Hajarah Faleel- Individual Self-

Assessment
by .H. Faleel

Submission date: 15-May-2022 11:23PM (UTC+0530)

Submission ID: 1836763761
File name: 70101_.H._Faleel_Hajarah_Faleel-_Individual_Self-Assessment_2341104_1799749429.pdf (4.21M)
Word count: 1407
Character count: 7257
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INDIVIDUAL SELF-ASSESSMENT

This essay is based on the Group Presentation which took place on the 9th of May
2022, and it will contain a brief report of the events and proceedings in relation to the
presentation; it will focus on two of the significant experience that occurred, and
explore the responses, contributions, choices and decisions, reasons behind these
courses of action, learning outcomes and how these happenings led to an overall
reconstruction of my outlook and perception to life.

The group consisted of six members (myself included), and as these personalities
played a central role in this task, they will be referred to using the following initials;
SA, SC, M, NR and EM henceforth. Preparations for the presentation commenced
on the 17th of March, and within the first week of meeting on the online platform
'Zoom', thoughts and ideas on key-concepts had been exchanged, and sub-topics had
been chosen; I chose to speak on Universal Grammar (UG). The team unanimously
agreed on making their own slides for the presentation, and i.n order to sustain a
cohesive flow, R offered to merge it via Microsoft Power Point and work on the
finishing touches together. The team took two weeks to complete research on their
relevant topics, design slides, pick visual aids, narrow down textual content, and
formulate a script. Decisions were made, and deadlines were set; the efficiency with
which this group worked was invigorating, and it pushed me to aim for perfection.

I spent an approximate amount of 67 hours in order to complete these tasks,

researching my topic to the last detail, and meticulously picking images, designing
diagrams, and utilising Graphics Interchange Format (Offs) with the aim of
summarising the entirety of Chomsky's Theory ofUG faultlessly. Upon completion of
these tasks, I was incredibly confident about the quality of my content, as I believed
that the textual data and Visual Aids worked together in harmony to present the
audience with an impeccable presentation on UG. My finalised slides were shared

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with my team, who unanimously stated that the content presented was "superb". The
only feedback I received was to make the background brighter. I appreciated the
constructive criticism, and with the approval of everyone it was switched to a shade
of blue. I then emailed the slides to R, who had volunteered to merge them on
Microsoft Power Point. At the next meeting (which occurred about a week before the
examination) I realised that the entirety of my slides had been changed to something
shockingly infantile (with shades of marshmallow-purple, yellow, baby-pink and light
blue, along with over five images of cartoon-babies, and a removal of over 70% of
my visual aids), without my knowledge or consent. My initial submission was
cognisant ofmy originality and the certainty ofmy knowledge; this design didn't just
affect the formality of my topic, but limited it. The lack of transparency and
communication within the group frustrated and demotivated me, as it felt like all the
effort, 1 put into the presentation was being disregarded. I was confident about the
quality of my work and how it would contribute to the group, so 1 decided to voice
my opinions, but NR, SC and NM stated that the edited version was "cute" and
"colourful", and no acknowledgement was made on the basis of the content ofmy
initial slides- the discussion always veered towards aesthetic. When I tried to portray
that content and cohesion between each members presentation was more important,
the group assured me that the modified slides were excellent. I was apprehensive
about this, and did not agree, but I wanted to maintain peace within the group and
avoid argument, so I relented.

Relenting was a mistake, because I ended up feeling disassociated with the slides that
I was presenting, and was stiff and robotic with my presentation on the day of the
examination. I did not expect to feel this way, as 1 am generally good at public
speaking. I then realised that this was because I was embarrassed to be the only
member whose topic was presented with a childish aesthetic. Feeling lost and
frustrated was entirely my fault, because I was cowardly when I faced my team, who
were my equals; and gave up on my sense of originality, authenticity and the

functionality of my slides, when I should have requested for mediation. It was

obvious that some members of the group were not going to agree with me, despite my

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extensive understanding of the topic, and I should have enlisted help; perhaps with a
lecturer, or senior who had already completed this module, as a more authoritative or
experienced person could have decided on the best set of slides, or even suggested
ideas from both, to reach a compromise. This experience taught me, that being timid
and reserved will get me nowhere, and that it is important to diplomatically stand up
for what I believe in- the individuals in the group were not the problem, as they
voiced out their beliefs firmly, I was the issue because I did not trust myself enough,

and feared confrontation. This is something that I will be working on, and l hope to be
a better, more confident version of myself in the next group activity that I participate
m.

Additionally, one of the things I was most excited to be a part of was to see what
could be achieve with a group of such motivated individuals, especially as this was
the first time that I was involved with a team that initially seemed to prefer to reach
their goals utilising an almost egalitarian approach- and this interested me. Due to
repeated verbal conflict however, that took place with SA, EM, Rand SC, which
came to be arduous, and only resulted in repetitive micro-managing tactics and an
almost dictatorial treatment of SA, which was jarringly harsh, This occurred during
the last week of preparations, and I realised that having a unanimously elected leader
would have been beneficial in this scenario, as it would have tasked someone with
the responsibility to make decisions which prompted focus, and allowed us to reach
our goals faster- this would have opened up more avenues for communication,
minimised conflict within the group and boosted productivity. This allowed me to
see that groups with and without leaders have their strengths and weaknesses, and
that it isn't a matter of having a leader or not; it's up to the individual to see what
suits his/her work ethic best, to complete the task at hand. This is something that
changed my perspective of work-based environments, and it has prompted me to
avoid being hasty with analysis on high-stakes tasks. It is a valuable lesson that I
will never forget.

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Overall, it is important to state, that the group as a whole performed well, and we
even received positive feed-back from the examiner- I believe that the hard-work and
commitment of each member allowed this to happen, and I am grateful for the
experience and long-standing lessons this task has left me with. The challenges I
encountered have aided in the development of my character; I was able identify
personal weaknesses and understand that confidence is key, I now feel more aware of
myself than ever, and I am determined to stand firm for the things that I believe in. I
am truly grateful for this opportunity.

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REFERENCES

• Corazza, G. E. & Lobar, T. (2020). 'The Big Bang of Originality and

Effectiveness: A Dynamic Creativity Framework and Its Application to

Scientific Missions'. Available from <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/ l

0.3389/ fpsyg.2020.575067/full> [15 May 2022)

• Eagles Flight (EF) (n.d) Teamwork in the Workplace: The Importance of

Leadership [online) available from <https://www.eaglesflight.com/resource/

teamwork-in-the-workplace-the-importance-of-leadership/> [15 May 2022)

• Los Angeles Community College District (n.d) (LACCD) The Importance of

Leadership in the Workplace [online] available from <https://www.laccd.edu/

Departments/PersonnelCommission/Documents/EmployeeBulletins/
09. l 7%20The%20Importance%20of%20Leadership%20in %20the% 20Workp lace

%20-%20Employee.pdf> [15 May 2022)

• The Muse (TM) (n.d) 5 Effective Ways to Deal with the Office Control Freak
[online] available from <https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-effective-ways-to
deal-with-the-office-control-freak> [15 May 2022)

• Very Well Mind (VWM) (May 30, 2020) Understanding the Psychology of

Creativity [online) available from <https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is

creativity-p2-3986725> [15 May 2022)

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Hajarah Faleel- Individual Self-Assessment
GRADEMARK REPORT

FINAL GRADE
GENERAL COMMENTS

28
Instructor

You have proven your personal growth during the

task. It is good to understand personal issues and
learn from your own experiences. Your academic
writing skills are very good although I didn't expect
academic writing for this task.

/40 Content 30m

facts 10 - 7

personal experience 20 - 13

Structure 10m - 8

Total 40m - 28

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