LFBM/LFTE101 – ACADEMIC AND EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Re ec ve Journal
(Option 1: Learning from the Academic Modules)
Module leader: Dr Victoria Ikulagba
Name: Evgenia Sore Bi85xy
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Table of Contents
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................3
Week 1 .............................................................................................................................................3
Week 2 .............................................................................................................................................4
Week 3 .............................................................................................................................................5
Week 4 .............................................................................................................................................6
Week 5 .............................................................................................................................................7
Week 6 .............................................................................................................................................8
Week 7 .............................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
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Introduc on
The reflective journal is prepared for understanding and documenting the learnings achieved
during the accomplishment of the entire academic modules in the context of skills achieved and
difficulties encountered along with the strategies leveraged for overcoming the problems. I have
reflected on the learnings achieved across the academic modules using Gibb’s reflective model
as this has helped in understand the development that occurred within my academic and
professional competence before and after the learning practice (Adeani, et al., 2020).
Week 1
Wednesday 27th November & Monday 2nd December, 2024 Topic: Communication Skills
Learning in the Module
Communication is an important professional skill which helps in sharing and understanding the
determined types of facts to the targeted audience easily without any gap in terms of sharing
information. Finding the importance of communication in professional life and the future, I
attended the academic module which helped me understand the concept of effective
communication along with different types of respective skills. The module enabled me to learn
the barriers possible during effective communication so that a corrective plan of action might be
taken on time to avoid any understanding gap while sharing facts with any individuals or fellows
(Biró, et al., 2017).
Skills Acquired
During the accomplishment of the academic module, I acquired expertise in the different types of
communication skills including informal communication, formal communication, horizontal
communication, vertical communication, and two-way and one-way communication. I learnt the
factors like eye contact and the simplification of words necessary while communicating any facts
to the targeted audience to ensure the precise sharing of targeted facts (Blaschke and
Schoeneborn, 2017).
Difficulties Encountered
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I faced a practical implication-related challenge while accomplishing the academic module and
this was faced because of the shortage of experience in figuring out the application and usage of
different types of communication skills in daily life. Apart from this, I faced problems in finding
the difference between different types of communication skills like vertical and horizontal and
this was due to the unavailability of any practical exercise demonstrating the difference.
Overcoming Difficulties
To overcome the identified communication skills-related challenge, I leveraged the empirical
approach in which I along with my fellows practice every theory of communication skill in real
life by creating scenarios as a simulated environment. The practice of every communication skill
in an artificial situation helped me to get an in-depth understanding of every type of skill
precisely (Fiske, 2010).
Week 2
Tuesday 3rd December & Thursday 5th December 2024, Topic: Academic Writing
Learning in the Module
In the academic module, I learnt about the process and methodology needed for effective
academic writing so that I might leverage the insight for accomplishing my academic exercises
and journal activities effectively. I came to know about academic writing protocols like
plagiarism-free writing and no-unethical conduct which needed to be done by an individual
while accomplishing any academic practices (Mantai and Marrone, 2023). Further, I learnt about
the concept of argument in the context of making lines critical so that the authenticity of the facts
might be figured out to avoid any discrepancy in the work.
Skills Acquired
I learnt about academic writing skills along with getting guidance on the accomplishment of an
essay and a report and this became possible with the informed guidance of my professor during
the session for every concept along with necessary examples. I understand the structural need
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and difference possible in the case of an essay and a report and this was achieved by conducting
an exercise for the same.
Difficulties Encountered
I encountered the issue in understanding the different types of protocols needed for the
accomplishment of effective academic writing and this was the outcome of emphasis focus on
the respective theoretical form rather than the experimental approach initially (Obodo, et al.,
2020). Since I did not have any experience with academic writing skills I faced problems in
understanding the respective application in my academic life.
Overcoming Difficulties
To overcome the protocol understanding-related challenge faced during the academic module, I
practised every protocol by using the same with an example of an essay or a report and this
ultimately aided me in finding a way to gather the insight. Further, I explored respective video
tutorials available on the internet to get a practical understanding of academic writing.
Week 3
Friday 6th December & Monday 9th December 2024, Topic: Critical Thinking
Learning in the Module
I learnt about the concept of critical thinking and its respective importance across the academic
module and this was accomplished with the accomplishment of respective practices associated
with the critical reading and linked framework (Arli, et al., 2017). I came to know about the
significant contribution of critical thinking in finding the pros and cons of every practice which
helped further in using the competitive insights for a problem addressing.
Skills Acquired
I acquired the competitive types of academic skills including critical thinking and critical reading
and this was achieved with the inclusion of both practical and theoretical approaches along with
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the session. Further, I got the skills about the method of evidencing a fact true or false and this
was practised over a research topic like leadership in a firm (Gyung, 2024).
Difficulties Encountered
I encountered an application-related challenge during the accomplishment of the academic
module and this was faced because of the delay between the respective theoretical and
experimental classes. The gap between the theoretical and experimental classes prevented me
from finding the actual approach to using critical thinking and reading traits in my academic and
professional life.
Overcoming Difficulties
To overcome the application-related difficulties noticed during the academic module, I went
through the theoretical part of the critical learning along with watching respective videos
available on public platforms like the internet (Solbrekke, et al., 2016). The exploration of the
theoretical and video tutorials helped me understand the key insights effectively without any
information gap.
Week 4
Tuesday 10th December & Tuesday 17th December 2024, Topic: Action Planning
Learning in the Module
I learnt about the concept of action planning along with its respective importance and
significance in the context of the achievement of a goal and determining a plan of action to reach
the objective effectively. Further, I learnt the need for an effective and smart goal in the
accomplishment of an objective as this aided in determining a feasible and successful action or
strategy.
Skills Acquired
I acquired smart goal-defining, planning and strategy management-related skills across the
accomplishment of the academic module and this was achieved by including both experimental
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and theoretical practices (Blaschke and Schoeneborn, 2017). I came to know about the need for
significant alignment between the goal and the plan of action to avoid any execution and
feasibility gap.
Difficulties Encountered
I faced an application-related gap during the accomplishment of the academic module and this
was the result of having no experience with the goal finalisation and the action formulation for
achieving the same. The absence of empirical knowledge about action planning inhibited me
from getting the insight effectively but later it was fixed using a corrective approach.
Overcoming Difficulties
I used the integrated learning framework for addressing the empirical knowledge-related
problem identified during the academic session as this helped me to apply the theoretical
knowledge learnt in class over an artificial situation (Tiruneh, et al., 2018). I along with my
fellows practiced the learnings of action planning in a simulated scenario to get the problem of
understanding addressed effectively.
Week 5
Wednesday 18th December & Friday 21st December 2024, Topic: Evaluating Sources
Learning in the Module
I learnt the method of data collection and the approaches for evaluating different sources so that I
might find important information easily to address the concerned research problem or academic
questions effectively. The academic session helped me in finalising the sources which might be
efficient in collecting the important inferences to meet a determined goal without any quality
difference (Bavdaž, et al., 2020). Further, the weekly session helped me to know the concept of
peer-reviewed articles or sources and this was achieved by conducting the practice on digital
sources like Google Scholar.
Skills Acquired
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I acquired data collection and source evaluation-related skills during the accomplishment of the
academic module and this was attained with the inclusion of both theoretical and empirical
practices together. I developed the skills of finding the difference between a good and a poor
source of information and this was achieved in the form of peer reviewed trait.
Difficulties Encountered
I faced the problem of finding the technique following which it could be verified if an article or
source was peer-reviewed against the targeted research subject or topic and this was because of
no experience with the source referring and collecting data (Orngreen and Levinsen, 2017). The
challenge in the identification of peer-reviewed sources prevented me from understanding the
practice of source evaluation marginally which ultimately created an adverse impact on my
competence across the session.
Overcoming Difficulties
I overcame the identified peer-reviewed source identification-related challenge during the
academic session with the informed usage of video tutorials available on digital sources like the
Internet along with the theoretical insights delivered by my professor. The combined approach in
terms of the usage of both theoretical and practical insight aided me in fixing the implication-
related challenge effectively (Cheong, et al., 2023).
Week 6
Monday 23rd December & Thursday 26th December 2024, Topic: Employability
Learning in the Module
I learnt about the concept of employability along with its respective importance in the
contemporary professional world and this was achieved with the support of detailed theoretical
insight on the same along with empirical insight on related elements. I learnt about the need for
effective teamwork along with the effectiveness of motivation within an organisational
workplace. Further, I got to know about the stages required to be followed to achieve a greater
degree of employability skills.
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Skills Acquired
The skills which I acquired during the accomplishment of the academic session included
teamwork, negotiation, problem-solving and motivation management and this was achieved with
informed participation in respective activities along with my fellows (Mantai and Marrone,
2023). Further, I developed problem-solving skills of problem-solving by developing a sense of
critical evaluation and hidden insight exploration.
Difficulties Encountered
I faced the challenge of real-life application of each learnt skill like teamwork, negotiation,
problem-solving and motivation and this was noticed because of no experience in the same. The
unavailability of experience in employability skills management inhibited me initially in taking
corrective stages to augment my overall performance effectively.
Overcoming Difficulties
I leveraged the potential of group exercise for addressing the identified application-related gap
available within the employability skills development practices and this was achieved by
conducting each theoretical session in a practical style through the help of fellows (Solbrekke, et
al., 2016). Further, I used the video tutorials to learn the soft skills needed for enhancing
employability in a particular sector.
Week 7
Friday 27th December & Monday 30th December 2024, Topic: Referencing and Citation
Learning in the Module
I learnt the concept of referencing in the context of academic writing and research subjects and
this was achieved with the support of both practical and theoretical exercises. I learnt about
different styles of referencing like Harvard and APA along with the respective application’s
importance in the research context (Cheong, et al., 2023).
Skills Acquired
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I acquired the skill of different types of referencing like Harvard along with respective
importance in the aspect of a research paper and academic writing. Further, I developed my
expertise in the context of effective citation and plagiarism protection and this was achieved by
applying the same in my regular academic practices.
Difficulties Encountered
I faced the challenge of understanding the exact difference between different types of referencing
styles and this was the result of a greater focus on a few reference styles like Harvard over
others. The unavailability of a comparative study of different referencing styles inhibited me
from getting effective insight into the skill (Mantai and Marrone, 2023).
Overcoming Difficulties
I overcame the identified comparative study-related challenges addressed during the academic
module with the informed usage of digital videos along with the theoretical classes. The usage of
both video tutorials along with the theoretical instructions helped me to get into the actual
difference between the different reference styles.
Conclusion
It is summarised that the informed usage of the reflective model at the evaluation each week has
empowered me to understand the gaps during the different academic modules which has
ultimately facilitated in taking corrective steps to improve my competencies in future. The
accomplishment of the session has empowered me to learn the difference between the different
categories of communication like horizontal and vertical communication along with other skills
like employability and academic writing which will boost my professional competence in future.
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References
Adeani, I. S., Febriani, R. B., and Syafryadin, S. (2020). Using GIBBS’reflective cycle in
making reflections of literary analysis. Indonesian EFL Journal, 6(2), 139-148; DOI: 10.25134/
ieflj.v6i2.3382.
Arli, S. K., Bakan, A. B., Ozturk, S., Erisik, E., and Yildirim, Z. (2017). Critical thinking and
caring in nursing students. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 10(1), 471-478.
Bavdaž, M., Snijkers, G., Sakshaug, J. W., Brand, T., Haraldsen, G., Kurban, B., and Willimack,
D. K. (2020). Business data collection methodology: Current state and future outlook. Statistical
Journal of the IAOS, 36(3), 741-756; DOI: 10.3233/SJI-200623.
Biró, K., Molnár, G., Pap, D., and Szűts, Z. (2017). The effects of virtual and augmented learning
environments on the learning process in secondary school. 8th IEEE International Conference on
Cognitive Infocommunications (CogInfoCom) , 2(1), 371-376; DOI :0.1109/
CogInfoCom.2017.8268273.
Blaschke, S., and Schoeneborn, D. (2017). Organisation as communication. Perspectives in
dialogue, 12(1), 22-29; DOI: 10.1002/jls.21471.
Cheong, H. I., Lyons, A., Houghton, R., and Majumdar, A. (2023). Secondary qualitative
research methodology using online data within the context of social sciences. . International
Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(1), 16-94.
Fiske, J. (2010). Introduction to Communication Studies, (1 ed.). New York: Taylor & Francis
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Gyung, P. (2024). A Study on the Effects of Critical Thinking Disposition and Nursing
Professionalism on Learning Flow among Nursing College Students. . International Journal of
Religion, 5(7), 727-731.
Mantai, L., and Marrone, M. (2023). Academic career progression from early career researcher
to professor: what can we learn from job ads. Studies in higher education, 48(6), 798-912; DOI:
10.1080/03075079.2023.2167974.
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Obodo, A. C., Ani, M. I., and Thompson, M. (2020). Effects of Improvised Teaching-Learning
Materials on the Academic Performance of Junior Secondary School Students in Basic Science
in Enugu State, Nigeria. IOSR J. Res. Method Educ, 10(4), 23-30.
Orngreen, R., and Levinsen, K. T. (2017). Workshops as a research methodology. Electronic
Journal of E-learning, 15(1), 70-81;.
Solbrekke, T. D., Englund, T., Karseth, B., and Beck, E. E. (2016). Educating for professional
responsibility: From critical thinking to deliberative communication, or why critical thinking is
not enough. Educating the Deliberate Professional: Preparing for future practices, 22(1), 29-44.
Tiruneh, D. T., De Cock, M., and Elen, J. (2018). Designing learning environments for critical
thinking: Examining effective instructional approaches. International journal of science and
mathematics education, 1(6), 1065-1089; DOI: 10.1007/s10763-017-9829-z.
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