This assignment involves a detailed analysis of the Volkswagen emission scandal, focusing on the evaluation of competence-based teaching in higher education. It requires gathering relevant information through government sources, segregating data about the scandal, and writing a reflective report evaluating various skills and competencies.
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HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1 REFLECTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................1 Introduction of Reflective Summary...........................................................................................1 1. The distinction between learning in the School environment and Higher Education.............1 2. Engagement with Critical Reading and Thinking...................................................................2 3. The ability to locate, collect and record appropriate information...........................................3 4. Evaluation of reliability of information..................................................................................3 Conclusion of Reflective Summary............................................................................................4 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5 APPENDICES.................................................................................................................................6 Appendix 1..................................................................................................................................6 Appendix 2..................................................................................................................................7 Appendix 3..................................................................................................................................8 Appendix 4..................................................................................................................................9 Appendix 5................................................................................................................................10
INTRODUCTION Skills and Competencies refertherequired experience and training required by an individual to enhancetheir capabilities to perform specific tasks (Gerstein and Friedman, 2016). Thefollowing is a reflective report discussingthedistinction between learning in school environment and higher education and engagement with critical reading and thinking. It also discusses ability to locate, collect and record appropriate information and evaluation of reliability of information.Thereport also provides a detailed insight on reading skills, self reflection and evaluation of progress. REFLECTIVE SUMMARY Introduction of Reflective Summary During my time working onthemodule, it gave me a very detailed insight about my current skills and competencies as well as required capabilities required fortheterm as well as my further higher education. I learned thatthere are various differences in school and higher education which are imperative for individuals to realise so thatthey could develop effectively. There are various effective knowledge and skills that were necessary and allowed me to appropriately and successfully pass through this module. 1.Thedistinction between learning intheSchool environment and Higher Education During initial week ofthemodule, I came to acknowledge difference betweenthe learning in School and in Higher Education.There were various difference that I found out about these two aspects.Themajor one being self-study. Tasks get tough and personal reliability increases. One thing which came to be in my favour was my learning style. We were provided various worksheets which made me realise that my learning styles are a blend of visual as well as auditory style.These styles could be very much in use for module and could provide effective results. Thebiggest problem in initial weeks which I faced was with time management. This was because in Schools, teachers help us to obtain information and prioritise activities related to our tasks which made time management easy. While in Higher Education, all activities are supposed to be single-handedly carried out by one individual which makes time management challenging (Johnson and et. al., 2016). 1
For improvingthetime management, I decided to make effective time table to address this issue and improve time management. Furthermore, I decided to implement various strategies as per my learning style inthemodule like creation of charts, graphs, etc. and discussion of ideas verbally along with make effective presentations, all of which could help me with module. 2. Engagement with Critical Reading and Thinking In later weeks, we were given various activities during the module which successfully aided enhancements in skills and competencies. One such activity was Volkswagen Emission Scandal. We were assigned various groups to perform a roleplay with about the scandal. It is quite necessary for individuals to work as a team to accomplish various group tasks as teamwork is an effective strategy to analyse, evaluate and implement various collaborative strategy essential for the activity. In addition, it allows to motivate and encourage unity in the task (5 Important Reasons Why Teamwork Matters!, 2019). The thing which has always worked out for me was analysing my strengths and weaknesses to effectively blend in the group activities and give my maximum input to the team. To analyse the same, Belbin's Theory of Team Roles was implemented. Good thing was that my role in the team was quite desirable and effectively allowed me to enhance my skills and competencies. Another favourable thing was critical thinking part. I find it quite easy to give attention to minutest of details while working on various aspects which are necessary to include every relevant information as per the requirement. However, there were quite few issues faced by the team during initial stages of tasks. There were some minor disputes which led to an unconfident start. In addition to this, conflicts lead to creation of barriers which makes group tasks either quite challenging and sometimes impossible to accomplish (De Bono, 2018). Another challenging issue for me was my reading speed. Though my critical thinking is quite impressive as per standards of the module, but my reading speed still needed some work initially. I found that paying attention to detail reduced my speed while reading journals and articles for the VW emission scandal. To resolve the issue related to conflict, best solution was to allot the group roles by analysing the requirements as well as capability of each individual. As far as reading speed was concerned, to enhance my critical reading standards as per requirements of the module, I applied SQ3R system which allowed me to stepwise enhance my reading speed without losing sight from any relevant detail. 2
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3.Theability to locate, collect and record appropriate information Academic sources are quite imperative to gather knowledge and viewpoints of different authors about various topics (Caplow, 2017). It is a crucial activity which helps to gain insight about a specific subject. For Volkswagen Scandal, I went through a number of resources both academic and online to gain a 360º view onthescandal which helped me to play my role appropriately inthemodule. Themost appropriate and beneficial aspect for me throughoutthereport was to locate resources from which effective and relevant information could be carried out forthecase. This required to gain an insight insidethelibrary books, various auto-magazines, television news, newspapers, etc. all of which helped us to form a strong and effective module satisfyingthe agenda. However,there were various sources which werevery hard to find. Fewofthe government statistics regardingthecase and various legal documents associated with scandal was quite challenging for me and my team mates to get a peak into. This was becausethere are various reasons concerned with confidentiality of information that are decided to be kept as a secret from general public. With various insight into online government sites and going through various journal articles, we were successful to findthese resources along with legal documents that allowed us to gain an insight on this scandal. In addition to this, to effectively examinethesame, systematic activities were formulated in form of logs along withtheallotted time for each activity . 4. Evaluation of reliability of information It is quite crucial for an individual to collect reliable information to present relevant data intheir research and adequately accomplishtherequired task (Parrondo, Horowitz and Sagawa, 2015). For VW emission scandal, I went through ample number of resources which included books, journals, articles, internet, etc. Fromthese resources, a lot of information was gathered and recorded.Thefinal task required me to appropriately and systematically segregate relevant information fromtheirrelevant ones. Thebest thing according to me was that I found it quite easy to analyse and evaluate information that was relevant and effective as pertherequirements of this module. I evaluated each source appropriately and effectively recorded each information specifically which would provide ease to me as well astheteammates to compile information within due time. 3
However,there were some sources which were relevant, yet,their authenticity could not be effectively gained. This was very challenging as data was exactly what we needed to include inthemodule. However, without authenticity,therelevance and reliability of information could be quite uncertain. These resources were eventually analysed again and only important and authentic information was used inthereport to make it effective and appropriate. Conclusion of Reflective Summary Themodule adequately supported me to enhance my skills and competencies which could contribute in success of my higher education. However, for further terms, I would really work on various aspects because of which, I faced several challenges in my module. For instance, I would dedicate some time to sort out each activity beforehand for effective time management for my projects. In addition to this, it is very crucial to evaluate skills and competencies regularly to ensure development of required aspects as per demands ofthe concepts and projects (Bergsmann and et. al., 2015). Lastly. I would really give an insight to developing new ways of research that helps me in collecting only relevant information in future to effectively achievethepurpose and save time for further evaluation and compilation. CONCLUSION Thus, it is concluded that skills and competencies are crucial to effectively accomplish higher education and appropriately accomplishing every required task forthesame. Time management is an important activity that allows to priorities and carry each activity which reduces pressure and effectively allows an individual to accomplish tasks systematically. Critical reading and thinking aids to find ways and develop strategies that could help in smooth running of operations as well as create a right and an appropriate pathway towards accomplishment of activities. It is also important to locate, gather and record each information needed as perthe requirements ofthetask to induce a better understanding of concepts and logical reasoning. Lastly, it is crucial to evaluate reliability of each information as perthechanging environment and future uncertainties. This is because non-reliable source have a risk to provide relevant information in future. Thus, relevant and reliable source must only be taken into use while accomplishingthemodule. 4
REFERENCES Books and Journals Bergsmann, E., and et. al., 2015. Evaluation of competence-based teaching in higher education: From theory to practice.Evaluation and program planning.52.pp.1-9. Caplow, T., 2017.The academic marketplace. Routledge. De Bono, E., 2018.Conflicts: A better way to resolve them. Random House. Gerstein, M. and Friedman, H.H., 2016. Rethinking higher education: Focusing on skills and competencies. Johnson, L., and et. al., 2016.NMC horizon report: 2016 higher education edition(pp. 1-50). The New Media Consortium. Parrondo, J.M., Horowitz, J.M. and Sagawa, T., 2015. Thermodynamics of information.Nature physics.11(2). p.131. Online 5ImportantReasonsWhyTeamworkMatters!.2019.[Online]Availablethrough: <https://www.potential.com/articles/5-important-reasons-why-teamwork-matters/> 5
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Appendix 4 Required WorkRequired Time Reading Journals about VW ScandalFirst 3 Days of Seventh Week GatheringRelevantInformationthrough Government Sources Remaining 4 Days of Seventh Week Work DoneTime Taken Ireadvariousjournals,articles,online information about VW emission Scandal First 2 Days of Seventh Week I gathered information about the scandal from government website and agencies Remaining 5 Days of Seventh Week 9
Appendix 5 Required WorkRequired Time Segregating Relevant Information about VW Scandal First 2 Days of Eighth Week Writing a reflective reportRemaining 5 Days of Eighth Week Work DoneTime Taken I evaluated and segregated relevant data about VW scandal First 2 Days of Eighth Week I wrote a reflective reportevaluating various skills and competencies. Remaining 5 Days of Eighth Week 10