At this moment, we are probably just starting to get to know our project team members and also, starting to discuss what topics we are planning to choose. With nifty and practical tips given to us by our seniors, we certainly can’t miss out on what our teachers in Eunoia have to say! Thus, The Origin* has interviewed a few teachers in the PW department for their expertise.
Ms Iris Lee
1. Always choose to tap on each other strengths instead of picking on each other’s weaknesses. Strengths amplify strengths.
Ms Sonia Taj Marican
1. The importance of not only speaking to industry experts but treating them right. Industry experts not only give you insight into your problem and the usability of your solution if you make a good impression they can open up doors for you as well.
2. Be resourceful. Every bit of knowledge and information you gather from observations of daily life/ the world around you can be turned into something useful that will help you reach your goals.
I had a group last year who picked a target group who was highly inaccessible because they wanted to work with ex-convicts. I could tell they really struggled to answer some of the questions I posed to them about the applicability and suitability of their solutions for their target group. This problem persisted until, through sheer grit and perseverance, they managed to get a hold of representatives from an NGO helping their TG.
The behavior that struck me as particularly impressive was that students from the group didn’t stop at securing an interview with these representatives. Having to contend with the constraints placed on them because of their school timetables, they went and made the best of a bad situation by inviting their interviewees to school for the interview. They then took pains to make a good impression on them and were, therefore, able to keep channels of communication open for future questions and feedback on their project.
Using their own initiative, the students requested I book a fancy air-conditioned venue for them for their interview, managed to scrounge up Eunoia labeled water bottles for their interviewees, and prepared thank you gifts for their guests. The whole thing was extremely professional and clearly modeled on student observations of how schools treat VIP guests during school events.
After that, everything fell in place – through these representatives of the NGO, they managed to get access to 2 members of their TG with whom they were able to set up multiple interviews and correspond with; their solution, though not particularly innovative at first, became increasingly relevant and insightful because they were now furnished with experience and feedback from organizations and individuals who might potentially use their solution.
Ms Mohana Rani Suppiah
1. For groups that are having problems with group dynamics etc to raise the issue early to the STs rather than to surface it later, so that steps can be taken to try and help these groups early.
2. Based on experience with both kinds of groups, for the ones who surfaced the problem early, non-contributors could be spoken to and warned about their behavior and given time to change their attitude and start contributing earlier. For groups who only brought up the matter close to the submission of the Written Report, it was a little too late to do anything.
Mr Daniel Kwan
1. Treat the three WR drafts seriously as they are precious! If the group knows that they cannot produce a good quality draft by the deadline, negotiate for an extension with the ST way in advance.
2. Make sure that you have printed and bound the final WR before the submission date. Do not do it on the actual day as things may go wrong.
Anecdote: A group was so stressed up when the printer in the library broke down due to excessive printing of WRs. They submitted the WR just 3 minutes before the deadline and a member rolled around on the floor in the library crying in relief after that J
Ms Adrienne de Souza
1. The tutor-group relationship is special. Trust your PW tutor.
Anecdote: As the Written Report submission deadline draws close, we often see groups getting anxious. Groups talk to other groups, sometimes from the same class, sometimes from other classes. And they start to panic if other groups seem to have been given different advice from what they have been given. Some groups then decide to make fairly major changes to their projects based on what they had heard from friends, without consulting their tutor. And from my experience, this has always led to more problems. So yes, seek advice from those around you. Talk to people. But if you ever feel anxious about your project based on what you might be hearing from anyone other than your tutor, always, always, always check with your tutor first and talk to them about your concerns. Then trust your tutor’s advice.
2. Prototype. Pilot test your solutions (or parts of them). And be on the lookout for opportunities to leverage other activities.
In 2017, I had a group that used their ViA project as an opportunity to implement and pilot test one part of their project solution – it was about using art for therapeutic purposes. And what was great to see was that because they actually implemented the art therapy aspect of their solution on their actual target group, their project was more than a proposal on paper – it became something real, that made a real difference to the community that they reached out to. And because they leveraged their ViA project to do this, as an added benefit, there was a nice synergy between the ViA outcomes and the rich learning that they derived and documented in their final Written Report, based on observations and data collected from the pilot test they conducted.
3. Be a honey badger – be ingenious, be resilient. Be ready to fail, try again, fail again, until you succeed. (Watch this video to learn more!)
Mr Omar Basri
- Maintain a good working relationship with your peers. While you do not have a choice of groupmates, you have a choice in terms of how you treat your groupmates, the effort you put in during group and how you communicate with one another. As such, understand the importance of working efficiently as a team, and put in equal effort as everyone else. You not putting in effort means that your groupmates have to pick up the slack. Over a period of time, resentment starts to seep in and the working dynamics may end up toxic. As such, cooperate with one another and put in effort.
2. Consult your tutors regularly. We are always here to help you, but this also means that you should be ready to continuously put in effort and work hard as well. At the same time, avoid consulting us at the very last minute; consultation needs to be done regularly.
Note: A big thank you to all the teachers who took the time and effort to help us out with their valuable advice!
Interviewer: Jacey Teoh
The Origin* 