NUS AY2016/17 Semester Two (Modules Review)
This is my last time writing a module review in my undergraduate years! =D Assuming I’m going to pass my modules in this semester...
I must have been nuts to take these two modules together in my final semester on top of my thesis. Not a good idea. And you will see why...
In this review, I will be sharing 4 main things: the who (the lecturer), what (the workload), how (to study for exams), and why you should take this module and why should you not. I will also share some thoughts on my life as a year 4 psychology student who has looked beyond grades and into the future in my final year in NUS.
Modules: PL4238, PL4241, PLmajorlife
Just two modules in this semester. Including honours thesis and my involvements in my residential college (i.e. CAPT), life is busy enough that you can start to neglect your studies a bit!
1. PL4238 Social Neuroscience
This module was taught by Dr. Richard P. Ebstein. A google search on him showed that he is an expert in genetics, human biology, and neuroscience, and he bagged a ton of citations and publications in his research endeavour.
The module sounds interesting, right? There was no group work for this module, just 1x essay (60%) and 1x finals (40%, MCQs). As a year 4 who is struggling to finish his thesis and indulging in life beyond academics, I’ve decided to not take modules with group work at all because I want to control my own time and not having to affect others should I decide not to put in the effort to do a good job in the group work.
I should have expected that life in this module will be miserable when 1) there was no course outline provided on IVLE (you never know what is the topic you are going to learn for each week) and 2) friends have been discouraging me to take this module under this professor and to drop it as soon as I can. However, I went ahead with it because and I’m glad I lived to tell this tale.
Dr. Ebstein gave us recommended textbooks for the module. But.. don’t buy them because you never need them anyway, unless for your reading pleasure. His powerpoint slides are dense - more than 100 slides - and one powerpoint deck can last for 3 seminars. In total, we only have 5 powerpoint slides for the module. There was great emphasis on human evolution, as though social neuroscience was all about that. I got bored by his teaching (he reads off the slides and adds in stuffs on the spot) and stopped attending classes after recess week.
oops.
You can write about anything under the sun for the essay. I wrote mine on ASD and emotions regulation in the workplace. (somewhat social neurosciencey I guess?) Do drop an email to the professor to discuss your essay outline so that you know you are on track. I got a 70% for my essay - his comment was that this topic is indeed important, but I did not manage to discuss it properly. To be fair, I did not put in much effort - hitting the minimum of about 5 pages (I had to focus more on my thesis!)
Study his powerpoint slides for the exams. There’s no need to read other readings. His tip on the final seminar was to focus on the earlier part of the module because he set his paper about a month ago and he did not know where he could finish teaching. I did not study the last powerpoint slides and true enough, nothing came out from there. The MCQs are not easy to tackle - either you know it or you don’t. So, study smart, not study hard. Almost the whole class left when we were allowed to leave the exam hall at the one hour mark xD
Would I take this module again? Definitely not under this professor. I’m sorry for the year 3s who took this as their first level 4000 module - it is not representative of the other modules I guarantee!
My final grade: B-
2. PL4241 Exploring Consciousness - Theory and Neuroscience
Another neuroscience module! There were no finals and no group work (initially) for this module, and assessment was only on the essay (75%) and class participation (25%). Later in the module, the prof said that the class participation consisted of a group presentation, while 15% was for essay proposal.
The professor was Dr. Camilo Libedinsky. He is a knowledgeable professor and I think he teaches well for a dense topic. I was engaged in the first few seminars as he touched on the philosophical framework about consciousness - it’s like a revision of what I’ve learnt in philosophy of mind.
The workload is pretty light. You just need to prepare for your own presentation and write your essays. There was no need to prepare for the start of each class - well, you could read the required readings for the seminar which will be talked about by the presentation group.
Similar to PL4238, you can write anything under the sun for the essay, but it has to be related to consciousness. This is a tough topic to tackle, so do arrange consultations with Dr. Camilo to discuss your essay and he will help guide you through.
Would I take this module again? With a sane mind, I know I should not. But since this was the final semester of my university life and I wanted to try out new modules I’m not comfortable with.. I went ahead. Neuroscience and consciousness - they are not easy topics. But I must say that the brain and biology parts in this module is minimal :) If you are thirsty for some philosophy in your psychology, then go for it!
My final grade: B
3. PLmajorlife - overview of my 4 years
I spent 7 out of 8 semesters studying psychology modules, and 1 semester doing the NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme. There was no need to extend my graduation date although I did overload a few modules over the semesters. I had intended to complete a philosophy minor (i already did 4 out of 6 modules) but decided not to overload in my final year in NUS. I read a total of 176 MCs, overloaded in three semesters.
Life was good. I always stress myself out, but I survived at the end. I stayed in CAPT for the first two years of my university life, which was the formative years for me to explore things in university. I’m glad I did my internship with Skillseed (during NOC Singapore) for a good 7 months and then SEP in Amsterdam after that. That allowed me to take a break from the rat race in NUS for a good one year. I was also lucky to return to CAPT for the final year in university, to give back what I’ve learnt in the past three years to my juniors in CAPT.
I was most disinterested in studying in my final year of university. I had the luxury of not having to worry that my degree classification will change despite not putting in much effort to study. I focused my attention to my thesis, as well as setting the foundation of my startup by networking a lot. At the same time I was still running the coffee interest group in CAPT, but stopped having sessions by recess week to focus on my thesis. I had to re-collect data for my thesis because my experiment design was too complex and the data showed no significant results. Not that a significant finding is necessary for the thesis, but I did not control my variables well enough to justify and defend my findings.
Overall, life was good but life was also a tad lonely in school. I enjoyed my weekends spent at home with my family, doing the simplest things such as having a meal together, or simply just staying at home.
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Thank you for reading this far and I hope my experiences provided some reference for you to make decisions in university life :) I am heartened to hear from juniors who read my tumblr and then shocked / surprised to later see me in real life and realize we are friends HAHA. I’ve also spoken to random people via private messages and fb messages to share what I have gone through. My journey in university ends here, but learning never stop. If you are reading this, I implore you to follow my startup, Foreword Coffee, where I seek to make a difference to the lives of persons with special needs through coffee. I will be sharing my reflections and thoughts in my startup through a blog you can find at www.forewordcoffee.co. That’s all I have now, till next time - maybe you will see me working as a barista in my cafe, or as a trainer in a coffee workshop =P
All the best in your university life, and feel free to contact me if you need!
Cheers,
Wei Jie