The past 13 weeks have been a rollercoaster of sorts with regards to the module, ES2007s. I've come to develop a love-hate relationship with it. At the end of it all, I've come out thoroughly satisfied with the module as a whole.
I came into this module a dilemma of sorts. On the one hand I was quite thrilled with the propsect of entering a module that taught you about resumes, job application letters and presentation skills. On the opposite side of it, I was forewarned about the intense workload by course mates who had taken the module in previous semesters.
Irregardless of the initial fears, I came into the first session with an open mind, and never looked back. Of course this was helped immensely by friendly and open course mates along with a constantly smiling lecturer.
There were certain things that I was grateful to have graduated the course with. First, the presentation skills were highly emphasized and taught with great endeavour. Moreover, it was always accompanied by a plethora of helpful feedback. This proved extremely useful on Nov 4th, when I delivered a speech on behalf of the NUS Aquathlon team for the NUS Sports Awards.
Next, I came out with a much deeper understanding about the finer points of resume writing , job application letters, and job interviews. These are skills I believe will aid my greatly in the not so distant future.
Lastly, I was glad to have worked with a fantastic class of people. Special thanks of course to Sheryl and Yuan Ru for a fantastic second half of semester working on our proposal and presentation. As with all things, there comes a time when you have to say goodbye. Thank you all for this journey!
I came into this module a dilemma of sorts. On the one hand I was quite thrilled with the propsect of entering a module that taught you about resumes, job application letters and presentation skills. On the opposite side of it, I was forewarned about the intense workload by course mates who had taken the module in previous semesters.
Irregardless of the initial fears, I came into the first session with an open mind, and never looked back. Of course this was helped immensely by friendly and open course mates along with a constantly smiling lecturer.
There were certain things that I was grateful to have graduated the course with. First, the presentation skills were highly emphasized and taught with great endeavour. Moreover, it was always accompanied by a plethora of helpful feedback. This proved extremely useful on Nov 4th, when I delivered a speech on behalf of the NUS Aquathlon team for the NUS Sports Awards.
Next, I came out with a much deeper understanding about the finer points of resume writing , job application letters, and job interviews. These are skills I believe will aid my greatly in the not so distant future.
Lastly, I was glad to have worked with a fantastic class of people. Special thanks of course to Sheryl and Yuan Ru for a fantastic second half of semester working on our proposal and presentation. As with all things, there comes a time when you have to say goodbye. Thank you all for this journey!
Hey Aldrich,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that that you were able to apply what we've learnt in this course. I think that the skills we've learnt are indeed applicable to our jobs in the future (unlike some of our other modules, haha)and with continuous use of these skills, we can improve our communication skills too :)
Thanks for being a great classmate!
So long,
Abigail
Love-hate, eh, Aldrich? I know what you mean. As one of the people who sets the curriculum I face a dilemma every term. Do I build a course that requires the students to do the sort of work that I KNOW will benefit them in the future while at the same time setting up for myself a long list of assignments to give feedback on/mark, or do I go for the *easy thing* and just do what might seem as sufficient to students and admin alike? I mean, it would make everyone happy, right, if we eliminated the blogging (and the chance for detailed reflection and discussion on various course topics) and if we cut back on, say, the number of drafts of the application letter? And that peer teaching...couldn't we just get by (as was done in the past) with one presentation?
ReplyDeleteWell, I think you know my answer to these questions: for me it's not just a question of establishing a sort of world-class academic integrity in a course of study but also providing students with exactly those exercises that *test* them in areas that will be required of them in the future, to wit, your presentation/speech for the NUS Sports Awards.
I do appreciate your commitment to excellence in ES2007S, Aldrich. By your stellar behavior one would never guess that you ever wavered on the issue of believing in the value of the work. Thank you for that, and best of luck in your future endeavors!
Yo Aldrich! My fellow Life Science mate! (Crappy major huh?) The love-hate relationship is indeed omnipresent and I believe that everyone in some point of the module would have the same feelings too. Previously, people warned me about the ~25 page research project for this module, but sighed relief upon learning that we are the ‘guinea-pig’ batch to take this proposal writing syllabus. A blessing-in-disguise, maybe, but still the workload still turned out to be rather heavy for all of us, especially for Life Science students like us that are currently taking up modules like Fundamentals of Pharmacology. =(
ReplyDeleteWith the feedbacks from both students and tutors, we can see the spectrum of varying demands and expectations from people of all sorts of backgrounds. I saw your speech during the NUS Aquathlon team for the NUS Sports Awards – Simply excellent! There is never a goodbye my friend, we are still in NUS and while we are still studying in it, let’s keep in contact! Facebook “NUS ES2007S” group! =D
Regards,
Ivan
Hi Aldrich!
ReplyDeleteI guess I share the same sentiments as you! I love what we are learning in this module but I hate the workload! Sometimes, I get so engrossed in ES work every week that I neglect the rest of my core modules! Haha! But I guess this is because ES work is more fun than learning all the stupid life science concepts? :P
In any case, it has been great knowing you as a classmate! You are certainly an inspiration to the class with your great oral presentation skills! =) Hope to keep in touch with you!
Hi Aldrich,
ReplyDeleteI think you do not need more people agreeing with you on the love-hate sentiment. Haha. I am glad our feedback helped you during your speech for the NUS Sports Awards. That is a living testimonial that Brad’s method of teach work. I guess.
Anyway, all the best for your exams!
Chee Siang
Dear Aldrich,
ReplyDeleteFirstly I would like to thank you also for being part of my life the past 12 weeks or so. You were a great coursemate!
We have all definitely gained many useful skills in this module. It been a tough journey but I am sure we all enjoyed ourselves, making jokes and having open conservations in th process.
I wish you luck and take care my friend!
Ken Jie
Hello Aldrich!
ReplyDeleteLove-hate love-hate love-hate! Don't we have that all the time! I see where u're coming from, the workload vs the fun, right?! Sigh guess we can't really have the best of both worlds. But you do have to agree that ES2007S is a much more enjoyable module than our boring core modules in Life Sciences, hah!
I really need to thank you too. #1, For introducing this module to me and roping me in to take it with you, no regrets! #2, For being such a patient teammate when we did the peer-teaching and presentation together! I was always busy with this and that and lagging behind in the progress of ES2007S work but you were always there to help me catch up and remind me about deadlines (: Thanks pal!
And, remember not to prop your leg up when you're giving a speech anymore alright! (The sports awards speech haha) Brad didn't teach you that! (:
Cheers, Yuan Ru
Hey Abby! Thanks for the comments. Yes I hope we can all apply it in our workplace in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi Brad. Thank you for the kind words as always. You’ve been a great tutor! And yes I totally agree with the portion on academic integrity. Guess the choices are always there to be made, in just about any situation. As you would say, se la vie.
Dear Ivan and Sarah, crappy major indeed. Lies I tell you, all lies I’ve heard about life sciences before I immersed myself into this major. Haha, thank you both for the kind words. The enthusiasm you guys share for making such well thought comments never cease to impress me. Wishing you all the best for LSM3211 Ivan, and Sarah, hang in there, Year 2 can only last so long.
Thank you Chee Siang! And all the best for your exams too!
Hey Ken Jie, it’s seriously been great having you as a coursemate. Heres wishing you the very best in the coming exams my friend!
Dearest Yuan Ru, hahah. You’ve been a great project mate and friend! It has been great having you along every step of the way in ES2007S. Thanks and good luck for exmas!
Hi Aldrich,
ReplyDeleteOoh.. Yeah, I know that love-hate relationship all too well.
Firstly, I really want to thank you for the effort you put into our project! It was truly a pleasure getting to know you and work with you. And the constant banter between you and Yuanru is so cute la. You should really consider introducing your brother to her! Haha!
Oh and your speech was so so soooo good, Aldrich! I remembered being so impressed when I saw it in some facebook link, and being so glad that I have such a good speaker on my team!
Thank you for the feedback too! Lessons with you were great.. And don’t overdo the looking sexy thing ok! That’s how you get detected by gaydars!
Haha, see you around, Aldrich!
Xo,
Sheryl