#4: Final Reflections on Learning

Initially, I took this module simply because of the lack of finals and it had seemed manageable since I had fair confidence in my presentation skills. However this module is not as easy as I had imagined. Since the module focuses on interactive learning, we were separated into groups and each group was tasked to teach the class on topics assigned to them. As a result, it places a heavy responsibility on the presenters as we had to make sure that we understood the content perfectly (to avoid misguiding the class) and that our presentation was easy to understand (to relay the message properly). Furthermore, as we were taught by our peers on presentation and writing skills, the continuous assessments then tested our understanding of what was taught to us and to put them to use, especially for our last assignment - The Proposal.

As a graduating student, after so many modules that I have taken, I can say that this is one of the modules that really equipped me with practical skills that will be useful no matter what I do. Through this module, I know what are the important things to note when crafting a cover letter and resume. I know that prior research and ample preparation is needed before an interview. I know my shortcomings and strengths in working as a team and most importantly, I know how to give a better presentation. While I credit myself as a good communicator, this module has allowed me to become better. The class and Mrs Gan were especially helpful in providing feedback and this enabled me to recognize certain bad habits and flaws of mine which I had failed to notice myself. In another class where I had to give a speech, I had received praise from my peers and tutor as they noted the improvement in my presentation skills.

It has been a long journey with ES2007s and I am thankful for the class and Mrs Gan for being so supportive and open-minded. It is amazing how all of us managed to welcome each other so warmly despite our diverse backgrounds. Thank you Mrs Gan for always being so supportive and patient with us, your enthusiasm brings life to the module and class. I would like to thank the class too, for always being so friendly and awesome at giving feedback. Without any one of you, this journey would not have been as enjoyable.

Thank you.

#3: Reflection on Project Proposal

Working on the project proposal has enabled me to improve as a better team member. As my team members (Joyce and Inn Zheng) and I embark on this long journey, we met with several challenges.

First Challenge:
First, we had to come up with an issue in Singapore and the proposed solutions to help resolve it. Our initial plan was to target the issue of rising cost of living in Singapore, with specific areas such as Healthcare, Medical costs and Daily necessities.

However, as we proceeded with our plan, we realised that our scope was much too wide and proceeding any further would result in an 'overdose'. Hence we narrowed it down to the issue of Rising cost of Daily Necessities in Singapore.

As we narrowed our scope to only one aspect, we then had to brainstorm for more solutions targeting this particular area. I am proud to say that our group had excelled in coming up with the proposed solutions as our ideas were practical and insightful, due to the extensive research we had done. We came together and discussed each solution in point-form during the meetings. This was immensely helpful when we delegated each solution-segment amongst ourselves. Each of us only had to re-organise the points and word them properly, which greatly improved our productivity.

Second Challenge:
We had little problems conducting our primary research. Our surveys held results that were favourable to our argument. However, we were unable to secure an interview with a Social Work professor.

In our email request for an interview, we did not include the deadline for a response email. This could have resulted in confusion on the professor's part as he would not know when to reply and find our request to be non-urgent. After consulting our tutor, we quickly sent a follow-up email and included a specific date for him to inform us of his response. Regrettably, till the night before our proposal was due, there was no response and we did not manage to secure an expert opinion regarding our proposal.

On hindsight, we could have sourced for more candidates for our interview. This would prepare us better in the event we did not manage to get the candidate we wanted, as one expert opinion is better than none. This experience will undoubtedly prepare us in our future projects that require interviews from specific personnel, as we now have a better understanding on the framework and procedure to go about doing it.

Conclusion:
Overall, I had an enjoyable experience with my team members. Being Life Science students, they were familiar with the steps to develop a proposal and were of great help throughout this process as I had not drafted an official proposal before. Joyce and Inn Zheng are really dedicated team members and they never fail to bring joy to our meetings. I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding towards me and I had learnt many things from them. I would also like to say sorry to them for bringing them trouble on the day we were to submit our proposals due to my personal issues.

#2: Intercultural Communication

As a result of globalization and the rapid progress in technology, people around the world are more connected to each other. Through this intercultural communication, it is interesting to see the differences between cultures. One is likely to make comparisons between his own country and the other. In my previous trip to Taiwan, I was able to notice several cultural differences between Singapore and Taiwan.

 Whenever we entered a store in Taiwan, the staff would say “欢迎光临”* in the sweetest and friendliest tone he/she could manage. Their service was friendly and they did not try to 'push' their items to you. Even if we did not make any purchases in the store, the staff would still greet us with a smile and again with their friendliest voice, would tell us “谢谢光临~”*. Having met with many unhappy incidents with the service sector in Singapore, the service we encountered in Taiwan really made us feel welcomed. The warmness of the people in Taiwan does not end with their service.

A particular memorable incident happened when we were looking for a restaurant in some unfamiliar street. Unfortunately, despite having a map and an address, we were still quite lost and very much hungry. Perhaps it was due to the fact that we were really looking quite lost, a middle-aged woman by the road-side approached us and asked us where we wanted to go. Her friendliness took us by surprise and we told her about our destination. However, she did not know the place very well either and got a little confused with the map as well. We were expecting her to walk away after knowing that she was unsure but she surprised us further by asking another person for directions! She shouted to one of the shop owners nearby and it wasn't long before a small group of 'consultants' gathered and analyzed the route to take. We found the place eventually with much help from the locals and they even told us other places to visit in Taiwan that most travelers would not know about.

The meritocratic society of Singapore has taught me to 'mind my own business' and take a relatively passive attitude towards helping others. However, the warmth I've experienced from the locals in Taiwan was one of the most memorable experience I have ever had  It provided me some insights to the down-to-earth and straightforward personality of the locals. Compared to the results-driven culture we have in Singapore, the focus in Taiwan seemed to be about appreciating life. My experience in Taiwan has influenced me in the way I interact with people. I have learnt to be more generous and open to others and that was the best souvenir I had gotten from the intercultural communication I have encountered in the trip.

*Translation
欢迎光临: Welcome
谢谢光临: Thank you for coming

#1: Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Aristotle once said that "Man is by nature a social animal". This means that it is in our nature to socialise and live in groups. Hence, it is inevitable to be faced with interpersonal conflicts when we interact with other people. The question to ask then, is how do we resolve(1) or avoid(2) them? First, let us look at a scenario.

Amy is an 18-year old girl who is friends with Betty and Cindy. One day when Amy was studying with Betty, Betty came across a question that she could not solve and turned to Amy for help. Amy did not know the answer as well, hence she jokingly mentioned that they should ask Cindy, since Cindy is a "mugger*". 

The next day, Amy went to school and found Cindy ignoring her. Amy tried to ask Betty about Cindy's sudden change in attitude, only to be faced with a similar cold attitude from Betty as well. Later on, she heard from her classmates that Cindy was angry with Amy because Betty had told her that Amy was mocking her for being studious. 

A few weeks later, Cindy eventually confronted Amy. Amy thought that Betty should join them as they clarify things, but both Betty and Cindy refused. Both of them felt that this is an affair that involves only Amy and Cindy. During the confrontation, despite Amy telling Cindy what she had said exactly, Cindy was reluctant to believe Amy's words. At the end of the day, Amy's relationship with Betty and Cindy remains estranged. 


Looking at this situation, we go back to the question and ask ourselves:

1. After the damage was done, what could Amy do to salvage the friendship? 
2. How could Amy have avoided the unfortunate incident?

*mugger (noun) - a commonly used term in Singapore to describe someone as a person who studies very very hard.