Throughout this
course, I have learnt and am convinced of the value of collaborative (rather
than competitive) communication (cross refer to my first blog entry). Through countless feedback I have received on
my work from peer reviews, I see how I may stand to lose if I am defensive of
my work and of what people say about it. Also, if I had been insistent on my
ways, I would not have been able to take advantage of the numerous self-improvement
opportunities presented during the course to better my work.
Surely, before
I took this course, I knew the value of receiving feedback. However, I never had the opportunity to receive
so much feedback, so frequently and from so many different people regarding my
work. I often only receive feedback for my assignments after submission and this
makes rectification of errors nearly impossible and meaningless. Yet during
this course, I was able to receive extremely descriptive and directed feedback
and act upon it immediately. Thus, learning truly felt like a process that not
only improved the quality of my work but also reassured me of my capabilities
and boosted my self-confidence.
Besides learning
more about myself through collaborative communication, it also reminded me to develop
skills and qualities that my peers embodied and were worth emulating. For instance, from Kristyn’s comments on the 8
okays I mentioned in my OP,I not only got to know the severity of my
okay-syndrome and how much I needed to work at it, I also learnt about the importance
of being meticulous. (Imagine listening attentively at someone and calculating
the number of okays he/she mentions? Haha!!)
Likewise, I learnt similar things from Mercia. After seeing that the
elaborations on my job achievements in my resume were lacking, she introduced
me to the acronym STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Result) and on a personal level, I feel that her outspoken and inquisitive nature are highly admirable.
To Brad and all my classmates,thank you for your presence ;)
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ReplyDeleteThank you, XiMin, for finally doing this reflection. I realize that you, like the other students, are very busy. Luckily for all of you, there is no final examination for this course. The "summing up," as it were, is the reflection. I have noticed that so many students were able to put a lot of time and effort into that, seeing it as a way of looking back on their particular communication needs and then achievements. You've done the same, although with the late "submission," you haven't had a chance to receive the sort of feedback that would have made this more useful for you.
ReplyDeleteI do know you achieved much in ES2007S. Your final presentation was, in fact, one of the very best in terms of delivery. You had shown a great degree of confidence in earlier talks/presentations (the peer teaching and the mock interview, for example). But by the final OP, you seemed in total control of the topic and of your delivery skills. Even with the various "okays" that you say that Kristyn mentioned, I still sense that you had developed quite a bit of composure compared to when you spoke earlier.
As you state in the reflection though, the feedback that one receives in such exercises is really significant in the learning process. I appreciate the fact that you see these "self improvement opportunities" as being a key component of ES2007S.
Thank you for all your effort this term, XiMIn. It was a great pleasure for me to work with you.
All the best in your future!