Skills and experiences of a successful student at the University of Westminster

Skills necessary to be a successful student

What Skills Did You Assume Were Necessary In Order To Be a Successful Student?

Which Of These Assumptions About University Study Or About Being a Successful Student Or About What Your Discipline Involves Have Been Challenged?

How Were They Challenged (Events, People, Actions)?

What Has Been The Most Difficult Thing To Do As a Student, And Why?

What Has Been The Easiest Or Most Enjoyable, And Why?

What Three Things Would You Say Were Your Most Important Experiences In Your Studies So Far?

 What New Ideas Have You Formed As a Result Of Your Experience As a Student In Your First Term?

I have great expectations of university study, but the expectations changed when I got admission into the university and found a different environment. The University of Westminster provides cutting-edge teaching along with the research environment. The University is full of academic excellence, personal enrichment as well as cultural engagement. The university is located in west London, and it provides me with an excellent studying experience. It offers different course modules that help the students to work with different enterprises and change their lives. The University of Westminster considered the students and staffs as global citizens and believes that that can shape the future of the globe. I have experienced inspirational as well as practical travel opportunities offered by the university. The university has provided me with adequate knowledge and academic experience.

I have assumed several skills that were necessary to be a successful student. Different skills required to be a successful student include collaboration across the community, imagination, critical thinking, communication, analyzing, curiosity, adaptability, problem-solving and agility. I have developed these skills through various courses and conducting practical things. However, the assumptions of some of these skills have been challenged by the teachers in the university. Critical thinking, along with problem-solving skills, is challenged by assigning a project task on a research topic. I have to critically think on the topic and provide a solution to the issue related to the subject. I have used my skills and conduct research to critically think and evaluate various problems along with solutions to complete the task. Besides this, oral communication skill is also challenged while participating in a cultural event. In that event, I have to use my effective oral communication skills for giving a speech on diverse cultural people and religion. I effectively used communication skills and provided the speech, which makes the audience understand about the diverse culture.

Challenged assumptions about university study and being a successful student

Furthermore, the student has to face many circumstances and difficulties while studying at the university. As a student, the most difficult thing that I have to do is to focus on an academic basis while considering social interaction along with sustain mental health. This is so because I am in a new environment where I would learn about passions and cultivate new relationships with other students and professors. Besides this, I consider various activities of the environment and select the activities to commit my time to obtain experiences. By developing an efficient relationship with the professors and other students, I boost new skills and learn different academic ideas. In addition, the most enjoyable thing has been a practical travel programme to different parts of the globe outside London. During the travel programme, I had got the opportunity to learn various things, develop skills and achieve practical experience related to my studies. I have acquired ample knowledge during the programme and the semester.

As per my thinking, professors, parents and friends are the important parts of having the best experiences in the studies and university. The first and most important experience during my studies was a learning experience, which is compulsory for every student in order to get success in studies. Another thing was the oral and written presentation skills that seem to be mandatory for law student because without having effective oral skills, the students could not get success in their work and unable to perform their task. Moreover, the last thing but not the least was social interaction experience because the university allowed a number of students from different parts of the globe having a different cultural background to learn there. It provides me with the opportunity to interact with diversified cultural students and enhance my interaction skills.  

Several new ideas are formed as a result of the experiences in the first term. Based on the experiences as a student, I have formed new ideas which include learning behavior, focused skills, innovation in learning and positively interact with other students to develop social skills. With the help of the new ideas formed in the first term, I could effectively perform all my tasks in the second semester and conduct practical projects for effective learning in the dynamic environment of the University of Westminster.

References

Boonen A and others, 'Word Problem Solving In Contemporary Math Education: A Plea For Reading Comprehension Skills Training' (2016) 7 Frontiers in psychology

West JW Turner, 'Enhancing The Assessment Experience: Improving Student Perceptions, Engagement And Understanding Using Online Video Feedback' (2016) 53 Innovations in Education and Teaching International