Critical Reflection

 

Throughout the trimester, I picked up several critical thinking and communication skills from this module. Ultimately, my goals for this module were to improve my presentation skills along with being able to work with new people. I have always struggled with presentations and speaking in front of an audience due to my nature of being shy and these are the areas which I have always wanted to improve on. I found it intimidating to open up to my new classmates at that time but after working with different groups of people for different assignments, I was able to communicate and work with my classmates effectively and naturally. This module, led by Professor Brad Franklin Blackstone has trained me on the critical aspects of thinking and communication with engaging assignments involving everyone in the class throughout this trimester. The impromptu presentations and group assignments such as learning about the Paul-Elder framework and reviewing Garr Reynolds presentation tips allowed me to achieve the goals I set in this module. It also improved my thinking and communication skills which I find useful for my future. During group assignments, when someone had to represent the group, I took the opportunity whenever I could to stand up and give the mini-presentation. I also challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone to talk to new people to be able to learn new things. These were just some of the steps I took in building my communication and critical thinking skills. One way I feel to enhance the skills I have learnt is by participating in team building activities to improve these skills.

In my research assignment project, my team members, Lucas, Isaac and Aziera were phenomenal in their own areas. Lucas and Isaac were natural and confident presenters, keeping the audience engaged with their enthusiasm. Aziera did an impressive job in the writing of the report, maintaining a good flow with perfect language use. The research project improved my communication, presentation and writing skills altogether. For the research assignment, I found the presentation component of the project intimidating at first. Thankfully, there were various activities that taught us on how to give an impactful presentation in front of an audience. For example, we tend to overlook the simple things such as posture, clear vocals, confidence and eye contact and they are the essentials when presenting and pitching your idea. Professor Brad did a very fine job planning out impromptu presentations and activities to get us to practice presenting in front of the class before the actual final presentation. We also received feedback from peers on how we can improve ourselves and it was a good opportunity to learn from one another. While working on the project, I found myself to be a better writer than presenter. Observing the presentations by my teammates gave me the confidence to improve my own presentation skills. Because different people have different strengths, I managed to pick up and learn a couple of presentation tips from my teammates. This is where I also learnt that if I really want to improve myself, if I put in the effort, I can achieve it. The key takeaways for me in this project experience is the teamwork and effective communication we had. It has made me into a better learner, making it less daunting to learn something new outside my comfort zone.   

The critical thinking and communication skills learnt in this module are essentials in the working world and even for future projects in SIT such as the capstone project. Coaching us to speak loudly, clearly and confidently gives us the experience of what it will be like having to communicate in a loud working environment. This module has definitely improved my writing, communication and presentation skills and it was a pleasure working together with Prof Brad and my classmates.   

Once again, thank you Professor Brad for guiding us in this first trimester. Here is to working together again in the future.