In the beginning, I was not confident of passing this module and I even considered dropping this module, because communication in English or teamwork seems quite hard for me at the moment. And actually, I did not perform nicely. But after the demanding assignments which were done in a team, I acquired invaluable experience in how to work in a team gradually. I think it is a meaningful attempt for both my study and life in the university to take this module.
For the first half of this module, I learnt a lot about principles of teamwork and communication. Even though I had known some of them, it still cost much time for me to grasp the application on these principles. (I also learnt many technic terms…) The rest of this module mainly focuses on the assignments (The further application on the principles): reflection, oral defense and presentation, which were demanding for me.
Most of these assignments were done in a team and it taught me not only how to work in a team effectively but also the importance of the application on the principles. For the CG1102 project, because of the lack of specialized knowledge, I did not contribute much to the solutions to our project. But I spent lots of time to complete my duties of the project (I sought a lot of help from my teammates) and I can say that I had put much effort.(but I failed to finish some tasks well). I also learnt a lot from my teammates. One important feature of teamwork is to exchange information and then all the team members are able to improve faster and more efficiently. Thus I had improved much faster than last semester. (We did individually for last semester)
It was the first time that I had been chosen as a team leader (for CG1413 project) and I experienced many first times: the first time to conduct a meeting, to write an agenda, to assign duties to members… As a leader, I took more responsibility and I need to make sure that the process for the project was reasonable and the timetable was suitable for both the progress and the members. I did not think I did a good job as a leader, but I got to know what a leader should be like and what I should to do improve myself in future.
I think I improved a lot in applying the principles of teamwork and communicating effectively, but I am still in a poor level. Just as Ms Happy always told me, I need to practise much more if I want to do well for my studies in the next few years. Now, according to my case, the most effective method for me to ensure better communication and teamwork is to improve my English speaking skills. Even though the application on the principles of the teamwork and communication is quite important, and there is a lot for me to improve, I need to improve my English first so that I can present my ideas clearly and make myself better understood. (Without reaching the level, other improvement is impossible)
Dear Zhu Li,
ReplyDeleteIt is good that you have gained useful knowledge from this module. You have definitely increased your level of confidence in teamwork and communication. I agree that it is meaningful to try something which you know will be challenging for you, especially if there is much to be gained in terms of learning points.
You have given a very balanced reflection, as you have pointed out your strengths and weaknesses clearly. Even though you felt you did not contribute much to the solutions of your group, it is good that you worked hard for the project. It is true that the exchange of information in groups aids in a faster learning process. I have learnt much from my group members as well, which I could not have done on my own.
It is commendable that you have been a leader to your CG1413 group, and you have had a chance to hone your leadership skills and take on responsibilities. It is important to have a good level of English language proficiency, and I wish you all the best in improving your speaking skills! This will definitely help in your communication and teamwork skills as well.
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ReplyDeleteHey Zhu Li
ReplyDeleteYour post was impressive and you have provided a rather balanced reflection on your CG1413 Journey. You have talked about your weaknesses and the areas to improve on. However, you could have talked more about your strengths too! I agree with you that teamwork can help us to learn more things through the exchange of ideas among the group members. I have also learnt a lot from my team mates too, especially for CG1108!
You said that For the CG1102 project, because of the lack of specialized knowledge; you did not contribute much to the solutions to our project but had put in effort to help in many other ways. It is great to hear that you took the initiative to help with the project in other ways. Keep it up!
Overall, your post was impressive. All the Best!
Hey Zhuli,
ReplyDeleteAgree with your post that you really have benefited a lot from this module:
you have become a more confident speaker as well as a more efficient teamworker. Many of the points you raised are insightful to all of us and again,
i like the sincere tongue that you apply throughout your post: it displays your sincerity and readiness to learn from your past experience.
Here are just some points on your reflection and your performance in general for you to consider =]
1. First part of your post sounds rather descriptive. You spent a lot of time describing what you have learnt(or what you had done) in the past few months.
Although you made attempts at revising the wording to make them sound more
reflective, still it would be more effective if you started on the right track by stating your criteria for evaluation, as Ms Happy kindly suggested.
2. Also i think this post is more meant for you yourself to think over how can you improve from your past performance, but sometimes your blog sounds rather critical. You seems a bit too harsh on yourself sometimes as you often point out how you did not put up performation to others' expectation due to
lack of expertise and language proficiency etc. i hope that you are not experiencing low self-esteen or depression of any kind. We all have to improve
on our expertise and language, but you seem more aware of such needs, and i think you should take confort in this fact=]
3. Overal i think you have been an eager learner and cooperative team worker though you lack confidence at times. However, i think you have the mental capacity and the capability to excel at university work, so keep it up! Hope to see you next sem as a classmate again, is a pleasure to know you and to work with you.
Cheers.
Tan Chen
Hi Zhu Li,
ReplyDeleteTo began, thanks for giving feedbacks on the post that I wrote. I also realize that that last few paragraphs were not as complete as I intended them to be due to the constraint of a word limit and should not cover so many skills at a time.
In your post, I noticed that you tried to give a balanced reflection (there were both positive and negative points). This is excellent because this will reflect your maturity in writing since the post is not bias. In addition, I concur with the claims that you made that you working in group helped us grow faster since it forced us to communicate and cooperate with others. Overall, I think that it is relatively well-written post.
However, in my opinion, I suggest that in your introduction paragraph, you should refine it so that it gives the readers an overview on the points that will be covered. Here, I would like to give you a suggestion, in English, practice makes perfect, so practice more and you will improve.
Lastly, good luck for the exams.
Jonathan
Thanks a lot for all of your sincere advice in your comments. And I am glad to know that you agree with some of points in my post. Here I will add some points for my reflection
ReplyDeleteFirst, I will add the criteria for my reflection:
1. improvements: what I have learnt during this module(focus on the two projects)
2. weaknesses and strengths: during this module, what I lacked or was good at in some areas for these assignments or projects
3. improvements in the future: what I should do in the future to improve current conditions
In addition, I agree with Jonathan’s suggestion, and I should add a brief overview in my introduction paragraph to make readers get a better understanding of my post. I will take note of it next time.
Next, just as Tan Chen mentioned, one of my weaknesses is that I am low in self-confidence. Maybe it is because I am not kind of outgoing person. But I think the major cause is my lack of capacity in many fields. I am not good enough, so I am less confident to handle the assignments. Therefore, to solve my problem, I need to improve myself first.
I will keep your advice in mind and be improving my communication and teamwork skills. Hope to study with all of you again!