Exam or wed's blue?

Hi friends,

Studying hard for your exam now! All the best. J

Here’s one for you to read and get off your text books, lecture notes and etc for awhile:

A little pencil was just about to be sent to a shop for sale. Afraid of the big world outside, the pencil asked his maker for some advice. His maker smiled at him and said, 'Remember this:

First, whatever you do, try and leave a mark!

Second, you have the ability to always correct the mistakes you make.

Third, what is important is inside you, not outside you.

Fourth, from time to time, you will undergo a painful sharpening. Do not resist it for it will make you better.

Lastly, be the best you can be, and allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

Cheers

Kent

Blog Post #5: My Onboard ES2007S Learning Journey

Albert Einstein once said, “Never regard study as a duty but as an enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later works belong”.  As I sail on the ES2007S ship, I see new landscapes and learn new skills along the way.  I dare to say that I have improved in the way I communicate with people as the course has definitely provided me the knowledge to enhance my communication confidence in specific skills such as team work, oral interaction, oral presentation as well as writing.

Despite having the prior awareness in using voice and language effectively to deliver one’s message, this is inadequate to having a good oral presentation. Through the course and tutor’s feedback, I have learnt the importance of analyzing and engaging my audience. This is something which I have often overlooked in the past with the mistaken belief that presentation is just another form of presenting information verbally. However, this should not be the case when the message is to be delivered across effectively as the audience might be busy people with not much time to spare. Another valuable lesson is the gain of self-confidence in presenting without the need to rely on memorizing scripts word for word which I used to. Thus, this enables me to demonstrate appropriate body language, gestures and eye contact as well as variation of tone naturally so as to display confidence and capture the audience attention.

Having said so, there are still rooms for improvements. One of them is the effective handling of Q&A such that every member has equal opportunity to answer questions. With reference to my team presentation, I think that all of them have applied the principles and skills learnt in delivering their contents except during the team Q&A where Zhang Jiao seems to be left out by the team. Instead, I should have taken the initiative to direct related-questions to him so as to strengthen our team dynamics because team performance plays an important role towards a good presentation. Another is to focus on building up my limited vocabulary as words do matter a great deal. They can either make or break communication when the right/wrong word is used.

As for my learning, one of the greatest learning achievements is to resolve conflict amicably through building interpersonal communication, interpreting non-verbal communication cues and fostering intercultural communication which can also be applied in workplace. In the past, being impulsive, I am fearful to be involved in conflicts as I face difficulty resolving which often leads to poor working relationship and team performance. Another is identifying the importance of the 7Cs of powerful writing and applying to writing tasks. This aids in amplification of a good organization and fine language.

After all, having been through the training, I would like to focus on developing my oral interaction skills which is still lacking in me. For instance, during peer feedback, I give good constructive comments with the aim of improving myself and others. But that is not enough; instead I should offer practical and workable suggestions that I have read from articles or my own experience for the individual or team to improve.  This allows me to think critically and communicate effective that are transferrable to my future workplace.

As the course comes to an end, I hope my peers and friends have enjoyed the nice scenery and happy sailing as much as I have. Thank you Ms Happy Goh for making this possible.
(599 words) 

To end off, here's a sharing by engineer and producer Trina Shoemaker on why communication skills are a critical part of an engineers or producers toolbox.

The importance of communication

My unforgettable day - 14th April 2011

Today is one of my happiest day in school. First, I am happy that the research proposal presentation went smoothly than what I had expected. It has been great working with another group of teammates, Ho Zong, Jerina and Zhang Jiao. Each of them have their strengths such as designing, video and presentation editing. Next, I felt so touched when Ms Goh surprised me with a chocolate birthday cake. Also, thanks Ho Zong and Kar Liang for the present. Finally, this is the first class photo that I have taken in NUS. Hope all of you have enjoyed and gained from this module as much as I do.

Blog Post #4: Fostering Intercultural Communication

An interaction that I had with someone in a place that is "foreign" to me

In 2002, I embarked on an interdisciplinary study trip to Beijing & Xi’an and encountered an intercultural situation.

On Day 8, our first itinerary was a visit to Jinghua School in Beijing where we attended a Chinese language lesson. The atmosphere was tense as the place was foreign to us. When the teacher finished teaching her lesson, she began posing questions to the class.

“When I ask a question, I want all the local students to raise your hands immediately and answer me. We are from The People’s Republic of China and we want to show the foreigners that we can all do it. Is that clear?” said the teacher aggressively before she began.

Subsequently, all the China students responded enthusiastically as instructed by their teacher.

At that instant, I was speechless after hearing the teacher’s words. I could not understand why the teacher had to say that in front of us. This is definitely not practiced in Singapore. In light of my understanding of cultural values and beliefs, I would interpret that the people from China have a strong sense of belonging and loyalty to their country as well as take pride and strive towards excellence in whatever they do so as to do their country proud and fly their country’s flag high. Such characteristics are prevalent in the academic and sports areas. For example, China athletes trained hard and won 51 gold medals in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games which resulted in China clinching the world first position.

Three common resume mistakes

I came across this article about "3 Resume Mistakes You Don't Know You're Making" which I thought it was quite useful to share with all.

Blog Post#3: Application Letter

Job Posting

 

Application Letter

Teo Zhi Jian Kent

Blk 634 Hougang Avenue 8

#04-55

Singapore 530634

Mobile: 91918526

E-mail: kent_teo@yahoo.com.sg

8^th February 2011

Aspire Hub Education Pte Ltd

Blk 122 Bukit Merah Lane 1

#01-54/56/58 Alexandra Village

Singapore 150122

Application for Assistant Teacher and Curriculum Developer Intern

Dear Human Resources Officer,

   I am currently a Year 3 Electrical Engineering student from National University of Singapore, and am expected to graduate in May 2012. I am particularly interested in the position of Assistant Teacher and Curriculum Developer that is listed on the Faculty of Engineering Vacation Internship website, as I would like to offer my experiences and skills as assets to Aspire Hub Education.

   Mathematics has always been my forte and interest. Besides being equipped with both analytical and problem-solving capabilities as an engineering student, I also actively participated in elective modules related to Mathematical Studies. With this essential knowledge, I am able to assist in the teaching of Mathematics to Secondary and JC students. Teaching is my passion and this interest has been fostered by several years of being both a private Mathematics tutor and relief teacher in various government schools. In addition, I have relevant practice in developing a Primary Mathematics curriculum in accordance to the Ministry of Education (MOE) syllabus.

   Desiring to contribute back to society, I involve myself in social work activities where I hold key leadership appointments both in my grassroots organization and JC alumni association. During my tour of service, I have initiated the mentoring and tutoring programmes for the needy students as well as the academically weaker JC2 students respectively with the objective of facilitating students to gain confidence and fulfill their potential. Moreover, I establish excellent people skills and am able to establish close rapport with my pupils and colleagues during relief teaching.   

   I may lack a background in developing Mathematics curriculum for Secondary and JC levels, but I believe I have the right attitude, qualities and enthusiasm to strive hard in any responsibility given to me. I have a strong interest in this position, and I eagerly welcome the opportunity to learn and contribute in Aspire Hub Education.

   I look forward to an interview with you. Thank you for your time and kind consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Teo Zhi Jian Kent

Enclosed: Resume

Peer Teaching Team 3

Glad that the peer teaching presentation went smooth today. It has been a pleasure working with both my teammates, Halim and Cangming. Also, special thanks to Sam for his insightful knowlegde sharing on googledocs. Last but not lest, the class deserves a big Thank You for the kind attention.