Critical Reflection

Looking back at myself in the beginning of trimester 2, I can proudly say that I have improve well in terms of my communication and writing skills through this module. Under the guidance of Professor Brad Blackstone, I have developed useful skills which includes communicating well to my peers, learning the right way in writing a report and presenting to everyone in class using the 7Cs. In terms of writing a report, I have improved a lot. This is due to the feedbacks made by my peers after every assignment such as summary reader response and self-introduction letter. By reading their opinions, I was able to identify and correct my mistakes I made on the spot.

Presentation was a problem to me back then because I had issues with stage fright. Most of the times my mind would be completely blank as I tend to get nervous. It would be worse if I did not have my slides or any digital device to refer to it. During this module, we were taught about the importance of both verbal and non-verbal communication. All of this were nothing new as I was taught by my lecturers back in my polytechnic and Institute Technical of Education (ITE) days. I realized that non-verbal communication is an important skill in communication. Details such as body languages, tone levels, eye contacts and visual aids are important in a presentation, especially during a pitch. I challenged myself to reduce heavy reliance on slides by replacing words with images. By doing so, I needed to have a better understanding on the topic which I can convince and engage my audience at the same time. Through peer feedbacks, I was able to know where I stand in terms of my presentation skills. Hopefully, I can perform better in presentation in time to come.

From the day we researched on our first potential idea to writing on our technical report, I am thankful for Professor Brad Blackstone for his step-by-step guidance. The way he taught us for every instructional units were clear. The draft assignments were helpful to me because I can receive feedbacks from my other peers. It helps me to identify my mistakes better and learn from it. To add on, working assignments with different peers from different classes benefit me as I was able to expand my social circle. Not only that, but I am also able to understand the work ethics and accommodate to it accordingly.

I was glad to be grouped with people of good work ethics, where there were no major issues or arguments throughout the project phase. My team members and I had the same idea, and we easily allocate the roles and responsibilities. There were times where we had doubts about certain things due to the lack of knowledge of the project. Nonetheless, we were fast to resolve such issues by actively communicating with one another. For example, my team would hold a short online meeting every week to keep track on our tasks. One thing I have learnt from this project phase is to voice out any doubts before making any final decision to prevent any uprising problems in the future. One main challenge we faced as a team was that we took a lot of time to find our primary researcher. Our topic was about “Infrared Thermography”. It took us 1-2 weeks to finally find an expert who were willing to share with us information with regards to our project. Another thing we faced was the difficulty in juggling with tight schedules and to meet deadline for every submission. All in all, I am glad that my team, A-Thinkers, managed to pull it through. It was a fruitful and enriching experience for the past 4 months. 

Thank you for everything, Professor Brad Blackstone.