TAKING ON A ROLE OF RESPONSIBILITY | Leadership
Being part of a student committee which organised a GCD Re-Launch at our school was an incredible opportunity which got me to focus on interacting with various individuals, plan different parts of the session and take on a role of leadership. This opportunity was a way for me to put forward my own ideas, leading an activity and presenting my own concept to a group of secondary teachers. This was planned together with with a few other students from the GCD panel to relaunch the Global Citizen Diploma within the community and provide insight into why exactly it matters.
The task was that within our group of students, we divided up the conference into sections that presented different aspects of what the GCD looked like to our audience. It was to reemphasize the meaning of the GCD in our community to enhance the understanding of what it is in our community. As students it was then our job individually or in partners to lead the teachers through our planned session to give them a better sense of the GCD. As for myself, I focused on running a simulation in which the aim was to clarify why the GCD reflection is so important with an activity to partake in.
I planned out my session by starting with a few simple prompts that asked teachers to reflect on a Personal Goal in their life. These prompts were more straightforward and simple, taken from an everyday classroom environment. The student committee had agreed that getting the teachers to reflect on a personal goal was universally applicable to all members and would enable them to find something to connect to. We also had to consider the resources needed in order to run our session, such as printing out prompts and such so that the sessions could run smoothly and would be easily understood. The second part of the session consisted of getting teachers to reflect once more on the same goal - this time using the GCD criteria to do so. This enabled them to see what meaning the GCD reflection brings out in students and provided them with a better insight into what exactly this would look like.
The action initiated by myself was leading the teachers through the session and getting them to partake in a reflection for themselves to better understand the meaning behind launching GCD at our school. This initiated thoughtful and positive change by spreading the concept around school but also by getting teachers to partake in a way that was meaningful and would be easily understood.
What I learned from this experience was how collaboration and teamwork can enable for better success of an individual, the skills it takes to take on a role of leadership and which factors to consider (resources, scheduling, etc.). Additionally I got to understand how to address an audience which you may not be familiar with (for instance; I am more experienced with presenting in front of classmates rather than teachers). I was made aware of the kind of skills required to effectively lead such an audience through an interactive session, and that careful planning must be involved regarding time-management, planning resources, communicating effectively and with purpose. Since I have not had such opportunity before regarding the leadership of a group of individuals through a simulation aiming to enhance their understanding of a concept, this was extremely beneficial for me to see the kind of skills it required. I believe that I gained confidence in public communication, collaborating with a wide variety of people, as well as being more confident in my ability to enhance other people’s understanding of a topic.
There was a given time by when our planned activity had to be complete, as well as leaving time to plan out the resources needed and practicing our section. All of this showed me what steps have to be taken to effectively take on a role of leadership within the community. Durin the time in which I wasn’t running the session, it was my job to make sure the right resources were distributed to the audience.
Below is an extract of my notes from the session which I lead:
Part 1 - Introduction
Moving on to a simulation which will clarify to you what exactly the GCD looks like, by getting you to partake in a reflection yourself. In order for you to really understand what the GCD reflection values, we will take one of the overarching reflection topics known as the Personal Goal.
You can reflect on any one of your own personal goals that you have accomplished in the past - anything from learning a new language to developing better teaching methods or even just living a healthier lifestyle. It can be anything that is personal to you and has allowed led you to have to take a some form of approach to meet that goal.
We will start off using the following prompts to guide your thinking. You will have a few minutes to reflect using these prompts, which you may be familiar with already….
Part 2 - Reflection using Prompt 1
Give the teachers Prompt 1 to reflect on a Personal Goal
What went well achieving this goal?
What did not go well achieving this goal?
What would you like to improve next time you set a goal?
Part 3 - Reflection using Prompt 2
We will now ask you to reflect once more - this time aiming to get a bit more meaning and personality out of your writing. Here we have a criteria from the GCD on the Personal Goal. For you to understand why exactly the GCD reflection is so meaningful you will take a different approach to your previous reflection, on the same goal.
Hand out Prompt 2
Set, plan, pursue and reflect on the process of pursuing a personally meaningful goal that stretches your comfort zone.
Setting a personally meaningful goal outside of their comfort zone (or something that would be a stretch to accomplish)
Planning
Taking action to work towards achieving the goal
Decide how you will reflect on the process (method)
Reflecting on the process
Part 4 - Recap/ Conclusion
Hopefully you were able to get a better sense what meaning the GCD reflection brings out in students and why we value it here at NIST. It aids students with realizing aspects of themself they may not have realized before regarding certain attributes, opinions, or views on life. This method of reflection teaches students a process that they can use in the future and shows them that there are different approaches to a reflection that those we usually are exposed to at school.
Before embarking on this opportunity, I think my main aim to get out of the experience was to further improve and strengthen skills I had developed previously, such as communication and collaboration. Although I may not have consciously been aware of it at the time, I did go into it realizing that I was improving these skills. However, after thoroughly reflecting on the experience I now realize what additional meaning this conference has brought to me. In addition to strengthening some of these skills, I also acquired new knowledge on how effective collaboration within a team can help you on an individual basis. It has also given me a form of confidence I didn’t realize I would get out of the experience up until reflecting back on it now.
In the future, I am committed to continuously develop my leadership skills. Being a leader does not just mean that you are able to present in front of a unique audience, it also means that you are able to engage and act open-minded, using a variety of tools and resources. Not only did I challenge my skills of being a presenter, I also stepped out of my comfort zone by leading my audience to understanding and revisit the concept of the GCD. In the future, I am planning on developing my skills as a leader even more by participating in the IB Youth Leadership workshop. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to learn additional skills that will allow me to become an effective leader.
By being a part of the student committee at school, I hope that the vision which I carried out in this particular session (being to promote the GCD’s meaning), will be met even more. My journey to becoming a more effective leader for my own vision such as that represented in this opportunity will further be developed after this initial experience At the moment our committee is eager to plan to promote GCD; having set up regular meeting times for the future. I am also strengthening my leadership ability which I decided to capture in an additional entry seen below. I have included it to show that I am not only working on developing my vision being part of the GCD, but also strengthening my ability to be a leader for various meaningful endeavors.
Entry #2 - Developing my Ability to be a Leader: IB Youth Leadership Workshop
May 2018
I found that although the GCD Relaunch conference was a great experience for me to get a better sense of what it takes to be a leader, I found that becoming a leader is an ongoing process of development and learning. Hence, I decided to reflect in addition as to how I am demonstrating a greater ability to become a leader. The workshop was not only an opportunity to step up as a leader by taking on various roles of responsibility, it also taught me critical skills that are required to be an effective leader. The principles and concepts I learned which build up on my work as a leader is something I decided to express in the form of a flowchart, as I felt that it expressed my learning and development of becoming a leader in a unique and easily understood format.
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