Critical Reflections

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 At the start of this Effective Communication module, the goal I had set for myself was to be a more effective communicator by improving on my interaction skills. Throughout this module, I got to interact with most of my classmates when Professor Brad had split the class into different small groups to work on the in class activities. I got to learn how each person does their work and learnt to be a better team player where we helped each complete the tasks. I was able to foster good relationships with my classmates. Therefore I believe I had achieved my objective. 


Another goal I had also set for myself was to improve on my presentation skills. Since studying in polytechnics, I had a fear of presenting to large crowds as I would become nervous and stutter a lot. I was hoping that going into university, this flaw of mine would change. However, perhaps I was in a new environment and due to the expectations of the different professors, I could not perform to the best of my ability and even blanked out during the presentation. But nevertheless, as what I had stated in my formal letter, I take the mistakes I had done as a good platform to improve myself. I will do my utmost best in the upcoming trimesters if I am required to give more presentations. 


Through doing the research project, I learnt the importance of working as a group effectively. I had to work with two of my groupmates that I had selected, and initially, it was quite awkward as we had not communicated with each other prior to the project. Progressively, as we continued to work on the project, when we had doubts about any content regarding the project, we would try to help each other. We faced countless difficulties such as finding credible sources to support our report, as well as time management as we had to juggle different projects and assignments that were due within a tight deadline. In the end, I was glad that we were able to come out with the complete presentation slides and report. 


In conclusion, I had gained more knowledge from this Effective Communication module. I learnt how to write a better technical report and how to be a more effective communicator. The knowledge I attained from this module will definitely be beneficial for the upcoming trimesters where I will be working closely with different people. I am grateful for Professor Brad’s guidance and teaching, as well as the support from my classmates for the past 13 weeks. 

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