Critical Reflection

It has been 13 weeks since I had set out to achieve two main goals through this effective communication module. The first goal is to develop my critical thinking skills and be a more effective learner and problem solver. My second goal is to be a more articulate and confident public speaker. It brings me great joy to say that I have made substantial progress and taken great strides toward these two goals. 

The significant progress I made through this module can be heavily attributed to the weekly learning activities, abundant technical resources and plentiful opportunities to participate in class sharings. These weekly learning activities incorporate theoretical and practical components, allowing me to have a holistic experience applying the multiple concepts learned during class. This increased focus on applied learning helped make classes more interactive and enjoyable for me. In addition, a wide array of learning resources were made available, ranging from the technicalities of language use to report formats found in the module's instructional units and the Symbaloo page provided by professor Brad.  

Professor Brad also provided numerous opportunities for me to improve my presentation skills through mock presentations and class sharings. Through the presentation component of our project, I was able to learn a plethora of valuable lessons and insights through peer feedback and advice from Prof. Brad. One key takeaway I gained from these 13 weeks is to have a more open-minded mindset and learn to take things in stride. Sometimes in life, we would receive good and constructive feedback, while sometimes we get negative feedback and critique that can be entirely misleading and false due to a lack of context or misunderstandings. However, it is crucial to maintain an open mindest to learn from constructive feedback and let such false feedback and critique "wash off you like water off a duck's back". This valuable and thought-provoking advice made me realise that it is an impossible task to try to please everyone. Therefore, we should always try our best in whatever we do and accept the outcome in stride.

From the research project, I realised the importance of teamwork skills. As I was the only person who had not known anyone in my group prior, it took some time to adjust to my other teammates who had already known each other. It often caused me to hesitate in raising suggestions and queries during team discussions as I did not want to give the impression of constantly forcing my opinion onto others. Thankfully, my teammates were extraordinarily open-minded and receptive to suggestions which helped improve our team cohesiveness. This receptiveness was especially showcased during the oral presentation component, where my team members and I wore colour-coordinated outfits and rehearsed our presentation umpteen times. At the same time, disagreements are unavoidable as different people have different standards and opinions. Therefore, it is essential to have conducive discussions to consider all perspectives and critically reflect to help resolve disagreements. Ultimately, I am thankful that these disagreements only arise due to the enthusiasm and the common goal of achieving the best outcome for our team's research project. 

In conclusion, I am incredibly grateful for the multitude of opportunities to develop my strengths and work on my shortcomings, such as critical thinking and presentation skills. I want to thank Prof. Brad for his superb enthusiasm for teaching our class and sharing valuable life advice that would always remain helpful to us beyond the confines of school. I am sure that the soft and hard skills that I have learned through this module will take me far in life.