REFLECTIVEESSAY1.doc

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY 1
REFLECTIVE ESSAY 8

Reflective essay
Author’s name

Institutional affiliation

Reflective Essay

Negative incident

The back background and specific events leading up to the incident

In the Week 3 of semester 1 tutorial, our course instructor announced that the she will be providing feedback on tutorials on individual basis .Additionally, she also postulated that she will also produce comments in written form on the overall individual behavior, tutorial contributions and the overall attitude in class tutorials which will finally be incorporated in the semester 1 students portfolios.

The incident itself

At the end of our tutorial lesson, our course instructor asked to have a word with me so as to give me a feedback on the tutorial lessons and assessment. The group instructor stated clearly that in the course of the class tutorials, she had noticed that I rarely contributed in the class tutorials with much confidence as expected and that she has found my attitude in tutorials very discouraging. Additionally, she continued by postulating that stated that she was concerned about my inability to contribute in class and the impact and effects they would have on my professional career in the future.. Moreover, according to her, the only better way of developing courage and confidence essential in my future careers is to cultivate a culture of participating and sharing ideas regularly. Furthermore, she asked me how I felt about the opinion and if there is any possible reason why I may find it difficult to continue participating and sharing my ideas with much confidence as expected.
I explained to her that where I come from, students are not always given much freedom to express and talk freely but instead listen.

Personally, at the time of the incident, a number of emotions were going through my mind. I felt happy that my silence in class and lack of confidence was so evident and so obvious that my instructor was able to notice. The fact that the overall impact of the tutorials assement results would play a vital part on my final results bothered me so much. I therefore learned from this emotional engagement that, it is of utmost importance to put measures in place that will help solve the checks that arise due to differences in our personality.

Resolution of the incident

Although the little pep talk my instructor and I had caused me a number of discomfort as well as added pressure, as a result of the discussion we had with the course instructor, I realized the importance of sharing ideas and opinions with confidence in my studies as well as my future careers. As an individual, I decided in the eve of the incident that I should reconsider my behavior irrespective of my cultural values and personality differences in both my tutorials, group work as well as real-life experiences. I used to believe that not sharing ideas will make me invisible in most discussions but actually, the conversation I had with my instructor helped me realize that, remaining silent in any conversation, makes you more visible than you expect. Additionally, this incident enabled me to realize the importance of brainstorming in any activity since it enables you to realize and find out what other individuals think of your contributions in terms of abilities, skills and personality which are important in any class activity as well as real-life experiences.

The incident with my course instructor was therefore of utmost importance in my life since without the briefing from her about the simulation activity, I would have remained short of communication and dialogue skills. Additionally, from the fact that in my native country students are not allowed to speak much to their tutor instructors, I learnt that, each and every person has a personality weakness that can be worked on for the overall benefit of the team and themselves. Moreover, developing a skill of ideas and opinion sharing is of great significance in building confidence in executing the roles and tasks allocated to persons in their real-life experiences.

Reflection on what if anything could have been handled better.

My tutor instructor was absolutely right in postulating that I must continue expressing my ideas and opinions clearly coupled with much confidence. In other words, I feel that if the conversation I had with my tutor instructor could have come a little bit earlier during my early developmental stages of life, I would have cultivated the art of sharing my opinions and ideas with much confidence in both my tutorials as well as my real life experiences. I personally felt that this incident enabled me to understand that, each and every aspect of my life needs better communication skills. For instance, in class, I need to communicate properly in order to enable the instructors as well as my classmates to comprehend me more effectively without missing the point. Additionally, booming with confidence can enable clients, classmates and instructors to have confidence in my abilities. Therefore, I believe refining my expertise in the areas raised by the instructor will place me in a better position to argue and discuss cases with colleagues in school or in other real-life situations.
Positive incident

The back background and specific events leading up to the incident

Reflecting upon previous activities and events is of utmost significance for all the professionals and students as well, since it enables them to progress their communication skills, future performance development, and their conflict resolution skills. Owing to this fact, my course instructor informed me in one of my tutor meetings that , it is a requirement in my course that each and every semester students gets to participate in a project development activity which essentially tries to enable them obtain many practical skills in their course work as well as their professional aspirations. I was therefore required to choose a research topic in which I will conduct a study on the development project. Additionally, the project development activity is chosen randomly according to the course work topic so as to try and test the student understanding of their course work, interpersonal skills and their ability to apply what they have learned in class to real –life experiences. Moreover, she went ahead to explain that, in one way or the other, it could be wise to say that, personally, I am a well-organized student since she has never incurred problems and difficulties with me when it came to my delegation, dynamism and organizational skills.

The incident itself

One of the most challenging factors in my project development research was the fact that, I discovered that the topic I chose was also chosen by one of the brightest students in class. Additionally, the requirement of the study was that, each and every student should have their own unique research topic hence no sharing of topics. My only best chances were negotiating with the other student and make him understand the fact that, I would like to remain the sole bearer of the topic and its best if he looks for another research topic. Initially, I thought I will engage in a heated discussion but to my surprise, I realized that, my negotiation move had gone on well and we agreed that, he will let me research on the topic and that I should help him identify another topic which I did. Moreover, he even went ahead to suggest some project development ideas for me regarding my research topic which I found very useful. I passed my development project research work very well and received great comments from my tutor.
Reflecting upon my responsibility as the primary negotiator, I felt immediately at the time I realized that I was sharing a topic with the brightest student in class, that it did not fit my personality. Additionally, it is universally acknowledged that ensuring a close inter-correlation between real-life personality and project development is important in the success of any activity. One of the challenging parts I found with this role was how to effectively approach him and explain to him that I needed him to let me research on the topic in an assertive and clear manner. However, my fears were ejected when I realized that he was indeed a very friendly guy who is always willing to help guys out whenever possible. I realized that using the right approach to individuals as far as challenges are concerned provides an easy way to arrive at a conclusion.

The resolution of the incident

The role that effective communication played in solving the issue about the research topic I shared with the brightest student in the project development research work activity was of primary implication and the chance to mirror on the issue in my opinion critically was of great importance as well. It is universally accepted that effective communication within a conversation dynamic and delegation is necessary and essential. Owing to the fact that we had to decide between him and me on who will research on the topic we shared, the little pep talk with my course instructor reminded me of my abilities in delegation and dynamics of life. Hence, I decided to negotiate with him on how best we can help each other out. Additionally, I went ahead to explain to him that I would love to research on that topic because I find it fascinating. The fact that, he agreed to let me have the topic , made me understand the power of peaceful negotiation and the right approach in solving challenging situations at hand. Moreover, I passed the test after using some of the information he had shared with me which is a clear reminder of teamwork in a project development activity.

For the most part of the research topic discussion as well as the project development activity, I exchanged information appropriately most especially after agreeing on the research topic. By so saying, it means that, most of my project development research work activity’s goals were achieved through clear understanding, effective dialogue, delegation and proper conflict resolution skills. Personally, I learnt that effective negotiation and dialogue plays a very vital role in solving challenging situations in any project development activity working towards a particular common goal.

Reflection on what if anything could have been handled better

Challenges, difficulties and disagreement in any project development activity gives everyone a chance to correct issues that in one way or the other can impede performance. The challenges I had with identifying the right approach in my discussion with him about our research topic could have been handled better if I would have cultivated a culture of sharing ideas and opinions with confidence. Alternatively, in case we would have incurred problems arriving at a conclusion, I would have suggested that we seek further assistance from the course instructor about the matter. In this case, As much as I did not find the discussion very challenging, my hesitation at first as far as the right approach is concerned seemed to slow my conversation with him in terms of project development activity time management and effective delegation since the research topic was solely depended on the outcome of the discussion.

On the other hand, the challenge I had in engaging my colleague about the topic could have been handled well if I would have done a deeper research on all available topics so as to ensure that the one I chose does not conflict with other student’s agendas and their project development research commitments. In other words, from this event, I learned that proper dialogue and evaluation offers significant time savings as far as tasks completions are concerned. Perhaps when I was choosing the research topic, I should have thought of proper analysis and research as far as the project development activity’s research topic is concerned.

However, reflecting upon the chronology of events that occurred in my project development activity, I learned that, realistic research scheduling, dialogue and commitment plays a very critical role in any project development activity working towards a primary agent of change. Moreover, the success of activity depends on clear identification of goals, research topic, delegation, and dedication on the activity. Therefore, the understanding that presumed in the wake of the research topic negotiation and discussion has been an important lesson to me personally which has encouraged me to ensure in the future that ample time and sufficient planning are adequately considered when engaging in any project development activities.

To sum up, from the two incidents and the role I undertook during the group simulation activity, I can postulate that, I have learned a lot from the experiences and confrontations. I can clearly say that I have gained knowledge, and a clear comprehension of the incident outcomes has been realized since I have not only improved on my performance but also gained and enhanced discipline-specific knowledge. Additionally, these incidents have enabled me to clearly comprehend that being a great negotiator requires an individual to overcome any possible fears they may have.