Critical Reflection

 This post is dedicated to module MEC 1281, Effective Communications. Knowing that English language has never been my strong suit, I was extremely nervous of what this module has installed for us. Looking back the past 13 weeks, this module had been valuable and enriching.

The initial goals were to improve on my writing ability, sentence structures and oral presentation skills. Countless opportunities were given to us in class by Professor Brad. We were often told to read off sentences or paragraphs flashed on the screen. This allows us to improve on our oral presentation skills on areas such as tonality, appropriate volume and pronunciations. Ultimately, we were tasked to perform an oral presentation for our research project. I have always been a bad public speaker, due to the fact that I experience stage fright in front of a large crowd. Constant stuttering and the usage of filler words are prominent in past oral presentations prior to this. It is through practising and knowing the materials at the back of my head which help to alleviate my anxiousness. 

The various written assignments assigned to us have also served me well. Through the feedback that I have received from my classmates and lecturer, helped me to realise my mistakes in my sentence structures including minute grammatical errors. This will in turn assist me in my future workplace, where detailed and concise reports have to be submitted for appraisal.

I believe that reading in general will help to weed out grammatical errors and improve on my sentence structures. Lastly, the oral presentation opportunity presented to us has allowed me to understand what needs to be done in order to deliver an impactful presentation. It was through rehearsals and getting familiarised with the presentation materials that improved my actual presentation itself. 

Project Learning

For this group project, majority of us including me, were not given the opportunity to select our own team mates. I was fortunate to be placed in a group where every member of the group are always on the ball. Our project is focused on tackling a type of dementia disease, known as Alzheimer's disease. 

Whenever we came together to generate our project's report, every team member will vet through sections that were generated by others. This has taught me on how to phrase my sentences to be more cohesive. Including the structuring of my writings, such as breaking up a huge paragraph into smaller paragraphs. 

The key takeaway for me personally was learning how to work better with others. I used to focus on topics at hand with a tunnel vision. This causes me to neglect additional remarks given by other members of the group. Seeing how the other group members took their time out to understand and comment on my remarks really helped me in this regard. I have learnt how to be more compassionate in other's opinions, putting myself into their shoes to get a better understand of where they are coming from. This can also be translated into effective communication. I will be more opened to other's opinions in the future, which I can utilise this particular skill set for better self-enrichment. 

Coming towards the end of the Effective Communication module, I have truly enjoyed every sessions conducted. Due to the current pandemic, interactions have been kept to a minimum. This allows me to interact with fellow course mates during this period of difficult times. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Brad. He managed to bring everyone onboard, without letting anyone feel left out.

Best regards,

Mark