Importance of Skills for Higher Education Learners: Reflective Report

This reflective report examines the critical skills necessary for success in higher education, focusing on a student's self-assessment using the Driscoll model. The report identifies key skills such as academic writing, problem-solving, communication and IT skills, presentation skills, decision-making skills, and teamwork skills, evaluating the student's proficiency in each area. The student rates their abilities, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement, and outlines strategies for skill development, including coursework, vocabulary building, and targeted practice. The report concludes by summarizing the importance of these skills for both academic achievement and future employability, emphasizing the value of continuous improvement and goal-setting. The student reflects on how they can enhance their skills and their importance in their future endeavors.

REFLECTIVE REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Reflection.....................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
A higher reduction learner has to possess various skills that are needed to be successful in
the higher education sector, which is generally pursued after school or graduation, and is
considered a third level education. The learners are generally undergraduates and postgraduates,
this reflective report will focus upon the importance of the skills in higher education learners and
the reflection will be done on my own skills, assessing them against those of an HE learner.
MAIN BODY
Reflection
Reflection is a key part in the life of any learner and I can do this effectively by applying
the Driscoll model of reflection. Using this model, I will be able to analyse the key stages of
learning that I engaged in and also, I can clearly segregate that what was my key learning at
every stage. As per this model, there are three different stages and for each stage, I can categorise
my experience accordingly.
What?
Higher Education Learner:
I have understood the importance of skills in higher education learners as the primary
skills that help the students and the learners in getting successful in the completion of the studies,
attain the educational objectives and improve their chances of employability. There are various
skills that are important in the context of higher education which are based on the type of job
opportunities the student would pursue after the graduation (Barrell and et.al., 2021).
Team- working Skills:
There are various core or generic skills such as the ability to communicate effectively, the
teamwork competencies, networking know how, problem solving that all the students led to
excel in. The technical skills are generally aimed towards specific learning as per the chosen
field of the students or the chosen stream. The generic skills are easily transferable to various job
types whereas the technical skills remain suited for a particular role type, like the knowledge of
Customer relationship management tool which can be used in the sales or marketing job
opportunities whereas the use of Sap or payroll management software which is essential in the
field of Human resources (Dowell and et.al., 2020). Overall, the major generic skills that help the
students in getting the job opportunities, sustaining and progressing in the university and also the
skills that are required in future employment opportunities are effective team-working skills,
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Presentation skills, Academic writing skills, Communication & IT skills and Problem solving
and decision-making skills.
So What?
Academic Writing Skills:
In terms of academic writing skills, these are highly important for the completion of
assignments and also tend to improve the writing and communication in general with helping
people in associated fields like resume writing (MacFarlane, 2018). I can rate this skill as
moderate as I have various areas of improvement that I need in this skill.
Problem Solving Skills:
The other skill which is important for me as a part of the higher learner skills is problem
solving. This is important in the corporate world as problems are the central part of the business
while the solving strategies are the answers to the high profits in the industry, which is why this
is highly expected skill while employing people. I can rate this skill as high, as I have developed
the ability to think creatively and device various alternative ways to assess a given problem and
find the most appropriate solution for it.
Communication and IT Skills:
In context to the communication and the IT skills, these sills are the core skills that help
in the conduction of any business activity like talking to the clients and operating the latest
technology based software associated with the job task (Siddiquah and Salim, 2017). I can rate
this skill as moderate as I need to further enhance my communication skills through participating
in debate clubs, practicing the right way to communicate effectively to a large audience, develop
the interpersonal skills through development of listening skills and body language, in terms of IT
skills, I can rate this as high as I am well versed with the basic computer operations and have
intermediate know of various software like the MS excel, MS word, PPT and Project
management which will help me in the future.
Presentation Skills:
In terms of presentation skills, these are very important when the client on any company
or the employees have to be communicated through a power point presentation of the operational
or core work for business outcomes (Wall, 2017). I can rate this skill as moderate as I still need
to enhance the presentation skills by improving communication and body language while doing
the presentation in the class.
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Decision Making Skills:
In terms of the decision making skills, it usually is associated with the ability to solve
problems which I can rate myself as high as I evaluate all the alternatives carefully regarding any
topic or decision. In terms of teamwork skills, they are highly important to be imparted in the
high education learners as in future any business of job opportunity would require the employees
to work in assigned projects or in teams and attain the organisational objectives (Thomas, 2018).
I can rate myself as high in this skill as in the entire course of my education, I have undertaken
various group projects and assignments in which I have come across diverse team members and I
was able to work efficiently with all, and also while working I developed conflict resolution and
leadership skills.
Now What?
The major activities that can help me in improving writing skills are participating in writing
courses, improving vocabulary, participate in writing competitions and focussing on the
assignment be carefully considering the feedback. I can improve presentation skills by engaging
in particular courses which guide me in this particular aspect only. I plan to develop academic
writing skills by engaging in coaching classes that can easily create the necessary understanding
and further help in increasing my efficiency. Overall, I have fared well in many skills and also
need to enhance other skills (Azizan and et.al., 2018). In order to do this, I will develop time
focused goals that will help me in achieving and developing the skills in a timely manner.
Further, I will also prepare a time evaluation sheet which will clearly help me in monitoring my
progress and measuring the level up to which I have been able to progress in my target.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the major skills for higher education learners that I excel in are
teamworking skills and the problem solving and decision making skills through continuous
practice and experience. The majority of the skills that I need to enhance are the communication
and IT skills, the presentation and academic writing skills. In this reflective report, I understood
the important of the skills illustrated above in the course of the higher education and also its
future relevance, especially in terms of employability competencies. The major resources and
strategies that I can use to improve them have also been elaborated.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Azizan, M.T., and et.al., 2018. Improving teamwork skills and enhancing deep learning via
development of board game using cooperative learning method in Reaction Engineering
course. Education for Chemical Engineers, 22, pp.1-13.
Barrell, A., and et.al., 2021. Cross-border Entrepreneurial Education, Development and
Knowledge and Technology Transfer: Experiences with the Cambridge–Riga Venture
Camp Programme—A Reflective Report. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in
Emerging Economies, p.2393957520984035.
Dowell, N.M., Lin, Y., Godfrey, A. and Brooks, C., 2020. Exploring the Relationship between
Emergent Sociocognitive Roles, Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills, and Outcomes: A
Group Communication Analysis. Journal of Learning Analytics, 7(1), pp.38-57.
MacFarlane, K., 2018. Higher education learner identity for successful student
transitions. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(6), pp.1201-1215.
Siddiquah, A. and Salim, Z., 2017. The ICT facilities, skills, usage, and the problems faced by
the students of higher education. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and
Technology Education, 13(8), pp.4987-4994.
Thomas, K., 2018. Using multiple Instructional mediums to foster critical literacy skills with the
adult lingusitic diverse learner.
Wall, T., 2017. A manifesto for higher education, skills and work-based learning. Higher
Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning.
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