5th April 2011, 10:41 AM
Indeed, one has to ask - does filling in your little CPD log make you a professional? If attending lectures had been the criteria for ability, then I would have had several degrees in a multitude of subjects. Competence is based on recognised and validated skills.
Turning up to lectures and conferences count towards my CPD. tick... learning a new computer GIS program counts... tick... reading latest books on Iron AGe settlement patterns and Soil taphonomy in field systems ... tick. What that does not tell anyone is that I
a) Listened to the speakers b) am any good at the GIS system c) understood the books
It is in effect a self assessment, one that makes you consider (like a PDP - Personal Development Plan) the way you are going, and what you feel you are learning. It is like playing yourself at chess and cheating... pointless.
CPD is a useful pointer about what you are doing, but don't mistake it for an external credential. I keep my CPD in my head, as (imho) the only person it is useful to, is myself, and there is no point lying to myself as I already know I am ! To an employer I would want a lot more than a CPD log to see that I could survey a landscape. I would want to see evidence.
So... perhaps it is me, but CPD = good BUT does it make you professional? :0 nope
Turning up to lectures and conferences count towards my CPD. tick... learning a new computer GIS program counts... tick... reading latest books on Iron AGe settlement patterns and Soil taphonomy in field systems ... tick. What that does not tell anyone is that I
a) Listened to the speakers b) am any good at the GIS system c) understood the books
It is in effect a self assessment, one that makes you consider (like a PDP - Personal Development Plan) the way you are going, and what you feel you are learning. It is like playing yourself at chess and cheating... pointless.
CPD is a useful pointer about what you are doing, but don't mistake it for an external credential. I keep my CPD in my head, as (imho) the only person it is useful to, is myself, and there is no point lying to myself as I already know I am ! To an employer I would want a lot more than a CPD log to see that I could survey a landscape. I would want to see evidence.
So... perhaps it is me, but CPD = good BUT does it make you professional? :0 nope