Learning involves cohort and group work discussions, and this is what makes the reflective practice a reality. In this course, we had various assignments that required us to work in small discussion groups because some of the content such as understanding the significance of CPD in HRD needed more insight from both the module instructor and the other learners. The small groups consisted of six individuals and given that it is a master class, my group consisted of people between ages 30-50 who were taking the course as a CPD.

Naturally, I am an outspoken and talkative person, and this makes me the epitome of any group I am in, either at work, in school or on social gatherings.   Therefore, I am always prepared to lead when necessary. I identified a leadership vacuum in my group, and I volunteered to be the leader because after all, I plan to work as a manager in big firms which have many employees such as Microsoft or Google. As a group leader, I had specific responsibilities to ensure that we all discussed the course module as expected and also completed the required group assignments.  For instance, I had to make sure that I understood the concept to be addressed and the planned work product. We were five individuals, and I can say that most of the members were active and ready to discuss new ideas which made the group learning a better experience and more fun. For this to happen, everyone was required to know their specific roles on the team.

I was particularly interested in the courses reflective practice experiences, and I frequently shared my experiences and thoughts on all of them and what I could have done better or not at all in a given context. For instance, after applying the social learning theory in my workplace, I realized that most of what I had retained from modeling or observing the employees and management helped me develop a better understanding on why there is the need for continued professional development in human resource. My findings were an inspiration to the other members who were also ready to try out the reflective practice strategy to aid learning.

I have realized that small group discussions, especially for higher level courses like this one with, are a crucial part in learning. Learning in a group has made me a better communicator and more tolerant person.  I would argue that being aware and understanding the emotional aspects of learning at the same time as focusing on the academic task helped my group members and I foster an environment where everyone was able to voice their opinion and give their best contribution towards a better understanding of the module.

My experience in small group and cohort learning was not all that smooth as expected of any gathering of learners alongside their personalities. Group work discussions were not all that great, as expected in any group consisting of people with different ideologies, expectations, and backgrounds. The primary issue faced in group discussions was authority-dependence. On the same note, cohort learning was not that swift in some sections which the module instructor seemed to have a not so firm content grip on.

Also applying the content learned was not an easy thing in my workplace.  Although my workplace encourages CPD and advocates for human resource development, the whole issue is more hypothetical than practical. Most of the employees and management are not yet prepared to listen to new innovative ideas that I had that would prove helpful.  I was unfortunate since I had to work under new supervision and I must say I had a rough time trying to explain why I was late for work or why I had some different views on HRM. I generally feel that the manager was unsupportive of my development course as he thought that I was wasting time instead of working at the firm full time. One of the things that also affected me was the fact that I was put in the morning shift which left little time for me to attend a few of the lessons offered by the course instructor and I had to compensate the loss by looking for students who were likely to understand the concept.

 
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