Higher Education Skills and Reflective Practice: A Report

This report discusses higher education skills and their significance for learners. It also applies Gibbs reflective cycle for reflective practice to assess personal skills and skill gaps. The report emphasizes the importance of study skills, time management skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills for higher education students. It also provides an action plan for improving these skills.

Reflective Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Identification of higher educations kills of students ..................................................................3
Application of Gibbs reflective cycle for reflection for reflective practice ...............................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Higher education students ned to develop variety of skills in order to gain success during
their academic journey. Reflective practice refers to process of reflecting on past actions in order
to initiate continuous development. Reflection plays an important role in helping students
understand their existing skills and develop skills essential to gain effective higher education
experience (Kardipah and Wibawa, 2018). The present report describes various higher education
skills along with their significance for higher education learners. In addition to this, Gibb's
reflective model is applied in this report to asses personal skills and skills gap.
MAIN BODY
Identification of higher educations kills of students
 Study skills: This higher education skills consists of set of capabilities which help
students improve the quality of their education. Note-taking, test preparation and
analysing reading material are some essential study skills which help students succeed in
higher education. This skill need to be acquired by students as it improved their
performance at the university. It helps students prepare for examination and amassments
and effectively understand every class activity. In addition to this good study skills
improve the ability of stunts to learn and retain knowledge which is essential for securing
good grades.
 'Time management skills: This is an example of transferable higher education skill
which helps students during their education and enhances their professional performance
later in their career (Roberts and Peters,, 2019). Time management skills enable students
to prioritize important tasks, and create study schedules to complete work in timely
manner. This is as an important higher education skill as it helps students overcome
barriers and distractions which negatively affect timely completion of tasks.
 Problem solving skills: This skill involves using logical capabilities to quickly come up
with suitable solution for problems. Level-headedness, analytical skills, lateral mindset,
creative thinking and critical thinking skill are part of problem solving skill which help
students face various barriers effectively. This skill helps higher education students look
at various challenges from different perspectives in order to come up with suitable
solution for the challenge., Higher education level academic problems require students to

have effective problem solving skills in order to gain high grades in their assessments.
This depicts the importance of problem solving skills for higher education students as
presence of problem solving skills is essential for gaining success in higher education.
 Communication skills: The ability to effectively communicate with others and
understand their perspective, through verbal, oral or any other communication medium is
developed by enhancing communication skills (Tzanakou and Behle, 2017). This skill
helps higher education student understand information provided by the university faculty
and communicate their doubts and concerns clearly.
Application of Gibbs reflective cycle for reflection for reflective practice \
Gibbs's reflective model includes six stages of examining past experience (Roberts and Peters,
2019). The application of this model is provided below;
Description: I developed various skills in the University seeking higher education. My
communication skills improved vastly as I participated in class discussion and completed
academic writing assignments. In addition to this I was able to enhance my study skills and was
able to fulfil my educational expectations by further improving on my study skills. My
experience was negatively affected because my ineffective time management skills and lack of
problem solving silks.
Feelings:
 Before the event: I was feeling nervous as I was not prepared for academic challenges. I
was also excited to start my higher education and take step forward towards attaining my
professional goals.
 During the event: I felt satisfied with my communication skills as they helped me clear
doubts with my faculties and understand various activities of the academic year.
 After the event:I have realized that my ineffective time management skill damaged my
grades in the university as I was not able to submit assignments in time. This also
increased my stress and hampered me from enjoying my higher education experience.
Evaluation:
 What went well: I was able to develop my communication skills and built upon my study
skills. This improved my interactions with my classmates and University faculty. In
addition to this my study helped me understand every aspect of the academic material.

 What did not go well; The primary area which did not go according to my expectations
was that I was not able to submit my assignments in a timely manner. In addition to this I
was not able to improve on my problem solving skills which affected my grades. This
negatively affected my mental health as I was under a lot of stress and I was not able to
concentrate on daily class activities.
Analysis: I have to focus on completing my tasks in timely manner and develop ways so
that I am not easily distracted. This will improve my time management skill which is essential
for completing academic work before deadline. Critical thinking is also important to build
problem solving skills so that I can face academic challenges and various challenges in life
effectively.
Conclusion: From the above discussion it is determined that I have to improve my
problem solving skills and time management skills. Improving on my time management skill as
it is not only damaging my academic experience but is also degrading my mental health. In
addition to this have to enhance my problem solving skills. Enhancement of problem solving
skills will increase my participation in various activities and will be able face various academic
challenges effectively.
Action Plan:
 To utilize 4-d time management tool and Pomodaro technique for improving time
management.
 To develop lateral thinking and take online classes on logical reasoning to enhance
problem solving skills.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that higher education skills are necessary to gain
success in university. Study skills, time management skills, communication skills and problem
solving skills are important skills which ned to be developed by students for the betterment of
their higher education experience and achieve academic goals at the University. It is important to
determine personal capabilities and skill gaps by participating in reflective practice. This can be
completed by application of reflective models such as Gibb's reflective cycle. This reflective
model is helpful in completing reflection on past experience and take steps fir further
improvement.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Kardipah, S. and Wibawa, B., 2018. How to Improve Students' Computer Skills? A Flipped-
Blended Instructional Model for Economics' Students in Higher Education. The Journal
of Social Sciences Research, pp.91-97.
Munje, P. N. and Jita, T., 2021. Pre-service Social Sciences Teachers’ Reflections on a Teacher
Preparation Program. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational
Research, 20(5).
Roberts, P. and Peters, M. A., 2019. Neoliberalism, higher education and research. Brill.
Tzanakou, C. and Behle, H., 2017. The intra-European transferability of graduates’ skills gained
in the UK. Journal of ethnic and migration studies, 43(8). pp.1379-1397.