University Skill Development: A Reflective Essay Analysis

This reflective essay examines the importance of skill development for academic and professional success, focusing on a student's personal experience within a university module. Using Driscoll's reflective model, the essay details the skills acquired, including essay writing, referencing, time management, and digital literacy. It explores the impact of these skills on future career prospects, highlighting the crucial role of communication and critical thinking. The essay also identifies areas for improvement, such as listening and note-taking skills, and emphasizes the ongoing need to stay updated with technological advancements. The conclusion summarizes the value of self-reflection in identifying learning experiences and preparing for future challenges.

Reflective Essay

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Skill development is important for a person to thrive in their academic and professional career.
During their academic life students develop various skills which helps them to tackle future
challenges and situations (Bingle, 2018). This essay will be based on relationship between
gaining success, creativity and knowledge at universities. The essay will highlight how someone
can approach challenges and expectations of a university course. The essay will be based on
Driscoll's reflection model and by answering three questions of the model we can analyse the
experience and learn from them.
MAIN BODY
Step 1: What ?
During this module I learned various skills and gain knowledge which can help me in
future to attain success in various aspects of my personal and professional life. Initially when I
started learning I learned about various skills like essay writing and referencing the work. The
module helped me to understand who to write and structure a essay. Before this module I did not
have any idea about how a essay should be structured. This skills will help me to write effective
essays in future. I also learned about referencing, which is a very important skill to maintain the
integrity and authenticity in a project. This module helped me to understand the importance of
referencing and also about different styles of referencing a work. It is a very important skill to
learn as it help to maintain integrity in a report (Yap, 2020). This skill will help me to complete
projects or reports in future, by acknowledging the original work I can write authentic and
structured assignments. I also learn how to manage different study related activities, I completed
different assignments and reports which helped me understand how to manage different activities
to meet the deadlines. I also learned various technical skills during this module which helped me
to write and edit my work through different digital platforms. By attending online classes I also
learned about video conferencing apps and software. As a learner it was important for me to
learn as many skills as I can. I have also learned critical thinking skills during this module by
completing my assignments. While completing my assignments I encountered many problems
and with my critical thinking skills I manage to complete my assignments on time. One of many
skill which I developed during this module is communication skill. After experiencing this
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module my communication skills are certainly improved because before this module I was not
able to effectively communicate with others. But now I feel more confident and motivated to talk
to different peoples. During the module I met and communicate with different teachers and
classmates which improved my communication skills. These skills are crucial for a learner to
have as it help to grow and thrive in professional life.
Step 2: So what ?
After completing the module I have developed many skills which will be crucial for me
in my career. Some basic skills like referencing skills and digital literacy is important for an
individual as it help us to learn more in future (Butler, 2020). Because of supporting teachers and
classmates I have completed this module with ease as there are many situation where I needed
the help and guidance which I got from various peoples. I was completely unaware of some
topics like referencing but everyone around me supported me which helped me a lot. Because of
my past experience my communication skills was not good before starting this module and that
could have effected my learning in this module but because of the support and believe that
teacher and other members showed in me I completed this module and learned so many skills. I
have changed significantly after completing the module because now I feel that I possess many
skill which I can use to tackle future challenges and and expectations of a university course.
Step 3: Now what ?
Completing this module was very beneficial for me and there are no such negative
outcomes of the module which I need to improve. However, I could have learn few more skills
which I realised after the completion of the module. I could have improved my listening and note
making skills in this module. To complete a project these skills are also very beneficial which I
can learn in future. Lack of these two skills can restrict me to successfully complete a university
course in future so enhancing these two skills is important for me to attend courses in future.
Now I need to keep updated with latest trends and new innovations to keep my technological
skills updated. With new innovations coming everyday my technology skills can become
obsolete if I do not keep learning new things (Luić and Alić, 2022). The overall experience of
the module was very good as it helped me to develop various skills. To prepare myself better for
future courses I will improve my listening skills and note taking skills. I develop communication
skills during the module and that's why I failed to engage with many sources effectively. Now
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with better communication skill I can engage with everyone during my course which can help
me to gain more knowledge during a course.
CONCLUSION
From above essay it is concluded that it is important for a learner to develop new skills
which can help them to thrive in their careers. The essay reflect personal experience during the
module and how I developed as a learner during the module. With the help of a reflective essay a
learner can identify what they did during a course and how can they do better in next time. The
essay also discuss about how I will approach the future challenges and expectations of a course.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Bingle, T.B., 2018. From Learners to Leaders: An Educational Model that Invites Soft-Skill
Development, Encourages Creativity, and Grows Leadership.
Butler, J., 2020. Learning to lead: a discussion of development programs for academic leadership
capability in Australian Universities. Journal of higher education policy and
management, 42(4), pp.424-437.
Luić, L. and Alić, M., 2022. THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING STUDENTS'DIGITAL
SKILLS FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE CURRICULUM.
In INTED2022 Proceedings (pp. 7207-7215). IATED.
Yap, J.M., 2020. Common Referencing Errors Committed by Graduate Students in
Education. Library Philosophy and Practice, pp.1-14.
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