The AWED aims to help you develop key skills for employment, positive behaviours needed for the workplace and the knowledge of particular sectors. It is also designed to help you become a more self-reflective learner. This page gives you an overview of these knowledge, skills and behaviours and some tools to help you reflect on your skills development journey.
What will I be assessed on?
You will be assessed on your knowledge of:
The businesses or employers in your area of the country
The skills and behaviours needed by employers
How jobs and careers may change in the future
A variety of careers within different sectors of the economy
The principles for innovation, starting a business or social enterprise.
You will be assessed on the following key skills:
Communication
Collaboration
Critical-Thinking and Creative Problem-Solving
You will also be given the opportunity to reflect on the following behaviours throughout your learning experience:
Accountability
Resilience
Positive Attitude
Adaptability
An overview of these behaviours can be found here
Self-Reflection Tools
The concept of reflective practice is an essential part of the learning process. Taking the time to consider what you know and what you can do at a moment in time lets you put things into perspective and see the gaps in knowledge and skill, the places for improvement, and what steps you could take to develop. Conscious reflection is a practice used in many places where professionals analyse their work, abilities, and overall results. Here are the key questions students should be asking themselves:
Evaluating – How well did I do?
Analysing – Do I see any patterns in what I did?
Applying – Where could I use this again?
Understanding – What was important about it?
Remembering – What did I do?
As John Dewey said, ‘People learn by reflecting on experiences, not by simply experiencing things’.
Here are some tools that will help your group reflect on their work:
Flipgrid can be used as a video diary where students record their thoughts on a subject and try to understand what they know, think, or need going further. If these videos are made public for the class, they could foster meaningful conversations based on growth mindset comments. This way, learners analyse themselves and learn by adding peers’ input.
Padlet is a virtual wall where students can post their work and reflect on it. Teachers can intervene in the self-assessment process and guide learners through deeper reflection moments. Also, as a collaborative learning experience, peers can react and comment on each other’s reflections and get a deeper insight into others’ thought processes.
The Reflective Practice Template is a useful structure with key questions for you to consider in making improvements to your communication, collaboration, project management and emotional reactions
Penzu is a free online diary or journal. These are wonderful tools for empowering people to take time to reflect on experiences and develop a deeper sense of self-awareness.