Critical Reflection

When I started this module journey with you and the rest of my peers, I remember mentioning in my formal self-introduction letter that I am an introvert with little to no confidence to present myself in a crowded room. Apart from my poor presentation skills, my writing skills were not good either because I struggled to correct any grammatical errors present in my writing. This somehow caused issues for me as I was unable to get my message across, not allowing my intended audience to understand me well. 

The presence of this module during these past 13 weeks has given me a vast different opportunity to improve my presentation skills through sharing and discussion sessions with the help of critical thinking techniques like the Paul-Elder framework. Both the sharing and discussion sessions that we had were highly beneficial because it helps me to keep myself on my toes throughout the lesson. Else, I will most likely stay quiet in class as this used to happen in my polytechnic classes. Other than that, to improve my presentation skills, one thing I found useful was Garr Reynolds' presentation tips. Garr Reynold's presentation tips taught in the class equipped me with the necessary skills that better prepare me before the presentation. These gave me a better idea of how to design my slides to make them look engaging and help me to deliver a good presentation. Even so, I believe that I still can continue to improve my presentation skills further with a little bit more confidence and practice along the way. 

For my writing skills, though I still consider it to be one of my weaknesses, I do notice that I have made some good improvements along the way. These improvements can be seen in my summary reader response and technical report. And this will not be possible without the help of the different feedback provided by our professor, Prof Brad, and my peers (especially my group members). All the feedbacks and peer reviews given to me help me understand my tasks better and allow me to effectively improve on my weakness. My work reviewed by others also helps me to refine my knowledge and concepts by providing me with insight into how others work. 

Lastly, the research assignment project that I had with my group members, Lucas, Isaac, and Shameer, was ultimately a smooth and positive experience. We might not be able to come together and discuss as often due to our different commitments, but we still managed to put together a decent and informative technical report and presentation. From my experience working with them, each member has their strengths. Lucas did an impressive job being our team leader as he knew how to manage, track and connect us as a group. Isaac on the other hand was one of our best presenters who showcased our introduction for the research presentation with great confidence. And not forgetting Shameer and myself, who are considered the meticulous team members who made sure that we maintained a good flow with the perfect language used and organized the contents of the technical report well. All four of us have our strengths and weaknesses. By coming together as a team, we are technically helping and learning from each other which made us better learners. As everyone will say, "teamwork makes the dream work". 

All in all, the UCS1001 module is a beneficial module that should be taken by all students, be it at university or polytechnic. UCS1001 is considered the backbone which will help students like me to improve their communication skills and critical thinking which are critically needed in this advanced and evolving world. Nonetheless, this module will not be made enjoyable without our professor, Prof Brad, who would constantly keep the class engaging even though the contents taught were dry. Thank you, Prof.