Reflection on academic skills development activity

Introduction

The purpose of this reflective report is to give a clear reflection of the activities that I have been able to complete within my first year in my course. When I commenced my course, I formulated essential goals to guide me towards achieving academic excellence, develop employability skills, and general wellbeing skills. My academic goal was to be an active participant in the class and in group discussions. Active class and group discussions are very critical in academics; it allows for a proper understanding of concepts taught in class. A group discussion gives an opportunity to research wide and share with other group members. My employability goal was to develop excellent communication and other interpersonal skills. My wellness goal was to achieve somebody’s fitness through regular exercise. This report will discuss my progress in achieving the three goals. My reflection on my progress will be based on the application of Kolb’s reflective cycle.

Reflection on academic skills development activity (600)

Academic goals and skills are essential in getting the best out of the entire academic experience. To achieve academic excellence, research is very critical. Group discussions allow students to do a wide range of research. Setting academic goals provides an opportunity for regular reflection on the progress. It is easy to detect when things are getting out of control, making it easy to change tactics. Academic skills and development activity gave me an ideal opportunity to develop and quickly adapt to college learning approaches. Very critical in academic skills and development is time management with a high level of efficiency. Lack of proper time management skills can be detrimental to the student’s academic life. Lack of proper time management skills leads to time wastage and loss of punctuality. Students with poor time management skills tend to get late in classes and sometimes do not turn up for classes at all. Time management really worked well for me in achieving my academic goal. Effective time management skills gave me enough time to take part in group discussions and attend lectures on time. The desire and passion for acquiring knowledge produce success in the achievement of academic goals when a student has a high level of confidence. Being active in group discussions required that I have some good ability to communicate, which I initially struggled with but eventually managed to get through. Other things that worked perfectly for me was the activity of taking notes during classes. Carrying out of some research on the topics to be covered next in the class worked well. When the tutor introduced important topics, I already had a background on the topic, which allowed me to be more active in the class. Kolb’s experimental learning theory is very important in the development of academic skills in modern learning. Modern learning practices are different from traditional education; modern education requires regular experimentation and proof. Institutions of higher learning are developing learning methods that are experimentally based. His model outlines the fact that students can learn effectively either through direct experience or through doing things by themselves. Some students hear, and latter forget while others easily remember what they see. The model insists on the importance of actions in the learning process. Experimental learning can be more interesting than the normal learning. In the experimental learning process, the student is able to have control over the learning process. Kolb’s perspective on learning indicates that a learner acquires knowledge gradually through the series of learning experiences. His theory points out that the learning process is a whole process where individuals continuously develop the ability to generate ideas that enable them to become improved in the long-run. According to Kolb’s theory, the four processes in learning include concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Under the concrete experience, Kolb believes that it could be impossible for a learner to learn by observation or reading only. The individual has another important concern of being active in the whole learning experience so that they can learn much from it. The reflective observation is the second phase. Under this phase, Kolb believes that before making any judgments, reflection on the experience is very critical. The important point lay in the inconsistency between understanding and experience. The primary goal of the learner is to review the existing situation and later discover the meaning concealed by the experience. The abstract conceptualization is the stage where the learners develop different theories to give explanations to their experience. Through this, students are able to generate completely new ideas or improvement of existing ones. The final step is active experimentation. Students use the knowledge they have acquired in the real world in decision-making processes.

Reflection on your employability goal (around 600 words)

One of the very important outcomes of education is employability. Students in the class learn a variety of important skills required in the workforce. Many institutions offer courses that are competitive in the job market. Many learners acquire knowledge to enable them to get employed with the right skills and knowledge. Communication and interpersonal skills are essential in the world today. Organizations have moved towards globalization and have a high-level diversified workforce. It is very critical for a student to develop communication skills to allow me to communicate effectively with higher levels of management and fellow colleagues. I undertook a number of activities that enabled me to improve my communication skills. I developed the habit of watching some films which have a good model of communication skills. Through the movies, I was able to develop additional listening skills, which are also very important in communication. For one to respond to communication, they must listen well to instructions. The opportunities in-class group work presentation played a major role in improving my communication skills. Most important was the confidence in presenting my ideas to the group. In the employment setting, need arises to make important communication, either written or oral. Initially, my confidence in making public presentations was a big challenge. Through the regular group work presentations, I developed the courage to communicate and make my presentation to even a large group of people. My interpersonal skill development required that I develop an optimistic view on issues. Individuals more often respond positively to people who are optimistic compared to the ones who seem to be negative. Workplace occurrences sometimes generate negative feelings that should not be allowed to dominate in the workplace but rather put aside until a later day. If possible, it should be solved outside the workplace. Control of my emotions has been very critical in the development of employability skills. The workplace just lies in other places that can be very emotional and stressful. I developed the skill that during the times when my emotions are high and am highly depressed by work issues, I should try and maintain my emotions down. Patience is very important in dealing with stress at work. Acknowledging the expertise and abilities of other people can be very helpful. When people feel appreciated, their working motivation is increased. Kolb’s concept of employability touches on learning through experimentation. There is a great need for learning institutions to ensure that their students are well equipped with working skills. Just as the marketability of learners is practical, the learning process should also be a practical process. The learner should learn while doing the work-related activities to expose them to the different working environments and develop skills of solving problems that arise in the workplace and also know how to deal which the many challenges surrounding the workplace. Work-Integrated Learning is commonly a very important consideration and equips students with a diversity of workplace skills. The students with a high level of work skills exhibit high output at work compared to students without working skills. Modern institutions teach several foreign languages that are important in the modern world of globalization. Learners acquire the skills that are most relevant in the modern world. The curriculum of many institutions keeps on changing with time. The changes are enhanced to ensure that the curriculum develops as the workplace skills and requirements change. Some students and institutions embrace distance learning programs. These programs are also very important in ensuring learners develop essential skills required in the workplace. Students have a real application of what they learn in class. Other programs, such as part-time learning practices are very important in equipping learners with employability skills.

Reflection on your Wellbeing goal (around 300 words)

I chose this goal to enable me to keep fit as I pursued my course. The well being of a person is very critical in the overall success in life. Having a regular exercise pattern helps to keep the body fit. Wellbeing helps in attaining a proper state of mind. I achieved the wellbeing goal through the participation of co-curriculum activities, especially athletics. I made a number of short races every day, which served to keep me fit. In the process of keeping fit and achieving my wellbeing goal, I participated in various sports competitions and produced good performances. Wellbeing in an organization is achieved through the feeling of closeness to the other members of the team. Social relations at work are very critical in the promotion of wellbeing. People who carry out regular physical activities have improved levels of wellbeing compared to people who rarely do exercises. I undertook the athletic challenge with my fellow colleagues, who had a passion for athletics. The start of the wellbeing exercises was probably the most challenging issue I encountered in the whole process. Initially, I had not been active in such activities as running at high speed. I fainted several times during the first days, but later I got used. What worked well for me in achieving these goals was the discovery that running was part of my talent that I had not discovered before. My performance in sports was hailed regularly by sports instructors. What did not work well for me in achieving my wellbeing goals was waking up and doing the early morning exercises.  Sometimes, I failed to take important morning activities due to fatigue. In addition to achieving my wellbeing goals, I learned essential lessons to have perseverance even when things seem not to work. Throughout my first year in school, I have been able to keep fit through the wellbeing activities.

Summary and Conclusions

My reflection results indicate good success in the achievement of three goals. I have learned a lot and improved significantly. Kolb’s Experimental learning cycle is very important in reflecting on the progress of the goals. It ranges from doing the actual action leading to goal achievement, tracking on the issues that arise, or what happens, it follows of asking how the action happened and what should be done next. Though there have been certain challenges and obstacles in the attainment of the results, I still have the confidence to move onto my next years of study with great expectations.

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