UFA module in Enterprise and entrepreneurship
Module code E0800BS
Andrew G Holmes
Centre for Lifelong Learning, Institute for Learning in
conjunction with the University of Hull Enterprise Centre
STUDY PACK
CONTENT
Introduction
Learning Outcomes and Assessment
The underpinning principle of this module
Personal Development Planning
What assessment evidence do I need to provide?
Structuring Your Portfolio
What type of evidence is acceptable?
How long should my portfolio be?
How Are Skills Learnt?
The Experiential Learning cycle
Questions to ask yourself to aid your skills
development
Identifying my skills and knowledge
Learning logs or a reflective learning journal
How do I do know what good reflective writing looks
like?
Learning Logs – sample learning log
Changes Associated with Reflection
Questions to ask yourself to help Reflection
Skills Audit
Skills Audit - Alternative Method
Questions to consider
What are the behaviours and values that
entrepreneurs need?
Skills Audit pro forma
Gap Analysis
Gap Analysis pro forma
Useful websites on enterprise and entrepreneurship
Reading list - books you may wish to consult
CLL Referencing Guidelines
Module Specification
1
Introduction
This study pack is for anyone who wants to develop their skills in
and knowledge of enterprise and entrepreneurship on a part time
basis through participation in events organised by or offered
through the University of Hull’s Enterprise Centre.
When it comes to developing your skills and knowledge the
onus is on you to learn, practice and develop them. No one
can ‘give’ you the skills to become a successful entrepreneur or a
success in the world of work. You have to learn them yourself;
though you will learn from and with others.
Module Aims
In addition to contributing to the overall programme aims for the
University Foundation Award this module has the following
module-specific aims:
1. to provide students/learners with knowledge of enterprise
and entrepreneurship
2. to enable students/learners to identify the key attributes of
a successful entrepreneur and engage in personal
development planning to develop these skills
3. to facilitate a student’s/learner’s PDP (personal and
professional development planning) and reflection on their
own skills, abilities and aptitudes as required to successfully
engage in enterprise/entrepreneurial activities.
Please note that we are not including any definition of what
enterprise is here. There are a range of different definitions of
enterprise and different categories of enterprise, for example,
commercial enterprise and social enterprise. Enterprise for the
purposes of this module is a set of attitudes, skills and values
which allow you to creatively channel your knowledge.
What is the underpinning enterprise/entrepreneurship
principle or pedagogy of this module?
The underpinning model of enterprise learning for module is of
Opportunity-Centred entrepreneurship and Action Learning.
2
Opportunity-Centred entrepreneurship focuses on the learning
process of you the individual entrepreneur. Action Learning
encourages learning by doing, not just reading about the theory.
Reading through this study pack and attending enterprise events
at the University of Hull will not make you into an entrepreneur.
Only by actively engaging with the learning materials and putting
theory and ideas into practice will you start to become an effective
entrepreneur and develop the necessary skills and knowledge to
become successful. This module encourages you to learn for
entrepreneurship and enterprise as well as learning about it.
To learn for entrepreneurship and enterprise it is vital for you to
learn through direct, practical hands-on experience of doing (Rae
2007). For further information about this process of learning for
entrepreneurship and a discussion of it you could read chapter one
(opportunity-centred entrepreneurship) in the book
Entrepreneurship from opportunity to action by David Rae 2007.
Personal Development Planning
Participation in this module supports your own Personal
Development Planning (PDP) processes. Personal development
planning is defined by the quality assurance agency (QAA) as
being “a structured and supported process undertaken by
individual reflect upon their learning, performance and/or
achievements and to plan for their personal, educational and
career development” (QAA guidelines for progress files 2001).
How do I find out about enterprise events which are
happening at the University of Hull?
An up-to-date list is available on the website at
http://www.hull.ac.uk/enterprise/news_events/seminars_workshop
s/index.html
3
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The learning outcomes are listed below. You need to demonstrate
your achievement of all these learning outcomes in order to
successfully pass the module. How well you demonstrate
achievement of the outcomes determines the mark you will
receive. Your portfolio of evidence needs to show that you have
demonstrated all of the areas listed in the table below.
On completion of this module students/learners will be able to show
that with support and guidance they are able to demonstrate the
following learning outcomes:
1. Knowledge and Understanding of:
1i. Key specified aspects of successful enterprise activity.
(Note you can specify these aspects yourself or we can specify
them for you or we can negotiate them).
1ii. Resources available within the University of Hull to support
enterprise activity.
2. Intellectual / Thinking Skills:
2i. Be able to reflect on your own skills and knowledge base and
set achievable SMART*goals for enhancing these.
3. Practical / Professional Skills:
3i. Produce a business plan for a business/enterprise idea/concept
3ii Develop skill areas for the individual and/or the organization, as
appropriate. (Note you can specify which skills or we can negotiate
these)
*Specific, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound
4
Assessment Strategy (for 10 UFA credits):
This table outlines how your work will be assessed.
Assessment method
Word count (indicative)
Reflective journal (including diary
record of attendance at enterprise
events) with summary and key points
for personal development
Written notes
Business plan or individual action plan
and ideas for your own future
enterprise activity**
Skills audit
1,100
200
500 **
40-200
** whether you choose two and use any business plans or an individual action
plan may be determined by with your enterprise activity is social enterprise or
commercial enterprise and at what stage you are out with your ideas and
planning
The word lengths in the above table are there as a guideline only.
WHAT ASSESSMENT/EVIDENCE DO I NEED TO PROVIDE?
You should provide evidence in the form of a portfolio of evidence
which demonstrates your achievement of all of the learning
outcomes.
The areas you could consider in terms of content are:
 What is enterprise?
 Key attributes of an entrepreneur
 State of mind – the entrepreneurial attitude.
 Skills for enterprise and entrepreneurship – skills audit
 Knowledge for enterprise and entrepreneurship – knowledge
audit
5
 Reflective learning – developing your skills and knowledge
 Key business start up information.
 Different types of enterprise, including: for profit enterprises,
web-based enterprises, social enterprises, community, and
not-for profit enterprises
 Facilities available and accessing information for your
business start up from within and outside of Hull.
 Social, legal ethical, environmental considerations
This may include some of the following:
 A number of completed reflective learning logs (i.e. keep a
reflective learning journal).
 Completed skills and knowledge analysis/audit
 A real-time diary record of the number of hours you have
spent attending enterprise activity events with a few
sentences summarising what the event was about, what
you did during it and what you feel you have learnt or
gained from it.
 Evidence to demonstrate you have reflected on your
existing skills and knowledge and have engaged in, and
with, an ongoing process of learning, in order to further
develop your skills and knowledge.
 Evidence that you have engaged in background reading
pertinent to the skill(s) you are developing and that you
have related theory to your work, as appropriate.
 A bibliography of books, papers, websites which you have
consulted. When referencing please use the Harvard
referencing system. Refer to the CLL referencing
guidelines in this module handbook. Evidence of your
reading around the subject and of effective referencing a
6
bibliography is necessary in order to gain a good mark.
 If you need help, advice or information about producing
evidence to achieve the learning outcomes please ask
your module tutor, Andrew.
STRUCTURING YOUR PORTFOLIO OF EVIDENCE
There are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes a portfolio
in terms of its size, layout, and content other than that you should
produce a portfolio which provides evidence of your knowledge,
competency and learning which can be read, understood and
assessed against the relevant assessment criteria by somebody
else. Your portfolio should not be a disparate set of lots of
different pieces of information/evidence. It's not the case that
quantity of evidence is important; it is the quality of your evidence
which is important. There is a maxim indicative word limit of 2000
words.
Things to consider:
* Contents page
* Introduction – stating what skill area you chose to develop and
why
* Ring binder with sections/dividers – but please do not put
pages into individual plastic wallets. If you do your work
will be returned to you and you will need to submit it again.
* Clear titles and labelling of sections and pages
Whenever you are putting evidence together for your portfolio ask
yourself questions of the following type:









Will this make sense to the person who will be marking it?
(How) Does this evidence demonstrate something?
Is this piece of evidence relevant?
Does this evidence demonstrate my understanding?
Can I prove that this is my own work?
Does this evidence my own learning?
Does this evidence my own achievement?
Is this the best/most appropriate evidence I can put forward?
How does this relate to the learning outcomes?
7
WHAT TYPE OF EVIDENCE IS ACCEPTABLE?
Broadly speaking, ‘it is up to you’. As long as your assessment
evidence is relevant, clear, addresses the assessment evidence
criteria and demonstrates your achievement and development in a
skill(s), then it should be acceptable. Some examples of evidence
include:

written reports

written self-reflective write ups

learning log or extracts from one

photographs

research evidence

diagrams and charts

written 3rd party witness testimony (for example someone
who has worked with your)

written evidence from someone else eg a friend or
supervisor

project reports

spread sheets

minutes of meetings where you are mentioned

evidence of background reading

your thoughts on what you need to do to improve

articles, reports etc you have written

marketing leaflets you have designed

notes you have written
The above list is indicative not prescriptive, nor exhaustive.
8
Things to remember
Your portfolio should demonstrate how you have learnt, developed
and applied knowledge and skills - not just what you can already
do and not just the theory of what you have learnt. A successful
entrepreneur needs to be able to apply appropriate skills and
knowledge.
Nor should it be a diary of ‘what I did’. Understanding the theory of
something is not the same as actually being able to do it. Read the
following quotes:
“Theoretical knowledge of the principles involved in a
particular…skill is of little use unless the person can apply it in a
‘live’ situation”.
(John Payne, 1992, Oldfield Payne Management Associates).
“There is a crucial difference between declarative knowledge,
knowing a concept and its technical skills, and procedural
knowledge, being able to put those concepts and details into
action. Knowing does not equal doing, whether playing the piano,
managing a team, or acting on essential advice at the right
moment”.
(Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence 1997)
“Understanding and skill rest on each other: as one increases, so
does the other. This takes time”.
(Genie Z Laborde 1987)
You should also indicate how much time you have spent ‘doing it’
But remember that ‘doing something’ is not the same as learning
something – you could spend 200 hours doing an activity but learn
very little, equally you could spend 2 hours on an activity and learn
a great deal. When you are ‘doing’ think about how much you are
learning and try and structure your ‘doing’ so that you learn more
and apply what you have learnt.
Now read the following section ‘How are skills learnt?’
9
HOW ARE SKILLS LEARNT?
This section introduces you to some of the theories of learning and
developing a skill and provides an overview of the experiential
learning cycle developed by the David Kolb. This is usually
referred to as Kolb’s experiential learning cycle.
Skills are not necessarily learnt in the same way that other aspects
of a course may be learnt. Skills are usually developed in an
individual partly by the introduction of theory, but mainly by
practice i.e. learning by doing. This is called ‘experiential learning’.
Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, a variation of which is
reproduced below, can be used to see how you learn a skill by
doing it, reflecting upon it and learning from it, then planning
how you will do it again and then repeating it (doing it again).
THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE
(based on material by D.Kolb)
HAVING AN EXPERIENCE
DO
PLANNING
(testing your
conclusions
out)
PLAN
REVIEW
REFLECTING
UPON IT
LEARN
CONCLUDING FROM IT
(drawing generalizations)
HAVING AN EXPERIENCE = doing something.
REFLECTING UPON IT = thinking about it and asking yourself
questions such as 'was it good about it?', 'what was bad about it?',
'how well did I do?'.
CONCLUDING = learning from your experience and reflection on
it.
10
PLANNING = testing your conclusions and generalizations out.
Thinking about how you will do it next time and asking yourself
questions such as 'how can I do it better?', 'how can I learn from
my mistakes?', 'how can I ensure I do the best I can each time?',
'what might I change in the way I did it in order to improve things?'.
With many attempts to develop a skill there is usually ample
opportunity for ‘doing’ but very little reflection. It is therefore vital to
allow time to reflect upon the ‘doing’ phase in order to learn the
skill. One way of doing this is via a learning log or journal.
“Practice of a Key Skill without feedback can be almost totally
ineffective” (Gibbs 1994).
For this reason you need to allow time for the practice of your skills
and to get feedback on how you are progressing. You could for
example obtain feedback from a friend or colleague?
You may wish to photocopy the sheets overleaf (or print them out
from the website or a CD) to use to help you think about your skills
development, or develop your own version if you feel it would be
useful to you.
The sheets may form part of your assessed portfolio (but they do
not have to). But don’t slavishly follow the questions on the sheet.
They are designed to help stimulate your own thought process and
it’s often useful to modify the questions slightly, or even think of
new ones. Treat the questions as something to revisit on a regular
basis - don’t just complete the sheets then forget about them. It is
also useful to discuss your answers to the questions with one of
your friends and ask them to help make suggestions about their
answers.
11
IDENTIFYING YOUR SKILLS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
What skills do you already have and how well do they match what is required? Spend
time on this and add to it over time, be specific and think about the general skills you
need to be an enterprising entrepreneur and the specific skills you need for your own
potential enterprise venture or activity. Be specific, for example if you are considering
communication, don’t just put down ‘communication skills’ but think about the type of
communication and the context so you may put down things such as communication:
negotiation skills on a 1-2-1 basis, negotiation skills in a group, communication, formal
presentation skills, communication, informal presentation skills, selling skills etc. Read
some books on the different types of communication. Similarly consider the skills of:
team-working, time management, ICT (computers skills), mathematics or use of
numbers. Spend time on this exercise. By identifying the skills you have and the skills
you need you will be able to develop and articulate a plan for developing them.
Produce your own version of this table in word or ask for an electronic copy. Try not to
overrate your own skills, or underrate them – which is easier said than done. Don’t treat
this as a quick one-off exercise. It’s something you should take time over and re-visit
week after week as you develop your skills and identify new ones you need to develop.
Make sure you read the section after this on the behaviours and values that
entrepreneurs need before doing this exercise. The table below is provided as an
example of what you could produce to identify your skills. You should produce your
own version in MS word and it should be much longer than one below – typically you
should aim for 5 or 7 pages of work. This process is part of your own Personal
Development Planning (PDP). Of courses it’s a subjective process; but it should get
you thinking. A copy of the skills audit is available for you to download from the Internet
at http://www.hull.ac.uk/workbasedlearning/ you need to scroll down right to the
bottom of the page on this website.
Skill
How well do they match
what’s required? E.g. rate as:
very well, well, not so well or rate
from 1 to 10 – be honest
12
Some questions to consider after having done your skills audit
 How well do the skills I have match what is required for my future
business/work?
Perhaps highlight the areas you need to work on. Set yourself SMART
goals for the areas you need to develop in.
 How and from whom or where will I gain the skills I need? How and
when will I make the time to do this?
 Think about how you are going to gain the skills you need. For
example; courses, self study, web searches, mentoring, learning
informally from others, shadowing another entrepreneur.
An important question! Have you thought about considering things which
might be necessary for you possess, but which people often don’t consider
to be skills? Things such as: tact, enthusiasm, passion, ‘professionalism’,
style, integrity, trust, self promotion?
These are things which aren’t necessarily skills; they may be behaviours or
values or attitudes and you may need to develop or change yours?
What are the behaviours and values that entrepreneurs need?
The author Timmons identified in 1999 that there were six attributes and
behaviours, and, perhaps more importantly, that they were acquirable i.e.
they can be learnt. These six attributes and behaviours are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
commitment and determination
leadership
opportunity obsession
tolerance of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty
creativity, self-reliance and ability to adapt
motivation to excel
The UK’s National Council for Graduate Enterprise (NCGE) has identified
a set of learning outcomes which it has for its own framework and which it
has published in a document Developing entrepreneurial graduates:
Putting entrepreneurship at the centre of higher education ISBN 978-184875-027-2 September 2008 author (Gibb A 2005).
13
You can access a copy at http://www.ncge.com/uploads/Exec_Summary__AllanGibb.pdf see pages 11-12
The following is a modified extract from that document. Listed here are
some of the values, behaviours, attitudes and skills which the NCGE feels
are important for entrepreneurs. You might want to incorporate some or all
of these into your skills audit. You might want to find out more about the
meaning of some of them. You may even want to question whether some
of them are of use or value to you at the present time? They may not be
useful or relevant to you now; but they may be in the future





























Initiative taking
Opportunity seeking
Commitment to see things through
Networking with other people at different levels
Moderate rather than high-risk taking the ability
Strategic thinking
Negotiation capacity
Selling and persuasion
Incremental risk-taking
Independence
Autonomy
Imagination
High believe that you are in control of your own destiny
Need for achievement
Achievement orientation
Living with uncertainty and complexity
Having to do everything under pressure (financial and time)
Coping with loneliness
Building know how and trust relationships
Learning by doing, copying, making things up, problem solving
Managing interdependencies
Working long hours and unsocial hours
Belief that rewards come with your own effort
Belief that you can make things happen
Belief in individual and the community
Motivation to succeed
Motivation to make a difference
Ability to cope with doing something different to others
Ability to see problems as opportunities
There is a simple online test which you can do to assess your
entrepreneurial capabilities at
http://www.palgrave.com/business/rae/students/toolkit_entrepreneurial.html
14
IDENTIFYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
What knowledge do you already have and how well does it match what is required?
Spend time on this and add to it over time, be specific and think about the general
knowledge you need to be an enterprising entrepreneur and the specific knowledge
you need for your own potential enterprise venture. Be specific, for example, don’t just
put down ‘marketing’ but think about the type of marketing such as: poster, internet,
local, national. Spend time on this exercise. By identifying the knowledge you have and
knowledge you need you can set out on a learning journey to becoming a successful
entrepreneur. Produce your own version of this table in word or ask for an electronic
copy. Above all be honest with yourself, ask a friend or colleague for honest feedback.
Try not to overrate your own knowledge, or underrate it – which is easier said than
done. Think about the knowledge you need for your future, both now and in the future
(short, medium and long term). Don’t treat this as a quick one-off exercise. It’s
something you should take time over and re-visit week after week as you gain new
knowledge and identify knowledge you need to gain. The table below is provided as an
example of what you could produce to identify your knowledge. You should produce
your own version in MS word and it should be much longer than the one below –
typically you should aim for 5 or 7 pages of work. This process is part of your own
Personal Development Planning (PDP). Of courses it’s a subjective process; but it
should get you thinking. A copy of the knowledge audit is available for you to download
from the Internet at http://www.hull.ac.uk/workbasedlearning/ you need to scroll
down right to the bottom of the page on this website.
KNOWLEDGE
High/good.
Sufficient/adequate, low/poor
Or not known at present
15
Some questions to consider after having done your knowledge audit
 How well does the knowledge I have match what is required for my
future business/work?
 How do I know that my knowledge is sufficient, adequate, accurate
and up to date?
 How will I keep my knowledge up-to-date?
 How and from whom or where will I gain the knowledge I need?
 How and when will I make the time to do this?
 Think about how you are going to gain the knowledge you need.
Perhaps highlight the areas you need to work on. Set yourself SMART
goals for the areas you need to develop in.
There is an online test to assess your managerial capabilities available at
http://www.palgrave.com/business/rae/students/toolkit_management.html
16
LEARNING LOGS or A REFLECTIVE LEARNING JOURNAL
One way of developing evidence of your skills and knowledge
development is to engage in the process of producing a learning log
or learning journal. A learning log is basically a record or journal of
your own learning. It is not necessarily a formal ‘academic’ piece of
work. It is a personal record of your own learning. As such it is a
document which is unique to you and cannot be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’,
although there are ‘better’ and ‘worse’ ways of producing one. A
learning log helps you to record, structure, think about and reflect
upon, plan, develop and evidence your own learning. In the context of
this module your learning needs to meet certain requirements if you
are to achieve the assessment evidence criteria for your chosen skill
area.
What is a learning log?
A learning log or journal is something that you use write down things
which you may use as evidence of your own learning and skills
development. It is not just a record of ‘What you have done’ but a
record of what you have learnt, tried and critically reflected upon.
For example in your learning log you could include details of what you
did or how you did something and your reflections on this. Becoming
a good self-critical reflector is not easy to do. You will probably not
become a critical self reflector overnight, and it is a skill that some
people seem to be able to do easily, whereas others, particularly
people used to a more didactic or directive teaching style, find quite
difficult. It often requires time to become comfortable with self
reflection. Sometimes it feels uncomfortable reflecting upon your
experience(s) and abilities and you may feel that you don’t know
whether you are doing it properly. Don’t worry, just practice, or as Nike
say ‘just do it’. With practice it becomes easier and you will be more
comfortable with the process. Your tutor can help you by providing
you with feedback.
What do I write in a learning log?
Your learning log contains your record of your experiences, thoughts,
feelings and reflections about your work and the skills which you are
developing. One of the most important things it contains is your
conclusions about how what you have learnt is relevant to you and
17
how
and
when
you
will
use
information/knowledge/skill/technique in the future.
the
new
It may contain details of difficulties or issues you have encountered
and problems you have solved (or not solved). Examples such as
where you have started to try out and practice a new skill, and
examples of your own formal and informal learning. Formal learning
is ‘taught’ in a formal academic setting - for example via a lecture, or
workshop. Informal learning is learning which takes place outside a
formal academic setting, for example, through talking with friends or
colleagues in a social setting or, for example, through voluntary work.
A learning log is a personal document. Engaging in the process will
help you to think about and structure your own learning. Once you
have commenced a learning log you should find it a valuable and
useful 'tool' to help your learning.
How do I ‘do’ a learning log?
Try to write something down after every new learning experience. Use
the sample learning log forms included in this study pack, but don’t
feel constrained to use these – change or modify them or develop
your own versions if you want to, or work with others to develop your
own version.
You could identify:







What you did
Your thoughts
Your feelings
How well (or badly) it went
What you learnt
What you will do differently next time.
How the above relates to the learning outcomes for the skills
area you are working on.
On a regular basis (usually 1, 3-5 weekly) review what you have
written and reflect upon this. There is no specific timescale. It is up to
you. As stated above, what works for one person may not work for
another.
Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself questions such as:
18
 What did I do?
 Have I achieved anything? If so, what?
 What progress have I made? (remember sometimes you may
make little progress, or even perform less well than last time)
 Have I put any theory into practice?
 How does what I have been doing lead to me becoming better at
a skill?
 How can I use this to plan for the future?
 How can I use this to plan new learning experiences?
 What did I do? What did I want to do, but did not do?
 What did I want to say, but did not say?
 Did it go well? Why? What did/can I learn from this?
 Did it go badly? Why? What did/can I learn from this?
 How can I improve for next time?
These questions are indicative – you don’t have to specifically answer
them; the idea of using them is to get you thinking. One ‘technique’
that the author of this study pack finds useful in helping him to reflect
is to sit down in a chair with a large glass or whiskey or whisky or wine
and ‘mull things over’ in his mind, asking himself questions similar to
the ones above. Try it, the great thing about this is that if a friend
sees you and asks you if you are having a drink you can say “No, I’m
doing my coursework”! or “No I’m considering the skills I need for my
future business success”! Of course, I don’t encourage you to
overindulge.
You will find that if you begin to ask yourself these questions within 24
hours of having done something (e.g. participated in an event, activity
or ‘done’ some planning for your business venture) compared to
within, say, 7 days afterwards, then you will find that how you view
something, (your perception of it) may be different. Your perception of
something changes over time. For example you may have been
trying to develop your communication skills and have had a bad or
negative learning experience when something went wrong and you
feel you have made little or no or even backwards progress. You may
reflect upon this the next day and your thoughts and feelings may be
mainly negative ones. If you reflect about the experience 3-5 weeks
later on you may find that you have now overcome the negative
experience and have used it to develop further and improve yourself.
Skills rarely suddenly develop or improve ‘overnight’ (but they
19
sometimes do). Learning new knowledge and applying it within a
skills context usually takes time, effort and perseverance.
At first it may seem difficult to start to critically reflect upon your own
learning, over time though, you will find that it becomes easier. The
more often that you practice the skill of self reflection then the easier it
will become.
You can use your learning log to record courses you have attended,
books you have read, discussions you have had, Internet sites you
have looked at, television programmes you have watched. At the end
of the day your log should become something that is directly relevant
to you and your learning.
If you genuinely engage in the process of critical self reflection via a
learning log you really will be able to help your own learning and
personal development and go a long way to developing you skills.
Is there a ‘best’ or ‘correct’ way of producing a learning log?
Not really, the log should be relevant to you and your voluntary
activities. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way of producing a learning
log. Perhaps the three key questions when engaging in the process
of producing a learning log are:
 Am I being honest with myself?
 Is this a useful process for me?
 Is this helping my own process of learning?
If you require any help, advice or guidance about your learning log or
about how to get started on one then please discuss it with your tutor
and with others on the module.
How can producing a learning log and developing the skill of
critical self reflection help me?
Again, that depends very much upon you. Some people will get more
out of engaging in the process of producing a learning log than other
people will. Research has identified that reflection can help people to
change. Some of the changes which have been identified are listed
on page 24.
How do I know what ‘good’ reflective writing looks like?
You may find it useful to read the article at
http://escalate.ac.uk/resources/reflection/index.html
20
Also read the articles on the differences between surface and deep
learning at
http://www.hull.ac.uk/php/cesagh/SURFACEANDDEEPLEARNING.rtf
and see the diagram
http://www.hull.ac.uk/php/cesagh/LEARNINGASKILL.rtf
The learning log template on the next pages is a sample one. You
should either photocopy it and use it or produce your won version in
MS word.
A copy of the learning log is available for you to download from the
Internet at http://www.hull.ac.uk/workbasedlearning/ you need to
scroll down right to the bottom of the page on this website where you
will find a copy of the learning log, the skills audit and the knowledge
audit.
21
LEARNING LOG

What did I do? E.g. what event did you attend? What did you do there?
Who did you speak with? etc

How do I think/feel about this? Did I learn anything? Was it a positive
experience?
How well (or badly) did it go?
22

What did I learn? How or in what way will this help me?

What will I do differently next time or in a similar situation? How will I do it
differently next time?
23
 What have I achieved?

What have I learnt: about myself? about my business? About enterprise?

(How) have I put any theory into practice?
24

What did I think/feel but not say? What should I have said or asked but didn’t?
How can I use this plan for the future?
 (How) can I use this to plan new learning experiences?

What are the key action points I will take away? i.e. what am I going to do
next?
25
CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH REFLECTION
From
To
Accepting
Questioning
Intolerant
Tolerant
Doing
Thinking
Being Descriptive
Analytical
Impulsive
Diplomatic
Being Reserved
Being more Open
Unassertive
Assertive
Unskilled Communicators
Skilled Communicators
Reactive
Reflective
Concrete Thinking
Abstract Thinking
Lacking Self Awareness
Self Aware
(Adapted from C Miller, A Tomlinson, M Jones, Researching
Professional Education 1994, University Of Sussex).
You way want to want to discuss you thoughts and feelings with other
budding entrepreneurs who are, like you, students on this module, or
with your friends, or the tutor.
26
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF TO HELP REFLECTION

What did I do?

How do I think/feel about this?

How well (or badly) did it go?

Could it have gone better? Or could I have done it better - If so it what way?

What did I learn?

What did I want to say but did not say?

What will I do differently next time?

How will I do it differently next time?

What have I achieved?

Have I put any theory into practice?

How does what I have been doing lead to me becoming better at a skill?

How can I use this plan for the future?

(How) can I use this to plan new learning experiences?

What did I think/feel but not say?
27
SKILLS AUDIT
A skills audit is a review of your existing skills against the skills you need
both now and in the future. It’s an important part of personal
development planning. It can help you to identify your existing skills,
identify what skills you may need to carry out your existing voluntary
work and role more effectively and to plan, develop and improve the
skills and knowledge needed for your future career.
Carrying out a skills audit for the purpose of this module is a five stage
process.
Stage 1 - Existing Skills and Knowledge Identification
First you write down, as a bullet point list, the knowledge and skills which
you consider to be important for your current voluntary work. You may
find it useful to refer to the section 'How are skills learnt' to do this and to
refer to your ‘job description’ (if there is one for your voluntary work) and
to information within the University’s Careers service.
Stage 2 - Future Skills and Knowledge Identification
Next write down as a bullet point list, the knowledge and skills which you
consider to be important for your future career.
Each list should comprise roughly between fifteen to twenty bullet points.
Stage 3 - Rating Your Ability
Once you have produced your lists you need to rate your current ability
against each one. This may be done via a 3 point rating of strong, weak
and somewhere in-between, or you may find it more useful to use a five
point scale such as the one below.
1. = No current knowledge or skill (no current competency),
2. = Some awareness but not sufficiently competent to use it,
3. = Familiar with and able to use the knowledge or skill (some
competency),
4. = Proficient in the knowledge or skill and able to show others how to
use it (high level of competency),
5. = Expert with a high degree of skill and/or comprehensive knowledge
(fully competent).
28
Stage 4 - Review Your Ability Ratings
Next ask a friend or your supervisor, or tutor to review your list and give
you feedback. Try to ensure that you choose someone who is honest
and not afraid to tell you the truth. There is no point in asking a close
friend if they are unwilling to be honest for fear that they may hurt your
feelings by telling you that you are possibly not as good at something as
you think you are.
Stage 5 - Your Future Development
The final stage is simply that of using the information to concentrate on
developing the skill and knowledge areas where you have a low score or
have identified that you are not fully competent.
SKILLS AUDIT - AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD
A more advanced method of carrying out a skills audit is to produce
three bullet point lists:
1. Behavioural skills
These are the transferable personal and interpersonal skills which are
necessary for almost every career. These are typically the skills of:
Communication, working with and relating to others, problem solving,
communication skills, ITC skills, mathematical skills, self management
and development, time management, managing tasks, time
management, communicating clearly and effectively, applying initiative.
2. Technical knowledge and skills
These are those which are specific to the particular
technical/professional area(s) in which you work. For example: if you are
doing voluntary work in a school then there may be specific knowledge
you may need in order to work with children, or, if you know that your
chosen career will be as a counsellor then you will identify that you need
to develop specific counselling skills.
3. Other knowledge and skills
Those which do not appear on either of the other two lists. They may
relate specifically to the area that you do your voluntary work in and may
include particular methods and procedures you use or may relate to the
position that you occupy and role you carry out.
29
SKILLS AUDIT
Knowledge and skills which I consider to Your Ability Rating (1-5) or strong /
be important for my future business weak / somewhere in between
enterprise
Consider numeracy, literacy, written and
verbal communication, knowledge of
your market, taxation, etc etc
30
GAP ANALYSIS - (Skills Analysis for the future).
Another similar process to a skills audit is that of carrying out a gap
analysis. A gap analysis is basically the process of matching and
comparing the knowledge and skills that you currently have against
those that you need for your future role and career and identifying where
there are gaps. This matching process can help you to focus better on
the skill areas which you need to develop. It’s a tool of personal
development planning (PDP).
Using the information from your skills audit, think about the voluntary
work you do and write down against each of the knowledge and skills on
your list the ‘target level’ that you think is required to be fully effective in
the job. Next carry this out for the knowledge and skills which you
consider to be important for your future career. It is useful at this stage to
ask a friend or your tutor, or supervisor to review your list and rate you
as well.
For example, if one of your required skills for your future career is
'competency in setting up internet home pages' you may have rated you
current ability as a 3 (familiar with and able to use the knowledge or skill
yourself - some competency). A friend may have rated you as being a 2
(some awareness but not sufficient to use the skill). Ideally you wish to
be a 5 (expert with a high degree of skill and/or comprehensive
knowledge - fully competent). You therefore have a gap between your
existing competency and your required competency.
If on the other hand you have rated yourself as a 5, and your friend also
rated you as being a 5, then you have no current skills gap in this skill
area. If you have used a scale of strong/weak/in between then you may
wish to identify your gaps as being small gap/large gap/no gap. Note
though that not having a current gap does not mean to say that you will
not have a gap in, say, 12 months time - this is particularly the case for
information technology based skills where new computer programmes
and systems are frequently introduced.
You may want to do the same thing for the job position you ultimately
aspire to (although many people find long-term planning like this very
difficult to do). Thinking about these objectives may mean that you need
to add to your list some knowledge and skills which you will need in the
future. You may find it useful to consult information in the University’s
Careers Service or the Enterprise Centre.
31
GAP ANALYSIS
Knowledge and skills which I consider Rating (1-5) or Gap (in points
to be important for my current strong, weak, or
small,
voluntary work
in between
large, none)
Knowledge and skills which I consider Rating (1-5) or Gap (in points
to be important for my future chosen strong, weak, or
small,
career
in between
large, none)
32
RECOMMENDED READING
Due to the nature of this module there are no specific books that you
have to read, but your portfolio of evidence must demonstrate that you
have engaged in some background reading in order to provide you with
greater understanding and underpinning knowledge. You will not be
able to gain a good mark unless you engage in and evidence your
reading using appropriate quotations and references
I recommend that if you wish to purchase one book to help you develop
your skills and knowledge then you should buy David Rae’s
Entrepreneurship from opportunity to action (2007 Palgrave
macmillan ISBN 978-1-4039-4175-6).
Useful web sites
There is a host of information you can use from internet searches.
Some useful sites are listed below.
Job match aptitude test at http://www.testcafe.com/job/?affil=
Various career and job evaluation tools at
http://www.quintcareers.com/career_assessment.html
Career management skills web sites hub
http://www.agcas.org.uk/employability/career_management_skills/
Business Link Yorkshire – www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk – wide range of
support materials, training, advice and funding for those starting a business
Web sites on Entrepreneurship
National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship
http://www.ncge.com/home.php
General Entrepreneurship (free downloads of business plans etc)
http://www.innovateur.co.uk/key.html
Entrepreneurship Education
http://ncge.com/content/page/85
Enterprise week http://www.enterpriseweek.org.uk/
Creativity resources from lifehack
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/essential-resources-for-creativity-163techniques-30-tips-books.html
33
Business Advice
http://www.startups.co.uk/UK_entrepreneurship_is_booming.YR-p95JoS63Ijg.html
Businessballs website – lot’s of useful resources for business people here
http://www.businessballs.com/
Creativity Tools and modelling tools
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_CT.
http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/
Venture Navigator – business start up advice etc from University of Essex
http://venturenavigator.co.uk/
Social Enterprise
www.ashoka.org – the Ashoka Social Enterprise network
www.globalideasbank.org http://www.leadertoleader.org/
www.socialentrepreneurs.org American National Centre for Social Entrepreneurs
The UK Patent Office (Patents, Trade Marks, Registered Designs)
http://www.patent.gov.uk/
http://www.prowess.org.uk/ women’s enterprise promotion and support site
Reading list - Books you may wish to consult
Vass, J. The "Which?" Guide to Starting Your Own Business, Which Books, 2000
Green, J. Starting Your Own Business, How-to Books, 2000
Hingston, P. DK Small Business Guides - Starting Your Business, Dorling
Kindersley 2001
Stone, P. Raising Start-up Finance Essentials, 2001
Deakins D, Entrepreneurship and Small Firms, 2nd Ed, McGraw Hill Publishing,
1999
Rae D Entrepreneurship from opportunity to action 2007 Palgrave macmillan
If you only read one book about entrepreneurship then read this one.
There’s an online student resource site to support David Rae’s book available at
http://www.palgrave.com/business/rae/students/
This includes and entrepreneurship toolkit
http://www.palgrave.com/business/rae/students/toolkit.html with the following
materials:
Entrepreneurship toolkit

Create a career plan

Assess your entrepreneurial capabilities
34

Assess your management capabilities

Assess a business opportunity

Select a business opportunity (word doc)

Build a business model (word doc)

Create an action plan (word doc)

Information to support venture plan (word doc)

Presenting your venture plan (pdf)

Financial planner
This study pack produced by A.G.Holmes@hull.ac.uk October 2008
35
CLL REFERENCING GUIDELINES
Introduction
The golden rules of referencing
 Be consistent – use only the guidelines provided by your department and
stick to them for all your work, unless a lecturer tells you otherwise.
 Follow the detail in these guidelines absolutely, for example punctuation,
capitals, italics and underlining. If you do not do this, you may lose marks for
your work. Referencing is all about attention to detail!
 If the source of information you are referencing does not fit any of the
examples in your referencing guidelines (see below), choose the nearest
example and include enough information for your reader to find and check
that source, in a format as close to the example as possible. For further
guidance on these types of references, see “Frequently Asked Questions”
section (below).
 Gather all the details you need for your references whilst you have the
sources of information in your possession. If you forget to do this and cannot
find the sources of information again (they may have been borrowed from
the Library, for example, by another reader), you cannot legitimately use
them in your essay. If you do so without referencing them, you could be
accused of plagiarism.
 Keep the referencing details you have gathered in a safe place. You can use
small index cards for this or an electronic database such as the EndNote
program, so that you can sort your references into the order laid down in
your guidelines – usually alphabetical by author’s surname.
What referencing is
Referencing is acknowledging the sources of information (originated by another
person) that you have used to help you write your essay, report or other piece of
work. In your academic work, you should use the existing knowledge of others to
back up and provide evidence for your arguments. The sources of information you
use may include books, journal articles (paper or electronic), newspapers,
government publications, videos, websites, computer programmes, interviews etc.
Why you must reference your sources of information
There
are:






are several reasons why you must reference your work. In no order, these
As courtesy to the originator of the material.
To provide evidence of the depth and breadth of your reading.
To enable your reader to find and read in more detail, a source of
information to which you refer in your work.
To allow your lecturer/marker to check that what you claim is true; or to
understand why you have made a particular mistake, and teach you how to
avoid it in future.
To enable you to find the source of information if you need to use it again.
To avoid accusations of plagiarism.
What plagiarism is
36
In its Code of Practice on the Use of Unfair Means (http://www.studentadmin.hull.ac.uk/downloads/code.doc), the University of Hull defines plagiarism as
follows:
Plagiarism is a form of fraud. It is work which purports to be a candidate’s own but
which is taken without acknowledgement from the published or unpublished work of
others. (University of Hull, 2004)
In other words, plagiarism is using the work of others without acknowledging your
source of information; that is, passing off someone else’s work as your own
(stealing it).
The same Code of Practice lays down severe penalties for committing plagiarism,
which is regarded as a serious offence. Further information can be found at
http://student.hull.ac.uk/handbook/academic/unfair.html
When you must use a reference in your work
You must use a reference whenever you:
 Use a direct quotation from a source of information.
 Paraphrase (put into your own words), someone else’s ideas that you have
read or heard. This is an alternative to using a direct quotation.
 Use statistics or other pieces of specific information, which are drawn from a
recognisable source.
How to use quotations in the text of your work
Quotations should be used sparingly, for example as primary source material or as
evidence to support your own arguments. They should be fairly brief if possible, so
that there is room in your work for plenty of your own arguments, not just those of
others. When using quotations in your work:



Copy the words and punctuation of the original, exactly, except when you
wish to omit some words from the quotation. In this case, use three dots …
to indicate where the missing words were in the original.
If the original has an error, quote it as written but add [sic] in square brackets
to tell your reader that you know it is an error but that this is what the original
says.
Make minor amendments to grammar if necessary, so that your writing and
the quotation flow naturally. Put your amendments in square brackets, for
example: “In his autobiography, Churchill says that [he] was born at an early
age…” The original says “I was born at an early age…”
You must also explain how to format and present quotations within the text of your
work, depending on your department’s preferences. One example is:


If the quotation is a line long or less, incorporate it into your text and enclose
it in quotation (speech) marks.
If the quotation is longer than a line, put it in an indented paragraph (start it
on a new line; indent it at either side; single space it; and do not use
quotation (speech) marks).
37
Referencing in the text of your work
In the text of your work you are expected to reference your sources of information
in an abbreviated (short) format, which signposts your reader to the full details of
the sources in your list of references/bibliography at the end of your work (see
below). You do not use full references in the middle of your work because they are
bulky; they break up the flow of your writing; and they are included in your word
count.
The Harvard system involves referring to Authors in the text in the following ways.
Harris (2003) argues that postmodernism has a dubious future.
It has been argued that postmodernism has a dubious future (Harris 2003).
The point has been made that ‘it is not easy to see what contribution
postmodernism will make in the twenty-first century’ (Harris 2003: 131).
At the end of your work the full details for ‘Harris 2003’ would be given in the
Bibliography as follows.
Harris, J. 2003. The meaning of postmodernism for research methodology, British
Journal of Sociological Research. 15:249-66.
If you make use of notes or endnotes in an essay, consecutive numbers enclosed
in brackets and listed at the end of the essay should identify them in the text. You
should make use of this method when citing Web sites.
Referencing at the end of your work
The references at the end of your work must give the full details of your sources of
information, which are signposted from the short references in the text of your work.
These full references enable your reader to find and check your sources of
information if they wish to.
The Harvard system involves the use of a Bibliography only and is the preferred
style of referencing for CLL. References are quite rare when the Harvard system is
used as the information on sources is firstly contained in the text and then full
details are found in the bibliography. You may however use references to indicate
that you cannot elaborate on a point but include a reference where a more detailed
discussion can be found see example below.1 You may perhaps use a reference
to elaborate on some details of your argument - see example 2.
The following web page provides a good summary of the Harvard method of
referencing
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/academic_services/documents/Library/Citing_Refer
ences.pdf
1
For a general discussion of this problem see, Wright, Levine and Sober (1992).
By “material interests” here I simply mean the interests people have in their material standard of
living
2
38
A bibliography includes all references, plus all the other sources of information
which have been used to assist with the writing of a piece of work, but which are
not actually quoted from, paraphrased or referred to in the text of a piece of work. A
bibliography shows better than a list of references, how widely a student has read
around his/her subject. Using the Harvard method entries should be in alphabetical
order of surname, initials and year of publication, title, and publisher. This does not
mean that you should include every book and article you have read for the duration
of the programme in every Bibliography; you should only include the books and
articles you have read in the preparation for that particular assignment.
The publication title might be written in italics, in some cases underlining is used
(see referencing guidelines below). At the end of an essay all references used
should be listed in alphabetical order according to the following guidelines:
ELEMENTS OF
REFERENCE
ORDER OF ELEMENTS AND FORMAT OF
REFERENCE
Books
surname, initials and
year of publication, title,
place and publisher
Young, K., 1999. The Art of Youth Work, Dorset: Russell
House Publishing.
Chapters in books that are a collection of chapters by different authors
surname, initials and
Jeffs, T., 1997. Changing their ways: Youth work and
year, title. In editor’s
“underclass” theory. In R. MacDonald (ed.) Settlements,
Social Change and Community Action. Good Neighbours,
initials. surname, (ed.)
Title, publisher, pages
London: Jessica & Kingsley. pp. 231- 239.
Printed journal/periodical articles
surname, initials., year.
Jeffs, T & Smith, M., 2002. Individualisation and Youth
Title. journal, volume,
Work. Youth & Policy, No. 76. pp 39-65.
number, pages
Electronic journal/periodical articles
as above plus include
Neuman, B.C., 1995. Security, payment and privacy for
the URL of the electronic network commerce. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in
Communications, Vol. 13, No. 8, October, pp. 1523-31.
site at which they may
be found
Extracted from www.IEEE.com
Individual work on the web
Mandelson, P (1998) Tackling Social Exclusion. Speech,
Author's /Editor's name, 14th April 1998, Fabian Soceity, London, extracted from
initials., Year. Title .
Social Exclusion Unit website( www.cabinet-office),
(Edition). Place of
www.seu.gov.uk/indix/more.html
publication, Publisher (if
ascertainable).
Extracted from: URL
39
Thesis
surname, initials, year of
publication. Title of
thesis, designation, (and
type). Name of
institution to which
submitted.
AGUTTER, A.J., 1995. The linguistic significance of current
British slang. Thesis (PhD). Edinburgh University.
Videos, films or broadcasts
Title, Year. (For films the
preferred date is the
year of release in the
Macbeth, 1948. Film. Directed by Orson WELLES. USA:
country of production.)
Material designation.
Republic Pictures.
Subsidiary originator.
Yes, Prime Minster, Episode 1, The Ministerial Broadcast,
(Optional but director is
preferred, SURNAME in 1986. TV, BBC2. 1986 Jan 16.
capitals) Production
details – place:
News at Ten, 2001. Jan 27. 2200 hrs.
organisation.
Programmes and series:
the number and title of
the episode should
normally be given, as
well as the series title,
the transmitting
organisation and
channel, the full date
and time of
transmission.
Frequently asked questions

What do I do if there is more than one author?
If an item is the co-operative work of many individuals, none of whom have a
dominant role, e.g. videos or films, the title may be used instead of an
originator or author.
If there are two authors the surnames of both should be given:- e.g.
Matthews and Jones (1997) have proposed that…
If there are more than two authors the surname of the first be given, followed
by et al.:e.g. Office costs amount to 20% of total costs in most business (Wilson et
al.1997) A full listing of names should appear in the bibliography.
40

What about sources of information with no acknowledged author?
For anonymous works use ‘Anon’ instead of a name.

What about sources of information which have an editor, not an
acknowledged author?
Use the following format: Editor surname, initial(s). (ed.) (Year) Title of
book, Publisher, Place of publication

How do I reference a quotation by an author, which I found as a quotation in
a book written by someone else?
You should mention the person’s name and you must cite the source
author:- e.g. Richard Hammond stressed the part psychology plays in
advertising in an interview with Marshall (1999). e.g. “Advertising will always
play on peoples’ desires”, Richard Hammond said in a
recent article (Marshall 1999, p.67). (You should list the work that has been
published, i.e. Marshall, in the bibliography.)
If you refer to a source quoted in another source you cite both in the text:e.g. A study by Smith (1960 cited Jones 1994) showed that…(You should list
only the work you have read, i.e. Jones, in the bibliography.)
If you refer to a contributor in a source* you cite just the contributor:- e.g.
Software development has been given as the cornerstone in this industry
(Bantz 1995).

What do I do if the source of information has no date?
If an exact year or date is not known, an approximate date preceded by ‘ca.’
may be supplied and given in square brackets. If no such approximation is
possible, that should be stated, e.g. [ca.1750] or [no date].

How should I reference from lecture notes or handouts?
You should try to avoid this as much as possible by looking up the
information you want to refer to in a textbook or article, preferably
recommended by your tutor, and referencing that. If you cannot find the
information anywhere else you should reference it with the tutors name as
the author , the year , Unpublished lecture notes from... and the date of the
class.
For individual help with referencing, you can contact the Study Advice Services by
email (studyadvice@hull.ac.uk), or:
 In Hull, make an appointment by telephoning (01482) 466344 or visiting the
Study Advice Services Desk on the ground floor of the Brynmor Jones
Library (turn left immediately after entering the Library).
 In Scarborough, make an appointment by telephoning the Library on (01723)
357277 or visiting the Study Advice Services office in room C17b on the first
floor of College House (up the stairs near Careers).
The Study Advice Services website has a comprehensive leaflet on referencing,
available at www.hull.ac.uk/studyadvice.
Bibliography HOLLAND, M., 2005. Guide to citing Internet sources. Poole, Bournemouth University. Extracted
from: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/using/guide_to_citing_internet_sourc.html [Accessed 25 August
2005].
41