What is ES2007S?

If I have to choose one word to describe ES2007S, it would definitely be MEMORABLE. The people I meet, the activities we did, the jokes we cracked. These would certainly become be part of me for the rest of my life.

These 13 weeks spent in ES2007S is definitely worth it. Throughout the course, we have discussed about many issues relating to communication. The different assignments such as blogging, peer teaching, cover letter drafting, proposal writing and oral presentations have definitely sharpened my communication skills.

I realized the importance of “expectation” in communication. When two people having different expectations for a certain issues, the communication process would not be effective. Looking at the blog post on cultural differences would clearly illustrate my point (Steph’s blog post about the eel).

Through this course, I have also learnt to collaborate with people through the group assignments. Working with my team mates has really shown me the power of group work; what one man alone cannot achieve.

Being exposed to the various styles of presentation made me realized how different styles can influence different groups of audience, how sharing personal experiences and some humour can make a presentation more impressionable and entertaining. “Presentation is about you, not the slides”. This is something I will bear in mind for my future presentations.

The little tips that I picked up through this course would definitely serve me well as teacher in future. The course may have ended but the relationships we have fostered have not. Examination is round the corner. Work hard! Lastly, Brad, lessons for ES2007S was definitely enriching and relaxing. Is there a ES3007S? =D

Learning through experience

The legendary 7-eleven

Yesterday, 8^th November 2010, marks the day of my last presentation for ES2007S. Looking back, I really have to thank my team mates, Yong Chean, May and Wei Ping for all the hard work for the past 8 weeks. You guys have really shown me what project work is all about. It might be a coincidence that the three of them are from the engineering faculty. When the project first started, I have to admit that I was not very comfortable with the group. The approach taken was very “unconventional” in my sense. As time progresses, I started to adapt to the way things are done and yes, we overcome several obstacles as a group. There was the oral discussion, there was the proposal and finally, the oral presentation that took place yesterday – a presentation that I will perhaps, remember for the rest of my life.

Preparations

Personally, I feel that rehearsals are really important for group presentations. Due to the packed schedules of each individual, we only had rehearsals on Sunday. Prior to the multiple rehearsals we had on Sunday, each member of the team actually drafted out a “script” for our respective parts and they were placed together to see if the flow of the presentation was good. From the product that we presented yesterday, I think that this is actually a good strategy. For a presentation to be smooth, I think it is essential that everyone in the team not only knows about his or her own part but also the parts of the other team mates.

For me, I went through the presentation in my head several times before going to bed on Sunday.  On the whole, I feel that I have done enough preparation for content as well as preparing myself mentally for the presentation.

Delivery

Being the first speaker after the brief introduction by Yong Chean was actually quite stressful. It is the first time that I am doing a presentation whereby I have to “sell” the proposal.  I think I was loud enough and was articulating well when I was presenting. However, I was a little disturbed by the photos that were flashed on the screen.

These photos were meant to compliment my part of the presentation to really bring out the current situation of the students. Due to the bad resolution, I noticed that many of the audiences were trying to figure out what was on the picture. I tried to remedy the situation by switching off the light for certain photos and switching it on again after the photo. I guess this was something that I should have avoided as they were really very distracting.

The “technical glitch” had also thrown me off the track and I felt that my presentation was not as concrete as what I had planned. I mentioned words like “feasible” which I feel that is not really very appropriate since my team has yet to share the solution with the audience.

I am not sure if my eye contacts were good, but I did try to establish some form of eye contact with the audience.  I cannot recall on my non-verbal. Hence, it would be really nice if some of you can feedback on this.

 Visual aid/Slides

I think my slides were fine except for the bad resolutions of the photo. There were minimal words; hence the audience would be putting their attention on me. The slides were simple and the animations were placed there for a purpose – to catch the attention of the audience. The video was quite well done and I feel that the duration was just right.

Overall, I felt that the slides for the group were quite organized. The slides for each person did not deviate in style very drastically and I feel that we managed to link our parts quite smoothly.

It would really be appreciated if all of you can give some feedback regarding the presentation. Some recommendations and tips on how to improve would be great! Last but not least, if you have burning questions regarding the presentation and did not have a chance to ask in class, feel free to list them in the comment area, my team and I will certainly clarify your queries.

Thanks for being such wonderful audience! =)
(Edited)

Feedback... Ace Your Interview

Hi guys!

We hope the peer teaching session today was useful and entertaining. =)
It would be nice of you to give us some feedback regarding the session so that we can learn and improve from it.
Your comments are important to us.

Thank you! =P

Cheers!

Stanley, Jonathan and Miao

Excuse me, can you be more discreet when you eat?

Singapore is a multicultural society. Despite this fact, there are still some cultural traits of certain race, religion or nationality that some Singaporeans cannot accept. For instance, when we bid farewell, the Chinese just wave goodbye and the Malays would kiss the hand and touch their heart as a form of respect and love. For people who come from France, they would hug the person and give the person a peck on the cheek regardless of the person’s gender.

I have witnessed an incident whereby a conflict started due to the cultural differences. My grandmother is a great cook. Everybody in the family enjoys eating her cooking. However, she is very particular when it comes to dining etiquette. To her, loud eating noises such as slurping and burping are very impolite and are considered a number one sin in dinner table etiquette.

My third aunt has a Japanese friend – Molly. There are some differences between Japanese dining etiquette and my grandmother’s. Contrary to my grandmother's, the  Japanese would slurp their soup and noodles loudly. This is their way of expressing that the food is delicious. One day, Molly was invited to my grandmother’s house for dinner. When the soup was served, Molly slurped the soup very loudly.

My grandmother was very disgusted by her action and told her off immediately. Molly, being Japanese, apologized immediately and explained to my grandmother that slurping the soup loudly was a way to show that she was enjoying the meal.

This incident really reflected the fact that cultural differences do result in conflicts. The conflict did not escalate because of the polite nature of Japanese people. In this scenario, my grandmother should have spoken in a more polite manner, rather than telling Molly off in a harsh tone. Effective communication involves the speaker being clear in sending the message across as well as effective listening from the receiving end. My grandmother’s harsh tone might have turned the listener off. The incident would then have a very ugly conclusion.


(Edited)

The Million Dollar Job - To Mould the Future

The job advertisement that caught my attention can be found at the following web link:

http://jobscentral.com.sg/viewSimpleProfile.php?eid=36734&jid=237805

Basically, I am applying for the position as a instructor at JEI Learning Centre Pte. Ltd.. My responsibility as an instructor is to facilitate learning at their centre. I will have to plan lessons, execute the lesson plans and also monitor the progress of the students in my class. 

Some qualities that the learning centre is looking out for are as follows:

• Singapore Citizen or P.R.
• Must be able to work as a team
• Young, energetic and fun loving personality
• Good interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• A passion to co-operate with children, centre personnel and parents
• Willing to work on weekday afternoons, evenings and weekends
• Competency in Math & English is required
• Undergrad, Diploma or relevant certificate may apply
• Preferably with Early Childhood experience (optional)
• Additional related experience such as skills in training/ teaching students would be an advantage 

Please take a look at my cover letter and give me some comments. Thanks!

Aspirations.. Becoming a Top-notched Educator

Stanley Tan

Blk XXX Jurong West Street XX
#XX-XXX S (XXXXXX)
9XXXXXXX
tanlcs@hotmail.com

1^st September 2010

JEI Learning Centre Pte Ltd
1 Marine Parade Central
#13-04 Park Way Centre
S(449408)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application of Job as an Instructor at JEI Learning Centre Pte Ltd

I am interested in the Instructor position with your company. Enclosed is my resume and supporting documents. Please review the attached resume, which highlights the skills and accomplishments that will enable me to contribute to contribute to your team.  I had experience teaching as a private tutor and also as a relief teacher, hence I am confident in my passion and ability to become a positive addition to your team as an instructor.

Currently, I am an undergraduate in National University of Singapore (NUS). I will be receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Physics in year 2013. Being a young and vibrant addition to your team, I am confident that I can enthuse your students to work towards maximizing their individual potentials, not only to improve their academic achievements but also build confidence in themselves.

During my term as a relief teacher at Jurong Primary School, I had demonstrated great independence and also volunteerism, hence I was given the opportunity to take on the challenging role as a form teacher for a semester. This has given me the chance to practice effective classroom management, a skill which I can apply as an instructor in your company. I strongly believe that my six months stint as a relief teacher has given me adequate and relevant experience in the teaching field.

Many teachers lack one important skill – patience. This skill is something which I had picked up as a part-time music instructor at Kheng Cheng School, having to cater to the needs of different classes in the Primary Two cohort. Such a skill will, undoubtedly, be valuable when interacting with the diverse group of students in your learning centre.

My job as a sales executive with Tai Sing Corporation Pte Ltd had allowed me to meet people from all woks of life. This certainly has trained me to be able to communicate with people effectively. To become a good team player, good communication skills are vital. Effective communication techniques will also allow me to foster good relationships with the parents, keeping them aware of the progress of their children.

Being an aspiring educator, I welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how my enthusiasm towards teaching and learning will greatly benefit your teaching team. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,

Stanley


(Edited)

A Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory module - Anyone?

Last semester, I took a level 1000 computing module- a module that can be read as a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory module . One mode of assessment for the module was a group project. It was my first group project in NUS; hence I was looking forward to it. We formed our groups during the first tutorial session. There were 4 members in my group. Among us was Mr. Q – a third year student.

It was decided that a meeting was to be held on weekly basis. However, for most meetings, Mr. Q was absent, citing excuses such as having other errands to run.

For this particular project, a lot of research was required. He would complain that he was assigned the heaviest workload and most of the time, he would do half of it, or even less. This greatly slowed our progress as we ended up having to do his remaining work. The worst had yet to come.

One component of the project was oral presentation and each of the members was expected to present. I suggested rehearsing for the presentation. However, Mr. Q was not keen on it and said that he had done lots of presentation and it was unnecessary, assuring us that he would do fine on the day itself.

On presentation day, he arrived in shorts and slippers despite the formal wear dress code that was required of us. He was stammering throughout the presentation itself and was unable to answer the question that the tutor posed. From the expression of the tutor, I thought our group was not going to get a good grade. True enough, it was reflected in my grade. As you would expected, he S/U-ed the module.

If you were in my shoes, what would you have done to motivate him to work?
(Edited)

Why is Effective Communication Important to me?

Being the only child in the family means that the only people I get to communicate with at home will be my parents and occasionally a couple of elders who might be staying over. These people are nice people who dote on me. However, frequently, I feel that it is difficult to hold a lengthy conversation with them over certain issues. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that I lack good communication skills.

Since I am the only child and do not get to speak much at home, I tend to speak a lot when I am out with friends or in school. When a conversation starts, I can go on and on non-stop. Very often, I will forget a very important factor of communication – to listen.

Aspiring to be a teacher in the near future, I feel that effective communication is one of the most important skills I will need to grasp in order to excel in my job. In today’s context, being a teacher is not just about teaching, it is about reaching out to the students too.  To be able to do so, it is pertinent that I am able to connect with students – to guide them along and also, to listen to them. With effective communicative skills, I am certain that I can, on top of delivering academic content effectively to them, give them guidance on the other aspects of life.