Final Assignment - Critical Reflection

At the start of the trimester, my goal was to develop my communication skills and become more confident in public speaking. I still remember writing my introduction letter to Professor Blackstone, detailing the periods during Temasek Polytechnic and National Service. Back then, I was rather reserved and did not like to speak up often. Under the guidance of Professor Blackstone, I was able to muster up the courage to speak to my class and even do my presentation with a confident posture. For my group’s final presentation, I did multiple rehearsals on my own before meeting the group on Zoom for a full rehearsal. Even with multiple rehearsals, I still felt the butterflies in my tummy when I stood in front of the class for my opening speech. The peers in my different assignment groups have also helped me greatly, we were able to improve our language use in letter and report writings by doing peer reviews and providing constructive feedback for each other. I was able to pinpoint the grammar mistakes that I commonly commit unknowingly, and amend it before submissions. Overall, I felt that the goals I had set for myself at the start of the trimester were reasonably satisfied. However, I would like to keep improving on my speaking skills, showing my best self when I go for the Integrated-Work-Study-Program.

The first challenge we faced as a group was to brainstorm for an idea that we all agreed on. As we all came from different backgrounds, we had some major disagreements when it came down to decision-making. This caused a slight delay in our project timeline, as we struggled to craft our Problem/Purpose Statements. We eventually decided to go with a “Health-monitoring Vehicle” concept, and we managed to delegate the tasks well before the break. Due to my strong-headed personality nature, there were times where the group would be at a standstill due to indecisiveness. Having to do a report from scratch is not an easy task, and it would not have been possible if not for the contribution from each group member. All in all, I am delighted with the outcome of our report.

Looking back on how our group connected with each other, I felt that they looked past my flaws and addressed issues that I should take note of even when the situation was not pleasant. I am very thankful for being part of this group and look forward to working with them again in the future.