SWOT Analysis and Critical Reflection

This article discusses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of active learning and the burden of assignments in higher education.

Running head: SWOT ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL REFLECTION
SWOT ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL REFLECTION
Name of the Student
Name of the Organization
Author Note

1SWOT ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL REFLECTION
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
I am involved more in active learning than passive
learning by engaging in activities like reading,
discussing and writing. I am quick learner and
gain interest in any discussed topic by interacting
with the educator.
I had a past three years of experience in science
and technology background and I was quite
successful in this field. My active learning skills
have helped me a lot in qualifying my
undergraduate course with a fine grade.
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
...
Threats
High cost of education is one of the primary
issues faced by the students which in result there
is a rise in the students who even do not
complete the degree. Several challenges have
come up due to the changes in the methods of
teaching and curricula.
Opportunities
The teachers provides extra support in special
learning support rooms if anyone faces any kind
of problem in understanding any particular topic.
Whenever any kind of problem arises the college
staff members are always present for providing
help in any kinds of situations. Due to the friendly
nature of the college members, I got easily
involved within the environment of the college.
Weaknesses
In the past, I faced a little difficulty in coping up
with the reading materials provided by the
educators of the previous college. I can improve
my ability of coping up with the reading materials
by starting preparation on time , so that I may get
enough time to revise what I have already learnt.
Instead of studying all the time and just mugging
up, I started getting proper idea of the topics and
started thinking practically.

2SWOT ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL REFLECTION
Two challenges of learning in a higher education setting
Being an active learner
Being a sporty learner or student is always thought to be a critical challenge which is
faced by most of the students in higher education [1]. It is not at all easy to become a learner who
will be active within the classroom. It is noticed that minimum of 2-3 hours are required for
preparing for a class otherwise the students are not able to participate in the discussion of the
classroom in a good way [2]. I was very much self-motivated for monitoring my own learning
and become more prepared for the classroom. I tried to interact a lot with the educator and
gained interest in the topic. I was well prepared for the class so that I might become active in the
discussion which used to go on within the classroom. Active learning does not only mean to be
involved actively in the discussions or the activities within the classroom, it also means a proper
engagement in both learning and thinking [3]. Therefore, I used to attentively participate in the
class but do not talk or interact unnecessarily. Hence, I could still be considered as an active
learner. I preferred active learning more than passive learning. It happens that the students cannot
become sporty especially in the courses which are basically oriented technically at first [4]. It
had taken some time for me to first understand properly and then ask questions and further
interact with the educator. In this way, I had become an active learner.
Burdens of Assignments
One of biggest challenge which is seen to be faced by almost all the students pursuing
higher education is the burden of a large number of assignments [5]. Several courses have
different assignments and in large number. The course of mine had about ten mini assignments
and 12 small assignments within limited deadline. Though most of the assignments were small in

3SWOT ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL REFLECTION
size as well as in number and some were not provided any grade, there still remained burden as it
takes consumes a lot of time and energy. At first it took enough amount of time in reading up all
the materials which are relevant for understanding all the requirements of each assignments.
Burden of the assignments was a big challenge for me in higher education. As most of the
assignments of my course were small in size, therefore it has become much more effective than
having one or two huge projects. That would be more pressurizing for me. In case of huge
assignments the instructor had to have more opportunities of interaction with all the students and
the educator might also give a number of feedbacks in every small steps of completion of the
assignment [6]. I had read all the requirements properly and worked on my assignments with
great enthusiasm and interest. I had completed most of my assignments on the scheduled time. In
this way I had been able to create a good impression in the mind of the educator by submitting
all the assignments within the scheduled time.

4SWOT ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL REFLECTION
References
[1] P. Himmele and W. Himmele.,Total participation techniques: Making every student an
active learner. ASCD. 2017.
[2]S.F. Tseng, Y.W. Tsao, L.C. Yu, C.L. Chan and K.R. Lai., Who will pass? Analyzing learner
behaviors in MOOCs. Research and practice in technology enhanced learning, 11(1), p.8. 2016
[3]S.Freeman, S.L Eddy, M. McDonough, M.K. Smith, N. Okoroafor, H. Jordt and , M.P.
Wenderoth., Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and
mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), pp.8410-8415 2014.
[4]A. Roehl, S.L. Reddy and G.J. Shannon., The flipped classroom: An opportunity to engage
millennial students through active learning strategies. Journal of Family & Consumer
Sciences, 105(2), pp.44-49. 2013.
[5]R. Wang, F. Chen, Z. Chen, T. Li, G. Harari, S. Tignor, X. Zhou, D. Ben-Zeev, and A.T.
Campbell., September., StudentLife: assessing mental health, academic performance and
behavioral trends of college students using smartphones. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM
international joint conference on pervasive and ubiquitous computing (pp. 3-14). ACM. 2014
[6]C.S. Hurst,Baranik and F. Daniel., College student stressors: A review of the qualitative
research. Stress and Health, 29(4), pp.275-285. 2013