Introduction
Learning is a complex part of intellectual development and is highly affected by the environment in which the learning takes place. It should be aimed at developing individuals, who are professionally competent, creative, and flexible (Bonchai, Radcliffe, and Walther, 2006). The outcome of teaching and learning should be able to produce a professional who can easily adapt to situations and efficiently perform the job.
This implies that the individual has to be creative and innovative. The individual should comfortably apply the knowledge acquired during the learning period to solve the problems in the job. He or she should be flexible and be able to easily adapt to new technologies since we live in a world where technological developments are not static but dynamic.
My College Experience
In about my 17th year in the US Army, I had attended a few colleges but never obtained a degree, In my personal life, I was bored and professional life I was eager to learn something new and do something different. The traditional way of school was boring and I needed a change. I still did not think that I was competent in any of the fields I had studied in the various colleges since I could not relate what I had learned in class and the realities in the field.
My learning in the colleges had been characterized by class lectures and reading the notes to pass exams. That was it; passing the exams was given the uppermost priority and acquiring other important skills for the job market was seriously neglected. The assumption was that any student who passes an exam has obtained the needed skills in the job market. Well, that is not true as per my experience.
I was not fully equipped with the important skills and knowledge needed in the field of work. My personal, social, and business skills were still below the required standards. My reactions to situations were not professional but were rather emotional. My communication skills could not enable me to be competent in my job performance. I realized that I could not efficiently and effectively solve most of my job related and personal problems.
I had not developed important critical thinking skills and this implies that I could not effectively apply intellectual standards of reasoning. I could not perform any job with the accuracy, precision, and depth required (Elder and Paul, 2006).
Most of what I had learned in class was theoretical and could not be directly applied in the field. Besides retrieving information learned through lecture methods was difficult and in most cases, I had to ask colleagues some concepts that I had forgotten. My experience in most colleges is that they do not give much consideration to an individual’s personal and social development. What matters to them is classwork while personal and social development is the individual’s initiative.
When joining college, my main goal was to obtain a master’s in management and become a GS-14 logistics management specialist/supervisor for the Department of Defense. However, at some point, I got discouraged to continue pursuing my vision since I could not even acquire the basic concepts and competencies needed to perform the jobs in my carrier. Despite attending various colleges I had not gained the confidence to perform jobs as per the level of education.
Business Management at the University of Phoenix
I later enrolled at the University of Phoenix for a Business Management degree course at the University Of Phoenix School Of Business. I decided to pursue my dream and achieve my objective of becoming a GS-14 Logistics management specialist. The experience here was completely different. The university offered courses that suited individual students’ needs. The university has divisions for students depending on their background, level, or entry behavior.
Since I was in the military, I joined the military division. In this division, the learning content was tailored to be relevant to military issues. The teaching programs at the University of Phoenix were convenient and also fitted my schedules.
They had learning teams that enabled me to acquire social development skills as well as wider knowledge and experience. They ensured that each student underwent a socialization process through the learning teams and graduation teams. This way I developed positive relationships with my colleagues in the military who were also in my course and other business courses. I was therefore able to conceive different cultures and develop successful business relations with other professionals.
The education I acquired in this institution was a quality education. It covered a wide area in business management as well as other important military core programs such as nutrition. Through constant research and presentation in class, I developed effective writing and presentation skills in the business management field. It enabled me to develop excellent business plans, organization reports, book-keeping, and other areas that required excellent business communication skills.
The course integrated information technology which is very important in the modern information society. Generally, I acquired knowledge and skills that would enable me to adapt to the conditions of globalization and a high level of professionalism, initiative, and independence, especially in business management. It is here that I acquired the full intellectual standards for reasoning and critical thinking skills for problem-solving.
For example, some of the general courses that the school offered us were human nutrition and effective writing. Human nutrition taught the link between food and health. Different diets for different age groups and different job classes. Effective writing skills taught communications in business particularly writing of company reports, business plans, project proposals, writing memos to presentations skills. Some core units taught to me in the institution were Financial Analysis for Managers 1and Information Technology.
All these were structured to be relevant to our division. Financial Analysis for Managers 1 taught technical financial analysis for the financial evaluation of a business organization’s prospects and risk and; how to use such information to lead the company to success. TEC 400 (Information Technology) was structured to impart skills for business analysis that would enable us to analyze all financial initiatives.
Recommendations
Although the University of Phoenix has good teaching and learning equipment and technology which makes learning in the institution to be motivating and meaningful to students, the institution should present to online learners the recorded lesson that took place the same day. This makes online learners feel like they are learning in actual virtual reality.
It should organize more internships for students during the semester and end year breaks to make the learning more meaningful and practical to students. This way, the students’ innovativeness, adaptability, and flexibility are enhanced. The internship provides students with practical challenges in their careers and they, therefore, acquire knowledge and skills on how to apply critical thinking skills to solve these problems. According to Elder (2005), they are enabled to identify the gap between the ideal knowledge and skills taught in school and the actual practice in business organizations.
The learning teams in the institution is a bright idea and is the way to go. However, designing the learning teams should be done carefully to give learners better opportunities to develop mutual learning relationships. They can sometimes be frustrating especially in cases where individuals in the group have conflicting interests and time schedules.
Improving Management Skills
Comparing my learning experience at the University of Phoenix and the other colleges that I attended earlier on, completing my degree course in Business Management are more beneficial to my carrier. The knowledge, skills, and experience are structured to meet my aspirations and goals. The experiences which the institution exposes students to are very important in practical job performance in my area of work.
Since learning is a continuous process, I still aspire to gain more knowledge and experience through practice. In the next five years, I would like to achieve my goal of obtaining a master’s degree in Management. I also intend to join the American Management Association. This would enable me to gain more knowledge of modern business management skills and standards as well as innovations in the corporate world.
My management practice would also involve attending business management workshops. Leadership management workshops and corporate business management workshops will be very important in helping me gain more knowledge and skills.
I still intend to obtain more knowledge in administrative skills especially staff management and how to deal with complex and large data sets as well as presentation skills. This would enable me to acquire the skills necessary for managing the country’s armory and other equipment used in the military as well as the staff working under me. I also realize that for the effective and efficient performance of my duties and responsibilities in military skills, I should also acquire a master’s degree in Business Administration.
Conclusion
Institutions of higher learning should realize that they are the last stage that students pass through before they enter the job market. They should therefore provide the learners with knowledge, skills, and experience that enable them to be competent in the carriers. The learning should be structured to reflect the practical experience in the field.
Reference List
Bonchai, C., Radcliffe, D. F., & Walther, J. (2006). A holistic view on the development of engineering students’ flexible and creative problem solving. Chicago: Educational Research and Methods Division.
Elder, L. (2005). Critical Thinking as the key to the learning college: A professional development model. California, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2006). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life. 2nd Edition. Prentice-Hall, Pearson Education, Inc.