Critical Reflection

I was reading my introduction post in my blog; it made me realize how fast time has passed. Within two months I’ve learnt so much about being an effective communicator, both in writing and verbally. Looking back, I personally think I’ve improved in my critical thinking skills, specifically the thought process required to solve problems. I’m happy to say that I’ve improved in the area, which I was lacking in.

Often times, even in my personal life, I’ve been incredibly disorganized when tackling problems. I’m quick to think of a solution, but a solution that is not well thought out. I’m often flustered and messy, which at the end while I did manage to complete a task, the result is quick and of low quality.

One example is dealing with the lack of time management in my life. A quick and easy solution would be to tell myself, ‘I need to wake up early be more disciplined’. But it is no surprise that it most certainly does not work. I will continue to procrastinate, sleep in and be unproductive.

By that time, I realized, the problem is deeper than I think it is, and I need to sit on this and reflect, ‘why is causing me to be like this’.

If there was anything that this module has thought me, is that we can’t rush into getting quick and easy solutions. Solutions require time, effort, research, constant refining, and feedback. This module has thought me into solving problems in a thoughtful and systematic manner. Ample research and feedback will most certainly result in a better solution and a more polished outcome. This can be seen when we are doing our project. After experimenting and doing proper research, as well as getting feedback from Professor Brad, we were able to come up with a sound and high-quality solution.

I remembered feeling relieved after one of the consultations my team had with Professor Brad; he was able to refocus our group’s efforts by making us realize that we shouldn’t ‘box’ our ideas in. It made so much sense to not just approach it from a ‘pandemic’ point of view, but we should approach it from an ‘overcrowding issue’ point of view. We also shouldn’t limit our research and scope to just hawker centers, but to other public spaces as well. Because of this change, I believe our project is more substantial and concrete. This idea and confidence was carried forward in both our writing and presentation. I'm appreciative of my groupmates as they took this change in stride and was able to adapt and move forward with the project.

I hope to also apply this thought process in my personal life as well. One of the more memorable moments was during one of the presentations I had with my classmate, Jayme, regarding unit 3 task 2, where we are required to do a reflection of our lives. Similarly to the project, we were required to break down an issue that we are facing, write down the gap, causes, goal, possible change, and solution.

This was memorable for me as it gave me a chance to apply this same thought process into my personal life. I remembered doing this task and thinking, ‘this should be the approach whenever facing problems. I believe when I apply this, I’m no longer flustered, and clearer when breaking down problems. Similarly, to the project, I’m able to come up with a quality solution by addressing the root problem.

There were many takeaways from this module, regarding my presentation skills and writing. But the biggest takeaway was the skill of problem solving and reflecting. This is something that I can definitely use in my personal life. I’m thankful to Professor Brad and this module.