Critical Reflection

Module Learning

Considering I did well for ‘O’ Levels English and got decent marks for various composition writings back in secondary school, I believed that I was decent at writing. However, writing back then was all supported with our own general knowledge of the world. It was only in polytechnic when I was humbled, having to write reports using actual evidence from professional and academic sources to support my points, as well as doing presentations every semester, facing my fear of speaking to large groups. Hence at the start of this module, I aimed to improve my writing, as well as my presentation skills.

The CRAAP analysis that I learnt during this module significantly helped me find reliable sources for my research, making use of search engines like Google Scholar and OneSearch and evaluating the relevancy of these sources. Unlike in polytechnic, this time I used more sources from professionals and academics that can be trusted, making my report feel more authentic. One unique thing I like about Prof Blackstone’s lessons that I never had in poly, is how he calls out almost everyone in our class every lesson to read out loud what he shows on the visualizer. This helped me to gain more confidence in speaking and better articulate my speech for clarity, which I demonstrated in the team pitch. The pitch also made me realize that I can actually present without scripts. I also like how we have to give feedback to each other’s work too, so that we know our weaknesses and work on them. Through the feedback for my pitch, for example, I found that I still read from the slides even though I didn’t use a script. This is something that I discovered too late, but I am confident I can work on it for future presentations.

Project Learning

The team report project made me realize the importance of communication and teamwork, especially when working with group members who I don’t normally interact with. Having a randomized grouping for the report helped challenge me in this area. I had to learn to adapt to working with different team members who are not the ones I usually work with in other projects. As an introverted individual, I find it hard to approach and get to know my classmates. However, I got out of my comfort zone and voiced out whatever doubts I have to my team, throughout the time of this project. We conducted various meetings on Discord and in school, not only for our reports but for the team pitch as well. Through these meetings, I got to know them better, especially when we had to face the same challenges together, and eventually I got more comfortable working with them. This is vital in the workforce, as we don’t always work with the same group of colleagues. Some will leave the company eventually, and we will have to learn to work with others.