| Saturday, October 11, 2008 |
Retrospection |
Only at the slaughterhouse did the cattle realize the audacity of grazing.
Disagreements and unhappiness harboured through the project is subsiding into frivolity as the deadline draws near. No, I do not mean that any of my project mates aren't great people. In fact, they are nothing less than generous to tolerate my many opinionated ideas and occasional disgruntle grunts.
I’m writing this entry with relations to our near completed project. With 4 more days to submission, the team is all geared up to give the report a final coat of gloss. So naturally, to write this entry was quite like a pain in the neck. However, after reading the topic for this entry, I guess it's more or less forgivable to spend some time to contemplate on the progress of the project.
To contribute to a positive learning experience, we have to understand what we ought to learn through our project. I identified interpersonal communication as a key learning point for the project. However, with all due respect to our diligent tutors, our project groups are far too small when compared to the actual reality of the working society. Working with familiar peers certainly eases the discussion but fails to allow us to practise working with unpredictable strangers or colleagues we are more likely to face in the society.
That aside, the report provided an excellent opportunity for the team to practise our writing skills. Through the endless series of editing, commenting, polishing, my writing skills were put to the challenge. To come up with the most precise yet concise statements have always been my flaw and through this project, I was forced times and times again to write in greater specifications. Generally speaking, I learnt quite a fair amount through the project, having constantly to keep what we were taught in my minds.
Besides all the academia aspects of the project, the project benefited me in several other ways, largely related to interpersonal interactions and teamwork. My naivety blinded me of the little idiosyncrasies of individuals. The blunt me ended up creating several unpleasant moments at the start of the project. The unpleasantries bothered me and I embarked on a journey to find a problem that laid within me. I admit I can still be little intolerant sometime, but I’m working towards becoming a more cooperative and tolerant team member.
With the report near completion, we will be starting on our oral presentation. With billions information to feed the audience within the short presentation time, the challenge arises for me as a presenter to present the most crucial information to my audience. With the newly polished writing skills, I hope to deliver a concise and concrete presentation to the class.
I also aim to further improve my interpersonal skills in preparation of our oral presentation. The oral presentation would create an excellent platform for everyone to build on their current rapport to create an outstanding presentation. I strive to work together with my team to create an outstanding presentation.
While the cattle see the audacity of grazing, it's its daily effort to graze, which allowed it to reach an end where he could not possibly go without grazing.
9 comments:
WeiRen,
Thank you! This is a highly detailed, unabashedly honest reflection. I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough to share with each of us your opinions on the various aspects of the task and your work toward completing that. I'm also glad that you have had an opportunity to take into consideration your own characteristics and how those play a part in your work effort.
Now I look forward to reading your work! Cheers!
hello WeiRen,
overall, it was a very fulfilling experience for us all right? Through this research project, I have also learnt many things which cannot be found in the text books. As science students, we often find ourselves drowned under a pile of reference books and textbooks. This project definitely exposes us to a different experience which is essential for working in the future.
In addition, with the peer reviewing of the drafts, we can not only help the other groups in areas where they might have neglected but also be able to learn something from them.
As I have mentioned in the comments in Wei Kwan's blog, I think your group is a really fun group to work with, constantly having a good time but still be able to produce excellent work.
good luck for your final report!
Hi Weiren,
I think every single one of us has had our fair share of stress when it comes to this project. I agree with you that working with familiar peers tends to keep us in this comfort zone, which is not necessarily the case when we go out into the working world. But I guess this gives us reasons to treasure our working with friends since we might not have such encounters in the near future!
Like what Peirong said, being science students, we find ourselves drowning in references and textbooks and for the most part, language use does not really count toward the kind of grade you get for your report. However,doing the ES report has reminded me not to forget that language still matters and that for a report to look and sound professional, language has to be perfect. Don't you agree?
With 2 more days to due date, I wish you, HuiXuan and WeiKwan all the best!
Hi sir,
Thank you for your comment. I was fortunate enough to work with really great members who allowed me to grow without compromising our project.
I am looking forward to your comments on our project.
Cheers.
Hi Pei Rong,
Yes! It's fulfilling. My group mates are nothing less than great.
I do agree this project is a little demanding in terms of crafting the language and making everything coherent. It is indeed a new experience and it's far cry from the usual mundane lab report we've been working on.
According to Hui Xuan, our group is because fun because there are two gay guys in the group. She must have tried to entertain herself, making the group seems fun, while Wei Kwan and I entertain each other.
Anyway, thank you for your comment and all the best for the report!
Hey weiren,
I do agree that our group is fun. But I am very sure I didn't try to entertain myself. I'm very sure that Wei Kwan and you entertain me!!!
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks for your wishes. All the best for your report too! (:
Hi Tiffany,
I apologize for the late reply, But I certainly to cherish your comments.
Now that the project is done, with a boulder off our shoulders, I can quite frankly tell you, yes, it's a moment worth cherishing. I don't know if there will be future opportunities to work with either of my members again, apart from the OP. But while the moment last, I certainly will work them ( I mean work with them) for the upcoming presentation.
It's true. However, unlike many of my peers who excelled in Lab reports, I have always been really lousy with it. I am never concise, never precise, and forever exercising my linguistic prowess (if any) instead of doing serious scientific analysis.
If you ever come across a lab report with "USE PROPER LANGUAGE", that's probably mine.
Once again, I thank you for your comment. good luck with your OP.
Hi Hui Xuan,
This is our first academic collaboration! I am glad you had fun whilst our hands were around each other's neck half the time (just kidding).
I am excited about our OP. I am looking forward to working with your guys again (including burning all our weekends away).
Cheers!
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