Critical Reflection

Before the start of the course, I set a goal to improve on my report writing, which I felt was an important skill to possess as an engineer. As part of the course, I learnt about critical thinking through the Paul Elder Framework, which I used to research on topics related to the report. It taught me to analyse the source on its purpose, information, and reasoning, where the source must be based on evidence and data. Another part of the evaluation is to evaluate the source according to the different intellectual standards, which helps us to look out for the biasness of the source. Part of the framework also requires us to use intellectual traits, an example would be to look at sources without the influence of own prejudiced judgements, which may affect the way we look at the source. Even though it was challenging to constantly use the framework to guide me through my report writing and research, I felt that it helped me to reason better without biasness.

The other goal I set was to improve on my speaking skills, which I felt would help me to present better and communicate better with others. Through the course, I learnt to use critical thinking frameworks like the Rodger’s Reflective Cycle, which I used to review my speaking skills in the perspective on how others would feel about it. It helps me to evaluate how I speak, allowing me to find ways that I could try to improve on my speaking skills. Through my evaluation, I realised that I tend to speak fast whenever I am anxious, often causing me to stutter and lose my chain of thoughts. In order to improve on it, I attempted to consciously speak slower whenever I was communicating or presenting. After trying it a few times, I realised that slowing down my speech gave me time to gather my thoughts to speak smoothy, which greatly improved my confidence. To improve on both my report writing and speaking skills, I feel that it is important for me to frequently apply what I learnt into practice and slowly turn them into habits over time.

As part of our research project, we had to present our proposed solution of our research topic to our classmates and instructor. As an introvert myself, presentations never once came natural to me, and it certainly was a step out of my comfort zone to present in front of others. But through the course, I learnt different techniques on how to give effective presentations. A previous misconception I had of presentation was that it was purely sharing information to the audience, but through the course, I learnt that presentation is a two-way communication between the presenter and audience, where asking the audience questions captures their attention and help them link their personal experience to what was being presented. I have also learnt the importance of using hand gestures, where it helps to draw the audience’s attention to a point that I was emphasizing. I often fear that I would bore the audience with a lacklustre presentation, but by applying the different techniques in my team’s presentation, I was able to capture the attention of the audience, which boosted my confidence and enabled me to present better. Through the presentation, I learnt that I have the potential to speak well, and that I must constantly learn and take feedbacks from others to improve on my speaking skill. I once heard from a mentor of mine that no matter how good an idea is, it is worthless if an engineer is not able to communicate their idea across to their team and stakeholders. As a prospective engineer myself, I felt that the presentation skills I learnt in the course is extremely beneficial, as I will be required to present my ideas in my future job.

Edited: 31 March 2023