The purpose of this task is for you to reflect upon the value of your volunteer activity in relation to both yourself and the host organist. Therefore you need to evaluate your experience from the organizations point of view as well as your own. This can be written in the 1st person.
MY PLACEMENT WAS A AFTER SCHOOL LITERACY CHARITY ORGANISATION WHICH HELPS IMPROVE THE READING, WRITING, CONFIDENCE AND PERSEVERANCE OF CHILDREN WHO ARE FALLING BEHIND IN SCHOOL AND HAVE FEWER OPPORTUNITIES AT SCHOOL AND BEYOND. THEY PROVIDE EXTRA ADULT ATTENTION BY WORKING ONE-TO-ONE WITH EITHER ONE CHILD OR A GROUP OF CHILDREN, THE CHANCE TO WORK ON REAL-WORLD PUBLISHING PROJECTS AND EXTRA READING SUPPORT. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY CREATE THEIR OWN FILMS WHICH THEY WRITE THEMSELVES AND ALSO ACT THAT ARE LATER ON SCREENED AT A LOCAL CINEMA OR THEY WRITE THEIR OWN BOOK WHICH IS PUBLISHED. EVERY WEEK THE CHILDREN FOCUS ON NEW ACTIVITIES AND I WILL GIVE A FEW EXAMPLES OF MY EXPERIENCE FOR YOU TO WRITE ABOUT AND EXPAND ON WITH LITERATURE.
Content that needs to be included;
•What are reflection and experiential learning? why are they important for learning and professional development?
•What did you hope to achieve through your volunteering experience? e.g. what skills and knowledge (REFER TO HUMAN CAPITAL) did you hope to gain? What links/relationships did you develop? (REFER TO SOCIAL CAPITAL) What impact did you hope to have? (also think about Motivational theory – why did you volunteer?).
•In reality what skills, attitudes and knowledge you were able to gain and/or develop? (make reference to the development of social and human capital) Support your observations with evidence e.g. a statement from a supervisor, workshops/session plans/evaluations from activities you were involved in (include these as appendices).
•Reflect on any University Employability activities that you participated in (I WAS A STUDENT REP) What did you learn from these? How might you use these in your future career development?
•What your volunteering experience has taught you about a career in the third (VCS) or public sector? E.g. do you want to work in the sector where you volunteered? Why? Provide examples where appropriate, and refer to your learning diaries.
•What has the experience taught you about to the future of charities / public sector?
•Overall what were the main learning points from the whole volunteering experience?
EXAMPLES OF MY EXPERIENCES ARE ATTACHED IN ADDITIONAL MATERIALS PLEASE LOOK AT IS IMPORTANT (YOU CAN ALSO COME UP WITH A FEW OF YOUR OWN BUT MAKE SURE THAT IT IS IN CONTENT OF ORGANIZATIONS AIM EXAMPLE GIVEN.
ALWAYS REFER THOUGHTS TO LITERATURE
FOR EXAMPLE; “I EXPERIENCED THIS AND FELT LIKE THIS… THE (BOOK/LITERATURE) ALSO BACKS IT UP BY STATING…) THIS IS A GRADE BOOSTER MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE!
you can mention your feelings and what your heart truly desires for example, “Although this is part of my module, I don’t like working in charities” then think about;
logical thinking? whats next?
what has this taught you about the future of charities?
You can say things like:
Due to government insufficient funding schools need more volunteers and it is a loop. I feel sad as schools become increasingly reliant on volunteers.
Then what? (always follow a thread)
So public sectors is trapped and therefore I want to be part of the expansion and get involved.
Could you possibly also donate and help?
THREAD:
FEELINGS? EXPERIENCE?> TEXTBOOK (LITERATURE)> SOLUTION? WRAP IT UP.
ADD A CONCLUSION;
narrow down to 3 things you want to say for example, this essay has evidenced… multiple definitions etc. be on point summarize. what three things have you learned from your experience? e.g. unsatisfactory arrangement university and charities and things like shouldn’t be necessary to do this on top of assignment.
