my-isr.yolasite.com - Individual & Social Responsibility

Unit: "Individual and Social Responsibility" (ISR)
(Key Skills – Introductory Programme)

      Guided Learning hours: 45
      Unit level (MQF): 1
      Credits: 3

Unit Rationale

This Key Skill presents a number of opportunities for learners to properly discover and work upon their individual self and their social environment, in preparation of a conjunct entrepreneurial approach towards a properly planned career path. 

The focus is mainly on the development and strengthening of reflective skills, with the aim to further understand one’s identity, promoting growth in self-improvement and self-confidence. 

A major focus upon one’s individual reality will provide ample space for targeting one’s emotional and behavioural traits, envisaging recognition of one’s nature and a struggle towards an increased adaptability within wider society. 

Delving through group oriented tasks; learners will have the opportunity to reflect about their communication efficiency and their ability to deal effectively in situations where disagreements and conflicts may be present. Conveniently, such chances will serve to provide learners with the time to reflect upon their decisions and their subjective impact upon themselves and the ones around them.

This Key Skill adheres to the concept of Social Emotional Learning, promoting the following:

1. Self-awareness focuses on the development of a well-grounded sense of self-confidence. It facilitates the recognition of one’s emotions, needs and motivations, whilst allowing the opportunity to reflect upon one’s strengths and weaknesses.

2. Self-management advocates getting a good grasp of one’s own self-control, which gradually paves the way towards the ability to manage and regulate one’s emotions and behaviour, enabling proper expression of one’s needs in an assertive way. Goals may be effectively aligned to one’s strengths, thus boosting resilience when confronted with challenges. 

3. Social awareness promotes the practice of being empathic towards other individuals. This enables the recognition of their feelings, needs and concerns, thus the strengthening of understanding diverse perspectives and situations. Additionally relationship skills offer the chance to initiate and maintain interpersonal relationships, which in turn allow societies and communities to grow cohesively. 

4. Effective communication and cooperation equip individuals with a sense of care and respect towards the ones around them, which in turn allows people to live and work together in an effective way. 

5. Decision-making and problem-solving skills are the most basic tools deployed to analyse and tackle, or if possible predict and avoid conflicts. Sequentially, this increases the prevalence of people living together harmoniously. 

Successfully delving in these 5 main themes throughout the 3 Levels of this Key Skill will assisting the learners in recognizing the importance of general reflection in everyday life, augmenting the awareness towards one’s own personality and behaviour, moulded by the social environment, placing an effect upon one’s decisions and ultimately effecting one’s own individual and social being.

The content of this unit collectively encourages learners to recognize their own individual reality in comparison to their surrounding social reality – where the
build-up of a professional career is fundamental for the benefits of each stakeholder. Through the refining of personal and thinking skills and the exploration of their ultimate career path, learners will be directly focusing upon the basic entrepreneurial competencies for the development of their own success.

Unit description

In this Level 1 Key Skill, learners will become familiar and understand different aspects of their personal self as well as become familiar and grasp different life skills that would enable them to become better individuals and social beings.

Whilst keeping in mind their rights as citizens, learners will have the possibility to become progressively aware of their surroundings and understand their civic duties within today’s society. Learners will also have the possibility to understand how one can be entrepreneurial in different aspects of one’s life and how this may enable one to achieve personal goals and move forward.

Within this Key Skill learners will tackle 5 domains revolving around 'Self-Awareness, Boundaries and Personal Space, Respect and its links to Trust, Intra-personal Communication and simple Decision-Making'. 

Through the 5 domains, learners will have the space to learn more about themselves, such as recognize their personal Values and Capabilities. This will enable them to understand how Self-Knowledge can lead them to become entrepreneurial in their everyday life, since being more aware of oneself can enable one to set and achieve objectives and goals in everyday life. 

This Key Skill will also assist learners to improve their Self-Management and understand the importance of knowing and following the various rules and regulations that govern different aspects of our daily life. This will enable the learners to understand the importance of respecting boundaries and personal space, and additionally empower them to build respect within different circles and people in their lives which would in turn enable them to build trust.

Having acquired all the above skills and knowledge, learners will have the ability to understand that in life one is surrounded by choices, which constantly accompany us on a daily basis. Therefore learners will also become increasingly aware how choices and decisions can place an impact upon themselves and the ones around them in different ways, both positively and unfortunately also negatively.

Learning Outcomes 

On completion of this unit the student will be able to:

1.  Identify own ‘Self’ through the reflection on personal identity, values and capabilities.

2.  Understand the need for personal space and boundaries in various contexts

3.  Understand the relationship between respect and trust

4.  Recognize the effects of positive and negative self-talk upon the self and others

5.  Reflect upon the way decisions can impact a person’s life, both positively and negatively

Unit Content

LO-1. Identify own ‘self’ through the reflection on personal identity, values and capabilities.

·      Getting to know each other
     ·      My role-models
     ·      My career goals
     ·      Myself
     ·      Expressing myself through creativity

LO-2. Understand the need for personal space and boundaries in various contexts

LO 3. Understand the relationship between respect and trust

LO 4. Recognize the effects of positive and negative self-talk upon the self and others

·      Communicating with others
    ·      The importance of listening & observing
    ·      Getting in touch with oneself
    ·      Successful teamwork

   LO 5. Reflect upon the way decisions can impact a person’s life, both positively
               and negatively   

                        ·      Managing my conflicts through negotiation
                    ·      My decisions and their consequences
                    ·      Engaging in critical thinking
                    ·      Researching, planning & organizing my work
                    ·      Acquiring & managing my resources

Mode of Delivery

The purpose of this key skill is to encourage the learners to explore their individual and social self, whilst being empowered to think outside the box and become increasingly creative and entrepreneurial.

The expected outcomes of this unit entail that the content is delivered through a significant hands-on approach, rather than a concentration of theoretical content.

Through contact during lecture time, learners are to experience a series of activities as a means to familiarise with each other and ultimately stimulate their creativity and teamwork capabilities. Sufficient time also has to be dedicated to the processing and evaluation of each and every activity held during the contact hours. This entails that any visual, audio or practical activity presented has to be followed up by a proper verbal contribution, envisaging increased awareness and self-improvement through a team effort, constantly guided by the present facilitator.

To further consolidate the above, apart from the usual one-hour weekly lectures, the learners will also be offered an additional number of contact hours. This mode of alternate contact time shall be presented to the learners under the form of seminars, visits, placements and more.

Guidance for Assessment

For the purpose of this unit, each Learning Outcome will carry 20 marks. These will be reflected in the students’ on-going performance in class, the presentation of their file and their final presentation at the end of the academic year. All these will be assessed through formative assessment against a rubric. 

Assessment Criteria

 
Assessment Components

·         On-going class tasks marked against a rubric (50 marks)
·         Presentation of Subject file including notes and personal reflections
      marked against a rubric (30 marks)
·        Final presentation based on learning outcome/s or any other initiatives
     organised by lecturer marked against a rubric (e.g. Visits, placements,
     seminars, voluntary) (20 marks)

In order to be successful on this unit, the students are expected to pass all the three assessment components.

Pedagogy

When devising schemes of work, lecturers should take into account the experiences and interests of learners related to their vocational, social and cultural environments and requirements.

The main aim is to help learners develop their individual and social responsibility through their everyday experiences. In order to achieve this, the planning, expression and interpretation of everyday experiences in various contexts is necessary.  Activities may take place under the form of discussions, case studies, role plays, short audio-visuals or digital resources, taking into consideration:

·         multiple means of representation [1]
·         multiple means of action and expression
·         multiple means of engagement

It is highly important to create a safe and comfortable atmosphere for learning.  Learners’ anxieties about sharing of personal experiences should be taken into consideration and addressed accordingly. Confidentiality should be respected by lecturers and students alike throughout the course. The only exception to this is a disclosure or serious suspect of self-harm or harm to others.

Activities during the introductory phase should provide learners with the opportunity to get to know each other and to construct positive relationships and eventually a healthy classroom community.

Suggested Resources

 ·         Projector
 ·         Whiteboard
 ·         Power Point
 ·         Videos
 ·         Hand-outs

Resources

 ·         Class notes

 [1] Principles of Universal Design for Learning (TES http://www.casr.org/teachingeverystudent/)