Final Reflection on Learning (Post #6)

It has been 4 months since we started our journey on becoming great professional communicators. And here we are at the end of the semester writing our last blog posts. It feels like it was only last week we were in our first class in a seminar room at the Faculty of Science. Time does fly quickly.

This post is about reflection on the things that we have learned throughout this course. The skills I have picked up are given below:

• Public speaking: The oral presentation, peer teaching and even the elevator pitch all focused on improving our presentation skills. And I think it is safe to say that each one of us did really improve ourselves over the time of this course. I am now more comfortable presenting infront of a crowd. I still have room for a lot of improvement but I guess this module helped me to take the first step towads becoming a better speaker.

• Writing: Blogging helped me improve my writing skills. Writing the blog posts was a lot of fun too.  While reading others' posts was another great way to get new perspectives on the same subjects. Everyone knows you can't be a better writer if you don't read and by reading I did gain some insightful experiences which I would have never gained otherwise. It was interesting to see how each one of us can write a completely different post about the same topic. 

• Job search: The feedback from my peers and Brad has helped me to improve my cover letter. The peer teaching session on writing cover letters was very helpful too. My resume has received a complete makeover after that. I am now more confident than ever before about going to an interview, thanks to the mock interviews.

Throughout this module one thing which was prevalent is peer review. Each and every class we reviewed each other, from our presentations to proposals. I liked how we always got a chance to improve our material after we receive feedback from others. This has definitely made a big difference. For example, my cover letter was totally rewritten after receiving peer feedback. And God only knows what our peer presentation would have been like without the mock presentation feedbacks. So, I think this is something which was very helpful to all of us.

It has been the most memorable module of my NUS life till now and by the looks of it, I can safely assume it will hold that place. When all the other modules in Engineering are so boring and uninteractive this module was like a breath of fresh air. I think two key things made my experience with this module so unique and satisfying. One was defnitely Brad - his unique take on teaching and emphasis on interactivity has worked like a charm. Secondly, all my classmates for this module have been wonderful. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful. Also, as there was so much diversity in class, it really helped us to become more culturally aware. 

Since the first day I had stepped inside this class, I have changed a lot for the better. This module will definitely be remembered for three things: for all the things it has taught me, for all my peers and for Brad. 

Thanks everyone for all your helpful comments and feedbacks on my blog. It was a  pleasure working with all of you. Best of luck with your exams!