Critical Reflection

Module learning

At the start of this module, I did not have high expectations of myself. In my previous experience with a similar module during my time at polytechnic, I struggled with both oral presentations and writing. During the first week, we were asked to write a self-introduction and outline our goals for the module. My goals were to become more confident in giving presentations and to improve my writing skills. Over the past thirteen weeks, I feel that I have made progress towards one of those goals. Writing has never been my strong suit, but learning about critical thinking and the Paul-Elder Framework provided me with a helpful framework for improving my writing. I was able to see this improvement in my summary reader response. Additionally, I learned how to search for information on the internet more effectively, which helped me narrow down my research and improve my summary reader response even further. While my presentation skills have improved somewhat, they were not quite up to par for the final presentation. Looking back, I could have practiced presenting in front of my friends and groupmates to gain more feedback and improve my skills. Overall, I am satisfied with the progress I made in this module. It was an opportunity for me to overcome my fear oral presentations and improve my writing skills. The module also gave me a new perspective on the research process and helped me develop an effective approach to searching for information on the internet. Although my presentation skills are not yet where I would like them to be, I have learned that practice makes perfect, and I plan to continue working on this skill.

Project learning

Working in a group project can be a challenging experience, but it can also be a great opportunity to learn new skills and develop teamwork abilities. In this project, I was fortunate to work with a team that had great chemistry from the start. we were able to bond quickly and establish a strong working relationship, which made the project more enjoyable and less stressful. Despite this, we faced some challenges along the way, particularly when it came to selecting a topic for our project.

 Initially, we had many ideas in mind, but we struggled to narrow down to one topic. We changed our topic three times before finally settling on modifying a drone suitable for search and rescue operations. This was a challenging task that required us to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to improve the mechanical aspect of the drone.

One of the key lessons I learned from this project was the importance of effective communication and collaboration. As we were all busy catching up to our modules and tests, it was challenging to find time when everyone is free. To overcome this, we had to improvise at times and hold online calls for discussions. Despite the limited number of meetings we had, I was impressed by the contributions that each member made to the report.

Throughout the project, we worked together to develop a comprehensive report that highlighted out ideas and modifications to the drone. We were able to showcase our teamwork and individual skills, which made the final report a success. I  think that this project has taught me valuable skills that I can apply in future projects, including the importance of effective communication, collaboration and creative problem solving.