Taking this course has indeed been an enriching experience for me. Although I entered this course with some basic knowledge of a few of its components, the websites we were given to read up on, as well as the various activities we took part in gave me valuable insights on how I can improve myself in terms of communication skills. For example, through this course, I learnt about the minimalist approach and its effectiveness in a formal presentation. I also learnt how to write a better resume and the dos and don’ts of interviews. In short, I strongly believe that the knowledge and experiences I have gained from these 13 weeks of lessons have certainly made me a better communicator, and as such, would serve me well in both my future career and in my everyday life.
I felt that the effectiveness of this course was largely due to the fact that our tutor Brad was engaging and encouraging, and most of our classmates were outspoken, friendly and ready to share experiences. The initial shyness seen during the first few days of lessons were quickly replaced with enthusiasm, and honest but sensitive comments/learning tips could comfortably be exchanged. As such, we had a very conducive environment for learning.
To me, the most unique aspect of this course would be the style of teaching. Upon reflection, I realise that the bulk of teaching came in the form of feedback, both from Brad as well as our other classmates. We were given tips before our peer teaching, before our proposal, before our oral presentation, but the main lessons usually came after each assignment. This approach of teaching was something new for me and in a way, I thought it better prepared me for my work life in future - where we basically learn through experience.
One setback I feel about this course, though, is that some of the components taught at the beginning of the course were not covered in depth. Many had in fact stirred my interest, but possibly due to time constraint, they were quickly rushed through. I wonder if it would have been a better choice to narrow down onto a few components of communication skills and go in depth into them rather than trying to cover as many components as possible.
Nevertheless, on the whole, I did enjoy all the lessons and am glad to have made the choice of taking this module.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Final Reflection
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Hi Jolene,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you have found this course to be very enriching, as I have.
As for your suggestion for a modification to the course, I find most of the components of communications taught in this course to be quite relevant, and would loath to see any part dropped. I do agree with your point that we should probably go into more depth for some of the skills, but I do not quite see it as a problem, as ES2007S has provided us with the basic knowledge and awareness of these skills. We can always actively seek to improve these skills by learning from non-classroom sources, and by applying them in our everyday communications.
So Jolene, as I have told Zhisheng via a comment on his blog, let us all aim to practice and improve upon the skills we have learnt in this course and become even better communicators in the future! And of course, if ES2008S would to be eventually offered, I hope to see you there!
Dear Jolene,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your blog post, I realized that I had very similar sentiments as you did! Like you mentioned, I felt that feedback was a novel and enriching way of learning and I have benefited greatly from these sessions.
Moreover, I concur with your observation that there can be more in-depth focus for some communication skills. That said, Clement raised a good point about ES2007S being a foundation module to basic communication skills.
In my opinion, ES2007S is rather comprehensive and its syllabus requires little change. However, I do hope that the in-depth teaching for certain selected communication skills will be incorporated in a separate module - perhaps ES2008 as Team Invictus suggested.
Hi Jolene,
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, we share the same thoughts on the style of teaching. I have to agree that the feedback aspect in class was an unique experience.
As for the setback you mentioned, I felt that time constraint was not the sole reason. Even if we do have all the time, it would be impossible to learn everything in class. In my opinion, real-life experience would serve better learning. For now, I guess it would be advisable to be more aware of the importance of communication skills and practice them faithfully in the future.
Last but not least, it has been a great working experience with you for the peer teaching.
Cheers,
Godwin
Dear Jolene,
ReplyDeleteAs Zhisheng pointed out, looks like we have a strong case for ES2008S(haha).
I agree with you on all points and especially on the point that a big part of the learning came from the feedback sessions.
Thank you for making it great!
Cheers
Rohan
Dear Jolene,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this very frank reflection. It may be easy to say I loved this and that about a course, but to think about the study critically and to pinpoint its shortcomings is not just courageous but also helpful. The other tutors andI have had the same feelings. A redevelopment of the existing course and possible expansion into two courses is a topic close to my heart. In fact, tomorrow I will be attending an all-day meeting on curriculum within CELC. I'm on the communication skills course group, and what you have noted will be one of the topics on the agenda.
Aside from that, I want to thank you Jolene for "crossing over" from FASS to join ES2007S. Your contributions have been many, from your active blog and classroom participation to your project team work, unending individual efforts and the wonderfully supportive smile...just the sort of nonverbals that bring a true warmth to the classroom.
So I wish you best of luck in your future endeavors. I'm sure the area of counseling in Singapore will be enriched by your joining the field.
Jolene,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed working with you and I am glad I had the chance to get to know you so much better through all the teamwork. Will definitely miss your sudden random 'sigh's and chuckles. Thanks to your bubbly presence, meetings are always full of fun and laughter.
I know that you are considering MOE as a prospective employer. I hope our paths would cross again in the very near future, and by then, we shall bring back the 'Zhisheng wearing poncho watching birds' scene and have a hearty laugh over it again.
All the best to you and see you at DVC!
Hi Jolene,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you went all the way to appeal to get into this module. (If I never remember wrongly) It is nice to have you in the class.
I can see that your communication skills have indeed improve, particularly your oral presentation skills. I love the way you present – a firm tone, comfortable pace and a nice smile. I am sure all these skills will come in handy when you become a psychologist!
I could not agree less with you that the effectiveness of this course is due to the extensive amount of interactions we had in class. The endless feedbacks, motivations and encouragement given to each other had helped us grow in one way or another.
I have to agree with you on the setback of the course as well. There were indeed some lessons where the skills taught are not very in depth. However, there were times when Brad tried to “salvage” such situation, I supposed. He will just depict to us his story to help us visualized it and understand it better after we reflect upon it. And I am sure till now, all of us will remember every one of his story.
To end off, I would like to say that it had been a wonderful experience working with you for the peer teaching session. I am sure we had learnt a great deal from each other during that time. I really miss working with you as a team.
All the best and I hope you can fulfill your dream of becoming a successful psychologist!
Dear Clement,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
I fully agree with you that most of the component s of communications taught in this course are quite relevant and important to us. I guess that is what is going to make the decision of whether to make a curriculum change so difficult. Nevertheless, if any changes can be made to make ES2007S an even more enriching experience for the future batches to come, such that they are able to learn as much as possible just by taking 1 module, I believe more resources and time could be saved.
But indeed, ES2007S has served as a good “starter” for many of us. I will strive to continue to improve from here. Thanks for your encouragement =)
Dear Zhisheng,
ES2008S seems to be extremely popular! Certainly that could be an option.
Dear Godwin,
Yes, I do agree that it would be impossible to learn everything in class, but I do feel that we could have gone through some parts of the course in more detail. And yes, indeed, real-life experiences are extremely important in complementing this course and making us better communicators.
I also did enjoy the working experience with you and Emily very much! Thank you!
Dear Rohan,
HAHA indeed! Your group certainly did make a great impact!
Dear Brad,
Thank you very much for your affirmation and encouragement; they are most heart-warming.
I believe with your dedication and support, the new batches of students will continue to benefit from this programme.
Once again, thank you very much for giving me a chance to take up this module and for making this module such a memorable and enjoyable one.
Dear Goh Chern,
It has indeed been great fun working with you too! Thanks for being such a great group mate and friend!
PS. I cannot believe you mentioned the part on ZS here. I certainly had a good laugh! HAHAHA
Dear Emily,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your encouragement. I certainly did enjoy working with you very much too! Thanks for being such a great group mate and friend!