Reflective Essay: Experiences and Development as a University Student

This reflective essay provides an introspective analysis of a student's learning journey at university. It begins with an introduction that outlines the purpose of the essay, which is to reflect on the student's development as a learner, their experiences, and the challenges they faced. The essay then delves into how the university environment fostered the development of essential skills and knowledge, including project management, research, and teamwork. The student reflects on specific projects, highlighting the key areas of project management and the importance of effective communication and cooperation. The essay also explores the student's approach to overcoming challenges, such as dealing with complex information and managing conflicts within a team. Furthermore, the essay discusses the student's approach to meeting and exceeding expectations, emphasizing the importance of persistence, self-sufficiency, and a positive attitude. The student concludes by summarizing their key learnings and how these experiences have prepared them for future challenges in both academic and professional settings. The essay references several academic sources to support the student's reflections and insights.

Declaration of Authenticity
I declare that this is my own work and has not been copied from
any unauthorised sources. The reference of sources is given to
ensure academic honesty.

REFLECTIVE
ESSAY

Table of Contents
Reflection:........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................1
Why have I developed as a learner at the University..................................................................1
How have I developed as a learner.............................................................................................1
My reflections as a University Learner.......................................................................................2
My approach as a successful learner to deal with future challenges at the University...............2
My approach to meet and exceed expectations as a learner at the University............................3
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

Reflection:
Introduction
This is a reflective paper which takes into account the learnings and experiences driven
by an individual while pursuing course at university level and taking measures so as to deal with
the barriers.
Why have I developed as a learner at the University
To be a student in the Bucks University gives a great opportunity to a person to improve
and enhance skills and knowledge that will assist the person to succeed in the future professional
context. It also helps in developing the essential capabilities to face the disturbing issues in
effective manner. The knowledge and guidance obtained by the help of professionals in the
course duration is very important as, it teaches the way or a particular manner in which a person
should conduct himself in a very appropriate manner (Baker and et. al., 2015) To improve the
skills and knowledge of the students, the university allots various projects which is required to be
accomplished within a certain period of time. Working on these projects makes a person able to
gain experiences and also helps in determining the capabilities present in the person. It also
encourages students to develop skills of coordination and cooperation with the other members to
complete the project in the effective manner.
How have I developed as a learner
During the time when I was pursuing my course in the university, I was allotted many
projects and in them I have to execute research for the given topic and was required to give a
presentation in effective manner defining my findings from the research and to submit a well
constructed report of the topic. While working on these projects I got to learn that there are
specific key areas of the project management plan like time, quality, scope, communication and
many more which are dully required to carry out a research effectively (Basturkmen, 2014). I
also gained the knowledge related to ways by which one can collect relevant and valid data based
on the topic with the help of view of authors. I also developed myself by performing my work on
my own, without taking help of others and it helped me to be self-sufficient. It helped me in
managing my own decisions for programme planning in he university and the effective ways to
take the guidance of tutors and how to manage time for my social and academic life. It resulted
as positive constructed outcome for me.
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My reflections as a University Learner
To examine my learning outcomes in the university I examined my college days and found
that how uneasy I used to feel in starting while using a pc and how I eradicated that uneasiness
and was satisfied that how I returned to the instruction effectively. At the time of developing the
knowledge in the university it was uneasy for me to return into the instructions after a significant
lot. I faced some issues in the manner when the university allots the students to gather the
information related to the projects on their own. While working upon these assignments in my
college days, I faced a lot of challenges some of which included dealing with the complex
information in relation to the research and getting the comprehensibility to make meaningful
conclusions out of these. Further, during my tenure at university, some of the projects which I
completed had to be executed within a group. In this relation, the biggest challenge faced by me
was to set an adequate and appropriate coordination and cooperation among the team members
as this reflects the facilitation of work in the desirable manner. Many a times, conflicts came up
between the team members which acted as hindrance in delivering the performance as per the
requirements of project. To deal with this, I took support from my tutors, seniors and
professionals as they gave me the right guidance as well as supervision to deal with such
complex challenges. Further, by gaining an insight into the learnings of various authors by way
of reading a number of books and journals, I learnt about various leadership and management
approaches. Amongst these, I decided to make use of behavioural approach so as to manage the
activities in an effective and efficient manner without the emergence of any conflict between the
members. Behavioural approach of management emphasizes upon gaining an understanding of
the behavioural characteristics of individuals and teams so as to ascertain ways in which
effective coordination can be set with them (Flores, Kleyn and Menken, 2015). This approach
taught me that individuals tend to perform in an effective manner when there are provided with
good working conditions and work associated satisfaction.
My approach as a successful learner to deal with future challenges at the University
Post gaining experience of conducting and being part of a number of projects, I dawned
that while I encounter any difficulty, I get nervous and stresses which further increases the
chances of the work getting hampered. Also, I realised that working in a team is not an easy task
and requires input from every individual so as to make sure that work is executed in the desirable
manner. The experience I have on developing my knowledge in the university has drawn me to a
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conclusion that I have a great persistence, and also helped in building the skills and capacity to
impart the use of a PC. It has evolved me as good team person and also made me capable enough
to work on my own when ever required.
My approach to meet and exceed expectations as a learner at the University
Developing the knowledge and skills in the university will eventually help me in facing the
future challenges and standing out on the expectations of the learnings I have acquired. The
future challenges will be not as structured in the university, they will be random and will occur in
spontaneous manner. Many conflicts arise in the future which can be fulfilled by the guidance
obtained by the tutors in the university and will help in maintaining my composure and positive
behaviour towards the challenges to accomplish them in effective manner. The study and the
improvement that I have gained from the university has given me encouragement and confidence
to face the challenges that I will encounter in the future context. These lessons and assignments
provide a gateway to achieving an effective stature within academic and professional life
(Valentino and Reardon, 2015).
Conclusion
From the above given report it can be concluded that it is necessary for an individual
studying in a university to constantly enhance one's skills and competence to deal with academic
challenges.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Baker, C. N. and et. al., 2015. Teacher (mis) perceptions of preschoolers’ academic skills:
Predictors and associations with longitudinal outcomes. Journal of educational psychology.
107(3). p.805.
Basturkmen, H., 2014. Ideas and options in English for specific purposes. Routledge.
Flores, N., Kleyn, T. and Menken, K., 2015. Looking holistically in a climate of partiality:
Identities of students labeled long-term English language learners. Journal of Language,
Identity & Education. 14(2). pp.113-132.
Valentino, R. A. and Reardon, S. F., 2015. Effectiveness of four instructional programs designed
to serve English learners: Variation by ethnicity and initial English proficiency. Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 37(4). pp.612-637.
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