Reflecting on self (the purpose statement) It is crucial to reflect on yourself and your practice (feedback of other’s helps us craft a picture). The outcome of this reflection exercise is ultimately to come up with a purpose statement that addresses the question, “why am I doing what I do”. Some deep work guided by a design process is therefore required: analysis (what does the evidence say about me or the thing I do?), synthesis (how does this link to the value I bring?) and evaluation (what needs to improve and what needs to be emphasised more?). The following exercise is offered to kick start the thinking process: Critical questions to think and/or write about: How self-aware am I about the value that I add? (To answer this big question, the smaller questions following can assist) What do I feel supremely qualified to do and to teach another? (This may not be linked to a specific discipline, think rather about it in terms of skill or something that comes naturally to you. For example, to show others how to organise their documents or teach others to move their bodies…) What are two or three of my natural strengths that others always see in me? (Ask others like family members, friends or read the feedback of colleagues or students, family members etc.) A powerful component of a teaching portfolio is to provide an introduction with a bit about you (your career journey) and then build up towards the personal purpose statement. A guideline for a personal purpose statement is as follows: Who Am I? (Name and how you started out) What do I do? (Not the job but what it is that you love to do. Try to link it to your strengths or what it is you feel supremely qualified to teach other people) Who do I do it for? What do these people need or want that I can give them? How do they or their situations change as a result of what I give them? 62
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