Critical Reflection

 Module Learning

At the start of the course, the goals I set were mainly to focus on improving and developing my communication skills, as well as my presentation and public speaking skills. While going through the course, I find myself immersed in topics such as critical thinking and critical reflections, which I am familiar with but have no in-depth knowledge about. Reaching the end of the course, I felt that I had gotten closer to achieving the goals I set. I also gained a few tips on how to improve my presentation skills, such as omitting filler words, standing in the right position, maintaining eye contact with the audience while presenting, and being confident in the presentation you are giving. As for my other goals with developing my communication skills, I want to learn about the usage of body language and how to give an effective speech.

To build on my communication skills, I try to have a goal set on what I want to convey and make sure that I can give a concise and clear speech to the person or audience I am speaking to while managing my tone and body language. Additionally, I ensure that I always attempt to listen to the person who is speaking so that they feel more engaged in what they are presenting about. As for building critical thinking skills, I try to draw connections between different topics and always analyze how I can solve any issue to improve my problem-solving skills.

To improve on these skills, which are correlated to my goals, I can actively set mini-goals for my future presentations, making sure I apply what I have learned in the past every time I can while communicating with others and always analyzing the problem that arises, whether it is in the team or the things I am doing.

 

Project learning

One of the primary focuses that I have had is to think about and come up with the benefits of our product for new medicine packaging. Throughout the brainstorming of our product’s benefits, I have seen the progress of how the team is able to convey their ideas to each other.

Reflecting on what I have learned about myself and others, I can see how each individual in the team has certain skills, such as presentation skills, writing skills, and teamwork skills, that they are more skilled in. As different people have different things they are good at, it complements others that are weak in a certain area. For instance, when doing the technical reports, we know our roles and what we are good at, which we would do more of in that area, where an example would be during a presentation. The ones who are more vocal and can present well would do the opening and closing. For writing a report, the people who are good at it would vet through the report and give constructive feedback on the parts that can be improved. The experience has certainly changed my view of learning, as I can now slightly see what I can improve on and work on the areas I am good at while also taking advice on the areas I am performing poorly in.

From this project experience, the best takeaway I have is to learn how to engage with different people in the group, as there are various types of people that I would work with. In order to make sure the team can have little to no conflicts, listening to the person while also providing them with constructive feedback is key to making sure everyone knows the issue within the team and improving teamwork between teammates.