Critical Reflection

Module Learning

I set goals for myself at the beginning of the module to improve my confidence in public speaking and to write better reports and letters. My approach for boosting my confidence in public speaking was to speak up more in class, be able to answer questions, and use my experience during the final performance to gauge my progress. However, not everything proceeds as planned. I was frequently drowsy in class due to a lack of sleep the day before, and I was unable to contribute as frequently as I would have liked. I assumed that because I am in a communication module, I would have opportunity to gradually enhance my communication abilities. Before I knew it, it was at the end of the program, and I hadn't accomplished much. And, because I am usually silent and reserved, I felt that even in a small class, I was unable to completely take the step toward improving my confidence. Even during the final presentation for the group report, I was unable to perform as well as I would have liked because of my anxiety. I couldn't make eye contact with the entire class. I wound up stumbling a lot and speaking in fragments. I was frustrated that I was unable to achieve my goals and perform better. All of this makes me recognize my fault in public speaking, and I know that if I had worked harder in class, and possibly even outside of this class with other modules, I would have done better.

I know I need improvement and I need new target to help achieve my goal of being confident in public speaking skills. Be more energetic and proactive in class. Communication more often with different people and bigger groups. Trying my best from the start of any module. I hope that with all these gradual changes I would ultimately be able to present to large group of people without my nervousness preventing me from showing the best of me.

 

Project Learning

My group Team Gaia research about Interceptor Trashfence that was design by the Ocean Cleanup. Close to submitting the report now, it was a great experience that allow me to learn many things. One of it being teamwork. I relearn that communication is the key to great teamwork. Being in group with people that I initially had not interact with before, it was certainly a challenge to me being an introvert. However, it turns out to not be as bad as I thought. My team was friendly and open. This allows me to adapt naturally into the group. At the start of the group project, our group was not able to decide on the topic for our research. This led us to start slower than another group. Our group decided to sit down and brainstorm for ideas. Once the topic was chosen, we discuss on how we wanted the idea of the project to be. With this, we finish our initial plans of the project way faster than expected. We knew that everyone in the group is busy with the school schedule. Thus, in order to cope with this issue, we decided to let everyone contribute to the report whenever they can. This let us not have to constantly worry about other module while being able to complete this assignment in time. However, there was a problem that we faced using this approach. The presentation slide were slightly unorganized and it was quite apparent during the presentation. With this learning experience, I hope to improve on this by implementing time to discuss and rehearse the slides and hopefully be able to give a presentation that shows professionalism in the group.

Overall, this project was able to let me reflect and refine on my written skills through project and letter writing, presentation with the class and final presentation and teamwork skills through working with multiple different groups throughout the whole course. I believe that this module is essential as it encourages critical thinking/reflection, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.