBI listed below.
Which one(s) have you developed and provide some evidence from your experiences within the simulation and working in a team (if you worked in a team).
CBI definition of employability skills:
A positive attitude (readiness to take part, openness to new ideas and activities, desire to achieve)
Underpinning:
Self-management – readiness to accept responsibility, flexibility, time management, readiness to improve own performance
Team working – respecting others, co-operating, negotiating/ persuading, contributing to discussion.
Business and customer awareness- basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the need to provide customer satisfaction.
Problem solving- analysing facts and circumstances and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.
Communication and literacy-application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy, including listening and questioning.
Application of numeracy-manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts.
Application of information technology-basic IT skills, including familiarity with word processing, spread sheets, file management and the use of internet search engines.
CBI Employability Skills
Example
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10. Using Gibbs model to reflect on Self Management Skills
Stage 1
Description – what happened
As a student on this module I played a business simulation game called SimVenture Evolution. I assessed my Self- Management skills by completing a survey via Survey Monkey both before and after the simulation began and had to give real evidence of where this skill had been developed.
The next few slides give you an example of what a reflective statement should look like.
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11. Using Gibbs model to reflect on Self Management Skills
Stage 2
Feelings – what were you thinking and feeling
I was surprised (good or bad) about my level of Self Management skills at the time of completing the survey and looked forward to re-evaluating them at the end of the module
I became aware that I could (couldn’t) evidence my self-management skills and this made me feel (more confident, aware I needed to develop them more)
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12. Using Gibbs model to reflect on Self Management Skills
Stage 3
Evaluation – what was good and bad about the experience?
What went well (or not)?
I willingly accepted responsibility for managing the Production Department as part of a team and adopted a flexible attitude by listening to others (give an example). I was able to complete all the tasks on time thus demonstrating good time management. I was happy with my own performance (or not).
I enjoyed………………………………………………..
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13. Using Gibbs model to reflect on Self Management Skills
Stage 4
Analysis – what sense can you make of the situation?
I needed to go back to the Young document we downloaded in week 1 & 2 to see what the skills of self-management were again to remind myself (give evidence).
I did some reading on Gibbs reflective model (give evidence here)
I looked back at my journal entries to see where I had developed self management skills
I had to think about where I had developed self management skills both at work and in the simulation
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14. Using Gibbs model to reflect on Self Management Skills
Stage 5
Conclusion – what else could you have done?
I could have downloaded and read the Young document we downloaded in week 1 & 2 to better understand what was required.
I could have done a lot more reading on Gibbs reflective model and other models
I could have done a better job when I was asked to write up the journal every week
I could have engaged with the simulation more on my own to understand it
I don’t think I could have done anything better because……….
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15. Using Gibbs model to reflect on Self Management Skills
Stage 6
Action plan – if this type of assignment arose again what would you do?
I would ask more questions of the tutor early in the module so I’m not as confused
I will transfer the knowledge I have gained in this model to other modules so I learn from the experience
I would complete all the tasks set when asked to demonstrate better time management skills
I know now that I have to accept 100% responsibility and my success is down to me
I was pleased with my performance in this module and the one thing I would do differently is ………………………………………….
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16. Your turn
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17. A template for self-reflection
This template uses the employability skills of a positive attitude. You can use the same structure for all of the employability skills.
A positive attitude (readiness to take part, openness to new ideas and activities, desire to achieve) underpinning
Description: what happened
What, where and when? Who did/said what, what did you do/read/see hear? In what order did things happen? What were the circumstances? What were you responsible for?
Feelings: what were you thinking about?
What was your initial gut reaction, and what does this tell you? Did your feelings change? What were you thinking?
Evaluation: what was good or bad about the experience?
What pleased, interested or was important to you? What made you unhappy? What difficulties were there? Who/what was unhelpful? Why? What needs improvement?
Analysis: what sense can you make of the situation?
Compare theory and practice. What similarities or differences are there between this experience and other experiences? Think about what actually happened. What choices did you make and what effect did they have?
Conclusion: what else could you have done?
What have you learnt for the future? What else could you have done?
Action Plan: what will you do next time?
If a similar situation arose again, what would you do?
Self-management – readiness to accept responsibility, flexibility, time management, readiness to improve own performance
Team working – respecting others, co-operating, negotiating/ persuading, contributing to discussion.
Business and customer awareness- basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the need to provide customer satisfaction.
Problem solving- analysing facts and circumstances and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.
Communication and literacy-application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy, including listening and questioning.
Application of numeracy-manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts.
Application of information technology-basic IT skills, including familiarity with word processing, spread sheets, file management and the use of internet search engines.
In the notes you will find a template to use to structure your reflective statement.
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18. Summary Overview: End of course employability skills questionnaire
How to write reflectively
An example
Summary
12/3/2019