A reflective student

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A reflective students SWOT Analysis

• By A R Student

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IntroductionThese were the six core modules
taken in semester 1

• MS0013A Basic Mathematical Methods I
• MA000IA Background Study Skills I
• ME001A Foundations of Physics I
• BB0071A Foundations of Chemistry I
• BB0011A Intro to Cellular Molecular Biology
• GY0007A Understanding Planet Earth

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MS0013A Basic Mathematical Methods I

• Topics covered in this module
• Algebra. i.e-polynomial/quadratic
  equations/partial fractions
• Indices and Logarithms. i.e. binomial expansion
• Differentiation Part I. i.e. product rule
• Angles and Elementary Special Functions. i.e.
  trig functions
• Integration Part. i.e area under the curve
• My Strengths
• Overall this was a successful module which
  allowed me to refresh my mind on the concepts of
  the subjects.
• Algebra was just a case of brushing up on the
  basics,
• The product rule was easy to come to terms with.
• Integration was demanding but fair when
  understood.

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MS0013A Basic Mathematical Methods I

• My Weaknesses
• I found these topics to be harder in which I
  felt my knowledge of the subject been challenged.
• The binomial expansion was tricky and took more
  time and effort to understand.
• The sine, cosine and tangent rules and
  derivatives took more effort to come to grips
  with.
• Overall Performance
• Overall this module was successful.
• The different topics covered in module were well
  understood.
• Relearning the topics and practising their
  methods helped to refresh my memory.

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MA0001A Background Study Skills I

• Contents of the module
• Computing Skills. i.e. Microsoft
  package/emailing
• Basic Mathematical skills. i.e. prime
  factorisation
• Descriptive Statistics. i.e. representation of
  data
• Study Skills. i.e. revision and exam technique
• Technical Literacy. i.e. report writing/CVs
• My Strengths
• My main strengths lied in the practical use of
  computers and my mathematical skills.
• Finding my way around the computer proved a
  reasonable task, and once I knew the basics, I
  was able to follow through easily with an
  assignment.
• The maths session helped to re-jog my memory on
  some the topics as well as being a useful way to
  revise.

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MA0001A Background Study Skills I

• My Weaknesses
• I found my weaknesses to be in areas that I have
  always found harder.
• Writing reports and essays proved to be a problem
  for me, I would struggle at these exercises.
• My actual study skills werent well established.
  I never developed a good exam technique and
  revision in other modules were kept to a minimum.
• Overall Performance
• This module progressed reasonably well.
• The module has boosted my confidence, allowing me
  to use the packages, email and internet easily.

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ME0013A Foundations of Physics I

• Topics covered is this module
• Mechanics. i.e. kinematics equations, resultant
  force in static and dynamics. Free body diagrams,
  Newtons law of motion.
• Optics. i.e Nature of light/wave motion
• Heat.
• My Strengths
• Having an informed knowledge of maths helped me
  with the mathematical side of physics.
• I felt that using the kinematics equations and
  applying them to practical problems was
  reasonably simple.
• Drawing free body diagram and find results using
  sine,cosine and tangent seemed easier once the
  question was constructed on paper.

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ME0013A Foundations of Physics I

• My Weaknesses
• I found both heat and optics really hard to
  understand.
• Optics proved very hard to come to grips with.
  It was difficult to learn all the factors.
• I found the complexity of the heat topics hard to
  grasp, especially as I found it hard apply the
  mathematics.
• Overall performance
• This module was upsettingly unsuccessful.
• In mechanics, I found the problems difficult
  especially when you had to apply the laws to it.
• Both optics and heat went disastrously, I became
  increasing confused towards the end of the
  semester.

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BB0071A Foundations ofChemistry I

• The Module Content
• General and Inorganic Chemistry. i.e. historical
  chemistry/structure of an atom/oxidation and
  reduction.
• Organic Chemistry. i.e. calculations of empirical
  and molecular formulae/structural formula and
  isomers.
• Physical Chemistry. i.e.the structure of the
  atom/ thermodynamics.
• Lab Practical. e.g solubility studies.
• My Strengths
• I felt that I could relate with the physical
  chemistry the most as I had some knowledge on it.
  
• I found that we were required to calculate
  formulas.
• I understood the ideas of atomic theory such as
  the importance of proton and mass number.

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BB0071A Foundations ofChemistry I

• My Weaknesses
• Chemistry was an extremely burdensome module for
  me. Once I got down to doing private study, I
  found it hard to understand the work.
• Overall knowledge in poor.
• I constantly needed help from friends.
• It would be hard for me to grasp any topic or
  concept.
• Overall Performance
• Sceptical! However there is definitely room for
  improvement.
• The practical werent as good as Id like- I
  missed one of two of tem.
• In my opinion my coursework was satisfactory.
• The exams were good and I felt that I answered
  them as well as I could have.

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BB0011A Introduction to Cellular Molecular
Biology

• Topics covered in this module
• Cell Biology Organelles. i.e. ultra-structure
  of plant and animal cells.
• Biochemistry topics. i.e. carbohydrates/amino
  acids
• Genetics I II. i.e. Dominant and recessive
  alleles/ meiosis and mitosis.
• My Strengths
• Biology was a fair module. Once the topics were
  explained, it was easier for me to reinforce
  facts by going home and studying privately.
• Learning about the ultra-structure of cells and
  the different functions that the organelles had
  was more simplistic.
• The concepts of genetics was agreeable with me
  as I had been a little familiar with this topic
  from beforehand.

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BB0011A Introduction to Cellular Molecular
Biology

• My Weaknesses
• I discovered that I would find the biochemistry
  part of the module much more difficult for me
• I had a hard time remembering about the different
  enzymes and substrates.
• I found it tough when it came to hydrogen bonds,
  disulphide bridges, and lipids.
• Overall Performance
• I could have done much better!
• There were although I understood some concepts, I
  never learnt them well enough, which probably
  resulted in poor marks.
• I found the material approachable, but would not
  retain the information.

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GY0007AUnderstanding Planet Earth

• Contents of the module
• Introduction to the study and understanding of
  our dynamic planet.
• An introduction to geological time
• The formation and internal structure of the Earth
  
• Plate tectonics and plate boundary processes
• Earthquakes and the elastic rebound theory
• Alpine/Caledonian mountain building in Britain
• My Strengths
• The werent many strengths in this module.
• I found that when it came to learning about our
  planet and its composition it was fascinating
  making it easier to digest.
• The ideas and usage of s and p waves were clear.

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GY0007AUnderstanding Planet Earth

• My weakness
• This module was broad based and at times I found
  it hard to find a starting point on the topics.
• Due to the lack of enthusiasm I attend near to
  none of the lectures.
• No background reading or private study was given
  to this module thus I lost out on a vast amount
  of information.
• Overall Performance
• This module was disastrous for the simple fact
  that I never gave it any time or effort.
• My knowledge on this module minimum where I can
  recognise words but not be able to explain their
  meanings.

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Semester I How was it?

• The Facts
• Looking back on semester I, it was pretty
  disastrous. My subjects didnt go well at all.
• Even though I realised that my modules would be
  hard and that I would have to work at it I still
  didnt. I lazed off attending only ¾ of my
  course (or maybe less).
• I hung out with my friends who are in the 1st
  year of their degrees and who have completely
  different timetables to me, i.e more free time.
• I found myself doing what they did and staying up
  late when I have a lecture at 900 in the morning
  
• Exam time was the most stressful time in my life
  as I found myself trying to learn four modules in
  a month.

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Semester II How to be successful

• Reality check
• The feeling of stress, depression and stupidity
  over the exam period has really opened my eyes.
  This semester there will be no messing around.
• I intend to work, balance my time between the
  books and my friends. I cannot afford to be or
  bear the thought of being kicked out of
  university and I really want to do my degree.
• What to do
• Attend all lessons! If not possible then make
  sure to collect notes and catch up on what I have
  missed.
• Construct a timetable! Organise my time making
  sure that enough time is spent on both private
  study and free time to myself.

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Semester II How to be Successful

• What to do (cont...)
• A syllabus for each module! This way it gives me
  a chance to keep on top of each module, or even
  be one step ahead!
• A good night! I must make sure that I get a good
  nights rest to prepare for my morning lectures.
• Early start! Get an early start on revision,
  making sure to plan at least 8 weeks in advance
• Enough Attention. Give each module the attention
  it deserves and work harder for those module that
  are disagreeable with me.
• What to prevent this semester
• Every thing that I did in the 1st semester! (as
  follows)
• Leaving coursework and assignments to the last
  minute.
• Avoiding the topics/modules that I find hard to
  tackle.
• Late nights

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My Personal Timetable
9-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18
MON GEOLOGY LAB PH214 BIOLOGY LEC LC062 BIOLOGY LEC LC062 BIOLOGY LEC LC062 BIOLOGY LEC LC062 MATHS SEM LC206
TUE PHYSICS LAB D72 PHYSICS LAB D72 PHYSICS LAB D72 PHYSICS LAB D72
WED STATS LEC LC-D STATS LEC LC-D STUDY SKILLS M124 STUDY SKILLS M124 PHYSICS TUTORIAL LC-B
THU STATS SEM LC066 MATHS LEC LC-F GEOLOGY LEC LC-A STUDY SKILLS LC062 GEOLOGY LEC LC-D
FRI PHYSICS LEC LC-D MATHS LEC LC-F PHYSICS LEC LC-E
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My Time Plan
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My Degree Choice and why

• Mathematics and Statistics with Management
• I am 99 certain that I want to do this degree
• Mathematics has always been my strongest subject.
  I enjoy the challenge and like learning about
  new topics.
• Statistics is a tedious subject, but it is still
  enjoyed and is found to be a subject that I can
  relate to well as long as effort is put into
  learning it.
• Management Hopefully the management modules will
  help me when I am ready to face the big bad world
  of work.