Setting a learning objective
After identifying any gaps in your skills and knowledge, you are now able to record your development objectives; they should be realistic and contain an element of challenge. Although the objective could be quite broad, the subject area field must be specific. For example, if your objective is to "improve my contract management and development skills including updates on all legislation and regulations", the corresponding subject area could be "CDM Regulations".
It is useful to set goals in terms of your current competency levels and those you will require for the future. They should always aspire to best practice both in keeping up-to-date and broadening into new areas. Sometimes learning is unplanned and starts with an action and proceeds to an evaluation of what was learnt. Because it needs to be recorded in a different way, you don't need to complete the objective field when doing learning this way.
Actions taken
To fulfil a CPD programme as a guide, we expect each member to be able to show a structured learning.
Learning outcome/new level of competence
This is the most important stage of the learning process because you will now evaluate and reflect on your learning outcomes and establish whether you have achieved your original objective. This can be tested by asking the following questions:
- What have I actually learnt?
- How will this improve my skills or knowledge?
By reflecting on what you have gained to date, and the progress made towards your original objective and competence, you may find you need more time to achieve it or it could no longer be valid. The review process will identify this. If, however, your original objective has been fully met, you should complete the 'completion date' field instead.