For the past three years in NUS, I have taken modules that required group projects, and laboratory reports which we had to hand in at least one per week with each report usually being more than ten pages long. However, never have I really looked into the requirements of a research report. Looking back, I have to admit that the project reports I have done were superficial and perhaps sloppy. Nevertheless, I am glad that this course has taught me the steps to complete a formal report, which will be a valuable skill for my final year project. Within a couple of weeks, we started from scratch, from exhausting our brains just to decide on a research topic, to completing a report of 20 pages!
Due to time constraints, each component of the research report had to be completed within a very short stipulated period. Furthermore, our timetable allowed little opportunities to meet up and do the project together. Thus, we usually discuss our ideas in class, divide the tasks into three portions and allocate to each member. Each member would then send his or her completed task to one of the members for compilation. The member in-charged of compilation would then send the compiled report to the rest to revise the report. Despite our hectic schedule, my group always managed to finish our allocated tasks on time, which we marveled at our efficiency.
Being so, communication between members is very important. The portion done by each member had to flow and not overlap in order to facilitate the compilation. Even though group members did each portion of the tasks individually, we were open-minded and were willing to accept comments and changes to our allocated part by others. This made our work progress enjoyable, efficient, and also made us effective team players. My group members are understanding and were willing to accept tasks with heavier workload to help another member if he or she was really too busy.
I hope to extend the assertiveness, empathy, versatility and affirmation attributes in my team to my next team project. Nonetheless, I hope that we would be able to have lots of opportunities to practise as a group for our oral presentation. Practice makes perfect!
I came across this cartoon from www.cartoonstock.com and found it interesting. It might sound mushy, but team spirit is formed when the hearts are connected - the wilingness to put aside all differences to work towards a common goal. What can you infer from the picture?
4 comments:
Dear Jia Yi,
It has certainly been an enriching and wonderful experience working as a team together with you and Barry!
True enough that our timetables did not allow us to meet up that often. However, there was the element of trust among the three of us that made us pull through this project together.
Furthermore, we also had to split up the report and made sure we had the same stand with regards to the topic. We managed to achieve this in spite of of our busy schedules.
All in all, this has certainly been a memorable learning experience for me! Thanks for making that happen!
Binglin
Hi Jia Yi,
I agree with you that it was really a mad rush to finish the report right from the beginning. From coming up with the topic to researching to gathering surveys and finally analysing the findings, the whole process was really a valuable experience for me as well.
My group face the same problem of not being able to meet up more often, most of the time we can’t have a group meeting where everyone is present. Hence, we have used the same ‘technique’ as your group – distributing the work then emailing everyone. However, I come to realise that sometimes face to face meetings is necessary to iron out some of the details.
Wish your group all the best for your oral presentation.
Hi Sebastian!
My group had a few face-to-face meetings, however, they were not effective as we could only meet up after our lessons, which we were exhausted by then. Thus, we arranged to "meet" online (MSN), after we reached home, had our dinner and freshened ourselves. I do not know if that was considered effective, as we usually took a long time for the meeting, but we managed to complete our agenda.
Nevertheless, all of us have our own style of working effectively. This would speed up the working process if the group members have similar styles or styles of working that can complement one another!
Hey Binglin!
Our oral presentation is just around the corner. Let's work hard and make our effort worthwhile!
Cheers
Jia Yi
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