Reflective Journal: University Learning and Continuous Development

This individual reflective journal details the author's learning experiences and skills development during their time at university, framed within the context of continuous professional development (CPD). Using Gibbs' reflective cycle, the journal examines various skills acquired, including written and verbal communication, research, ICT, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving. The author reflects on their feelings, evaluates their learning, and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses. Key conclusions highlight the importance of communication and teamwork skills, while also identifying areas for improvement such as time management and ICT proficiency. The journal concludes with an action plan focused on continuous professional development, aimed at addressing identified weaknesses and enhancing overall employability and career prospects.

Individual Reflective
Journal

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
In order to succeed in the modern job market where the job offers which are being made
by both public and private sector establishment are getting increasingly specific and complex,
having a well defined and personalised set of skills is very important. Apart from developing a
formidable skill-set which can help people corner a vast majority of the job opportunities that
come their way, their learning on a personal level should be consistent and long lasting
(Valdmann, Holbrook and Rannikmae, 2017). The process of continuous professional
development refers to the ongoing process of honing existing skills while acquiring new ones in
the form of a continuous cycle which ensures that the demand of the job market does not outdate
the individual. This report will contain personal learning and reflections regarding the various
skills which are learned while studying at the University with the help of models such as Gibbs
reflective cycle along with provisions to remove weak points from people's personal portfolio.
MAIN BODY
Continuous professional development is very important especially during the academic
life of students as there are many skills which must be learned as a combination in order to boost
knowledge and employability status as many of the skills are interlinked. An example which
comes to mind is the fact that learning about usage of Information Technology oriented solutions
won't be much effective for a student in his personal and professional life unless he also has
critical thinking and problem solving skills to use it to streamline and optimize operations in an
efficient manner (GV, 2018). During my time spent at the university, I learned a variety of skills
which are listed herein.
 Written and verbal communication – I was subjected to a variety of rigorous schedules
which pertained to developing my written and verbal communication as these skills form
the base upon which employability and learning of other advanced skills are based on.
 Research skills – I also took part in various researches which were varied in scope and
the curriculum focused on both structure and methodologies which are commonly used.
 The use of ICT's – The university also held separate courses which taught the use of
information technology solutions which is an urgent need due to the rampant increase in
technologies in use by both government and private firms (Makovec, 2018).

 Teamwork and networking – I also learned about the importance of teamwork and
collaboration between different students during my stay at the university and I also
learned about how to connect and maintain both personal and professional networks.
 Time and self-management – These skills are paramount to learn as without proper time
and self management, all the other learnt skills are much less effective. Knowing how to
execute given tasks in their set time limit is a major focus on the curriculum taught to me
at the university (Hopper, 2018).
 Problem-solving skills – The module which I personally used for inculcating extra skills
for boosting my personality and portfolio also included these skills as they are very
paramount to solve complex problems which people face during their jobs and overall
career path.
My personal experiences related to the learnings that I undertook using help of study
modules and during my stay at my university is very complex and as such, it will be further
explained beyond this section of the report using Gibbs reflective cycle which is one of the most
widely used reflective models which divides the entire experience attained by an individual into
different stages (Aparicio Gómez, 2020). A detailed explanation of my learning experience at my
university is presented beneath using this model.
 Description – The major focus of the curriculum taught to me in my university focused
majorly on the various types of communication which were both verbal and written in
nature as jobs require people to be proficient at both. I was extremely good at both these
types of communications which also helped me undertake complex researches with ease
as I was able to summarize and interpret the gathered data in the best way possible. I
became well versed in public speaking and addressing a large group of people while
keeping the interest and content as organic and interesting as possible which also helped
me in developing problem solving skills. The entire reasoning behind enrolling in the
university was to develop and master as many useful skills as possible which I ultimately
succeeded in (Higón, Gholami and Shirazi, 2017). Although the entire experience cannot
be described as fruitful as I also slacked off in areas of skill development that did not
interest me such as use of ICT's and managing my work on time.

 Feelings – The entire learning experience was quite fruitful for me as I got to learn a lot
of different skills which helped shape the person I am today as I am successfully
employed in a major IT firm and my university level learning was quite comprehensive in
this regard. I felt very positive as I was taught by expert faculty in their respective
domains and the knowledge that the teaching staff inculcated in me regarding verbal
communication helped me a lot as I was able to hold quality conversations with
everyone. I also felt quite accomplished during the time I spent honing my academic
skills as problem solving skills not only allowed me to develop a holistic world view but
also helped me gain recognition of my fellow peers and class students as I learned to
solve increasingly problematic case studies and business scenarios.
 Evaluation – When looking through the time I dedicated to the university and the type of
learning that I received in return under a critical lens, the experience is quite a mixed bag
as despite learning about key skills which have helped me immensely, I also missed out
on developing further competencies that would have made me an even better prospective
employee own the road. I leant how to speak in public confidently and also mastered
corporate style of writing along with extending this proficiency of wiring to learn how to
execute researches based on complex topics (Chapman,Miles and Maurer, 2017). I also
learned the power of networking and teamwork and developed excellent standards of
teamwork through activities held at my university such as skits, scavenger hunts and idea
building blocks. Although, throughout my entire time at the university, I struggled to
complete my work under time and I also failed to have a control over my personal
emotions and behaviours in pressure situations.
 Analysis – The mixed experience which was analysed after proper evaluation of my time
spent at the university revealed many startling facts about me and the nature of learning
that happened at my university. I am personally very confident when it comes to getting
myself presented in front of people which is why it was very easy for me to learn and
master communication skills verbally and I also sport an extensive vocabulary which
helped in my written communication and research skills. It was also observed that one of
my strongest areas were in the areas of teamwork and problem solving as I understood
the principles and major steps that are involved in completing a group activity in a
diligent manner. However my struggle with time and self management pointed out to the

fact that I am a slow worker who lets his emotions get the best of him and I also struggle
to learn new and digitally advanced subjects as my learning of ICT's was very poor.
 Conclusion – When looking at my entire learning and skill building process that
happened during my university years where I took part in may extra curricular activities
and learned many modules, it can be effectively concluded that the entire experience was
quite holistic and positive but some glaring misses opportunities remain. I learned how to
solve complex business problems related to business administration and man
management but could not master how to achieve such results in due time which can lead
to many undesirable outcomes in future if not corrected immediately. I also need to work
on my self-management skills as many a times I can display behaviour and tone which is
very unbecoming of me during times of high pressure situations such as when project
deadlines are nearing and a lot of work still remains unfinished. Another major
conclusion which was reached is despite learning all major transitional and essential
skills such as communication and teamwork, I surprisingly lacked the modern
technological skills which are demanded by many high paying jobs currently in the
market (Hanus and Havelková, 2019). I not only struggled with operating computer
applications and even basic applications like MS Office but I also failed to become
proficient at developing both theoretical and practical knowledge about information and
communication technologies (ICT) taught at my university.
 Action plan – The action plan which will be developed by me in light of my entire
learning experience during my stay at the university will be based on not only me
learning the skills which I left out on during my academic years but also focuses on the
process of continuous professional development. The concept of CPD states that learning
is a lifelong process wherein people should seek to refresh their competencies and should
keep making new additions to their portfolio in order to keep their resume and skill-set in
accordance with the needs of the job market. The action plan which will be prepared will
work on rebuilding my skills which were identified as a weakness during the personal
evaluation of the learning I experienced in my university.

An action plan has been prepared herein in order to build a more balanced skill-set by
attaining new skills which were missed during the university years but need to be learnt in order
to build better chances at getting employed in the future at a much more lucrative position.
Skills and
knowledge
Current
proficiency
Target
proficiency
Development of
skills and
knowledge
Judging criteria Time
frame
Time and
self
managemen
t
Low as I not
only struggle
to complete
the given
tasks in time
but also
struggle to
keep my
emotions in
control
whenever
there is
pressure of
time limit on
me
High as I want
to complete the
majority of
work entrusted
to me in a
timely manner
while
displaying
model
standards of
behaviour
along with
impeccable
behaviour
I will seek to
improve time
management by
setting a timer and
targeting to
complete work
under a stop
watch. I will also
undertake courses
on stress
management
My progress will
be judged by
measuring the
time taken to
complete tasks
along with my
behaviour being
observed
whenever I
indulge in tough
tasks which put a
lot of mental
stress on
individuals
3 months
ICT
solutions
Low as I lack
any definitely
knowledge
about ICT
integration in
education
along with
basics of
High as I want
to master all
the advanced
IT tools used
in learning and
at the
workplace
such as
I will enroll myself
into an online
learning course
which focuses on
teaching ICT skills
and I also read
books and guides
by established
My progress in
this regard will be
measured by
online tests which
will judge every
metric taught to
me
4 months

blogging and
web
conferencing
blogging,
conferencing
and business
management
tools
authors on this
matter
CONCLUSION
The above reflective journal went into detail regarding the various extensive learning
experiences which I was subjected to during my stay at the university in the broad context of
continuous professional development which states that attaining skills is a cyclic process wherein
people should focus on regular updation of their personal and professional skills. The learning
experience was described using Gibbs reflective cycle and focus on crucial aspects such as
communication skills, ICT solutions and time management. The journal was concluded with a
detailed action plan which was developed to cover weaknesses and identified weak points in the
portfolio to round out professional and personal development from all aspects.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aparicio Gómez, O.Y., 2020. The education of desire and the use of ICT. In Desire and Human
Flourishing (pp. 325-337). Springer, Cham.
Chapman, E., Miles, E.W. and Maurer, T., 2017. A proposed model for effective negotiation
skill development. Journal of Management Development.
GV, S., 2018. Re-conceptualizing teachers’ continuous professional development within a new
paradigm of change in the Indian context: An analysis of literature and policy
documents. Professional development in Education, 44(1), pp.76-91.
Hanus, M. and Havelková, L., 2019. Teachers’ concepts of map-skill development. Journal of
geography, 118(3), pp.101-116.
Higón, D.A., Gholami, R. and Shirazi, F., 2017. ICT and environmental sustainability: A global
perspective. Telematics and Informatics, 34(4), pp.85-95.
Hopper, P., 2018. Understanding development. John Wiley & Sons.
Makovec, D., 2018. The teacher’s role and professional development. International Journal of
Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 6(2), p.33.
Valdmann, A., Holbrook, J. and Rannikmae, M., 2017. Determining the effectiveness of a
design–based, continuous professional development programme for science
teachers. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 16(4), p.576.