Final Reflection on Learning

In the blink of an eye, this module has come to an end. I have never regretted taking this module as I have indeed learnt a lot from it. This module has helped me improve my presentation skills in various ways. Before taking this module, I thought I could present well until I realized that there were so much to learn about good presentations. From effective visual aids, body language and vocal variations, to employing a rich language and speaking with conviction, I realized that I still have so much to work on. 

Allow me to quote "“In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn.” -Phil Collins. I can't help but agree more with the quote. The peer teaching sessions has indeed allowed me to learn while I was teaching my peers. After receiving feedback from my peers after the peer teaching session, I worked on varying my tone and pitch, and pause when necessary to give that vocal variety so as not to bore the audience and allow them to catch what I am saying. I learnt that pausing at certain parts of your speech gives the audience air time to think and leave them in suspense. Moreover, I made conscious effort to eliminate the bad habit of saying “right?” and “err...” frequently in my presentations. From reading scripts with limited hand gestures and sounding mundane to speaking with confidence without reading from the script, I believed that I have improved from the first time I step into class.

After being taught about ethos, logos and pathos, I also applied what I have learnt to my presentation. I used an emotional appeal and rhetorical strategies to attract the attention of my peers and then revealing the topic of our presentation. I also link the conclusion back to the introduction to reinforce the central idea again.

Allow me to end off with this quote by Mahatma Gandhi “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  I hope you have learnt as much as I did from this module and continue learning.  Thank you all for being part of my learning journey especially Mdm Fazilah and my teammates-Miran, Chi Cheng and Sae Rom. Couldn't have done it without you. 

Reflection on Team-based Research Project Proposal

Having spent almost one semester working on the research project proposal, I have definitely learnt a lot from this project. There are 3 main things that I have learnt, mainly

1. To adapt to different working styles
2. To manage my time wisely
3. To stay focus

For my group, I believed I am known to be the one who always picks on little details because I am quite a perfectionist who expects highly of me. I am rather detailed oriented, from standardizing font size to making sure every sentence ends with a full stop. Hence, my team mates may see me as rather irritating sometimes because I will pick on their mistakes too. Although my team mates have adapted to my working style, I realize that sometimes it is not fair to expect others to have the same level of expectations as you. It is difficult to change their definitions of what is an acceptable standard of work. But we all learn to compromise with each other and listen to the opinion of others. Therefore, having an open mind is absolutely essential when doing group work.  

As students who have to constantly challenge ourselves against time to complete assignments, projects and study for tests, it is very important that we manage our time wisely. I am glad that although everyone is busy with their tight schedule, we manage to complete the things that each of us was assigned to, before we attend subsequent meetings, most of the time. This facilitates the meeting and increases our productivity.  

If there is one thing that I would like to improve on, it would be that we should be more focused. Sometimes we tend to discuss certain points in circles and everything becomes too farfetched. As a result, we would end up spending more time and lagging behind schedule. Well, it is necessary to clarify ourselves and make sure everyone is clear of what is going on. However, it would have been better if we discuss the points after we are done with the meeting agenda. This would keep us focus and on track. 

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

In a cosmopolitan country like Singapore, preserving intercultural harmony has been a very important part of our daily lives. Without effective understanding of different cultures, conflicts and political unrest may arise. One significant incident that created uproar of comments flooding on Facebook and other social media, is that of a particular Chinese neighbour’s intolerance of the curry smell from their Indian neighbours. Many netizens protested and even created a facebook event naming it "Cook your own curry day".

 

 

Curry is something that can be seen quite commonly on the dining tables of many families in Singapore. Although it comes in different variations, it is a dish that is well liked by many. This particular Chinese family who came from mainland China could not stand the pungent aroma of curry and had requested their Indian neighbours to not cook curry. The Indian family has already closed their doors when they are cooking curry but the Chinese family has took one step further and requested them to only cook it when the Chinese family is not around. This has violated the Indian family’s right of enjoying this home-cooked delicacy. This incident turned the country sour on immigrants.

 

 

Eventually, after some mediation, the Indian neighbours came to an agreement to only cook curry when their Chinese neighbours are not at home. The Indian neighbours were aware of their Chinese neighbours' comfort zone and were understanding and cooperative about it. The Chinese neighbours eventually understood that curry is an Indian delicacy and is common in every of their meals. Although many netizens have feedback that this solution is unfair to the Indian neighbour, we should be thankful that these neighbours are respecting each other now. Intercultural understanding and showing empathy is very important in such a context. This incident could have been very hostile and escalated into a fight if not handled well.  

Resolving interpersonal conflict

Have you ever got into a fight or an argument with anyone? Think about this. Imagine your best friend and you haven’t met up for a very long time. You asked for her schedule and tried to arrange a meet up but you realize your schedule and hers always clashes. When you finally arranged for a great time for the both of you to meet up, she tells you that she couldn’t make it all of a sudden. At first you thought that she had something urgent to attend to. But this happened for a number of times and she keeps rejecting you and tells you that she is busy.  You really want to meet up with her to catch up but it seems that she really has no time for you.  You saw photos of her going out with her boyfriend recently.  You are upset with her after you saw those photos because it seems that the truth is she is not really busy. You want to talk to her about this issue but you do not want to jeopardize your friendship with her. How would you let her know how you feel and be tactful at the same time? 

Here is what I thought I should do. Find out why before I jump to a conclusion. It could be a misunderstanding. Although I was upset and disappointed after looking through those photos, I felt that I should give her the benefit of doubt and trust her.  Perhaps she thinks that I’m too persistent or perhaps our schedule really clashes. However, it may also be that she wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend and is neglecting her friends. If the last scenario was the case, I would advise her to manage her time wisely and tell her to prioritize. I can understand that she needs to spend time with her boyfriend. But if she does not make an effort to stay in touch with her friends, she will start losing all her friends around her soon. Moreover, she could initiate the meet up if she finds that I’m too persistent. Perhaps it will be easier for her to plan her schedule this way. What would you do if you were me?