Why Immigration Is a Controversial Issue in Uk

“It was once believed that when you were born, you were a blank state and could be taught to learn different things in a variety of way” (Gardner, H. Personal Learning Solution 2012)
In this essay I will be talking about the importance of study skills for higher education. I will be identifying the different skills that are used both personal and professional and also providing some evidence towards my findings. The main skills I will be touching on will be people skills, reflective and creative skills, writing skills and also time management. I will be exploring how these skills have an importance in the higher education and viewing their similarity and differences between them.

Study skills are the strategies and the different approaches used in learning to develop better understanding and knowledge for a life time. It is an essential piece of material that is needed for better grades in an exam, assignment etc and tackles problems such as bad organization, time management or writing skills which are useful for a life time. There are many different study skills that can be used in higher education in order to gain a successful qualification for a successful job application. It is important indentify your own personal learning style and develop on all the important study skills that helps with your learning. The reason for this is because it helps you remember and learn more and new information. It also allows you to do well in your essays/assignments and exams you are undertaking. Once your learning style has been identified and used, it will provide you with the opportunity to move up a level. There are different styles such as:
The Diver: like to get on with it and get it out of the way
The Dreamer: like to think a lot and research thoroughly
The Logician: like things to make sense and reasons
The Searchlight: like to see the bigger picture and find everything interesting
(Cottrell, S. 2008.Third Edition. Pg59-60)
The Dearing Report (1997) states that “the key to future success of graduates......... communication skills, numeracy, use of ICT, learning how to learn” (heacademy.ac.uk)
This report gives a clear understanding of the main skills need for a successful future. On the other hands in the theory of Gardner’s, H (1983), he believes that everyone should be able to find 8 different areas to help with their learning, which may identify what they prefer (Gardner, H. Personal Learning Solution 2012).

The first skill I will talk about is People Skills. This skill has a combination of inter-personal skill, which means the ability to work well with others in a team/group, and also intra-personal skills, which means the ability to manage your own attitudes and emotions within the environment (Cottrell, S. 2003. Pg 115). A people skill involves being able to communicate well with others and adapting to others within the team and interacting well amongst others. This skill can be turned into academic skills by making connections with groups in class, listening well to others allowing everyone to talk, being assertive without demonstrating any form of anger etc. This is one important skill that is needed for higher education which can be developed further for a successful job in the future.
My second skill I will talk about is reflective and creative skills. This is a thinking process that can put you in deep thoughts aiming to gain a better understanding. It allows you to make sense of what your putting together, go over what you have, make any judgements and changes needed and also weighing up what you have to get better balance which includes taking different things into account. In the book of The Science Good Study Guide, it states that “it is important that you take a systematic, analytical, strategic, and reflective approach to managing yourself and your studies” (Northedge, A et al, 1997, pg 16). Creativity plays a big role in study skill because; you need to identify what strategies are suitable for you in learning. With this you can be as creative as you can to help you in the process.
The third skill is writing skills. This skill can also be combined with organisation as you will need to learn how to organise your essays and assignments e.g. introduction, main body and conclusion/evaluation. Writing is another form of communication. In higher education, when writing an essay/assignment, you are communicating what you know and understand of what you have learnt in class. This is why writing skills is very important so you know what you’re writing is clear for the reader. However as Cottrell (2008) stated that writing a good assignment is a hard and challenging process but is a very rewarding aspect of your studying. Your writing skill is something that can always be developed as you grow (The Study Skills Handbook. 2008. Pg167)
The last skill I will talk about is time management. This is one of the most essential skill needed, not only for higher education but also for every other thing in life e.g. job, appointments, lectures, meetings etc. you need to know how long it requires for you to do something. Time is special because you cannot change time. I believe everyone has the same exact time on their hands; it depends on how it’s being used by the individual. Most students like myself will complain and say there is not enough time for their work, however what I have come to learn is that if time is managed widely it helps a lot with what you need to do or what you desire to do. In higher education, when time is managed well, it helps set your priorities straight, become more conscious with your decisions and also learn how to become more productive each day.
In conclusion, I have come to read and understand how important study skills are in higher education. The first thing is to identify what type of learner you are and focus on the most important study skills. I have come across some understanding that if you lack in your study skills, there is a low chance of gaining good grades meaning less chance of a successful job application. As stated in the Dearing report (1997) the four main skills needed for success in the future and also Howard Gardner’s theory explaining how creative you should be in different ways of learning such as finding 8 different areas to learn that may help with your learning. I believe that we learn something new every day giving us the opportunity to move up a level of intelligence.