Year 3, Semester 2

Hello there! Apologies for not posting on the first week of school, it was a crazy semester! first 4k mod, most number of psych mods i've taken in a sem, dancing, church commitments, it was a very eventful and hectic sem but i enjoyed it so much! 

PL3252 Social Cognitive Perspective of Emotions

Lecturer: Prof Eddie Tong
Prof Eddie is super engaging! i've not dozed off in his class before haha. he has been teaching this module for about 10 years so he reuses his slides! his teaching style is different from what i'm used to. he briefly talks about a focused emotion for the first 20 minutes of the lecture, before going into the main topic of the day. he teaches through experiments! lesser content, more experimental results. Prof Eddie is humorous and he shares some jokes during class. he also plays snippets of movies that is related to the topic of the week, which is engaging! i really enjoyed his class, he is a good lecturer! slides are clean and neat. oh, and there was no webcast for this module.

Weightage: 
25% Midterm
50% Finals
10% Participation
15% Group presentation

i like how we did not have any individual report writing to do. but that also meant a higher finals weightage. there were weekly group presentations on the respective readings. presentations were pretty different to me because not only did we have to give a summary of the current reading, we had to come up with our own related experiment on the given emotion too. it was a good experience as we had the opportunity to craft our on hypothesised experiments! participation was intense because the tutor actively noted down who talked and who did not. so i had to crack my head for questions every week haha but it was a good stretch! 

Exam format: close book, MCQ, SAQ, essay
Mid terms was just 1 essay question worth 25 marks and we were only allowed to submit 1 piece of foolscap paper. it was pretty scary! prof did not tell us the average marks but he said that those who scored above 20 were safe and good.  

Finals was cumulative. Finals was stressful because the weightage is so high! it was relatively easier to study for it as there were more experiments and results to memorize than content itself. it was good to study the experiments as it was like the content coming to life, proving itself correct! mcq were funny and manageable and so were the SAQ (10m + 15m, 1 page each) for finals. there were no essays. i think the bell curve is going to be very steep because the finals paper was considerably manageable! 

Workload: 3/5
the workload is pretty light because we only had 1 reading per lecture and 1 reading per tutorial! the readings were manageable too, less than 12 pages on average. they were quite interesting to read too as it was very applicable to life and relatable! and best thing is that there is no textbook!! but given no textbook, there was no practice platform in preparation for mids and finals.. :( 

the group presentation did not take up too much time too, a week or two's worth of preparation is enough. 

Tutorial Format:

my tutors were yu zhaoliang & lim chun hui. they were pretty good! they did not talk much during tutorial because our tutorials were 35 minutes only and the presentation and Q&A took up all of the time. but zhaoliang has a unique kind of humor and chun hui is pretty chill. 

overall, i enjoyed the content of this module, probably the best content psych module i've ever taken! highly recommend you to take this module if you can, it's very relatable! i'm not sure how i'll do, i'm quite certain that the bell curve is steeeeep. we'll see! :)

PL3260 Moral Development

Lecturer: Dr Yu Rongjun
i think this was Dr Yu's first time lecturing moral development. his teaching style was similar to dr tong's as mentioned above. but he had fewer experiments. about 4 to 5 per lecture and we just had to remember the procedure and results. most of the content focused on young children and their development on fairness, altruism, social learning, etc. however, dr yu's accent is very strong and i have some difficulties understanding what he was saying. he also has many long pauses in between sentences which was a bit weird. but the best thing was that he had webcasts! so there were very very few people (less than 30) who turned up for lecture. his slides are clean and neat. apart from his accent, i feel that dr yu is not bad :) 

Weightage: 
15% Attendance & participation
25% Mid term
20% Critique paper
40% Finals
yes, participation is important! the tutor will really take note on how much you talk. it's not just about speaking up, but also how much and your quality..
mid term and finals were manageable and pretty straight forward. study hard and you're good to go!
the critique paper was tough for me because i'm a poor writer. we just had to write an evaluative paper on any moral development-related paper on the internet. he did give us some guidelines on how we can write and what we can write about, but it's was pretty vague. but better than nothing! 

Exam format: close book, MCQ, SAQ

mid term and finals were good, they were do-able. studying the content and memorizing the experiments were enough. the mcq was pretty straightforward, which makes the mean-median really high! know your content and results of the focused experiments and you should be safe :)

Workload: 3/5
apart from the period of writing the critique paper, the module is quite light as we did not have presentations. we had about 4-5 short readings per lecture, which were about the experiments that dr yu taught during class. so since it was previously taught, it was easier to read the readings after that. there was 1 reading per fortnight tutorial and it was just a regular journal article that is easy to read. another best thing is that there is no textbook here too! given that there was no textbook, there was no practice platform in preparation for mids and finals..

Tutorial Format:

my tutor was chai jing wen. he is super friendly, super bubbly and engaging! i appreciate that he made an effort to remember each and every student's name. he also encourages us to share our opinions during class in order to get the participation point.
tutorials were held fortnightly for 2 hours. during tutorials, jing wen would go through the past 2 week's worth of content in a nutshell and then go through the tutorial reading experiment. we had group discussion opportunities and that's where you earn your participation points as well! 

overall, i enjoyed this module too! surprisingly, i really enjoyed the content of moral development. it's interesting and very relatable to life as well. i'm glad that i took this module under dr yu :) i recommend you to take this module too! 

PL3283A Lab in Adolescent Psychology

Lecturer: Dr Lee Li Neng
i'm so happy that we got dr lee! he was my adol prof last semester and i really enjoy his classes. he is very friendly, open and approachable. he teaches well and is very knowledgable! if he is teaching any class for the semester, JUST TAKE IT HAHAHA. he makes the content enjoyable!

Weightage: 

20% Datacamp participation
25% Proposal
25% Group presentation
30% Individual report
data camp was an online statistic learning platform that we had access to. it's where we learnt R. there were many things taught like mediation, moderation, tests, etc. i was an interesting, interactive learning platform. i'm not sure how it'll help me in the future but it was an eye opening experience! it was very time consuming though, because we cannot get to the next level / stage if we don't get the answers correct. and we had to accumulate HP points to which will reflect our grade, i think :o
the proposal was group-based. it was almost the same thing as the adol module proposal (refer to year 3 semester 1 post!) so it was familiar work again. we had the freedom to come up with ANY experiment / project! and i appreciate that dr lee helped us through our planning. he helped us check if our project is unique, applicable and useful. my group did on the effect of mentorship on religiosity on church-going youths and i think dr lee liked it because he himself is a christian as well so he was able to understand our project! hehehe!
the group presentation was a group grade and not every had to present. we just had to present on our project / experiment, same thing as adol!
individual report was the WORST OF ALL. and probably the most time consuming! it was a huge challenge for me because i did not understand statistics and i didn't really know how to operate SPSS. we had to come up with our own secondary research question as well and it had to be unique from our group mates so that we aren't copying each other. given the unique secondary research question, it meant that i have to do my own data analysis which scared the heck out of me! but thank God thank God thankkkkk God that my group mates whom were experts at SPSS were very gracious and patient with me and guided me through my data analysis.
yes, speaking of data analysis, after collecting data for our project, my groupmates spent HOURS and probably a day cumulatively. they ran SO many tests!!! and it was tricky as we had many variables. but thank God that my groupmates were good at SPSS :)
so since i'm poor at results and therefore explaining it, i did not do as well for my individual report compared to my groupmates.. nevertheless, thank God for the marks i got, it could have been worse. :)

Workload: 4.5/5

the workload was not evenly spread out over the semester. it was super heavy when we had to brainstorm for project ideas and then write the proposal as we had to do literature review and i think we literally scoped the entire goggle scholar collectively haha. then when we were waiting for data collection, it was pretty chill and we did not have to meet. but once data collection was done, data analysis was intense and extremely time consuming! and even after that, writing our individual report was so stressful and thankfully dr lee was understanding and he gave us a 12 hour extension for my group. the days that i spent doing my individual report, i neglected everything else. it was THAT time consuming omgosh help. that's why i'm so thankful that the proposal was a group work!

Seminar Format:

we only had 4 compulsory seminar lessons where dr lee briefed us on the module and refreshed our memories on SPSS. the remaining 9 weeks were flexible. we were free to use the lab or just meet outside the lab for our projects. 

overall, this module was tramatizing for me to a small extent. haha if i had the choice, i will never do this again. unless i am good at it and actually did well in it haha if not nah. 

PL4206 Cognitive Neuroscience

Lecturer: Dr O'Dhaniel A. Mullette-Gillman

Dr o'dhaniel is a nice lecturer. easy to approach and easy to talk to. just thatttt, it's really hard to sit in his class because i don't understand what he is saying. he does not really get straight to the point and even if he does, he'd take back his sentences and say something else that is different from what he said initially. which made me really confused. he talks really fast too but his accent is easy to listen to. he has many many slides but it's not THAT messy. his slides has many diagrams. there is a very expensive textbook but i think there's an online version floating somewhere. the textbook was not very useful though it was compulsory to read it.. 

Weightage: 

5% Neuroanatomy quiz
20% Weekly in-class quiz
25% Presentation
20% Discussion & Participation
30% Finals
the neuroanatomy quiz was for our own good apparently haha so that we are familiar with the neuroanatomy terms. 
the weekly in-class quiz were based on the weekly readings that were about 4 readings on average. it included both textbook and journal articles. the first few weeks were really dry and boring and confusing because it was about dopamine, neural circuits etc of which i am really bad at. but the readings got more interesting towards the end when it was about moral judgment. the weekly in class quiz were 10 minutes only and mostly 5 mcq questions. they were upon 10 marks and on average all of us kinda failed.... there were some weeks that he gave us extra 2 points and i'm guessing it's because we all did so badly so it was pity points? hahaha idk. but yeah i did q badly for it. 
there were weekly presentations on 1 reading of the week. we just had to present on the paper and give a few critiques on it. it was relatively easier and easy-going. a week's worth of preparation should be enough. 
i have no idea where our discussion and participation points came from because we werent really given the opportunity to earn points? am quite unsure about this.. the class was pretty quiet haha. 
i'm so relieved that finals were 30% only because there was SO much content and i was still clueless about what i'm learning even by finals. 

Exam format: open book, MCQ, SAQ

THANK GOD THAT FINALS WERE OPENED BOOK! because there were TOO much to memorize. people brought THICK FILES into the exam hall. i have not brought so many things into an exam before hahaha. it was really handy because it made the mcq very manageable! the SAQ were tricky and i think i lost 18 marks because i did not know how to do 3 6m questions... i'm pretty doomed already, as you can see haha. 

Workload: 5/5
this is the heaviest module i've ever taken. even worse than PL3240 hahaha. the content is so heavy and so tough, that my friend also thinks it's a masters level. the prof also assumes you understand and have someee background knowledge lol. the readings were very time consuming because we had to find the reading, download the reading and print it out. on top of that, we had to read our textbook chapters which were so long and so wordy! some of the readings were full of graphs i dont understand, some were really technical and long and dry...
we had to do the readings since they were all tested for our weekly quizzes so that was an incentive to have consistent work for this module.
the readings were not easy to understand too. that's why i was pretty much clueless the entire semester and i just typed down what the prof said during class without fully understanding it.. and since i was the blur student, i took so much time to prepare for finals hence the heavy workload.

Seminar Format:

we spent the first 10 mins on the quiz and then about 30 mins for the presentations. after the presentations, prof would take over and teach the content of the week, which is normally going through the paper. sometimes we have breaks, sometimes we don't. it's an intense 3 hours haha..

overall, i just want to pass this module. i'd only recommend you to take this module if you enjoy bio and cognition. i don't at all and i suffered haha.. definitely will not take this module again and i hope that this is not the intensity of other 4k modules, otherwise i'd DIE. 

GEH1058 The Theatre Experience

Lecturer: Dr Graham Wolfe

Dr wolfe is really funny! he is very engaging and passionate about the theatre scene too. i thoroughly enjoyed going for his lectures! his first few lectures were extremely funny because he made a video of himself and he aired it, and he was talking to the video and the video 'responded' to him! super cool haha. he also includes videos during class. his slides are quite messy but the content was eye opening and interesting! different weeks had different themes with a specific play to focus on. this is what a real GEM module should be like- learning something you won't learn in everyday life, outside school, out of your major :) 

Weightage: 100% CA

20% Quizzes

25% Written analysis of a theatrical production in Singapore

15% Group presentation

20% Portfolio

20% Attendance & Participation

We had 2 quizzes, one before recess and one before reading week. the quizzes consisted of a mixture of MCQ and fill in the blanks. it's pretty tricky, take note of every detail in class! it was both closed book. 
the written analysis was very new and unfamiliar to me. i'm too used to writing scientific reports and this was the first time i had to write an art report haha. the style is so different! honestly i had to use thesaurus to find appropriate artsy words haha. i struggled a bit because the things to write about was not google-able, unlike psych papers. the analysis was about writing about the play you went to watch. my friends and i watched The Father by Pangdemonium. although we had to pay for the tickets ourselves, we were given student discounts. it was my first play and it was an extremely eye opening experience! very unique and unforgettable :) it's worth the price! it was so funny cos everyone at my section were from the module and we were all taking down notes haha! 
the group presentation was based on our choice of a play that was taught during class. preparing our slides were tricky becauase it was supposed to promote our portfolio, which was due after our presentation. so we actually had to come up with the content of our portfolio before doing the presentation. thank God i had a really cooperative and proactive group and we were on the ball already! 
our portfolio was extremely realistic! we had a casting page, budget page, location page, etc. it was eye opening (again) to do it! it was much fun finding actors and actresses to recommend. although it was time consuming, this is one of the projects i happily spend time doing :) 
the entire process of the written analysis, portfolio and group presentation was very hand-held. the instructions and guidelines were very clear and very detailed, it really helped those who were unfamiliar with theatre writing! i appreciate the help given :) dr wolfe was very reassuring as well that it's not very tough to write and present theatre stuff :)

Workload: 2.5/5

lightest module of the semester! although there were weekly readings that were supposedly compulsory, it was not really reflected in the quizzes. but it was good general knowledge! some of the readings were scripts of the play and it was like reading a story book. some weeks were just to watch the play online, which is really fun!
the only crunch time was during the weeks in-between the play and submission of the play analysis. other than that, if your group is on the roll and proactively does the project, the project is quite smooth! really thank God for a good mod :) 

Tutorial Format:

Sura was my tutor! although he is very friendly and approachable, turns out he is pretty strict in his grading for our analysis and portfolio :( he is pretty knowledgable about the theatre scene and is a nice tutor. 
tutorials were held fortnightly, with 1 presentation each time. 

overall, i enjoyed this module! it's my last UE to clear and i'm sad that i won't have anymore opportunity to take such cool modules. it was the best UE/GEM i've ever taken, something i'll never get to try once i graduate haha. take this module if you're interested in theatre but not want to act! hahaha. the content is really interesting and light :) don't worry if you're not an art student, this GEM is meant for students from all disciplines! and it's quite easy to understand too. 

//

i can only give God all the glory and thanks for whatever that has happened this sem. i was able to spend the first half of the sem dancing and the second half serving in church :') i'm so glad that my good friends are back from exchange and we were able to spend the semester together! i was also able to spend most of my module time with my friend and i got to know her more. she's a really nice girl who is patient and so gracious towards the blur student in me :') so thankful for her! 

i really wanted to perform again, at least once this semester, and i was given the opportunity to! it was a different experience practicing and performing but a wonderful experience nonetheless. 
God has been doing amazing things in my cell and we have gone from a state of surviving to a state of thriving! He is so good and so real to all of us and i thank God for His unconditional love for us. Jesus loves you too! regardless what your CAP is, what you have done and who you are. it is by grace, through faith, that we can believe in Jesus and that we can be close to Him to experience His unfailing love <3 

i'm honestly really scared for y4 bcos i dont know how the 4k mods will be. i hope it won't be as bad as the one i took this sem. quite dreading it actually, but first let's focus on summer and results day hahaha. 

i hope your semester went well and that you had a fun time too! it's really the period in your life to try all types of (good and beneficial) things in uni like a sport you always wanted to try or dance or even modules! if you're still reading this, thank you for reading to the end hehe. if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment! :)

God bless!