Critical Reflection

13 weeks have passed by so quickly, classes with Prof Brad Blackstone have never been boring. There are always things and challenges introduced by him in this module that kept us willing to learn this Effective Communication module and the way his teaching makes us more engaged in this learning process.

 

We started off week one, by setting goals for our journey in this module. One of my major goals was to have confidence when public speaking and even when sharing my ideas with others. I would say, that I did improve my confidence level over these weeks. Being able to talk more and just being outgoing to others in the class was the first step. I had to move out of my comfort zone and try to put myself out more often to improve my confidence level overall. Besides that, Prof Brad gave us ample space and time to practice our public speaking skills such as giving short presentations and short pitches. Also, I was given the chance to be the lead in a team project, it was really a good platform for me as I was able to learn the team dynamics and how to work with people with different backgrounds. Prof Brad gave us some words of wisdom at the start of the trimester on being a good lead, understanding our teammates, and efficiently working together with them. I am happy to say that we worked well as a team

 

 My teammates for the technical report and presentation were Farhanah, Wen Qiang, and Daniiel. Our topic of interest was E-bike Speed Controlling System. I had the chance in learning different aspects of this project. I had first-hand experience in writing my first university technical report for our project through this module. Even though I had a lot of experience writing reports during my polytechnic years, this was a different kind of experience as we had to work more closely with all the teammates. We had to plan meetings and set agendas for each of the meetings. Moreover, getting feedback from my peers about our report and making our report better each time after being evaluated by them was really a huge help, as we were able to identify our mistakes and correct them. These peer evaluations were an, unlike approach which really stood out in this module. In addition, I was able to revisit back the format of writing reports such as using the correct verbs, citing the source, being more relevant in the research, and lastly using the APA 7^th edition style to do the reference. Furthermore, in the group presentation, we were able to present our ideas clearly and have a good flow overall. However, due to doing the mock presentation online and doing the final one face-to-face, it was more stressful and the preparation we had was not enough in that context. So, our nervousness can be seen during the presentation as it’s been ages since we did a presentation face-to-face. But we believe, this can be further improved with more practice. Overall, we had great teamwork and supported each other in many ways. It was a fun experience working with my team and yes, they made my SIT learning journey more enjoyable.

 

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who help to better my learning experience in this effective communication module.