Higher education skills and competencies (Doc)

Higher education skills and
competencies

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
1. Difference between the school and higher education environment........................................3
2. VW emission scandal..............................................................................................................4
3. Critical thinking and reading skills.........................................................................................5
4. Arrangement of information from the different sources.........................................................6
5. My progress in conducting or completing module.................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
APPENDICES.................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
I found that some skills and knowledge are easy to develop and adapt from the external
environment. The higher education and school life are same but the difference is that in higher
school I have to manage my time by myself. From the group task and prior experience I learned
to get with others and understand their views. Firstly I feel that group exercise is quite difficult
but in further movement I found that it is most interesting way of learning things.
MAIN BODY
1. Difference between the school and higher education environment
Basis School environment Higher education
Time management I found that in my school the
task are given by the teachers
and they try to manage them
by their own ability and
experience.
In higher education I found
the way to manage time by
myself and get the importance
of time management.
Subject area I have limited choice to select
the subject of my own interest
(Harrison, 2018).
At the time of higher education
I found the variety of subject
are and free to choose them on
my abilities.
Develop skills In school I am limited to
explore my skills by taking the
advantage of external
environment.
At higher education the
external environment like the
competition at global level
force me to explore my skills
and strength (Bohrnstedt and
et.al., 2015).
Schedules In school my parents and
teachers are responsible for
scheduling my activities and
studies.
In higher school I have to
schedule my activities and
studies by my own. O am more
concern about my studies to
differentiate my self from the

crowd.
Challenges faced at higher education
At the time of higher education I faced different challenges to adapt the environment and
get better in activities. The first challenge I have to face is time management. In school there is
no need to manage time and schedule activity because they have their own rules and schedule for
their students. But it is quite different in my higher education because due to the different subject
streams the time of the class are at different intervals so, I have to schedule my plan and self
study according to my class time (Wilson, 2018). The second challenge I faced is competition. In
school there are limited number of student with limited competition but in higher education
different students are come with different skills and knowledge so, the competition is also
increases.
Time management
I am able to manage my time and schedule activities and additional program to improve
my knowledge and skills. My teachers help me to adjust my routine activity so I can get the
effective outcome in minimum time. It start to prepare time table and develop habit of writing
important dates, seminars, task submission etc. in diary so I can manage my time.
Problems
The different challenges help me to get my own strength and weaknesses. I get the area
or ways to improve my abilities and knowledge but still I feel that I have to regulate and
reschedule my time table on weekly basis. I also have to work on my reading skills to understand
the subjects more clearly.
2. VW emission scandal
I get great opportunity to explore my knowledge in real cases' ans scandals. The group
presentation or group activity help me to get the different views of group member. The group
study is conducted in 2 stage. In 1 stage I work on getting information from different sources on
VW emission scandal (Strittmatter and Lechner, 2017). My teacher understand my potential and
give the opportunity to lead the team. The online media and sources help me to get brief
knowledge about the VW emission scandal that how they cheat with US government and pass
the emission test. I understand that Volkswagen group programmed TDI diesel engines to only
pass the laboratory test.

In second stage I lead the group to arrange the information and make an effective
presentation by playing roles of different characters of the scandal so the viewer can understand
the cons of scandal more deeply (Rhodes, 2016). The group task help me to get my potential and
strength in different area. It also improves my understanding and leadership to manage and lead
the group.
Group organisation
Our group task is based on individual role play in which each group member has to get
the information regarding their role and communicate with the other member to organise them
properly. I create a whatsapp group to communicate with each other regarding the given topic
and discuss the issues faced in getting and understanding the information.
We discuss the information and raise question to get deeper knowledge and help each other to
gather more reliable information. It improves our understanding and relations with each other.
I play the role of CEO of Volkswagen
I had to communicate with media and reporters who prepare the report and post in
different sites. The communication with the Volkswagen Chairperson, journalist and different
car owners help me to understand the scandal and collect the real facts to play the CEO role more
clearly.
At the time of presentation I play CEO role and reflect the key aspect of VW emission
scandal and the impact of scandal on other companies.
Different issues and way to overcome them
To physically meet the group member are difficult at the time of classes and discuss the
issues. But the social media and teachers help us to conduct the meeting and arrange the time for
the discussion. I conduct research on the scandal and go thoroughly to the documents, articles
and data published in the newspaper and social sites to improve my knowledge.
Finding sources for CEO role
The different sources such as google scholar, google, YouTube videos and published
articles on company official websites provide me required resource to play the role of
Volkswagen CEO.
3. Critical thinking and reading skills
Learnings

Through the assigned project or task I understand that basic knowledge about the subject
area is not appropriate for the study. I have to explore my knowledge by identifying my strong
and weak points. To explore my reading and thinking study, a thorough study of Gibbs learning
reflection help me to improve the skills by the 7 stages of the model (Gibbs Reflective Cycle by
Graham Gibbs, 2018). The reflective learning help me to covert the information into
intelligence.
The seven stages of reflective learning provide the way to critically evaluate my learning from
the group task.
Reading speed
The Gibbs model help me to systematically present and analyse my experience. Through
this model I can easily describe the VW scandal, understand my feelings, evaluate the learning
from my experience, analyse and conclude them to prepare final action plan. It helps me to learn
from the mistakes and not repeat them in my further studies.
4. Arrangement of information from the different sources
My own learnings
I learned the way to present the data and get the information from them. The YouTube
channels and my tutor help me to use the models and the different resources like google scholar,
official websites etc. My tutor guide that how effectively use the official websites and google
scholar to get the reviews of different researcher about a particular topic.
I am thankful to my teachers to support me and help me to get reliable and accurate
information to make my presentation more effective.
Different techniques and theory used to get the reliable information
The SQ3R method such as survey, question, read, recall and review taught me to collect
reliable data and present them to get the information (Marzuki, 2019). During my lectures and
presentation I used the model to prepare myself with sufficient knowledge. To complete my
module I use the different research, websites, books, magazines and online information. I
develop habit to record all the information, prepare notes and write down the key points to
complete the module. It helps me find me to find the unclear points to get more focus on them.
Undermined things
There are still such things or area in which I need improvement. It was my first individual
task in which I have to prepare the information with the proper example and referencing. I am

not perfect in referencing the document but I think that the continuous practice will help me to
improve my weaknesses.
5. My progress in conducting or completing module
Progressed area
The area in which I get the progress is analysed the subject through the critical thinking
and reading. The module help me to improve my reading skills and understand the usage of
different resources in the study. It also reflected my strength and weaknesses which help me
know my own abilities to explore myself in different situation.
From the 1 week to 11 weeks of my module I learn different the way to deal with the
situations. It improves my relation with the teachers and classmates by the group performance.
The good thing is that I experienced lot of new things but still I need to improve myself for
further study.
Area where I need improvement
The module help me lot to manage my time for different activities but still I feel that
there are some chance of improvement. The referencing of documents or text also need more
practice to get effective and efficient result.
Term 2 goals
My goal for term to is to better arrange the time and devote more time in my study to get
the information. I also think that I have to participate in more cultural and ethical activities to get
the knowledge in different area to explore the strength and take the advantage of various
opportunities.
CONCLUSION
From the above study I found my own strength and weaknesses. The self evaluation model and
reflective leaning help me to develop my knowledge from the prior experience. I devote more
time in my study and finding data to record them for the further use. By devoting more time in
class, lecture and additional activity will improve my skills and prepare me for 2nd term.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bohrnstedt, G., and et.al., 2015. School Composition and the Black-White Achievement Gap.
NCES 2015-018. National Center for Education Statistics.
Harrison, N., 2018. Using the Lens of ‘Possible Selves’ to Explore Access to Higher Education:
A New Conceptual Model for Practice, Policy, and Research. Social Sciences, 7(10).
p.209.
Marzuki, A.G., 2019. The Implementation of SQ3R Method to Develop Students’ Reading Skill
on Islamic Texts in EFL Class in Indonesia. Register Journal, 12(1). pp.49-61.
Rhodes, C., 2016. Democratic business ethics: Volkswagen’s emissions scandal and the
disruption of corporate sovereignty. Organization Studies, 37(10). pp.1501-1518.
Strittmatter, A. and Lechner, M., 2017. Sorting on the Used-Car Market After the Volkswagen
Emission Scandal.
Wilson, J.D., 2018. Student learning in higher education. Routledge.
Online
Gibbs Reflective Cycle by Graham Gibbs. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.toolshero.com/management/gibbs-reflective-cycle-graham-gibbs/>

APPENDICES
Appendix 1
Weekly timetable
Day Monday Tuesday Wednesd
ay
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
6:30 –
7:00
Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast
Spend
with
family
7:00-8:00 Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise Exercise
9:30 –
11:30
Study Study Study Study
11:30 –
1:00
Group
discussion
Additional
activity
Workshop workshop
1:00 –
2:30
Study Workshop Workshop Study Lecture Workshop
3:30 –
5:00
Self study Study Workshop Workshop Lecture
5:00 –
7:00
Lecture Lecture Study Study Additional
activity
7:00- 8:00 Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner
Appendix 2
My reading speed Reading understanding
650 words = 5 minutes 80% of understanding
Appendix 3
1st objective : Read (SMART method)
Specific I want to more focus on the particular subject are for term 2. Although
I am not specific about the 2 term subject but I determined to study

hard to get deep information from the different sources for the better
understanding.
Measurable I plan to read 1 chapter in every 2 day of different subjects to get the
clear knowledge and balance my reading for the prior preparation of
my Term 2.
Achievable I believe that I am able to achieve my objective with my plan because
it provides me sufficient time to prepare notes for the further study.
Relevance My target of study is relevant because as a college study I need to
focus on the study and improve my skills and knowledge for the better
future.
Time I can manage my time with the planning because I only have to read in
3 chapters in a week.
2nd objective : Logs week (SMART method)
Specific The habit of writing log week provide me the information regarding
the useful dates such as my lecture, group meeting etc. It records my
mistakes and experience to do well in near future.
Measurable I prepare plan to write the log book once in 2 day so I can record all
the events and situation without any burden. I help me to consider all
the events happened in past 2 days without forgetting any element.
Achievable The writing of log book within 2 days help me to recognise my target
or goal and direct me to achieve the goal. It helps me to set my
priorities according to their values.
Relevance I think that writing a log book is relevant as a college student because
it develops a good habit to recognise the important things and learn
from the mistakes. It also helps me to find the area of improvement.
Time I am able to manage my time effectively and effectively. Giving 45

minutes in 2 days to write the past 2 days activity is sufficient. To
giving time for the log book I set the alarm and reminder which
reminds me to record the events.