Recording Your Professional Development

Record your learning

Really it is up to you how you record your learning and development. You need to keep records of what you have done, but it is even more useful to actually record what you have learned. The process of committing learning to paper or computer helps you to organise your thoughts and experiences, so you can build on them. It also will aid your recall process by transferring the experience from short-term to long-term memory. This is probably something that you are already familiar with from your days in formal education and it continues to be a powerful aid to learning in adult life.

Here we explore some issues you might like to consider when deciding how to keep your records. If you wish to try these, some of the forms are available for you to download, and you may adapt them if you wish. However, if you have a different idea that works for you, then you should follow that.

Learning logs

Learning logs are an extremely useful way to enhance reflective learning. It is important to recognise from the outset that the purpose of the log is to enhance learning and that the primary user of the log is the writer. Keeping such a log generally feels like a chore. It is not until the writer is in a position to look back on the record that its value can be appreciated. Thus people tend not to keep one unless they a required to do so. But when the activity is made compulsory, all too often the emphasis shifts and people start writing the log "for their supervisor" and some of the benefit is lost.

Keeping a learning log is not compulsory for people working towards registration, but many people find that it helps to consolidate learning. If you keep one, you should aim to record:

• What you have done
• When you did it
• What you learned
• How you will be able to apply it
• What follow-up activities you feel might be useful

Do not limit your records to formal events. Try to capture all your learning including any small day-to-day experiences. The process of capturing learning in this way will greatly enhance your achievements/learning.

Remember to keep focused on the areas that you wish to develop and link each learning experience to those areas. This will later enable you to reflect on your learning over the period of a few months to see how far you have progressed.

Additionally, do not forget to record those learning experiences that do not directly relate to those identified competence areas - they are of value too and may be linked up later on!

Evidence portfolios

If you are using competences you will find yourself needing to keep a record of ‘evidence’ of your competence. The body of your original evidence will form a portfolio which you will keep in order to produce evidence to prove competence if you are required to in the future (this may be for Quality Assurance Audit purposes or for professional registration/qualification). This evidence should be kept in a structured way so that it can be easily referenced and located when necessary by your company or by your institution. Diaries, logbooks, etc. will normally become part of the evidence that you maintain within your portfolio.

Find out more about Portfolios of Evidence.

Employer systems

Many employers have their own paperwork systems to help employees keep records of the training and development that they have undertaken. These range from staff reports written after formal appraisal meetings to a note in a personnel file about a course attended. Many employers also keep written development action plans for each employee and maintain notes of progress.

All records are useful and it is important not to duplicate paperwork and the effort of writing things up, but it is also important for individuals to make sure that they are accumulating sufficient evidence themselves. It will almost certainly be necessary to keep some records and evidence of work undertaken, additional to those kept by the employer in order to capture informal, work based learning.

Professional body systems

• IET
• IMechE
• IOP
• RAeS

Creating an index

However you keep your records it is important that they are indexed. This will allow you to arrange your records in a logical way, to quickly access information when you need to, and will help you when keeping your records up-to-date. Initially you may find it easy just to keep a simple list of the items you have, and may-be organise them into sections according to subject. However, as time passes and you have larger or more detailed records you may find you need to develop a more complex indexing system.

Format of records

One important point to consider when deciding how to keep your records is who the ‘audience’ will be. If you are doing professional development ‘on your own’, without input from your employer and not working towards a qualification of any kind, then it is unlikely that anyone but you will see them. Therefore you needn’t worry about their format, neatness or presentation.

However, if it is possible that you will want to show your records to your employer, your institution, or even to clients, then you should try to take into account their needs. Will they want to see all your records, or just a summary? In what terms will they expect to see the information presented; are they interested in your learning, your abilities, or seeing progress? Adapt your forms and keep updated indexes, and be sure to keep any evidence carefully, so that your records give a good impression and show that you consider the information they represent as important.

Keeping records up-to-date

We all put ‘administrative’ tasks to one side thinking that we will ‘do it later’, our record keeping is no different. We also know that later never comes! It is important that you keep your records up-to-date regularly, particularly so if you are keeping detailed records. This is even more important if you are trying to apply your learning for improved performance as you will need to reflect upon your learning, and this becomes more difficult the longer you leave it.

Try to keep notes of informal learning that happens during your everyday work - perhaps in a logbook or diary, or directly into your records. After more formal events, such as a training course, you may wish to discuss your learning with your manager or mentor, and this is a good time to update your records.

Creating retrospective records

Creating retrospective records is difficult, but can be done if necessary. Look out old certificates or course notes, and ask Human Resources if you can look through your personnel file for key points. Produce a chronological record of key learning events, including job changes or promotions, and think back to recall the significant learning that occurred. An exercise like this can produce more than you might think, and will form a good basis for future records.

Records fit for purpose

How you keep your records may change over time. You may keep very detailed and formal records at the beginning of your career, perhaps because you are on an employer’s scheme or to meet institution requirements. Later in your career you may only keep very informal records, just for your own use.

Be prepared to change the way you record your development to suit your current circumstances, and do not slavishly keep to a formal system if you really do not need to. However, having a portfolio of ‘substantial’ evidence that you can refer back to can be enormously beneficial. Substantial evidence can be used to as irrefutable proof of your abilities. Keeping evidence of this type can be a useful habit to get into.