MFP Postgraduate Skills Development: Reflective Journal and Personal Development Plan

MFP Postgraduate Skills Development 1
MFP Postgraduate Skills Development
Name of the Student:
Academic Affiliation:
Date:

MFP Postgraduate Skills Development 2
Introduction
My experience as an academic learner has been marked by various instances that have
defined both my academic and personal life. The major aim of this assignment is to produce a
reflective journal, a reflective essay, and an online portal which depicts the development of my
transferable skills. This will be achieved through the application of independent learning
strategies in both professional and academic contexts. That apart, it will also deal with the
evaluation of my current skills and competencies against professional standards in numerous
academic and professional aspects (Guixia & S.O.N.G., 2018). It will further present an
identification of my own personal needs and designing of viable strategies in order to achieve
them.
The Skills
In the past lectures, it was ascertained that comprehension of what was taught was quite
important. It is also through the past lectures that I was able to learn the current lessons in a
better way. I noted that the marketing individuals normally used some form of evidence in order
to persuade their viewers regarding the value of different inventions. To the marketers, I learnt
that such a value was highly determined mainly by whether if anything could be old or bought
and this in order words implied if a product or service was marketable (Adeyeye, M.M.P. &
Bamidele, 2018). The past lessons have greatly helped me to reflect or think on the major aims
of my course. It has also made me to learn that the communication skills are not generic but
rather, they usually differ to place and time. I have learnt that in order to effectively comprehend
the contents of the entire course, then it was important for me as a learner to become aware of all
the listening and communication styles so that I apply the same in my learning.
My personal skills

MFP Postgraduate Skills Development 3
In my learning process, I have made use of the field notes which I wrote by hand on the
lines papers. They were thus comprised of both mental triggers and jotted notes which were
personal notes that reminded me of some specific items when writing the notes. That apart, I also
took direct observation notes by recording what I saw so that I got a better sense of the learning
environment. The note taking process was quite essential in my learning process since it helped
me in ensuring that I carefully listened and decoded the information that was being disseminated
by the lecturers. However, I noted that not all of the recorded information was relevant but
through noting, I was able to find out relevant information which ultimately contributed to my
personal ability of forming an overview on the re-reading (Dow, 2017). However, I also noted
that the reliability and dependence on the jotted notes could at times prove to be quite
questionable. For example, such notes were not actually a “direct transcription or occurrence” of
what had been spoken but rather, it was comprised of interesting and pertinent information.
Owing to the fact that I did not find enough time that I could use in order to transcribe
direct quotations, I heavily relied on rapid paraphrasing that ultimately risked to change a
meaning of what had been said. Apart from that, it was also difficult to accurately note down
some of the technical information that I came across during the lectures. In fact, I regretted not
having a tape recorder since it could have been the best and most accurate method of recording
information (McKenzie, Coldwell-Neilson, Palmer, 2017). However, I noted that during one of
the meetings, one of the students came along with the recorder but was requested to switch it off
by the speaker who felt uneasy about having his comments being recorded directly. It seemed
like the speaker indeed felt differently on being photographed or recorded as observed by taking
of notes by the participants. This implies that it was important to seek consent or permission
before some of the technologies could ultimately be used.

MFP Postgraduate Skills Development 4
A portfolio of Personal management Skills Developed
 Punctuality-I always ensure that I am punctual not only at the university but also at my place of
work.
 Honest-I am always trusted to “cash out” at the end of every working day.
Team work Skills
 Friendly-I take it easy and my personal responsibility to ensure that I meet customers and aid
them in a professional manner (Mercer-Mapstone & Matthews, 2017).
 Problem solving-I am always ready to work with other team members in ensuring that the
solutions to the practical problems are found.
 I work in retail shops so that I can be able to gain the much needed experiences that will enable
me to open my own retail business in future.
 I have got good public speaking skills.
The Fundamental Skills
 Easy learning-I believe that learning is a continuous process in the entire of my life and thus
always try my best and enjoy in trying out new schools both at the university and at the place of
work.
 Digital Skills-I am competent in the digital skills which aid me to both develop as well as
enhance my skills in both the Microsoft software and in Adobe (Jorre & Oliver, 2018). I am
therefore competent in various Microsoft Office packages such as in Excel, Word, Adobe
Photoshop, PowerPoint, In design, Illustrator, and in Premiere Pro.
My Personal Smart Targets/Goals
In order to have a clear learning mindset, I realized that it was important to set my positive smart
goals. This is attributed to the fact that the development of SMART goals will enable me as a