The Personal Learning Audit Part 6: Understanding your learning self

Session outline: This session comprises part 6 of the personal learning audit, whose overall objective is to articulate the need and stimulate the desire for learning among citizens, and help them prepare a personal learning plan for the future. This section prepares the way for the creation of a personal learning plan that make a commitment to learning in the future by provoking an inner searching into motivations, aspirations and personal needs. As in most audits, the questions and exercises are non-judgmental and are designed to promote a sympathetic dialogue between the participant and the advisor, usually but not necessarily a learning counsellor, as a preparation for the process of developing of a personal learning plan. The processes concerned here involve a great deal of introspection and self-analysis, which some people may find uncomfortable, and so the adviser should be sympathetic to this possibility. Learning Cities and Regions can use these exercises in many different types of environment - in community centres, with the unemployed, on second language courses, in learning providers and workplaces, in voluntary organizations and youth clubs, and as part of a drive to create a culture of learning among hard to reach people. They are however equally useful for those motivated people seeking to improve their status, performance and prospects, and can also be used to gather information on learning attitudes and requirements. The audits have been tested in a number of environments and this version improves on previous versions tested in the SKILL Europe and Learning Jamat projects. The opening introduction is repeated here for those who have not completed the previous sessions.