Professional Development Reflection Essay Examples

At the beginning of each course taught under the master of library science program, the instructor issues the students with course outlines. These course outlines highlight what the abilities a student is expected to acquire after the completion of that particular course. The abilities are listed in the form of course outcomes. The instructors also posts these outlines online, in order to make it easy for distant learners to access them. During my last summer’s semester break, I decided to keep myself busy with exploring the course outlines as well as the abilities I was expected to acquire from undertaking the courses I did, in the past semester. I did this because I realized that I had not paid attention to the course outcomes for any course I took during that semester. I managed to access all the course outlines and requirements for all the courses I took. In so doing, I discovered a number of things about myself. I conducted a quick self-assessment on myself and realized significant growth, both personally and professionally.
During the previous semester, I undertook several courses under the master of library science program. The goal of this program is to equip learners with creative problem-solving skills, which will facilitate quality service delivery to information agencies and clients. Therefore, I accessed the online-based website where the instructors of the respective courses had posted the outlines, and obtained their printouts. My aim was to conduct self-evaluations based on each course’s objectives, in order to establish the extent to which studying had influenced my development. I undertook courses dealing with information and library services, information cycle, information classification, ethics in the practice of information delivery, research practice in library and information services practice, and policy management in information services organizations.
During my coursework, I realized that information service centers are organizations like any other, which are faced with challenges from time to time. The lack of a proper budget and inadequate planning are examples of challenges faced by information service centers such as libraries. A librarian or library manager, for example, is expected to remain resilient during such challenges by formulating strategies through which to overcome the issues. As such, I realized that librarians and other people working in information centers must possess problem-solving skills. I, therefore, discovered that I also have to work on acquiring problem-solving skills, if I intend to venture into my desired career of working in an information service center. Indeed, I have been working on developing problem-solving skills by subjecting myself to challenges such as locating books in library catalogues and presenting myself with ethical dilemmas.
In addition, to the skills I have gained from these courses, I learnt how to conduct research. Research is an important part of life; it enables us understand various phenomena as well as why they happen. Before undertaking course 810, I did not know the differences between the three methodologies namely qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. I have always thought that a researcher chooses any methodology they prefer, when conducting a study. However, I have learnt that the selection of a methodology must be based on the research problem. In addition, I discovered that the reliability of a study is determined by several factors such as the sample size and the method of sampling, facts, which I did not know prior to undertaking this course. Therefore, this course has laid a foundation for my future research-related work, which I intend to pursue after this program. Additionally, I appreciate the work of researchers, and I have developed a passion of joining research and development teams in order to integrate my theory into practice.
I have come to appreciate the significance of knowledge and concepts taught in class. Looking back past the courses I studied in previous levels of education, I would say that the ones I have undertaken under this program have been most influential in transforming my abilities. I am confident that the skills I have acquired thus far will be useful in the future development of my career. I am confident that I can handle any job in management, consultancy, policy development, and research & development departments in any information services organization. Indeed, I spent the last semester building a bright future for myself. I am looking forward to learning new and life-changing concepts during the next semester.