The official statement of this goal as one of the "six tools" is the personal organizational skills, sense of personal responsibility and commitment, initiative, and ability to self-assess necessary to be a consistently successful professional.
My Interpretation
This tool is all about one thing to me - drive. How much do I want something? When I am working toward something that I want, I need to stay organized, I need to be assertive and make bold moves, and I need to know if what I am doing is working.
This skill, personally, is huge for job-searching. If I am applying for a number of jobs, I need to have all my applications together, sent by the appropriate deadlines, and organized in a clear way for potential employers. I need to take the initiative to shoot for positions that I might not quit fit exactly, based on the description. I also have to take initiative to acknowledge my weaknesses and find ways to improve on them! And, of course, if job searching isn't going well, I have to ask myself why, and how I can change to have a better chance at a position.
My Evidence
Work with the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning
As a graduate associate at the Kaneb Center, I was responsible for organizing a number of workshops related to professional development and pedagogy. This required taking the initiative to contact guest speakers, and the organization to find a time that worked for the right people. At the end of each workshop, I would take time to write to my mentors and explain what went well (and what didn't) with the event, with aims to improve future offerings.
Teaching Record
I have kept detailed records of my own teaching, including digital copies of all lectures and assignments, and in the case of projects that I've graded, digital scans of original work and rubrics. I believe that having this record will be critical to my success as a teacher, so that I can reuse my own work, refining it with every iteration.
Assessment of Strengths and Weaknesses
I believe that I am a highly organized individual. I keep a planner so that I know when I have responsibilities, and also as a record for my past, so I can retrieve information.
I believe I could show more initiative sometimes. Sometimes I am afraid to step outside my boundaries, some of which are probably self-imposed!
Goals and Plans
Short-term goal: Archive materials from teaching this semester. Finish sending out job applications.
Medium-term goal: Assess current situation and refine personal job application materials as necessary.
Long-term goal: Regularly take time to look back and reflect on past experiences, keeping a more complete "teaching journal" to use later.
Notes for CBE 20255 students:
Notice that it's perfectly fine to use a particular artifact or idea more than once. Just be sure that your reflection is original in each application! (Unlike the line below, which I keep copying and pasting.)
Obviously, your contributions to date may be lacking in this or other areas. Do not be discouraged! If you believe you have little to no evidence of your proficiency at this or any other of the six tools, take more time to reflect on your current abilities and plans to improve in the future!