Critical Reflection

 Module learning:

At the start of the critical communications module, I was sure about one thing: I am able to speak in a loud and firm tone. However, this module taught me that there is more to it. Firstly, it teaches me that reading off scripts are easy, but what is hard is to memorize them and delivering them in a confident, firm and engaging tone. This really opened my eyes as I used to be a firm believer of memorizing scripts and hoping I can remember them during the presentation day. By understanding the whole concept and only memorizing the key pointers, it not only reduces the number of words that I need to remember, it also helps me to better delivery my points across the crowd as I won’t have that mid speech stage fright when I forget the lines in the middle of my speech. 

My writing got a boost from this module too, I learnt new techniques like Paul-Elder framework and CRAAP method and it helps me to format and note down my thoughts in a logical and clear way. I have strong confidence in my writing skills, as the leader back in my polytechnic days, I am the one that my team looked for when they have questions about how to label and improved on their part of the report. However after spending one trimester in this class, I learned how naive I was. During the reader response and technical report, there are several instances where my peers and instructors saw the gap lacking between my sentences and felt that it could be better written. This really made me reflected upon myself to whether if I am really that good enough. But thanks to the kind and positive feedbacks of my peers and professor Blackstone, I know what are my mistakes and it help me to better articulate my thoughts out. I am definitely going to try out the framework and the CRAAP method the next time that I needed to write something. It does helps me to note down the thoughts that I have in mind. 

The feedbacks that are given to me from my peers and professor Blackstone has been great. Be it for technical report or oral presentation, they commented on my good side and my bad side. It does help to know where I stand and how other people think of the work that I’ve done. I also learn that when working with others, you have to give some in order to take some of it back. Which is something that I will remember for a very long time. 

Project learning: 

As the group leader, I’m in charge of getting the team to keep going forward even though we met hiccups. There was these few days that the other group member had no idea of how to proceed forward as we thought our research topic is practical. We managed to find a new way forward while keeping most of the initial plan, certainly there is some minor forfeits that we had to forgo but it is for the team to be able to move forward.

This is the first time that I had worked together with a project group with majority of the opposite gender, this opened my eyes to how differently we have to communicate, think and speak. Overall I feel w had a good team dynamic and we are able to finish on time with time to spare for improvement and refinements for our technical report and oral pitch. 

During the project, I felt that the most difficult thing that I ever encountered was to get everyone started to do something, it is easier to maintain momentum than to initiate action, thus I always set small daily goals for everyone to complete for the day. As the group leader, I have to show my members that I can “walk the walk and talk the talk”, therefore it became a habit every morning to wake up, wash up and do a little research on our research topic for about 20 minutes. With this habit of merely 20 minutes every day, it add up to about two hours and twenty minutes every week. This small habit of mine helps me to better understand the things that I am researching on and it certainly help me to know what is happening around the things that is related to my topic. 

Conclusion:

As i am crafting my future ahead to become a future engineer, the critical communication skills acquired here stands as a beacon guiding my pedagogical approach. This module has taught me that learning isn’t a one off event and we have to constantly learn, unlearn and relearn. If you were to stop learning, u will be lacking behind and there is no superhero or genie that will save you from your misery, the only one that can help you is yourself and your love ones around you. 

When this module just starts, I just hope to get a good grade and get this done and over with,  but throughout the module, I learnt that getting good grades for this module is just a by product of being consistent with your work and the knowledge that I’ve gain from this module is something that truly matters to me. It made me think how much that I have grown, not just from the skills that I learn from this module, but it can be also applied to other things as well. It help me to shape how can work with others and share what I know.