Critical Reflection

Module Learning 

During the first week of class, I set two goals to strive towards in hopes to achieve them by the end of this module. Looking back, I have come to realise how much I have learned over the past 13 weeks and I am confident to say that I have made improvements to both of my goals.

The first goal was to develop my articulation of words when presenting. This was a struggle for me as I have difficulties expressing my ideas in spoken words clearly and effectively. Throughout the trimester, there were many presentation opportunities for me to practise speaking to an audience. Presenting progressively from a smaller group and eventually to a classroom setting has helped me to step out of my comfort zone, gain better confidence and be able to develop my articulation skills. With these opportunities, I have learned that preparing for a presentation is paramount. Preparing before a presentation allows me to structure my words and key points mentally before projecting them. Speaking at a slower pace with the use of appropriate pauses has helped me maintain a good flow and enable me to express my ideas more distinctly. Overall, I have improved my articulation skills which made me more confident and comfortable when presenting.  

Another aspect that I have refined would be my report-writing skills. With the knowledge of the various frameworks and techniques such as Paul Elder’s Critical Thinking Framework and the 7Cs of communication, I have significantly improved my report writing. Additionally, learning the proper way to write letters, citations and reports have helped me improve my report-writing skills. Applying the knowledge gained and churning out several drafts before finalising it, has helped me improve the structure and readability of my report making it more complete and professionally written. 

While my presentation and writing skills have improved, there is still room for improvement. For my report-writing skills, I can apply what I have learned to other modules which require report-writing. My articulation skills can be further developed by listening to the speeches of presenters on TED talks and analysing their clarity of speech. By doing so, I could learn how they structure their sentences while keeping them clear and concise. Hence, referencing the way that they present, would guide me in speaking clearer and livelier to keep the audience engaged. 

Project Learning

For project learning, the research project was an eye-opening experience which made me realise the importance of presentation and teamwork. The research project has significantly helped me improve my presentation skills. Personally, the peer review feedback that I received from the mock presentation was a crucial aspect of my improvement. I was advised to speak with more confidence and to improve my eye contact with the audience. With their advice, I practised and recorded myself on my own time till I was confident with my content and reviewed it afterwards. 

Upon completion of the final presentation, I felt that I did a good job in both verbal and non-verbal aspects. Despite having a good presentation, there is always room for improvement. I feel that I could improve on my eye contact where I should scan through the entire audience occasionally and not favour the audience that is in front of me. Besides eye contact, I should work on my tone and intonation as my voice may come off as monotonous when presenting. Using different tones and emphasising important words would keep the audience engaged during the presentation. 

The presentation experience made me realise that good presentation skills are required in the working industry. It is crucial to be able to deliver a message clearly to an audience so as to not have any miscommunication. I will take this experience as a practice of what is to come in my future career and work on my weak points.

From this project, a key takeaway would be the importance of communication. My group was quick to finalise a topic for the research project however, we hit a roadblock due to the idea not being viable and there were many flaws to it. Therefore, we had to brainstorm our ideas again and complete them within a tight timeline. As a group, we were able to adapt to the changes by effectively communicating and avoiding any miscommunication. Through teamwork, I recognise that communication plays an important role in ensuring that progress is smooth.

In conclusion, I believe that having good presentation skills is paramount and should not be overlooked. Furthermore, we must uphold teamwork and communication for a successful group project.