Critical Reflection 1

Critical Reflection 1.1

At the start of this module, I set two goals for myself to accomplish. One was to improve my grammar and vocabulary, and the second was to confidently give an answer when a question was asked.

The module had different assignments like the summary draft and technical project. Professor Blackstone would always assign us with a partner or a group to work on the assignment. As I was weaker in grammar as compared to my peers, I had received tons of help and encouragement from my classmates. Since then, my grammar has gained improvement and I’m really glad and thankful to everyone that helped me, including professor Blackstone.

My second goal was achieved during the presentation for our technical project. The project was based off a module that I took back in polytechnic. This gave me the background and courage needed when someone fired a question during the question and answer segment at the end of the presentation. I learned that it was okay to pause for a few seconds to organise my thoughts into a proper answer before replying. I was more confident to speak and did not blabber my answer.

I believe my grammar still has a lot of improvement to do and I must never stop working on my grammar. I’ve learned that effective communication is a journey that never ends; I will always continue to practice my effective communication skills.

 

 

Critical Reflection 1.2

The research project was similar to what I have done for my final year project back in my polytechnic days. However, there was a huge difference in the amount of allocated time given for the project. It was an eye-opening experience for me as our team had to craft a proposal for an engineering problem that we identified within a span of fewer than 2 months. The most difficult part of the project to me was the writing of the technical report as I was weaker in writing.

During the presentation, I evaluated my classmates through a peer evaluation assignment and found many interesting points to take away.

Number one, non-verbal communication was equally important as verbal communication, such as eye contact, posture and hand gestures. As nervousness was displayed through non-verbal communication rather than verbal communication.

Next was the two types of presentation styles used. The first style was to memorise the speech and the other style was to read or get tips from the slides. By looking at this two different styles, I have learned that it is good to memorise your speech and not read from the presentation slides because this shows your knowledge on the presentation.

However, one should not just blindly read out their memorised speech. This is because some will appear stiff and monotonous like reciting a speech in their head. It will also be less interactive, not as smooth, and messages might not be conveyed through.

With the feedback gave by professor Blackstone, I will keep up the standard of my presentation skills and strive to do much better in my future presentations.