Critical Reflection

One of the goals that I set for myself was to speak and write proper English. As Singapore has many different languages in use, words and sentence structures get mixed up easily, which cause sentence fragments and broken sentences to occur. I learnt that a proper sentence requires subject, verb and complement. Without any one of the following , it would become a sentence fragment. Moving forward, I strive to write even better for when IWSP comes and uphold a certain standard taught by Professor Brad.


I learnt about the different frameworks to use in critical thinking. For example, the Paul-Elder framework requires certain standards in order for a summary reader response to have critical thinking involved. It changes the way to look and think of things, which was something that I had to unlearn and relearn. The Paul-Elder framework works as a guideline which will allow me to write better essays. This allows me to be better at evaluating not only myself but my peers' work as well. This module also taught me that little changes allow for huge impact even though it’s at a slow and steady pace.


Presentations always give me a sense of nervousness as I have stage fright. The last time I presented was back in polytechnic, so I felt super nervous during my oral presentation. However, Professor Brad taught us about not relying on scripts and slides and being confident and knowing what it is I am trying to present. Professor Brad also made sure that everyone in class would have a chance to speak up to be more confident with our speech and also ask us about our opinions which allowed us to think critically. Moving forward, I will continue to use these tips and improve more as I am only feeling that I am only 70% confident of my presentation skills.


My communication skills need to be improved by doing more group projects. It is important to know when to do certain things like being a good listener and able to observe who is good at what. These would allow work to be split equally and split according to each person's strong suit. It is important to also go into group projects with open-mindedness so that even if ideas crash and conflict arises, it would not become a huge thing and hopefully be resolved quickly. Feedback from my peers are useful as I would be able to learn from my mistakes and know about my strong suits allowing me to change accordingly and improve myself.


One key focus on my research project was teamwork skills. This skill can only be improved with repetition, as everyone you meet is different, the ways of doing things will change as well. It is important to adapt to these changes accordingly so that smooth and effective teamwork can be achieved. It is important to be flexible to do certain things as the way you do something may not necessarily be the right way and more heads are better than one. Discussion amongst group mates will allow for ideas to be more practical and identifying flaws would be much easier. For example, in the beginning of our project, my group and I were quite confused as to what to do as our understanding was super limited. It would not have become how it is if my teammates and I did not discuss more in depth about our product and we were able to change accordingly. There was not much issue as everyone did their part to the best of their ability and made full use of our strong suits.