Final Reflection On Learning

Every hello ends with a goodbye.

This is the 4th and last time I will be writing on this blog. It has been a good 13 weeks going through this module; I have made new friends, learnt new skills and brought home valuable lessons.

I can still vividly remember my very first presentation for this module; the Emotional Intelligence presentation that served as a turning point for me. I usually do not like standing in front of a group and addressing them as a whole, but preparing for that presentation, and successfully executing it greatly boosted my self-confidence. It has definitely given me the courage to speak confidently to a group of people. I also came to the realization that ample preparation is the key to reducing stage fright, and this was indeed a most useful discovery.

For the actual peer teaching phase, the preparation was a breeze for Vanessa and I had known each other prior to the module and our working styles were somewhat similar, and we were quite accommodative of one another’s suggestions. We prepared well in advance and conducted rehearsal sessions to prepare ourselves for the actual presentation. The effort we put in was evident in our peer teaching; we were confident and engaging in terms of the class activity that we had prepared. For the first time in my life, I felt that I might actually be good at teaching and presenting.

The proposal project group was a different story altogether as I was grouped with people I had never worked with before, and I was naturally worried about the group dynamics. The first meeting was rather awkward, with me as the leader having to give instructions to a group of strangers. But my fears was unfounded as my team mates turned out to be amazing ones who never failed to support me.

But the journey was not always smooth-sailing. For example, I recall an occasion when there was a conflict of ideas. We were debating as to the various infrastructural issues that could be incorporated into our proposal, and could not come to a unanimous decision. It then became a tough decision for me because as the leader of the group I most certainly did not want to offend anybody with the decision I made.  For this, I am rather apologetic to my group for perhaps having been less assertive as a leader than I should have.

This has indeed been an exhilarating journey. I believe we can all be proud of what we have done together in these short 13 weeks. ES2007S has been more than just a module, for the first time in a long while, it felt like I was in an actual class, with classmates whose names I can put a face to. I am thankful to have met wonderful people along the way and have made some good friends.

To my classmates, Kok Soon, Jade, Yi Rui, Vanessa, Nguk Neng, Lu Xi, Yi Yan, Haikal, Jie Yang, Terance, Michelle and Basker, all the best for this semester and hope to see you guys around in school!

To Mdm Fazilah, thank you for taking care of us students, and encouraging and prompting us whenever we lacked the confidence to speak out. Thank you for your patience and understanding in guiding us throughout the past 13 weeks. We really appreciate it.