Create a personal growth plan to work toward becoming an inclusive participant of the criminal justice system by managing unconscious bias.
The personal growth plan will help to demonstrate openness to new perspectives and how to navigate the complexity that comes with multiple perspectives. Using what you have learned about your personal biases and ways to reduce unconscious bias from your decision-making, you will demonstrate an understanding of the importance of withholding judgement about the new or unfamiliar. The personal growth plan will include a personal assessment, personal mission statement and development, action plan, and reflection.
Personal Assessment (50 points)
• Reflection on what you learned throughout this class.
• Pinpoint specific areas in your thinking that need improvement.
• Identify life events that may have shaped this unfavorable thinking.
• Give one example of how this type of thinking can lead to poor decision-making.
• How might this thinking affect your work in the criminal justice system?
Personal Mission Statement & Development (50 points)
• What do you want your life to stand for?
• Your personal mission statement will be unique to you and does not need to follow a format.
However, the task can seem daunting, so below are some templates to inspire you.
o To [what you want to do] by [how you will do it] so that [what impact you hope to
make].
o I value [one or multiple things you value] because [why it matters to you]. To do this,
I will [how your professional path will align with these values].
o To use my [skills or expertise] to inspire [group of people] so that [ultimate goal].
• Realizing who I want to be, what is my plan of action to adjust my negative thoughts?
• How can I improve my thinking? What techniques have you learned to shift your beliefs?
Action Plan (40 points)
– Watch a film.
Reflection (40 points)
• How did this activity enable you to appreciate diversity?
• Did this activity make you feel different from those around you or those represented?
• In what does this affect your views on how others may feel excluded or different?
• Did your personal growth plan help you develop and how will you continue to improve?