Reflective Essay and Portfolio: Success in Higher Education

This assignment presents a reflective analysis of a student's journey in higher education, incorporating an essay and a portfolio. The essay delves into the impacts of COVID-19 on the hospitality, travel, and leisure industries, emphasizing the shift towards online platforms and the subsequent recovery. It also discusses the utilization of formative feedback for improvements in summative assessments, highlighting its role in boosting student confidence and self-regulation. Furthermore, the essay explores cultural and behavioral expectations for business and management students, including communication skills, teamwork abilities, technological proficiency, and leadership qualities. The importance of peer-to-peer support in knowledge transfer and team building is also examined. The portfolio section outlines SMART objectives for skill development, reflects on learning experiences, and demonstrates the application of formative feedback. It also includes a SWOT analysis and highlights the skills learned during the program, such as communication, time management, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Orientation for Success in
Higher Education

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
ESSAY.............................................................................................................................................3
Reflective analysis of impacts of Covid-19 in Hospitality, travel and leisure.............................3
Utilization of formative feedback for improvements in summative assessments........................4
Cultural and behavioural expectations ........................................................................................5
Importance of peer-to-peer support.............................................................................................6
PORTFOLIO....................................................................................................................................6
Smart objectives...........................................................................................................................6
Reflective learning.......................................................................................................................7
Using formative feedback............................................................................................................7
Learned skills...............................................................................................................................8
Benefits of formative assessment.................................................................................................9
SWOT analysis..........................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
The true measure of success of the students can be understood by analysation of how well
the student perform for the accomplishment from the current and future academical, personal and
professional aim for the development of their knowledge. In this project with the help of a essay
and a portfolio my development in the higher education is reflected. In a reflective approach this
project helps the business to analyse the learning within the business and management of
discipline. This project explains formative feedback and its use over the summative assessment.
This project helps with the understanding of the cultural and behavioural expectations of the
studying for the degree of business and management.
MAIN BODY
ESSAY
Reflective analysis of impacts of Covid-19 in Hospitality, travel and leisure
From the help of my experience as a student, I can say that Covid-19 has been very
disastrous for the hospitality organization. Hospitality sector consists of business in which the
there are hotel and resorts which are generally used by the tourists. Due to the lock-downs which
were applied due to the pandemic, many businesses got affected. I read about many hotels firing
their employees due to the lack of revenue which they could use to pay of their salaries. Very
similar to that as people like us were not able to travel anywhere the travel industry was also
struggling a lot. A good deal of hospitality organization during the pandemic were used as Covid
centres some did their social responsibility. The travel industry was not able to generate any

income during the pandemic. As per my consideration it was believed by me that the
organization (Pillai and et.al., 2021).
The leisure industry which are businesses such as entertainment, sports and tourism all of
these were effected some way or the other. The entertainment industry out of all the other
industry was the one which was considered to be a little viable even in the pandemic due to the
influence of the online platforms. I saw a major increase in the utilization of online platform
during and after the pandemic. It can be said that the tourism industry was one of the most
affected industry as all the international borders where seal which stopped the inflow and
outflow of the tourists. However, all of these industries after the major affect of the pandemic
were seen to grow a lot. Hospitality industry started its operations just after the travelling
industry started to grow. I also noticed that the even the sports industry was increasing very
handsomely and due to this which there were growth in all the industries. The impact created by
this pandemic got reversed. Many big sporting events started taking place. In my knowledge
these industries were a lot responsible for bringing the economy out of recession (Gabe and
Florida, 2021).
Utilization of formative feedback for improvements in summative assessments
A feedback is an essential part of the learning process despite the subject matter.
Feedback is something which helps in the improvement of the performance of the learners. A
formative feedback is the one in which the course of assessment is not present or provided after
the completion of the grade or marks. Summative assessment is the part in which the
performance of the student is analysed with the help of test which provide grades and marks. The
formative feedback which consists of activities of under grading the students to motivate them to
improve their practices. Formative feedback is generally utilized for providing the learners
opportunities for improving their performance. This helps undergraduates improve their work
working hard and increase their performance in the summative assessment later. Grades are
considered to be the most important achievement for a learner (Ismail and Mohammad, 2017).
Formative feedback is also known to provide the student's confidence before going
through to the final exams. In the summative assessment marking is done for everything in which
they have improved. This formative feedback is known to be very useful the ones which provide
lectures to the students. This allows them to take control over their learning. In the summative
assessment were the right or wrong is important, how to get to the decision for right or wrong is

explained by the help of formative feedback. This type of formative feedback is known to help
the students and leaders to be come very self regulated. This type of feedback suggests that
students have more control over their own learning. Formative feedback helps the students to get
to the future of the learning and assessments. It helps all kinds of students with assessments of
their personal development. This type of self-regulation helps the students to accelerate the
critical thinking on how to prepare themselves for the studies. The implementation of this
feedback in the summative assessment suggests that it needs to be timely, constructive and
motivational so that it can affect the learning outcomes of the student (Ogange and et.al., 2018).
The techniques for the implementation of this feedback consists of many interactive classroom
activities, homework and survey which will help the students to develop knowledge
automatically that helps them to improve their studies and also improve their performance in the
summative assessment.
Cultural and behavioural expectations
As I have been studying business and management form this particular university there
are some particular expectation from me. Both the cultural and behavioural expectations are
present for a student to meet. After the completion of this study the cultural expectations are to
efficiently expertise and execute any job with in the role of manager with confidence. Jobs will
be a real test to my learnings and it will also provide me practical knowledge for the studies
related to the business and management. Another very expectations which the culture has from
the study of business and management can be said as the good communication. For someone
who is studying management and business the least behavioural expectations is to have good
team work abilities which will help in becoming a good team member for the job role
(Alshaibani and Bakir, 2017).
It is also expected from this learner that they have good knowledge and understanding of
the current technology which helps in in-sighting into the future technology. For a student it is
important proof that he is very handy in the management and utilization of the new technologies
which can influence the success of the technological management in the job role. Having
corporate etiquettes is also very important for the appreciation of the society, this at least is
expected from me due to the studies in business and management. Another very common
expectation which is the part of the job is complete understanding of the social media and how it

is usable by a business for its promotion and success. Having good leadership quality is also
expected as the behaviour of the persona who is studying business and management.
Importance of peer-to-peer support
The peer-to-peer learning method is very important and effective method of transferring
knowledge. This method means that the students teach other students. This learning method can
many forms, but the most common factor in this method is the sharing of knowledge which is
received not from an instructor or teacher. It's about person from same level as yourself teaching
from their gained experience. It is considered to be a great way of sharing knowledge in the
company (Ala, Yang and Ala, 2021). It is considered to be an effective method of transferring
knowledge. With the help of this enhanced experienced for the learners is created which helps
much more after the initial teaching from the tutor.
This method has slowly become a very common and more prevalent method of teaching.
It has been seen to provide even the teacher a bit of learning out of it. This method has a win
situation for everyone. The learners in this peer training environment feel much more
comfortable than in a regular training environment. The replacement of outsiders for teaching
purpose the best way to teach is through someone from the audience itself. This allows the
students to feel connected and be more receptive to the learning. This method is not just good for
teaching it also helps in increasing the team work and improve the relationship of the learners
with each other. With the help of this learning style the teachers are able to divide their work into
others. This helps the teacher to focus on other important things (Xie and et.al., 2018).
PORTFOLIO
Smart objectives
Specific objective for this assessment will be developing the skills which need improvements.
Measurable changes which are required in the skills which are targetted from the weakness.
Achievable objective in this assessment is about reaching a position in which the business will
be manageable from the skills that will be developed.
Relevant objectives are those which align with corresponding goal that will consider the success
of the individual's mission, vision and also its goals.
Time-bound is the time which is fixed for the development of the skills of the business which
needs to be improved.

Reflective learning
I have been able to learn a lot from this module which explained the business and
management. This learning was very useful for providing the proper knowledge about the
business and management skills. In this learning I developed the skills which are required as an
entrepreneur. The skills and abilities which are required for a business entrepreneur were taught
to me by the tutor. Skills I was able to develop in a very short period were the communicational
skills, and time management. These were the skills I was able to implement my learnings in my
daily activities. Some skills took more time than others, these were the skills in which I was
struggling. These skills specifically were the problem solving skills, leadership and also
decision-making. These are considered to be one of the most important skills for being an
entrepreneur. I was working very hard on developing these skills by attending lectures daily and
also completing my assignments on time. The functions and principles of management came
under the knowledge and skills which I was trying to develop during my studies. These
principles are considered to be coming very handy in the future when after getting this degree I
will be applying for the job of manager in firm (Ammar, 2017).. During these studies I was able
to develop my interpersonal skills. This made me much more social than I previously was in
school-days. It boosted my confidence. These skills came in very useful for me to handle the
team which I was allocated to manage. As per my team members I acted as one of the best
mentors on the field and had great problem solving and strategical thinking process. These skills
allowed me to plan for the future more than anything else that was considered very useful for
every thing and anything I managed.
Using formative feedback
Formative feedback can be said as that feedback which is given during the module, in this
an ungraded and less opportunistic activities are made for promoting the student to make them
believe that they can do it. As compared to the summative feedback providing formative
feedbacks utilization for the learners has the following advantages,
Opportunity to improve :
This sort of feedbacks helps in highlighting the areas in which the students can improve.
These areas allow the student to gain access to the opportunity which can improve their studies
and also the performance in their grades (Dekker, 2018).
Confidence booster :

This type of feedback is responsible for providing the students the necessary confidence
which can help them just before the exams. It helps the students in the summative assessment.
High confidence is important for the individuals as it allows them to improve their interpersonal
skills, communicational skills and also become more socially active.
Useful for lectures :
For those students which are struggling to understand an information this type of
feedback is very much important as it helps them to learn a particular topic which can be taught
with the help of the results of formative feedback.
Self Regulated learners :
The formative form of feedback allows the students and learners to gain control over their
learnings. This kind of feedback is considered to be very accessible to the learners as they get
many opportunities to understand their weakness and work on them.
Formative feedbacks include many techniques which are used to contrast with the
summative assessment as it provides the complete evaluation of the total learning of the student.
This helps the learner to then develop its grade. Summative assessments are also the midterm
assessments which allow the learner to evaluate their performance.
Learned skills
The skills which I learned from the University while studying business and management
are,
Leadership :
Leadership is a very important aspect of both business and management as it allows you
to make good decisions, understand the needs of the employees and also develop the culture of
the organization (Shani and Coghlan, 2019).
Communication :
For both business and management communication skills are very important for an
individual. Thus, in the studies of business and management I did in the university helped me to
grow my communication.
Critical thinking :
For being a good leader which can manage its business and management it is important
for an individual should have critical analytical questions from themselves. This allows for the
thinking of the bigger picture and also gain new insights over the business.

Creativity :
Being innovative and creative in its operations is considered to be very important for the
business of the organization. This provides the individual the capability to bring innovation to
their business and management.
Teamwork :
This skill is one of the most effective as it allows the individual to work together in
collaboration with their team members. Collaboration and team work is very useful for
increasing the productivity and achieving goals (Ćurić Dražić, Petrović and Vukelić, 2018).
Cross culture competency :
With the help of the studies in this university I was able to develop my the skill of
competing with the cross cultural differences. This allows me to work with a more diverse
surrounding and people with different cultures in my team.
Flexibility :
This study of business and management in the University teaches an individual to be
flexible in its operations which will allows the business to be strong and effective towards the
changes which can occur in the business.
Benefits of formative assessment
As a student it can be said that there are several benefits of having a formative assessment
are,
Defined learning goals :
The progress of the learner in the formative feedback is constantly monitored, this allows
the student to keep their learning goals on top of their clear target. The tutors can recognize the
misunderstanding in this assessment very quickly and as a result the students do not get
misunderstood.
Increased rigor :
Practising the formative assessment helps a tutor to collect the information about the
needs of the student. This then is used for creating a rigorous learning environment which
challenges the students to their growth.
Academical achievement :

In a university the aim of the learners are to achieve their degree with studies. However,
with the help of formative assessments the students are allowed gain knowledge beyond their
academical knowledge and goals.
Students motivation :
Formative assessment is considered to be one of the ways in which the students are
motivated. The increase in focus that happens due to students motivation influences the
individual to get motivated and achieve more.
Increased engagement :
Formative assessment as a type is that assessment which allows the university and the
teachers to connect with the students. This allows the students to get engaged towards their
instructional activities which helps them to increase their curiosity.
SWOT analysis
Personal SWOT analysis which will explain the following,
Strength :
As per the assessments and the module I as an individual have developed some strengths
which are going to be very effective for my future in the field of business and management.
Some skills which I believe are the part of my strengths are, Communication, interpersonal and
also leadership. These skills allowed me to develop or increase my collaborative behaviour in the
team I was part of. Due to which I was able would be very comfortable in the management of
any business (Sperlich, Düking and Holmberg, 2017).
Weaknesses :
Apart from the learnings which I got from the University there were certain areas of the
studies in which I struggled. These areas can be said as my weaknesses as I was unable to
develop them during my studying for business and management. I need to work on my decision-
making skills, time management and also mentoring skills.
Opportunities :
For me the areas which can be opportunistic for the career that is ahead of me are the
strengths which I have developed. These strengths make me very much capable for the role of a
manager in a company. The experiences which are required to be a manager in the organization
is also present with me as I have managed the teams in my university (Tosun and et.al., 2020).
Threats :

Confidence that I have developed due to my high interpersonal skills is a threat for me as
it forces me to take unprecedented decisions. Apart from this the weaknesses I have in the skills
such as decision-making, time management and mentoring also effects the by career.
CONCLUSION
With the help of this project it can be concluded that effective learning is very important
for the growth of knowledge and understanding the topic that has being taught. This project with
the help of reflective learning was able to identify the impacts of Covid-19 on different
industries. Other learning methods and effective learning has been concluded in this project as
well. The use of formative feedback and reflective learning has been introduced. In this project
the with the help of the SWOT analysis the personal strength and weaknesses are discussed. In
this project the smart objectives are also prepared for understanding the procedure.

REFERENCES
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Interaction with the Public on US Industry Employment Change During the Early
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Online
Dekker, K., 2018. Effettive learning methods: the importance of formative feedback. [Online].
Available through: <https://www.studiosity.com/blog/effective-learning-methods-the-
importance-of-formative-feedback>