Final Reflection on Learning

One word to sum up this module – Beneficial. Throughout the course, I have gained many valuable lessons, for example, interview and resume writing skills from peer teaching and also, the research project proposal. Therefore, this is definitely a module to take if you’re considering graduating soon, or anytime. This course is mainly interacting with people through verbal and non-verbal cues, presenting yourself well and conveying messages with 7Cs.  

Peer teaching has given me an opportunity to conduct the lesson with the objectives in mind. It has also allowed me to know where my strengths and weaknesses stand so that I can improve for my oral presentation. As one of my group mates is from India, this gave me an intercultural experience by sharing our cultural knowledge with each other. One of the challenges I faced initially was my pace of speech. I tend to speak very fast when I am nervous so I had to control myself whenever I sense that I am speaking too fast.

Another interesting component of this module is the mock interview. This gave us an opportunity to have a feel of how the real situation will be in the near future. It was really an engaging session having to play the role of an observer, interviewer and interviewee. It is also important to prepare and know how to tackle difficult questions during an interview. This shows that you are keen on the job and is able to think quickly on your feet.

Another major component to this module, which we spent the most amount of time on it, is the research project proposal. Despite the long hours working on this written and oral proposal, it gave us an insight of what are the important factors that can affect a persuasive report and presentation. I have also learnt how to manage my time properly to set time aside to for the proposal. Through giving an oral presentation, I learnt that applying the right tone and techniques can actually convince your audience that the proposal you are working on are viable solutions for the betterment of future. An improvement made from my last presentation (peer teaching) was my eye contact with the audience. Eye contact is important because it serves as an interaction with you and your audience.

Most of my classmates come from different background and it was really interesting to know about their course of studies. Working with people from different background in a group work has taught me to work interactively and plan my time wisely. I would like to thank Mdm Fazilah for her constant encouragement and guidance throughout the course of study. Also, sharing knowledge and working together with one another has definitely been an enjoyable and pleasant learning experience. Before I end this blog post, here’s a class photo of us! Hope to see all of you around in school and all the best for your future endeavours! 

Reflection on Team-based Research Project Proposal

It was a pleasant learning experience working on a research project proposal; gathering information and understanding the current problems that Singapore may have. At the start of this project, each of us had a different topic in mind and after much discussion, we decided to focus on recycling issue which has been an ongoing environmental problem that Singapore faces over the years. Having effective communication is one of a takeaway for me from this project. This is essential in a teamwork as the lack of communication can easily affect the quality of work and leadng to possible conflicts. All of us had different time schedule and hence we had to manage our time properly. We needed the time to conduct formal meeting to make sure that the progress were updated before we could proceed further. With the availability of technology such as Whatapp and Google Docs, we were able to constantly keep one another updated which made our meeting a fast and efficient one.

Throughout the entire process for this written proposal, from reviewing the background information, brainstorming the ideas, analysing the problems, gathering primary and secondary research, sourcing for solutions and finally to writing a proposal, it was a rather enriching process because it had given me a “hands-on” experience of what the essential components are in a proposal by applying what we learnt from the various peer teaching groups. At the start of this project, we actually had some problems deciding on our target of focus from a wide range of issues in recycling. However, things started to work out after we sat down to brainstorm and think about the possible solutions we could have. On the other hand, it could have been better if we started brainstorming the ideas earlier so that we would not be pressing for time at the later part. On top of that, we also delegate the role for each team member so as to ease the amount of workload. All of us were responsible by completing the assigned task before the dateline which did not hinder the overall progress. Hence, besides good communication, teamwork and responsibility – second and third takeaways, are important factor to have in a team.

Oral presentation is also another takeaway for me. This is a different kind of presentation unlike peer teaching which we simply deliver information. Here, a persuasive tone is important to convince your audience. One of the requirements in a persuasive presentation is credibility. This is important to convince your audience why the topic chosen is a needed attention for improvement. Teamwork also applies here- Questions and Answers session. We gave each other a chance to answer the questions asked so that there would not be any clashes which would reflect badly on us.

Working in a team is common in a workplace, especially having to present the proposal both written and orally. With the above takeaways mentioned, they are essential factors needed in a team to ensure a smooth flow of work. Imagine if there is communication breakdown or internal conflicts, it would probably cause a hindrance in the progress and lack of quality of work. This would only reflect badly on you, and your team, which is not desirable.