Personal and Professional Development 1: Reflective Report (BMS406)

This report is a reflective analysis of the skills required for success in higher education, specifically focusing on the Personal and Professional Development 1 (BMS406) module. The report begins with an introduction to reflective learning and then identifies key skills necessary for higher education, including teamwork, presentation skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills. The core of the report applies Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle to analyze the student's performance in these areas, detailing concrete experiences, reflective observations, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The analysis includes a PDP table for skill improvement strategies. The report concludes with recommendations for skill development and emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement in higher education. The report is well-structured and supported by relevant references.

PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT 1
(BMS406)

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Skills required for Higher Education...........................................................................................3
Kolb Learning Cycle explaining analysing the chosen skills for higher education.....................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Experiences of learning which reflected upon by students is called Reflective learning. It
is considered as very complex process that recognizes experiences of social context with the help
of process. This project will evaluate the skills needed for development of higher education.
With the help of the KOPL model, I will evaluate my performance with those skills in higher
education.
MAIN BODY
Skills required for Higher Education
Higher Education is considered as studies which are of an undergraduate or above that,
this type of education requires various skills for mastery. Some of those skills are,
Team-working skills :
This skill refers to those skills which I have developed by working in a team. With the
help of this skill I have improved my social activities and have learned to coordinate with others.
This skill usually include group studying, group presentation and other group efforts for the
purpose of study.
Presentation skill :
Presentation skills are those skills in which I have learned my studies with the help of
some kind of visual presentation for example video, power point slides and also images which
contain diagram (Tseng, Yi and Yeh, 2019).
Problem solving skill :
This skill refers to the skills which is acquired by me after testing myself for solving
problems and coming with a solution this skill is developed by me with the help of test and
examinations which improves my ability of solving problems.
Communicating skills :
This skill is about how I communicate with other in order to learn my content about the
study. This skill also involve listening skills which are essentials while listening to my lectures.
Kolb Learning Cycle explaining analysing the chosen skills for higher education
KOLB theory of learning cycle explains the directed goals in the process of an education
to evaluate the skills which are used for process of education (Mcleod, 2017). This cycle consists
of four stages which are, Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract

Conceptualization and Active Experimentation. With the help of this cycle the above chosen
skills will be analysed.
Concrete Experience :
In this part of the Kolb cycle it talks about the new experiences I had while encountering
the above mentioned skills.
Team Working skills-
In this part of the cycle I encountered how I can work with other in order to increase my
learning experiences.
Presentation Skills-
My first experience with this skill was very exiting as it provided visual sources of
learning material with the help of power point presentation and videos (McKinney, 2017).
Problem Solving skills -
Unlike other skills this has been a very challenging skill for me as it test me surprisingly
even when I was not prepared.
Communicating skills -
Everyone is familiar to this concept of communication and it has been effective for me in
higher education.
Reflective Observation :
This part of the cycle makes me notice the positive and negative aspects of these skills
which have affected my Higher Education (Van der Lingen and Åmoand Pettersen, 2020).
Team Working skills-
With my experience I have noticed that this skill some times encourages other activities
apart from studies.
Presentation Skills-
This skill has been very crucial for me as it has improved my learning abilities in higher
education as I prefer visual learnings.
Problem Solving skills -
It is a very challenging skill for the individual as when I am not prepared for it and it
causes stress.
Communicating Skills-

This skill is effective although it requires help another person for the studies, which
proves as a drawback for this skill.
Abstract Conceptualization :
This process of Kolb cycle consists of new ideas for improvement of the skills based on
the experience of the student. It can be better explained by PDP table like this,
PDP TABLE Team Working
skills
Presentation Skills Problem Solving
skills
Communicating
Skills
Skills This is the skill of
working together
with other students
for higher
education.
Skills which
consists of
learning from
sources like
videos, power
point slides and
also images.
This is the skills of
test yourself with
the help of
examinations,
surprise tests and
online test.
It is the skill of
communication
with other for
with listening
and responding.
New
Strategies
Team-working
strategies should
include project and
assignments which
a team can indulge
in.
Presentation skills
can improve with
better and more
effective use of
technology for
presentation. For
example Internet.
In this skill the
factor of surprise
should not be there
and aiming for
planned testing of
abilities can be
much more
affective.
Listening to the
lectures is very
important for
communication
skills as with
listening
communication
fails.
Resources
Required
This skill requires
a team which share
the same goals.
In the skill
equipments for
presentations are
necessary.
Problem solving
skills requires and
examiner or
someone who can
evaluate the
performance.
This skill needs
the help of
someone who
share more or
similar
knowledge of the

study.
Evaluation I am very
comfortable with
this skill although
be little deviating
in nature.
It is very effective
as visual learning
is one of the most
affective
learnings.
The surprise factor
of this skill some
time increase
personal stress.
It is very
effective but
finding someone
for
communication
is not easy.
Time Frame 1 to 3 months Less than a week 6 months or more 1 to 3 months
Active Experimentation :
In this part I tell my experience after Implementing new idea to the skills
Team Working skills-
With the implementation of projects and assignments to this skill it improves the quality
of this skill and also its effectiveness by bringing the team together.
Presentation Skills-
With introduction of new technologies in presentation skill effectiveness is achieved as it
make the learning even better.
Problem Solving skills
After removing the surprise element this skills does not cause any stress and ultimately
becomes more affective.
Communicating Skills-
Due to listening to lecture I have improved my communication skill which has affected
my higher education.
CONCLUSION
The main aim of this project was to recognize the skills required for higher education
and also recommend possible improvements into it. This project analyses those skills and

presents the perfect way of improving them for better performance of an individual in Higher
Education.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
McKinney, E., 2017, January. Using Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle to lead students in
learning about sewable circuits. In International Textile and Apparel Association
Annual Conference Proceedings (Vol. 74, No. 1). Iowa State University Digital
Press.
Tseng, H., Yi, X. and Yeh, H.T., 2019. Learning-related soft skills among online business
students in higher education: Grade level and managerial role differences in self-
regulation, motivation, and social skill. Computers in Human Behavior. 95. pp.179-
186.
Van der Lingen, E., Åmo, B.W. and Pettersen, I.B., 2020. The relationship between
entrepreneurial experience and preferred learning styles. Education+ Training.
Online
Mcleod, S., 2017, Kolb's Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle,[Online],
Available through: <https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html>.