Reflection #2: Self Assessment

After my two site visits, which were the online video chats receiving feedback for our current activities and ideas, I feel that there are some things I can improve upon. First, I want to work on explaining my plans better. I feel that I was never really prepared to do so because I didn’t feel like it was necessary to come up with what I wanted to say. I always looked at it as just me needing to say what I was going to do. 

However, after the two site visits, I realized that it is much more helpful and efficient if I come up with what I want to say beforehand. By doing this I can put my thoughts into words, reduce the amount of times I ramble, as well as be able to elaborate more on what I am trying to convey. So, going forward I will try my best to plan out what I will be saying, even if it’s just typing out a specific outline in my notes app on my phone so I can have something to keep me on topic while I hit every main point I wanted to talk about.

Now I want to somewhat shift directions to look more at my behavior during these site visits. I would definitely say that I was nervous to present my ideas both times; this was obviously because I wasn’t prepared to present my ideas which caused me to be anxious about what I was going to say. However, I will say that I became more confident while I was speaking whenever I was given good feedback such as head nods, quiet noises of agreement, etc. It was such subtle things that occurred, but it gave me the validation I needed to be more enthusiastic and brazen while presenting my plans.

Now going forward, something I will be doing overall to change the outcomes of my personal research and presenting will be to prepare more. When I’m prepared for not only the presentation, but the day, it allows me to be more confident in every aspect, less nervous when it’s time to execute activities, and more ready to give my full effort and knowledge to the things I have to accomplish. By being prepared, I can make sure that my partners, my group, my teachers, and my own self, can be more in tune with what I am working on as well as have a better understanding of the plans and ideas that I am trying to get across. 

Also, the more specific things that I will be doing to become more prepared will be to check the syllabus the day before class, but also multiple times throughout the week to stay ahead of any situations where something can be sprung on me. I will also continuously work on things outside of class by working on my time management and resolve. Lastly, I will practice giving small presentations about my ideas and current actions in order to be prepared for the next time I have to present.