Reflect on the lectures/tutorials on team work/group work and communication techniques for working with others (eg. perception check, “I” statements, guest lecturers). Did you find the activities and materials to be helpful in preparing and in dealing with the group work in this course? Why or why not? In what ways have you used the materials taught in your group work? Can you suggest other topics and/or activities that would have helped you? Did you find yourself lacking the right skills in dealing with certain group situations that you’ve encountered? What was the situation that was challenging? What did you wish you had known? Did you find the guest lecturers and their ‘lecture’ helpful?
Reflecting on what I have learned throughout the course, I have found the activities and materials to be very insightful for future practical uses. Fortunately for me, I have not encountered any situation with my group that I had to use any of the activities and materials I learned from class. Therefore, I never found myself lacking the right skills in dealing with group situations that made me uncomfortable. The reasons why I found the activities and materials to be useful is that the contents we learn is actually practical to my future life. Unlike many other courses where I learn materials that I have no clue what the applications are, I can directly understand the applications of something like effective email writing and effective coding practices. Knowing how to properly write emails is crucial to most occupations since email is a common form of communication. In addition, I have learned something called perception check where I learned to understand someone’s behavior in a way that reduces potential conflicts. This is key when communicating with other group members because it is important to never place another member in an uncomfortable situation where the member is in a defensive position. Creating tensions between group members deteriorates productivity.
Regarding guest lecturers, I found them to be very entertaining and helpful. To elaborate, the first set of guest speakers have spoken is regarding group work. The speakers emphasize several key factors in group work success such as perception check and empathy to others. It led me to understand more about perception check and its significance of it. In addition, the most recent guest speakers who discussed about their experience and advice to students about job seeking have made me realized on all the mistakes I have made in my interviews. I hope to utilize everything I learned from both the activities and materials to prevent any past mistakes I have made and for any future work.