PL3232 Biological Psychology
Lecturers: Dr. Camilo
David Libedinsky
I wouldnt say that Dr Camilo is the
best bio psych lecturer there is... although his slides are pretty clear, but
they are very confusing initially! becasue he overlaps his pictures (for
animation purposes), my friends and i spend a huge amount of time separating
them and consolidating the notes! although i must say that the notes pretty
much sums up what the textbook is saying. there can be easily 8 animations per
slide, what a headache and dread it was so separate each section into a new
slide! most of the time he says "but we are still not very sure about this
topic" and then he gives us an iffy explanation for it and we will be just
like urgh then why do you include it in... but he is rather patient and a nice
lecturer :) his teaching style is interesting, where he engages us on an online
poll during lecture! he would ask questions and we can (voluntarily) log on and
'live' answer them. he will then explain the answer to us. the questions were
pretty helpful in allowing us to check whether we really understand the topic :)
he also uses many videos to illustrate the concept, which is very useful! it
brings the concept to life and it is quite engaging. the best thing was that
there was webcast yay!
Weightage:
60% CA:
short quizzes, group tasks, assessments of lecture and tutorial presentations
and participation
40% Final exam
40% Final exam
Module participation was taken
seriously. we could see our tutor marking down something (im assuming our
names) every time 1 person finishes talking during tutorial discussion time. i
learnt that they don't mark you for whether your answers are correct or not,
they just want you to talk in class. i remember during my first tutorial i was
really quiet because i had nothing to contribute to the answer but my classmate
told me that i should just say something random to earn the point! so i just
said that i agreed with the previous speaker's contribution hahaha.
since there were 2 components to our
content: an online portion and the actual lecture itself, there were also
quizzes for the online portion. but thankfully we were given unlimited attempts
for the questions! the online portion were just (many) videos to watch and a
few MCQs to answer. it was not too bad.
Exam
format:
2 hours,
closed-book
SAQ
& 1 Essay
No
mid-terms!
i was so annoyed at finals! i guess all
content was tested BUT THE QNS WERE TUTORIAL QNS, which are essentially only
the first 6 chapters... 1 of my friend said that the lecturer/tutor mentioned
that only tutorial qns will be tested but none of my friends that i attend the
lecture with heard that memo and we stupidly studied everything, which was
extremely stressful! how could we miss the memo when we were present at every.
single. lecture.
Workload:
4/5 (5 being most heavy)
workload was pretty heavy because we
had to watch the online content before the lecture and prepare for it subsequently
otherwise we would be so lost during the question time.. it was time consuming
and the consolidation of slides took up even more time! needing to study every
fortnightly for the quiz was also time consuming because multiple chapters were
tested.
Tutorial Format:
tutorials were held fortnightly but
there were class quizzes during every tutorial. it was very stressful for me
because i had to quickly digest the new concepts.. after doing the quiz for 30
minutes, we are then given another 30 minutes to do the quiz again as a class
and we are given 2 grades: 1 for our individual attempt and 1 for the group
attempt. the remaining amount of time was spent explaining the answers by the
tutor. on the second last tutorial, we were told to come up with a short essay
with 3 errors in it, for the other groups to do and spot the error, as a form
of assessment. and on the last tutorial, we had to play a graded spot the error
from another group's essay. what an interesting tutorial format!
overall, this module was a huge
struggle for me because i have not studied bio since sec 4. but since it is a
core mod, i had to take it. given a choice, i wouldn't want to take it again!
but the content was rather interesting, learning why we sleep and why we feel,
a brief introduction to psychological disorders was pretty cool too! i guess
they attempted to inject consistency into the module by having those
fortnightly quizzes and i think it helped slightlyy. i'm glad i got to attend
this module with my friends, it made learning so much better! :)
PL3235
Social Psychology
Lecturers:
Dr Jia Lile
dr jia is a really nice, funny and
engaging lecturer! he'd tell us about his personal life and his adorable
daughter haha and he also engages his students by opening an online 'live'
poll! he also includes videos in his lectures that not only entertains us but
also allow us to see the concept come alive :) his slides were very nice, there
were different themes every week! only downside is that his slides are very
messy, it doesn't follow the flow of the textbook which frustrated me when i
was doing my notes oops. but the content of his slides were good and straight
to the point. it was not flooded with words :)
Weightage:
15%
Tutorial (Pop quizzes + Short Presentation)
20%
Mid-Term
20% Mock
Opinion Piece
45%
Finals
There were pop quizzes almost during
every tutorial, but they were not too scary. it was just 5 mcq questions from
the previous week's lecture content and it was not stressful at all. it was a
good time to refresh our memory and make sure that we understand our content!
the class presentation was rather interesting too, my group presented on
reasons behind singapore's kiasuism and it was fun researching on it! other
topics included pokemon go, joseph schooling etc. tutorials were 1 hour weekly
and time passed really quickly then.
Exam
format:
2 hours,
closed-book
MCQ +
Open ended questions for both mid terms and finals
Midterms were rather tricky. he tested
more on application than 'what' questions. the open ended questions were rather
different. instead of a formal tone that we normally receive during exams, it
was light hearted and relatable to real life situations. it was also quite
tricky as we had to really think about which social theory to use, considering
the massive amount of theories we have learnt!
finals were surprisingly alright! there were a few familiar mcq looking questions and turns out they were from the textbook haha! the questions were very direct, straightforward and lotsa hints for the open ended. however, mcq was rather tricky because it was not as straightforward, much inference and interpretation were needed.
Workload:
3/5 (5 being most heavy)
i'd say that among all the 3 psych
modules i have taken, this module has the lightest workload and the most
interesting content because it was very applicable to life and i can see it
happening in my daily activities! the only assignment given was the opinion
piece which was just having to report about a newspaper article based on social
psychology concepts. as the requirements were not too strict and it was given
to us pretty early during the semester, there was no hurry nor much stress in
doing the assignment :)
Tutorial Format:
As mentioned above, we had 5 minute mcq
quizzes almost every tutorial. before that, our tutor would revise with us the
previous week's content, or share with us more information about what we have
learnt in the singapore context. we had class presentations during the last 4
tutorials which took up much time too. i enjoyed tutorials because i had really
nice group mates!
Overall, this is my favourite psych
module i have taken because it is so applicable to life and i can SEE it
happening (unlike bio psych lol)! the content is a lot but it is not as heavy
as the other 2 modules i am taking. i'd recommend you to take social psych
together with either developmental or bio psych to balance out the content load
:-) although lectures were at 8am and it was so painful to wake up extremely
early to head to school, taking this module with my friends made 8am lectures
so much more bearable! plus, i have to say that dr jia puts in the effort to
engage his students so that we don't fall asleep. every lecture, he would bring
with him either red bull or hot coffee to drink, haha!
PL3239
Industrial Organisational Psychology
Lecturers:
Prof Al Kin-Chung Au
Prof Al Au is a humorous lecturer haha.
there were moments when we couldnt catch his accent and pronunciation but other
than that he is not bad :) he also uses videos to illustrate the concepts and
brought them to life, which was really entertaining!! his slides are extremely
clean, clear and precise. although they don't really follow the flow of the
textbook, but reading the slides is sufficient preparation for tests.
Weightage:
10%
Module Participation
12%
Group Presentation
13%
Individual Commentary
20% Mid
Term
45%
Finals
Similar to PL3232's module
participation, i think they just want us to talk during discussion time haha.
but it was much easier for this module because our tutorial group was already
smaller to begin with, and we were further split into 2 more groups for
discussion. so it was a comfortable number of 8 people per group approximately
:) the individual commentary were just our opinions and suggestions about the
presentation topic that we have to present on, while presentation was about our
weekly reading :)
Exam
format:
2 hours,
closed-book
MCQ for mid terms, MCQ + 2 essays
for finals
I didn't do too well for mid terms
because it did not cross my mind that i should read my tutorial readings and so
much was tested on it! furthermore the content for mid terms was crazy heavy
haha. it was a good lesson learnt in preparation for finals, i spent more time
studying my readings and i guess the effort paid off because much was tested on
the readings! :) the content for finals was much better as it was more fun and
relatable to study too.
Workload:
3/5 (5 being most heavy)
there wasn't much workload except for
the week that my group was presenting, and the week after that because our
individual commentary was due. other than that, we just needed to read the
textbook! most of the work came in before our tests because we had to memorize
everything haha.
Tutorial Format:
Tutorials were held fortnightly too and
each tutorial was just about a group presenting the readings of the week.
attendance was taken and tutorials were pretty chill! i enjoyed going for
tutorial because the groups presenting helped to bring the readings to life and
it felt good being able to understand what's going on because we read the
readings hahaha. it was very self-directed, our tutor barely lifted a finger.
we spent a good 30 minutes presenting and another 40 minutes having discussion!
the discussion questions were directed and thought out by the presenting group
and it helped us to apply what we have learnt to real life jobs and industries.
after the discussion, the tutor will give a summary of the readings :) i had a
really sweet tutor and nice classmates, so it was enjoyable going for tutorial!
I'd rate this module a 3/5 in terms of
enjoyement because it is pretty technical. the contents are split into 2
categories: industrial and organizational. the former was really dry and
boring, memorizing it was so painful! but the latter was much more fun to
remember and learn because it was very people-related, of which i like! i'd say
that the content is pretty heavy too, the entire module is just about memory
work, little application because everything is out there already :) i took this
module because i was thinking of venturing into the HR industry / be an IO
psychologist! but after this module i'm starting to think twice about my future
hahaha. it's a good module to take if you're interested to know how psychology
can be related to jobs in general. we learnt about job attitudes, job
motivation, stress, job analysis, training and development, etc :)
LAG1201
German 1
Teacher:
Diane Schürmeier
Frau Schurmeier is really nice! my
first western teacher hahaha. she's patient and i love it when she shares
stories from germany during class! makes all of us want to go there right now
:) she's also gentle and approachable.
Weightage:
30% Class Participation & Assignments
70%
Tests and Video Projects
i wasn't even aware of class
participation haha because normally in class frau schurmeier will call on names
to give answers and stuff!
Exam
format:
CA
-
4
Vocabulary Quizzes
2
Semester Tests
3 Video Assignments
3
Individual Assignments
assignments included 3 individual write
ups in german and 2 audio recording of your write up. i felt that it was more
stressful than group video projects because you have to get your intonation
really on point haha as there is no other people covering up your mistake. we
also had 3 video assignments! it was quite fun actually, my last video
assignment was done over a skype recording, it was pretty cool! i think these
assignments were in place of orals for the module as other language modules
have an oral component. so relieved and glad that there is no oral for german,
i'd rather do all these video and voice assignments! :)
the tests were held almost every
fortnightly, which was quite stressful for me. we had 4 vocabulary tests
biweekly and 2 semester tests. the vocab tests were 100% memory work so we had
to literally memorize the glossary book aka our german dictionary. it was
rather painful for me because memory work is hard for me and i had to try all
sorts of ways to memorize the words and translations. what's worse is that we
had to memorize the gender for the nouns too, and the verb conjugations! vocab
tests were not fun at all but the product of everyone's hard work paid off :)
the semester test included listening comprehension, grammer, vocab and reading
comprehension. the LC was tough because the speakers spoke in really fluent and
fast german, unlike the exercise book's CD haha so we were all caught off guard
during our first semester test. other than that the other components of the
semester tests were alright! not too intimidating and i quite enjoyed it more
than the vocab tests :-)
Workload:
4/5 (5 being most heavy)
this module was really time consuming
for me because we had so many worksheets to complete for the weeks' lessons
that occured twice a week. on top of that there were homework from the
assessment book itself. also, the biweekly vocab test took up so much of my
time because time is needed to spend memorizing the glossary book. i remembered
that i was rather frustrated in the middle of the semester because of how much
time german was taking up and i had no much time left for my other major mods..
the audio recording for individual assignments were also so time consuming for
me. but i think it will vary for different people because for me i'd make
sure that all my intonations are correct and stuff so i'd keep repeating until
i get it, while others could have just recorded once and for all, i dont know!
but this is really a personal preference on how much effort you want to put
into the audio assignment :-) but the time spent for video assignments were not
wasted and they were fun! no regrets :)
Tutorial Format:
there were no lectures and it was very
classroom style based just like college! i enjoyed the small class size and the
personal interaction with my teacher. it was a cozy environment and not
stressful! even when we had to speak up in german we can see our friends
helping and supporting each other which was really heartwarming to see :) i
liked my class, and the different group project groups that were assigned to us
helped us to mingle with our other classmates which was good too!
overall, i quite enjoyed german
actually. and i managed to put it into use when i became friends with a german
exchange student from my cca! although it was tough remembering the different
gendered nouns, the odd grammar structures and the different verb conjugations,
the pain was worth it i guess :) i would strongly recommend you to take up any
language module for the experience! learning a third language although takes
much effort, but it is really fun and enjoyable :) i'd like to take another
language in my future semesters!
CFG1020:
Roots and Wings 2.0
Facilitators:
Gregor & Crystal
apparently different classes have
different facilitators haha. gregor and crystal were really funny, gentle, nice
and approachable. i love going for their classes!
Weightage:
20%
attendance
15%
reflective journal
10%
surveys
25%
group project
10%
individual essay
20%
individual project
i decided to upgrade to 2.0 because i
wanted to clear my UEs haha plus i was told that there was barely any workload!
the latter is false. there was quite a bit of work to do, considering it is a
pass/fail module. i think they changed the structure after previous sem's
feedback to increase the workload and i understand that they are still
experimenting with the different approaches for this module as this sem was
only their second time holding it!
attendance was easy because class was really interactive and enjoyable! it was like a mini getaway for all of us because we barely had to use our brains during class :) it was quite seminar style where we sat behind a projector in a semicircle.
the reflective journal was actually a bit annoying because we had to constantly update it with how we have been using the exercises we learnt during class in our lives. my friend didnt update his for awhile and he received a comment on his google doc "hello? are you there?" hahaha it was pretty funny. although it was a nice time of reflecting on my life, it was also a bitttt time consuming as i had to set aside time to sit down and write several journal entries..
the group project was really fun! we got to choose the topic that we want to do and it was very freestyle. my group did about confidence! we were instructed to come up with a pseudo seminar guide, a video and a presentation. i really enjoyed myself through the entire group project process. we would meet up at rc4's game room and spend an hour playing table soccer before starting on our meeting hahaha! and it was a lighthearted and applicable topic for us so it was nice researching and preparing for it :-)
the individual essay was our commitment essay. we just had to write about what we want to commit ourselves to do and how we are going to achieve it or how we have practiced it or how we have achieved it. it was also very freestyle and no pressure if you start early haha because they gave us the assignment early during the sem when it's due at the end of it.
the individual project was the most annoying component because we had to come up with a 3-5 minutes video about our project. i managed to carry out a bit of my project but it was insufficient to film 3-5 minutes of it. you may think that 3 minutes is little but nope hahhaa it's longer than you think it is! although i must say that it was very heartwarming and fun to carry out your own project that you designed.
Exam
format:
CA-
Group
project
individual
essay
individual
project
individual
journal submissions
-as
mentioned above-
Workload:
2/5 (5 being most heavy)
i'd say that this module is the best
mod i had in the semester. it was most fun, most enjoyable, least workload of
all! if you can, i'd strongly recommend you to upgrade to 2.0 :)
Tutorial Format:
seminars were once a week for 2 hours.
it was really engaging and hands on as we were given activity sheets to do and
bring home! also we always started with a breathing exercise so it helped us to
focus on the present and calm down. after the exercise, gregor will ask us how
we are feeling at the moment and we would go 1 round sharing 1 word of how we
are feeling. it was a pleasant exercise, the more we did it the more we enjoyed
it over the week!
however, we had to watch weekly ivle
videos, read the seminar guide and do their (graded) quiz before going for
class. the seminar guide was quite interesting to read tho! it was the extra
readings, the videos and the quiz that was more time consuming.. we also had to
post twice on the ivle forum weekly because it was graded! but it was free and
easy (we could talk about anything or reply to other people's posts) and i
quite enjoyed replying to others' posts, sharing our opinions and experiences
:-)
we also got to complete experiential
exercises and practices in module guide which was interesting also! (ok i use
the word interesting too many times already haha but it's true!!) it was very
applicable in life and that's what i like about the module.
overall, this was the best module and i
enjoyed it so much! we were assigned into trios at the first seminar and we
spent most of our discussions with our trios which was very comfortable as we
got to know each other better over the semester :) i like this module because
it was a no-brainer during class haha and it was a change of environment and it
was hands on! i remember we would move around the classroom to sort ourselves
into the relevant categories, make new friends, write on post its and stuff.
the most memorable one was the lesson on empathy where we were instructed to
put our shoes in the middle of the classroom and we had to wear someone else's
shoes! i went for the comfortable flats and it was so comfy! i also liked my
project group because we could all click really well! best module ever :') our
last seminar together was so bittersweet it was a mixture of relief, happiness
and sadness haha. will miss it so much!
--
y2s1 was a challenge for me. with high commitments to my cca, external commitments and also my first time taking 3 level 3000 modules together, it was quite an experience! the stress was real but i really thank God for miraculously extending my time weekly and i manage to finish my work for the week. the difficult journey taught me to rely more than ever on God, trusting in Him that He will see me through and sustain me. i've learnt a lot through the content, but also about myself and about life. it was a fun semester for me too because of the different new experiences in my cca! i think this semester really taught me how to juggle my time, sort out my priorities and not to give in to peer pressure. the struggle is real to give into peer pressure in uni and with everything that uni is trying to grab your attention, it is important to surround yourself with friends who understand you and of good influence, friends who will realign your focus back to God or your #1 priority. i'm also thankful for my cell group who kept me grounded through the semester and my friend in cca whom we share our spiritual journeys together. all glory to the Almighty Lord! :-)
i hope you had a wonderful semester too! i wish you all the best for your results, i believe that you have done your best :) don't let your grades define who you are because they are just alphabets and numbers. life is more than just grades and caps, results are only a passing stone in your journey! what's more important is that you treasure the people around you, appreciate the little things you have in life; how people change people and what we can do for others to bless them :-)
God Bless!
