Critical Reflection

Module Learning

When I first entered this class, I set out 2 goals for myself: to improve my persuasiveness in communication, and to improve my technical writing skills. Through these 13 weeks, I have seen significant progress in these areas, however, learning is an ever-evolving process.

The research project has played a critical role in this development. As team leader, I was able to employ persuasive communication to motivate my team to meet deadlines and ensure timely contributions. The oral presentation provided me with a platform to improve my presentation skills, allowing me to try out the different approaches of presenting, both with and without a script, and allowed me to practice on giving presentations to a group.

The research project has developed both my communication and technical writing skills. As team leader, I was able to practice my persuasiveness in convincing my teammates to get their work done. I was also able to practice my persuasiveness in crafting the oral presentation. Before taking this module, I did not have much experience giving a presentation to a group of people. The additional practice allowed me to hone my presentation skills, both with and without a script, to see which worked better for my presentations. The peer feedback helped me work on my rate of speech and audience understanding of what I am saying. As for the technical writing, the peer feedback from the other teams was useful in improving how clearly I am able to get the technical aspects across to an unfamiliar audience. This module has provided me many opportunities to improve both my written and oral communication and critical thinking skills. This improved my confidence and communication effectiveness greatly. Peer feedback was instrumental in allowing me to enhance my pace of speech, and overall clarity.


Project Learning

The technical report has provided me with an opportunity to deepen my understanding of my existing project and further develop my skills in ChatGPT prompt engineering.Throughout the report writing, I used ChatGPT to research and summarize sources, allowing for more efficient research. Through this report, I not only discovered the capabilities of generative AI in streamlining research but also my own ability to innovate with new and upcoming technologies. In my upcoming business ventures, this skill will be incredibly advantageous for undertaking market or product research.

Additionally, being the group leader presented a set of unique challenges. While I prefer not to assume leadership roles, this experience got me out of my comfort zone. This opportunity taught me more about effective leadership, it is not just about guiding a team; it requires patience, especially when team members miss out or forget the points stated in class. As a leader, I had to strike a balance between reminding and motivating my team, without causing frustration.

I have benefited significantly from this module through the team leading and report writing. It has shown me the importance of taking on roles that are outside of my comfort zone and being patient and adaptable as a leader. This has improved my technical, communication and leadership skills, while also offering a new outlook on teamwork. Overall, I believe that my team and I have constructed a report we can be proud of.

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