MAR026-1 A1: Weekly Reflections by Oleksandra Petrenko

Core Skills and Self-Awareness

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-09-28 22:51:06 UTC

In the first week of class, we discussed the importance of oth studying, and the workplace, with self-awareness being a key goal.

Furthermore, we talked about core skills - such as conveying, critical thinking, teamwork, literacy, leadership.

However, I am concerned about my writing skills, and as an overseas student, I find writing and conversations challenging.

I noticed that I have to work on developing core skills, so that is why I plan to improve them at upcoming AST plenary lectures.

Collaborative Team Challenge

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-09-28 23:33:09 UTC

In our first teamwork challenge, we had to analyse the SWTO terms and draw it on large sheet of paper. It has been awkward for me, as I am a shy person, however I knew that without confidence there is no achievement - that is when I decided to spoke to the student who sat next to me.

Describe how the team performed?

We made sure that everybody was involved in the process and had their say. I was the one who drew most of the table, and designed it is appearance. Overall, everything went peacefully, as we worked as a tight and cooperative team.

What could YOU do better next time?

I want to work on using proper English for verbal communication. I plan to improve it by practicing speaking more regularly and participating in group discussions to build more confidence in speaking.

Lecture/Seminare - SPaG

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-05 17:04:34 UTC

This week, we explored the importance of writing skills in professional settings. While I feel confident about my punctuation, I do have lot of concerns about my spelling and grammar.

After completing the SPaG quiz on BREO(Hopkins-West, 2025), it became clear that I need to work on my spelling. We learned how to access the reading list. By engaging with the readings frequently, I hope to strengthen my writing skills.

Collaborative Task

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-05 17:25:04 UTC

Digital Commitment

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-05 17:26:45 UTC

Self Reflection

I was able to access my Padlet (Padlet, 2025) without any trouble, even though I had not used it before. It felt good to figure it out on my own and get started confidently.

Developing my digital skills is important to me, and I am looking forward to exploring more digital tools, to make my university experience better.

Digital Commitment

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-05 17:26:59 UTC

I submitted a draft small essay to Studiosity (Studiosity, 2025), and it gave me quick feedback within a few minutes with shown mistakes to work on.

Collaborative Task

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-06 16:13:18 UTC

Digital Commitment

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-06 16:18:56 UTC

I completed this small test from BREO (University of Bedfordshire, 2025) multiple times as the test included many complicated words. Overall, I improved a little bit my spelling.

Golden Task

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-06 16:21:58 UTC

Completing the Golden Task helped me to understand better the punctuation rules. I had to re-do it few times, to get a better understanding of rules.

Golden Task

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-06 16:23:31 UTC

The Golden Task let me understand the difference between the words on the table, and surprisingly I managed to get almost everything correct.

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-28 23:53:51 UTC

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this week's lesson; however, I chose to complete the reflection independently at home.

I focused on enhancing my skills in summarization and paraphrasing, as these were covered in Week 4.

Berry Poulter's presentation was helpful in guiding me on how to construct sentences in different ways, I practised it by searching short paragraphs and rephrasing them (Mohan, S., & Kumar, R., n.d. International Tourism)

Digital Commitment

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-28 23:54:06 UTC

This task from BREO (University of Bedfordshire, 2025) helped me better understand how to evaluate and use Google search and digital library databases effectively.

Golden Task

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-28 23:54:55 UTC

Using Google's search filters helped me to find reliable and relevant sources quickly. I feel I have improved my research skills, especially in narrowing down results.

Golden Task

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-30 01:22:34 UTC

I read the article ''Gibb's Reflective Cycle'' and will use it in this padlet to support me with my reflections.

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-30 01:22:58 UTC

1. University of Edinburgh, 2024, n.d. Gibbs' Reflective Cycle. Available at: https://reflection.ed.ac.uk/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle (Accessed: 22 september, 2025)

2. Hopkins-West, L., 2025, Beginning your professional business journey, Lecture slides(SPaG), BREO. Available at: https://breo.beds.ac.uk/ultra/courses/_62014181_1/outline/edit/document/_10923464_1?courseId=_62014181_1&view=content&state=view (Accessed: 29 September, 2025)

3. Studiosity, Student Home: University of Bedfordshire. Available at: https://studiosity.com/connect/partners/the-university-of-bedfordshire/student_home (Accessed: 29 September, 2025)

4. Mohan, S., & Kumar, R., n.d. International Tourism. Maharaja Lal Khwaja Shah Uttar University Available at: https://mlsu.ac.in/econtents/4677_International%20Tourism.pdf (Accessed: 15 October, 2025)

5. University of Warwick, 2022. Core Skills. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/skills/warwickaward-copy/coreskills/ (Accessed: 17 October, 2025)

Access to padlet for voice recordings: https://padlet.com/oleksandrapetrenko2/mar026-1-a1-weekly-reflections-edejxavcalvzdxv6

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-30 15:49:38 UTC

In Week 5, I learned independently at home, by accessing the book about negotiation skills and influencing from university library online. (McRae, B., 1998. Negotiating and influencing skills: The art of creating and claiming value)

These skills will help me in future to communicate effectively and make better decisions.

Digital Commitment

oleksandrapetrenko2 — 2025-10-30 16:00:18 UTC

I checked out all information about Turnitin ( Turnitin, 2025), and it gave me clear picture how to submit assessment.