Critical Reflection

It is important that I, who had set goals for myself for a module, finish the module having accomplished what I set out to do. A letter was written in the beginning of the module, Critical Thinking and Communicating, and in that letter, several goals were set to be achieved. I have gone through many lessons since then and now that the module is reaching its conclusion, I look back and see what I have managed to accomplish for myself.

A goal I had set for myself had to do with my weakness in verbal communication. I had this need to explain the topic and then repeat those explanations in different ways. It creates an issue of taking too much time when speaking. During the module I was taught on critical thinking and reflection which focused on how important a reflective learning process is and how to do so properly. Several guidelines were shown to help follow a constructive reflective thinking process. An example would be the Rodgers’ Reflective Cycle. The summary of the unit is that there are reflective writings and descriptive reflections. The key that separates them is the 7 Cs of communication. While the skills taught to us were meant to be applied into writing descriptive reflections, I had managed to apply it in other areas. Reflecting on your learning experience allows proper examination on your learning which may lead to an improvement in understanding. Reflecting on your thoughts allow proper examination on your thinking process and would help in figuring what you need to say. It The application of critical reflection allowed for better communication and presentation skills. In the end, I managed to perform quite well in my oral presentation for the module by applying this. If I were to apply this process every day, I could develop a useful habit that would overall improve myself and even refine my critical reflection skill. 

The research project taught me a lot regarding teamwork. I managed to relearn what I had gone through previously in my polytechnic regarding group work. I also managed to add on to that with new learning points from this module. The existence of roles in group work was something I knew about but was never taught. The only application I was aware of was regarding the work that had to be fulfilled by these roles. After I had learnt about these roles, I was able to better apply myself to the role and know the priorities I had in the group. It also helped me understand who to look for when I need help in certain work. I not only knew what I had to do but what each member of the team had to do. I can easily find out who can help me or who would know more. A simple example would be the role of leader. This person as a point of contact for between the group and the professor means they would know more about the instructions or expectations given by the professor. If I was ever having issues with finding out the relevance of certain research points, the leader is the one who would be able to make the right call. By having each person in a group understand their roles and able to priorities their duties properly, a group can perform at their best. The outcome of the research project being a presentation and report means I had to also brush up on those skills. This module was the first time I was taught on the guidelines when performing a virtual meeting or presentation. It is something that has recently become more relevant and there are many points made that I was not aware of. The skills taught may come from this module, but even now it is applied in the other modules taken. Report writing and presentation are required for other modules. Literature review also taught in this module but also applied in another.

This module and the research project within the module have taught me many things and even the opportunity for me to relearn some of the skills and knowledge I previously had. The flexibility in where I can apply them was also shown because I had to use them in other modules while I was learning about them here. I have managed to achieve the goals I set out and, in the process, may have learnt even more than what I expected. The letter I wrote ended off by writing that I hoped to enjoy my time as well. Even after all the expectations placed onto me and the workload, I managed to accomplish what I had set myself to do and appreciate the time that I had spent..