It was a crucial process in my educational and employability skills development during the Academic and Employability Skills module. Through this reflective journal, I have evaluated the lessons, skills acquired, obstacles encountered, and strategies applied over this period. It’s not only the mechanism of learning; it’s also the way of developing the skills needed for academic progress and adapting to the working environment. Each week, I presented a new dimension of intelligent study to the focus of my research. This module goes beyond books, making me into a learner with multiple skills, competent enough to face higher education challenges and work in the future. It is not just about the knowledge I have gained but about the guiding skills for me in academics and beyond.
The subjects studied in this module.
The Learning and Employability Skills module lets me focus on the basic principles of study skills, which are vital for students’ success in higher education (HE). The first week, I covered fundamental academic writing skills. This process played with the nuances of writing complete essays with reasonable structure and clarity, and it served as a great way to communicate effectively in an academic setting. In the second week, I learned the science of presentation skills; I have obtained the ability to express ideas through words, use images, and interact with various audiences. These very competencies will not only be required in academic work but will also be in demand in the labor market and will be just part of my professional skill set.
Among other things, in the second week (B) of the class, I focused on active reading, which ensured that I selected the key points from various texts and did so critically. This skill has been a tremendous tool for reading and interpreting most of the course texts encountered this term. The following week, Week Three, widened the subject to work readiness and thinking skills, which was the transition from knowledge attained in class to applications in the job market. Both achieved a dual purpose; they taught me the skills valued by employers, and I also learned the role of critical thinking in effective problem-solving.
Weeks 4(A), (B), and (C) were concerned with the exploration of the academic research. Research skills were set through learning to navigate library resources, conducting literature reviews, formulating research questions, perfecting referencing, and many other things. Thus, the lecturer set up research skills by the lecturer through our weeks of study. Week Five (A and B) was crucial as it marked a turning point toward structuring the action plans and understanding the assignments. Focusing on breaking tasks into smaller pieces, setting reachable goals, and aligning all of this to assignment requirements helped me become more organized and define my goals better.
During the last week (Week 6), the module showcased the best preparation practices for class assignments and obtaining formative feedback. This procedure demonstrated the repetitive nature of the writing process, which has made me fully realize the role of persistence in academic activities. Ultimately, the Higher Education Module has constituted a comprehensive sight, amalgamating theoretical knowledge with practical abilities needed for successful higher education and business life.
The particular expertise accumulated
This module has provided me with an extensive and robust skill set and a perfect combination that allows me to study successfully and enjoy a better professional future. The module took me through the process of writing scholarly essays in which I acquired the ability to make coherent and well-structured arguments. This fundamental skill ensures the improvement of my academic progress and allows me to build a good foundation for effective communication across multiple contexts. (Chan, 2023)
Week Two included the improvement of presentation abilities, through which I learned to communicate effectively using both verbal and visual aspects. It has been very helpful in academic presentations and future professional experiences. It allows me to explain facts in a way that will convince others and engage various audiences. As Week Two (B) points out, active reading has become a tool that I often use to read academic materials.
My critical analysis of the main idea through integrating diverse perspectives has hastened my comprehension. It has improved my analytical thinking, which I have employed through my engagement with complex and abstract texts.
Week three addressed the field of employability and critical thinking skills. Thankfully, this dual aim not only raised my awareness about skills employers want but also developed a rich vision of critical thinking as a tool for successful problem-solving. The bridging of conceptual knowledge with applied practical applications heralded the climb to a new level in how I approach learning. The fourth week (A), (B), and (C) were the main elements that outlined the academic research, explaining methodologies, library resources, and the correct referencing. These competencies benefit education and professional settings because of a strong demand for research capabilities.
Action planning skills taught in Week Five (A and B) became helpful to me. They enabled me to simplify complicated tasks, set appropriate goals, and specify exactly where they should be used in the assignment. This organizational skill can be applied in many ways in life and professions, which can help polish my efficiency and effectiveness. I realized the significance of continuous improvement through creating assignment drafts and feedback sessions in the sixth week. This iterative method in writing has become my writing process, which stresses quality and willingness to change when faced with challenges.
This module has taught me a lot from the academic side and interpersonal relationship abilities like effective communication and critical thinking to research and organizational skills. The skills learned are helpful for graduation success and a framework for a versatile and competent career.
Difficulties of the module and their estimated causes
Adapting to the complexity of Academic Employability skills was the major challenge; thus, the search tactics were a well-known remedy. We were also faced with the problem of time management due to the list of topics designated for the next week. I have needed help balancing the academic requirements of writing, presentation skills, researching, and critical thinking within the given time frame. Such dynamic weekly topics called for smooth transitions, which at the start created a problem in the balance between each component of the topic. Learning to use the technical tools comes with exploring the world of virtual integration, where various IT and digital communication systems integrate. Managing and interpreting the full capabilities of databases, online services, and collaborative tools was a big issue.
The shift to critical thinking from routine learning represented my most evident problems. It required an adjustment to look at things differently; thus, analyzing and accommodating critical thinking was difficult at first. This was because academic tasks had not relied on rote memorization, unlike in the past. The writing of the assignment drafts and the involvement in formative feedback sessions in Week Six buckled down the revising and drafting process for me. At first, many students, including me, stumbled when expressing revision and needed help finding a way to utilize feedback in revising work efficiently and effectively. I had a hard time efficiently tackling assignments due to the recursive nature of the writing process and the need to keep editing and re-editing them. It was difficult because there were three challenges: time management, the learning curve in technical tools used, the transformational nature of critical thinking, and the iterative process of assignment drafting. This was drawn from the multi-faceted nature of the Academic and Employability Skills module, which needed active strategies for resolution and avoiding letting the problems linger. (David, 2023)
Overcoming difficulties and helpful strategies
Conquering the said challenges required effective planning, strategic engagement of resources, and a collaborative academic experience. To overcome the time management problem, scheduling my time was the most useful. Dividing the tasks into simple, manageable parts let me use a structured approach, and defining clear goals and deadlines for each component kept the entire schedule balanced. I needed to anticipate device manipulation and thus developed a “hands-on” mentality. I benefited a lot by voluntarily searching for tutorials and guidance provided by the module. Working on tasks and doing group projects and activities with peers enabled the transfer of IT and digital communication tools to be quickly done. My technical skills have been greatly enhanced, and getting integrated into the community spirit, where we all can learn together, was my most significant benefit.
The process of critical thinking encouraged me to work with extra materials on the critical thinking approaches. I integrated co-studying with peers and got help from professors to improve my comprehension of critical thinking concepts. My essential thinking ability was further sharpened by actively participating in the exercises and case studies, which had practical applications and reinforcements. The most useful was demonstrating that critical thinking is a process rather than only a result. In this method, it was recognized that the development of this skill has an iterative nature. As for group study, working in a group gave the best results while drafting and revising the assignments. Cooperation in coming up with ideas and sharing inputs from classmates proved to be a helpful activity. Peer Reviewing sessions focused more on proniding different views and constructive criticism, improving assignments’ quality. Taktage of the combined abilities and knowledge of the members explains the cooperative learning atmosphere that contributes to achieving a high level of quality in writing and editing. This collaborative approach increased the quality of my work and allowed me to acquire different views on approaches to the tasks.
Also, taking advantage of the instructor’s guidance and using available writing centers and learning support services helped me overcome the obstacles in academic management writing and the subsequent nature of task assignments. They served as external sources of viewpoints and expert knowledge that provided a compact for our in-class group discussions. This called for a coordinated action plan, proactive cooperation with the identified resources, and collaborative learning. The module’s challenges accordingly improved my adaptability in the learning process. The challenges developed my skills and abilities, which enhanced my growth.
To conclude, the academic and employability skills module is an indispensable part of the academic life in which I am involved. From the outset, where papers, presentations, and digital literacy are covered, to the end, where critical thinking skills are bolstered and the final products introduced, the weekly sessions have built a complete set of skills necessary for higher education and professional life. The module taught me how to develop goal-based action plans, which has dramatically broadened my academic capacity and equipped me with transferrable skills I plan to utilize in my future professional career. Though I always saved my best work for the final drafts, going through the process of peer and teacher feedback has disciplined me to get better every time and get used to encountering various academic problems. Upon reflection, I leave this course on Academic and Employability Skills more comprehending the components, my competencies, areas for growth, and personal involvement to develop further. What I learn here and my abilities are not only academic achievements but essential assets in my overall learning journey, turning me into a person who can manage the stress and pressure of university life and a very competitive employment market in the future.
write