Blog Post #4: Final Reflection on Learning

Initially, when Jolene introduced ES2007 to me, I was quite deterred from taking it due to its relatively heavy workload. Nevertheless, I eventually took up this module because I felt that it could provide me with additional skills that would be useful for the workplace. I am glad that my hunch was right as this module really helped develop my communication, interpersonal and oral presentation skills.

Before ES2007, I was relatively awkward with oral presentations. Most of the time, I was not familiar with the topic I was presenting on and thus, just read off the slides or cue cards during my presentations. As a result, I probably sounded unconvincing and even boring. From this module, I learnt that presenting should be done in an engaging and interactive manner. Intonation, voice projection, appropriate hand gestures and most importantly, eye-contact should be established to convince the audience of the presentation.

Additionally, the basis of writing effective job resumes and application letters were also covered in this module. This is relevant to me since I initially possessed little of such knowledge. Thus, it was very useful for me to learn the 7C’s of writing which would hopefully, help me in future job applications. The mock interviews we had in class also allowed me to pick up useful tips on how to ace a job interview. Before this module, I was not confident on areas such as where to place my hands, how I should sit and how I should answer the questions during interviews. The tips we learnt in class not only helped to improve my knowledge on such areas, but also introduced to me the use of NVCs during such interviews.

All in all, I really enjoyed taking ES2007 as it really provided me with skills that are not only applicable to the workplace but also for day-to-day communication. Each lesson was engaging and filled with many insightful class discussions. I liked that our class size was relatively small as this allowed us to interact easily and to get to know each other better. Thank you Dr Radhika for sharing with us your knowledge and experiences in professional communication, and to my classmates for making this a memorable module to take. I hope to see all of you again in the near future! (:

 

Blog Post #3: Reflection on Team-Based Research Project Proposal

To be honest, completing a proposal amidst my other schoolwork in 7 weeks has been both a challenging and tiring task. Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile experience working together with Evelyn and Soon Siang. We started the proposal late but I’m glad we managed to pull through in collecting all our information and completing our proposal on time. In particular, I felt that the peer review of the proposal drafts was the tipping factor in improving our proposal. For example, we noted that our proposal lacked in statistics and this motivated us to source for more.

What worked for our group proposal was that we were able to come out with solutions to our problem within a short time. We did this by working on and developing unconventional teaching methods that were already popular in other countries but not yet in Singapore. Nonetheless, there were areas in which our group could have worked better in. For one, we did not have a mini-timeline set while doing the proposal. If we did, we might have had more time in improving the quality of our proposal. Additionally, we did not managed to interview any of the relevant parties regarding the feasibility of our proposal. Had we done so, perhaps our primary findings and even our proposed solutions might have become more credible.

One of the takeaways of this group project would be the experience of working with people of different working styles. Certainly, Evelyn, Soon Siang and I each have different ways of doing things. Most of the time, we did the proposal online through Google Drive/Dropbox but the timing in which each of us are working on it is usually different. Evelyn usually works on it during the day, Soon Siang at night and myself after midnight. Hence, we rarely had discussions together online. Instead, we leave messages and information for each other on the document itself or through WhatsApp. It eventually came down to whether all of us agreed on the ideas that were suggested. Thankfully, all three of us are able to get along well. I definitely feel that such an experience would be useful in the future workplace. This group project has also taught me the importance of planning beforehand and the importance of time-management. All these skills would undoubtedly come in handy in future.

Overall, I am satisfied with the finalized proposal as each of us had really spent time and effort in doing it up.