Critical Thinking Reflection

Today marks the last lesson of Effective Communication class. I am writing this critical reflection to summarise my experience and takeaways through the last 13 weeks for this module.

In the beginning, I have set out 2 goals for myself. Firstly, it is to gain the ability to present myself professionally. Secondly, it is to improve my essay writing skills. I can proudly say that the last 13 weeks have been nothing short of beneficial in aiding me to reach my goals. Compared to before, I am more than ready to volunteer myself to answer questions. With the feedbacks I have gathered through numerous presentations, be it mock, actual or mini, I was able to refine my presentation skills. With multiple peer reviews for the different components such as technical reports and reader responses, not only was I able to receive feedbacks to improve on from my peers, but I was also able to learn from my peer’s mistakes which I have spotted from providing evaluations for them. With the constant guidance from Professor Brad, every lesson was a lesson for self-improvement.

However, 1 thing I could still work on is the pace of my presentation. It is something that I have yet to refine since my nervousness always gets in the way. I hope that with the confidence I have gathered through this module, I would be able to improve this skill as good communication skills are not only important during presentations but also in our daily lives.

I would like to focus on the good teamwork my project team have for our technical report. As we all have a common goal in mind, it did not take us long to come up with a problem statement. The technical report may seem to be tedious at first sight, however, with proper allocation of the different parts, my team was able to delegate work and get things done efficiently. We will then go on to present on the parts which we have done ourselves as we will be the best person for the job doing the most research for the parts we were delegated. At the same time, we practiced with each other numerous times over zoom prior to the presentation so that we will be confident in our presentation skills and all team members will know not only their portion of the presentation but the other group members part as well. As the leader, I felt that we had a good bond and gel together very well which should be the foundation of a good project.

To sum things up, my learnings could be expressed in a quote. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” I may have attained the goals I have set out for in the beginning, but this does not mean that my learning has stopped. I will put the skills I have learnt into good use and at the same time, continue learning from others to further refine my skills.

With that, I would like to end off my critical reflection with my utmost gratitude for Professor Brad in his guidance. The ample opportunities that he has provided me through class times and the countless consultations for different components through the module was what shaped me to be a more confident individual with better communication skills. Thank you Professor Brad, for taking the time to guide and evaluate us, leaving us with a memorable journey. It was truly a privilege to be learning from you.