My motivation for enrolling on this course was very strong long before I ever applied – I wanted to study Japanese at University level, but had been out of school too long for my qualifications to still be valid. In this situation, I was faced with a choice between going on a Japanese course with lesser entry requirements or to find a way to gain access to university once again. Going the former route would not have allowed me to reach as high a standard of education and would not have actually given me a degree, which is necessary if I ever want to work in Japan. So, I took the latter option and joined the Access course.
While my qualifications are too old to consider ‘recent’, in reality I have only been out of education for 6 years, and since then I have spent a lot of time writing and studying various topics for recreation, so I did not expect the Access course to challenge me in radically new ways. For the most part, I thought it was be fairly easy; English, History and Maths are all subjects I was good at only a few years ago.
I consider it to be a positive experience that I was proven wrong about the ease of the course – yes, I had covered the majority of the content, but the workload and the pressure which came when I was actually required to start producing work was an eye opener. Had I gone straight to university or another learning institution; if I did not have this year to reacquaint myself with the life and demands of a student, I think I would have received a nasty shock.
This year also showed how valuable the support that tutors and fellow students can provide. This has been excellent group of people to work with, everyone was helpful, friendly and, with most us all feeling the same pressures of the course, helped to allay one another’s fears. As they say, a problem shared is a problem halved, and I will be very grateful if next year I have any tutors or peers like those here at Stevenson.
There are some minor ways the course could be improved, but it is hard for me to make effective criticism considering that I was hardly here for great chunks of time! Personally though, I would have liked to have had more discussions in class. Jerry’s class allowed a lot of time for discussion and the swapping of opinions and I thought Communications was an engaging and dynamic subject because of this. History, on the other hand, while interesting and well taught by Evan, seemed to be mainly listening to the facts rather than discussing them; it may be that the amount of material that needs to be covered is too great to allow this, but I do feel the course, particularly the British history unit, could be streamlined to allow more in-class participation.
What have I learned from this year? Well, I just finished writing an essay on Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for Scott, and one thing that taught me was this: “Don’t Panic”. There was a lot of work to be done this year, and at times it was daunting. But for most people, if you stick your head down and get to work then progress will be made, things will get done, and you’ll eventually emerge on the side of success.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
End Of term Reflection by Saiman
Although time has flown - and in actuality it's been several months since we started this course - to me, it still seems like we started last week, and I haven't gotten into my stride as yet. Maybe this is due to my psychological make-up where there's never any rush to finish anything, and there's always time. But in this case, I'm finding things somewhat traumatic since the deadline now is so absolute and final - once this course ends, it ends. That realisation is awfully frightening, especially as there's still some work I have to hand in and I worry if I can achieve it constantly now. So much to gain, and so much to lose. Damn!Anyway, if there's anything I should have learned this year is the importance of deadlines, and time management. Not adhering to any kinda comes back to bite you on your bum, no matter how good the work is when turned in. Upon reflection, and if I could, I would have handed in essays that were passable rather than time-consuming and long pieces that turned out to be more than passable. What makes the situation worse is knowing this but not being capable of rectifying it. That really sucks.My expectations for myself and the course were and are simple, and that was to pass and head on to university and there experience whether my intellectual capacity was sufficiently capable of success or failure. I hadn't expected my somewhat lackadaisical attitude to be such a burden at this college stage. I suppose going to university was the primary motivation but in the midst of college work, it is more than easy to lose focus on that original goal, and to be honest, it can be a daunting goal anyway, especially when at times it so seemed unattainable, such as within these last couple of months.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from this course – knowing some Spanish at the end, I suppose. I knew the actual writing stuff would be ok, and although I hadn’t written anything academically for close to 18 years, I did hope I would be able to brush up on whatever English skills I had been neglecting for so long. In doing Communications, Literature, and writing essays for History, I think I’ve learnt a lot and have become more aware of the technicalities of writing essays than before. Yes, I understand that this particular piece of writing lacks the structure we’ve been taught, but since this isn’t an assessment, I’m gonna free-flow and ramble on without a care in the world.Positives: any learning that came my way during the course, not too shockingly. And in that sense, as before, I’ve valued my time learning from Communications, Literature and History. Investigating Europe was interesting in making me learn history first-hand and appreciate the art of research more. Maths can go to hell, where it truly belongs (sorry John, you’re a nice guy, but you’re doing the Devil’s work). As for learning Spanish, to me it’s been a disaster, no less because of what I’ve mentioned previously, but also because I’ve realised that I’m more accustomed to using books to chart my progress rather than learning from a more freed structure this course prefers. But of course, it’s just me, ultimately, as others’ learning seem to be sufficiently of a higher grade.Another positive, and I think it’s the most important one, is knowing that I can get along with just about anyone. It might have been just the make-up of the class where everyone is agreeably friendly, but nonetheless I’ve enjoyed my time with all the people on the course – lecturers and students, alike - and I’ll be sad to not be in the same class ever again.How the course could be improved. The course is good at what it does – preparing its students for university. And I find it difficult to actually fault it. But if I was asked how it could be even better (hee!) then I suppose having a time-table of assessments and deadlines all structured from the start of the course and given out as a guide to all students to have a better picture of the work required, then I think that would be better for the likes of me who like knowing what he has to do next instead of wondering and waiting for that next assessment to be told. (Maybe I’ve been too disorganised to realise this was already done, which is quite possible in my case.)I think that’s it. If I can think of anything, I’ll add to this. Maybe at the end of the course. But for now, regards.
May 28, 2009 10:06 AM
Although time has flown - and in actuality it's been several months since we started this course - to me, it still seems like we started last week, and I haven't gotten into my stride as yet. Maybe this is due to my psychological make-up where there's never any rush to finish anything, and there's always time. But in this case, I'm finding things somewhat traumatic since the deadline now is so absolute and final - once this course ends, it ends. That realisation is awfully frightening, especially as there's still some work I have to hand in and I worry if I can achieve it constantly now. So much to gain, and so much to lose. Damn!Anyway, if there's anything I should have learned this year is the importance of deadlines, and time management. Not adhering to any kinda comes back to bite you on your bum, no matter how good the work is when turned in. Upon reflection, and if I could, I would have handed in essays that were passable rather than time-consuming and long pieces that turned out to be more than passable. What makes the situation worse is knowing this but not being capable of rectifying it. That really sucks.My expectations for myself and the course were and are simple, and that was to pass and head on to university and there experience whether my intellectual capacity was sufficiently capable of success or failure. I hadn't expected my somewhat lackadaisical attitude to be such a burden at this college stage. I suppose going to university was the primary motivation but in the midst of college work, it is more than easy to lose focus on that original goal, and to be honest, it can be a daunting goal anyway, especially when at times it so seemed unattainable, such as within these last couple of months.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from this course – knowing some Spanish at the end, I suppose. I knew the actual writing stuff would be ok, and although I hadn’t written anything academically for close to 18 years, I did hope I would be able to brush up on whatever English skills I had been neglecting for so long. In doing Communications, Literature, and writing essays for History, I think I’ve learnt a lot and have become more aware of the technicalities of writing essays than before. Yes, I understand that this particular piece of writing lacks the structure we’ve been taught, but since this isn’t an assessment, I’m gonna free-flow and ramble on without a care in the world.Positives: any learning that came my way during the course, not too shockingly. And in that sense, as before, I’ve valued my time learning from Communications, Literature and History. Investigating Europe was interesting in making me learn history first-hand and appreciate the art of research more. Maths can go to hell, where it truly belongs (sorry John, you’re a nice guy, but you’re doing the Devil’s work). As for learning Spanish, to me it’s been a disaster, no less because of what I’ve mentioned previously, but also because I’ve realised that I’m more accustomed to using books to chart my progress rather than learning from a more freed structure this course prefers. But of course, it’s just me, ultimately, as others’ learning seem to be sufficiently of a higher grade.Another positive, and I think it’s the most important one, is knowing that I can get along with just about anyone. It might have been just the make-up of the class where everyone is agreeably friendly, but nonetheless I’ve enjoyed my time with all the people on the course – lecturers and students, alike - and I’ll be sad to not be in the same class ever again.How the course could be improved. The course is good at what it does – preparing its students for university. And I find it difficult to actually fault it. But if I was asked how it could be even better (hee!) then I suppose having a time-table of assessments and deadlines all structured from the start of the course and given out as a guide to all students to have a better picture of the work required, then I think that would be better for the likes of me who like knowing what he has to do next instead of wondering and waiting for that next assessment to be told. (Maybe I’ve been too disorganised to realise this was already done, which is quite possible in my case.)I think that’s it. If I can think of anything, I’ll add to this. Maybe at the end of the course. But for now, regards.
May 28, 2009 10:06 AM
FABRIZIO'S EVALUATION
FINAL EVALUATIONThe course is coming to an end and in less than 3 weeks we will all be on holiday. It is true that the course went really fast and it seems yesterday that the whole thing started.I was very motivated and excited about it as it represented my pass-partout for the University which I will reach next year, hopefully. At the beginning I was highly interested in the subjects, Spanish, History and English mostly as I have always been very keen o languages and literary subjects. The fact of studying in a new college as well as the entire course portfolio encouraged and inspired me a lot.I believe that in certain areas the course could still be improved in order to provide a wider and deeper preparation for students. First of all, considering external factors it should be said that the overall Stevenson College's facilities are advanced and updated, especially when it comes to language labs. However, the strictness of certain figures such as Carlos makes the pleasantness of studying sometimes very little. With regards to the course specifically, I think that small feedback questionnaires to fill at least once every two months and for each subject, could be useful for having a clear overview of the progresses made as well as highlighting chances for improvements. Secondly, I have to say that the first History semester has been ridiculously boring, only gaining interest with the suffragettes’ essay. So that, I think that the study of British History should be critically reduced in favour of European History or more contemporary issues. I think it could also be an idea to insert Philosophy or Politics modules in replacement. Thirdly, I am not completely satisfied by my spoken/written Spanish even though I had to focus on my English for the grater part of Semester 2.Moreover, I believe this year has been incredibly valuable in terms of education and preparation for the University. I have experienced countless positive experiences from the fresher’s week to the funny classmates to artistic projects. I reckon that my own performance has been pretty good considering the results I have achieved. I conveyed all my efforts into this course, trying to better myself and my knowledge. It has been a big challenge as my English was not extremely good and the ielts test put me through the mill. My essay writing skills are gone form nearly inexistent to quite good and my English has greatly improved. .I feel much more confident when it comes to plan, write, present, discuss on academic topics. Generally, I feel ready to cope with a British University and all its barriers.
May 22, 2009 2:23 PM
FINAL EVALUATIONThe course is coming to an end and in less than 3 weeks we will all be on holiday. It is true that the course went really fast and it seems yesterday that the whole thing started.I was very motivated and excited about it as it represented my pass-partout for the University which I will reach next year, hopefully. At the beginning I was highly interested in the subjects, Spanish, History and English mostly as I have always been very keen o languages and literary subjects. The fact of studying in a new college as well as the entire course portfolio encouraged and inspired me a lot.I believe that in certain areas the course could still be improved in order to provide a wider and deeper preparation for students. First of all, considering external factors it should be said that the overall Stevenson College's facilities are advanced and updated, especially when it comes to language labs. However, the strictness of certain figures such as Carlos makes the pleasantness of studying sometimes very little. With regards to the course specifically, I think that small feedback questionnaires to fill at least once every two months and for each subject, could be useful for having a clear overview of the progresses made as well as highlighting chances for improvements. Secondly, I have to say that the first History semester has been ridiculously boring, only gaining interest with the suffragettes’ essay. So that, I think that the study of British History should be critically reduced in favour of European History or more contemporary issues. I think it could also be an idea to insert Philosophy or Politics modules in replacement. Thirdly, I am not completely satisfied by my spoken/written Spanish even though I had to focus on my English for the grater part of Semester 2.Moreover, I believe this year has been incredibly valuable in terms of education and preparation for the University. I have experienced countless positive experiences from the fresher’s week to the funny classmates to artistic projects. I reckon that my own performance has been pretty good considering the results I have achieved. I conveyed all my efforts into this course, trying to better myself and my knowledge. It has been a big challenge as my English was not extremely good and the ielts test put me through the mill. My essay writing skills are gone form nearly inexistent to quite good and my English has greatly improved. .I feel much more confident when it comes to plan, write, present, discuss on academic topics. Generally, I feel ready to cope with a British University and all its barriers.
May 22, 2009 2:23 PM
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
My evaluation essay
My Reflective evaluation essay :)
It seems like yesterday when this course started :) I did look forward to it, to get to know new people, learn something and prove to myself that I can do this and that my English is good enough to go to university.
Positive experiences for me were the fact that all tutors were very positive and helpful, even subject like maths, which always had been a problem for me and a subject deserving my hatred through my school years came easy because of such a nice guy as John, it just proves if the tutor is interested in the subject and is understanding, people like me can actually start believing that we can do something. I can say that in every subject I learned something useful, for example communication which was my favourite, because Jerry has a fantastic quality to wake an interest in students about the subject, there was always something interesting to do and even though at the end of the course there were a lot of listening and analysing tasks to do, I do appreciate that he made us to do that, because I feel that my ability of listening and analysing has raised. Jerry, I thank you for that.
About the improvements – Considering language studies, maybe it’s just me but I would have preferred if we would have had a book with the programme, to follow, but apart from that I think it is great as it is.
There have to be done something considering this 5 page printing rule and all what comes with it in the self-access centre, although I must say that is was the best place to study because it was quiet, there are some things which can be improved I think you all know what I mean.
Evaluation of my own performance – Well, well, well, I DEFINITELY could have done better and could have done things on time and planned my tasks much better. There is always place for doing thing better. But I also have to admit that I have learned a lot.
What I have learned – In a short words, a lot. Maths – I repeated my entire school programme in three months, it definitely was useful and gave a boost to my confidence J Investigating Europe – helped me a lot in a sense that I had to prepare a presentation and get a lot of materials for my investigation, it was time management, planning and searching for the materials. Spanish language – I have learned Spanish in a level I can understand when people speak, but I could have done better anyway with my Spanish studies. I have learned more about Spanish culture thanks to Dieca who was telling us about that and giving us various materials about it. I think that now I know it a little. History – definitely learned a lot about Britain and Scotland. Communication – praise Jerry!!!! Loved this subject and it was my favourite as there was always some active listening and analysing and writing to do also the fact that Jerry always gave a very logical and useful feedback. I definitely feel my skills have improved. Literature – I read some books I otherwise would not have read and it is again very useful to know classics.
Overall I can say that this course has changed my life, and I hope that it is just a start, I want to thank all my tutors and the boss of the course Dieca for encouragement and all the work she did with us.
Also my dearest course mates, I will miss you guys, it was so great to have such a nice group of people really, I don’t want to say goodbye.
It seems like yesterday when this course started :) I did look forward to it, to get to know new people, learn something and prove to myself that I can do this and that my English is good enough to go to university.
Positive experiences for me were the fact that all tutors were very positive and helpful, even subject like maths, which always had been a problem for me and a subject deserving my hatred through my school years came easy because of such a nice guy as John, it just proves if the tutor is interested in the subject and is understanding, people like me can actually start believing that we can do something. I can say that in every subject I learned something useful, for example communication which was my favourite, because Jerry has a fantastic quality to wake an interest in students about the subject, there was always something interesting to do and even though at the end of the course there were a lot of listening and analysing tasks to do, I do appreciate that he made us to do that, because I feel that my ability of listening and analysing has raised. Jerry, I thank you for that.
About the improvements – Considering language studies, maybe it’s just me but I would have preferred if we would have had a book with the programme, to follow, but apart from that I think it is great as it is.
There have to be done something considering this 5 page printing rule and all what comes with it in the self-access centre, although I must say that is was the best place to study because it was quiet, there are some things which can be improved I think you all know what I mean.
Evaluation of my own performance – Well, well, well, I DEFINITELY could have done better and could have done things on time and planned my tasks much better. There is always place for doing thing better. But I also have to admit that I have learned a lot.
What I have learned – In a short words, a lot. Maths – I repeated my entire school programme in three months, it definitely was useful and gave a boost to my confidence J Investigating Europe – helped me a lot in a sense that I had to prepare a presentation and get a lot of materials for my investigation, it was time management, planning and searching for the materials. Spanish language – I have learned Spanish in a level I can understand when people speak, but I could have done better anyway with my Spanish studies. I have learned more about Spanish culture thanks to Dieca who was telling us about that and giving us various materials about it. I think that now I know it a little. History – definitely learned a lot about Britain and Scotland. Communication – praise Jerry!!!! Loved this subject and it was my favourite as there was always some active listening and analysing and writing to do also the fact that Jerry always gave a very logical and useful feedback. I definitely feel my skills have improved. Literature – I read some books I otherwise would not have read and it is again very useful to know classics.
Overall I can say that this course has changed my life, and I hope that it is just a start, I want to thank all my tutors and the boss of the course Dieca for encouragement and all the work she did with us.
Also my dearest course mates, I will miss you guys, it was so great to have such a nice group of people really, I don’t want to say goodbye.
End Of term Reflection
What I wanted from this course at the start is difficult to say! For a number of years I was restless going from job to job and always flirted with the idea with going to university. Going to do highers was my original choice but I was very sceptical about my ability to jump back into education at that level. Luckily my mother found out about this access course. Result! So I came along to the interview hoping to study German. Uh oh found my self in a Spanish course, oh well not to worry off to camp America I went. When I returned two weeks late I was very nervous and only knew how to say ola in Spanish (that’s how I thought it was spelled before the course haha). I persevered and went in to see Dieca tired as hell because I’d had a heavy weekend after my reunion with my friends. So after the first few days of nervousness and wondering what I was doing in the course I settled down. My expectations now: To get to uni; never miss a history class again after I was told I’d missed so much in the first few weeks!!; speak Spanish in a year (I’ve since changed the timescale in that goal); and try not to get anyone hating me in the class (I expected a little too much of myself). All in all the introduction to the course was different than everyone else’s but good all the same I think the fear of being two weeks late made me more determined to work harder.
The positive experiences in this class have been massive. Firstly the friends I have made have been great. I have met people from all over the world and had many friends in different countries before this class but none as close as these. I couldn’t imagine going to a party in Toledo to meet our Spanish friends with a Bulgarian, a Pole, and two other Scots. Classic! What else? I can now communicate in Spanish, not well but I’m on my way. One day I’ll be fluent no matter how many books Edinburgh uni throws at me (if I pass this course first). Now on to the educational side of things since I imagine that is why we are writing this. I’m trying to make this interesting though, if not for the reader at least for myself. I found out I can write an essay, due to my laziness and my ‘anything will do’ attitude I believe the teachers have only seem glimpses of my best work. But you don’t stop being an underachiever over night. Which brings me to my next point; I now know the importance of trying your best at everything you do. I feel that I am well prepared for university with regards to knowing that I have to actually work hard to produce good results. The old high school motto of doing it 5 mins before class has been eradicated from my system. Well done teachers, if you guys have achieved anything this year (you’ve done loads for us really) it’s getting that out my system. Finally and this is going to sound like the class got together and planned to all write this; the importance of deadlines! We are lucky that no-one complained when we handed in stuff late. I know this will not work in uni, not that I would want to get to the end of another course and find out I got so many essays due in so little time.
How the course could be improved eh? Well let me begin. More maths! No word of a lie I loved that class. I planned to do more but I also planned on having a social life too, so maths went! (that seems a stupid thing to say about education). I believe stricter deadlines would help. I know we have been told for months about what we have to do! But any work that is ‘for the end of term at the latest’ is going to be put of by the majority of the class every year. And then we have the build up of work problem again. Imagine the madness if investigating Europe was this term as well, someone would have jumped out of Carlos’s window! What else could we improve? I dunno. In Spanish Alicia was fantastic (shoulda put that in the positives right?). but seriously more classes like hers would have been great, a mix between her and Dieca for the whole year would have people talking a lot better than I can. I don’t have much else on the improvement side of things. I don’t know if this already happens but giving people language exchanges every year would be good – ours were brilliant.
Now were on my performance!! Haha this should be fun and if I have learned anything from study skills I think this is expected to be the longest part. Well I feel my performance has been mixed! History and maths I feel have been my strongest subjects I enjoyed these and tried hardest in these subjects. Spanish has been ok, I feel I have done well but I believe that it took me too long to get a successful studying technique for it. But that’s part of the learning progress. I think that my speaking needs a lot of improvement I still hear Spanish and panic for a few seconds. My reading is my strongest and my listening is no bad. Investigating Europe was interesting, I think I did ok in this. I wish we coulda had classes with Joe cause he’s brilliant. But I enjoyed the class and felt that if I had chosen a subject I enjoyed a little more than something ‘arty’ (I’m just not that guy, give me football or a book any day, but Picasso? Who’s he?) I would have done better. Communication I think I did ok I missed waay too many classes though. I found it difficult to write about some things like the speaking skills! I enjoyed doing the talks for all the classes and feel, other than my attempt at a talk in Spanish, that my skills have improved. Finally literature I haven’t finished all my work for this yet so I’ll find out soon about this. I enjoyed reading all the stuff for this class but comparing one thing to another is difficult and I definitely need work to improve this.
In conclusion (I feel that’s a great opener for this final part of the story) I have learned a lot of important things. Like never break into a hotel in Düsseldorf if you plan on walking normally afterwards! 300 euros is not enough spending money to take to Madrid if you plan on getting drunk every night. Never miss a £1 a drink opportunity, you never know how long its gonna last for. Don’t waste a sunny day in Scotland inside!! And finally my biggest lesson I have learned is if you want to use the language centre; switch off your phone! Don’t eat or drink! Keep quiet! Write your name in the book! AND NEVER print more than 5 pages! Your life depends on it.
The positive experiences in this class have been massive. Firstly the friends I have made have been great. I have met people from all over the world and had many friends in different countries before this class but none as close as these. I couldn’t imagine going to a party in Toledo to meet our Spanish friends with a Bulgarian, a Pole, and two other Scots. Classic! What else? I can now communicate in Spanish, not well but I’m on my way. One day I’ll be fluent no matter how many books Edinburgh uni throws at me (if I pass this course first). Now on to the educational side of things since I imagine that is why we are writing this. I’m trying to make this interesting though, if not for the reader at least for myself. I found out I can write an essay, due to my laziness and my ‘anything will do’ attitude I believe the teachers have only seem glimpses of my best work. But you don’t stop being an underachiever over night. Which brings me to my next point; I now know the importance of trying your best at everything you do. I feel that I am well prepared for university with regards to knowing that I have to actually work hard to produce good results. The old high school motto of doing it 5 mins before class has been eradicated from my system. Well done teachers, if you guys have achieved anything this year (you’ve done loads for us really) it’s getting that out my system. Finally and this is going to sound like the class got together and planned to all write this; the importance of deadlines! We are lucky that no-one complained when we handed in stuff late. I know this will not work in uni, not that I would want to get to the end of another course and find out I got so many essays due in so little time.
How the course could be improved eh? Well let me begin. More maths! No word of a lie I loved that class. I planned to do more but I also planned on having a social life too, so maths went! (that seems a stupid thing to say about education). I believe stricter deadlines would help. I know we have been told for months about what we have to do! But any work that is ‘for the end of term at the latest’ is going to be put of by the majority of the class every year. And then we have the build up of work problem again. Imagine the madness if investigating Europe was this term as well, someone would have jumped out of Carlos’s window! What else could we improve? I dunno. In Spanish Alicia was fantastic (shoulda put that in the positives right?). but seriously more classes like hers would have been great, a mix between her and Dieca for the whole year would have people talking a lot better than I can. I don’t have much else on the improvement side of things. I don’t know if this already happens but giving people language exchanges every year would be good – ours were brilliant.
Now were on my performance!! Haha this should be fun and if I have learned anything from study skills I think this is expected to be the longest part. Well I feel my performance has been mixed! History and maths I feel have been my strongest subjects I enjoyed these and tried hardest in these subjects. Spanish has been ok, I feel I have done well but I believe that it took me too long to get a successful studying technique for it. But that’s part of the learning progress. I think that my speaking needs a lot of improvement I still hear Spanish and panic for a few seconds. My reading is my strongest and my listening is no bad. Investigating Europe was interesting, I think I did ok in this. I wish we coulda had classes with Joe cause he’s brilliant. But I enjoyed the class and felt that if I had chosen a subject I enjoyed a little more than something ‘arty’ (I’m just not that guy, give me football or a book any day, but Picasso? Who’s he?) I would have done better. Communication I think I did ok I missed waay too many classes though. I found it difficult to write about some things like the speaking skills! I enjoyed doing the talks for all the classes and feel, other than my attempt at a talk in Spanish, that my skills have improved. Finally literature I haven’t finished all my work for this yet so I’ll find out soon about this. I enjoyed reading all the stuff for this class but comparing one thing to another is difficult and I definitely need work to improve this.
In conclusion (I feel that’s a great opener for this final part of the story) I have learned a lot of important things. Like never break into a hotel in Düsseldorf if you plan on walking normally afterwards! 300 euros is not enough spending money to take to Madrid if you plan on getting drunk every night. Never miss a £1 a drink opportunity, you never know how long its gonna last for. Don’t waste a sunny day in Scotland inside!! And finally my biggest lesson I have learned is if you want to use the language centre; switch off your phone! Don’t eat or drink! Keep quiet! Write your name in the book! AND NEVER print more than 5 pages! Your life depends on it.
Reflective Essay- my personal evaluation of the course
Motivation and positive experience
My main expectation of this course was to prepare myself well to University. I really wanted to do well; however being on this course was not an easy challenge. It has been long time since I left University. What can I say? Being a student is the best time in my life. I really feel this course has done more for me than anything else before.
The most positive thing about the course is meeting others. I have never met so many interesting and amazing people as you guys! And I’m not talking about students only. I think we have done great together. I will never forget all of you and I hope you won’t let me to.
About the course: very well prepared and structured; lovely and very helpful tutors with passion and determination. I would not be here without all of you and I’m really grateful for everything you have done. The course helped me to build my confidence more (sometimes I’m not sure about this being a positive thing) , planning and learning.
Dieca! What can I say? I have never met such a wonderful, surprising, open at people
person. I don’t think I can find enough words to describe how grateful I am for everything you have done for me. I hope you will never change because somewhere there are still people who need a future direction.
Jerry! It was very interesting yea full of challenges, disappointments and never ending assessments. Overall, it was worth every single minute I have spent on it. I think I have got more from this subject than from any other. Why? The subject have had what any student needs to develop wanted skills- great tutor, well structured classes, lovely atmosphere and never ending work!
Scott! The literature has never been my favourite subject. However, this year I found something special about the subject. I might take it the next year but maybe as a third subject J Still classes were relaxing and perfectly structured for nine o’clock in the morning. How sad is, that some of us (always late) will never understand what I’m talking about.
Evan! History was always my favourite subject at school. I was really happy to do it this year again. Very interesting subject and lovely tutor, passionate about the subject. I find British history very interesting, however, it would be nice to learn some more of European history. Maybe if it is possible change a number of hours on Friday, from 4 to 3 or 2 with a coffee break :-)
John! I have to say he really helped me with maths this year. I was so scared of it when I find out that we have to do it on this course. Believe me or not I have done really well but just because of John. I can just say: God bless you!
Joe! I have just good things to say about the tutor and the subject. The tutor lovely, helpful just great person! He helped me a lot with my investigation and I’m sure I would not manage without his help. Thank you again Joe!
Improvements
I agree with some of you about having the history assessment a bit closer so people can get more time to do work on the investigation.
I would not change much about the course. However, there are some things, which could be improved. Maybe like access to computers in each class, as it would be really helpful especially for presentation or even every day class. Also Carlos! Don’t take me wrong, as I do understand that the rules are important but we don’t leave in regime. Of course the place is better to study than any other in this college but the person who works there can be irritating. I think we all know what I’m talking about.
Conclusion
I have learnt a lot from this course: how to plan, write, read and survive. I have found myself in this again. This course has changed my life, as before, what I can see now was boring. ‘ The course will change your life’- Dieca kept saying. And you know what? She was right, again!
I have learnt from this course more than from any other school. This course helps people to learn the real life, help to meet and understand people from different cultures. This course was the best decision in my life. I think I’m ready to go now.
The worst thing is that I don’t know if I really want to go!
Motivation and positive experience
My main expectation of this course was to prepare myself well to University. I really wanted to do well; however being on this course was not an easy challenge. It has been long time since I left University. What can I say? Being a student is the best time in my life. I really feel this course has done more for me than anything else before.
The most positive thing about the course is meeting others. I have never met so many interesting and amazing people as you guys! And I’m not talking about students only. I think we have done great together. I will never forget all of you and I hope you won’t let me to.
About the course: very well prepared and structured; lovely and very helpful tutors with passion and determination. I would not be here without all of you and I’m really grateful for everything you have done. The course helped me to build my confidence more (sometimes I’m not sure about this being a positive thing) , planning and learning.
Dieca! What can I say? I have never met such a wonderful, surprising, open at people
person. I don’t think I can find enough words to describe how grateful I am for everything you have done for me. I hope you will never change because somewhere there are still people who need a future direction.
Jerry! It was very interesting yea full of challenges, disappointments and never ending assessments. Overall, it was worth every single minute I have spent on it. I think I have got more from this subject than from any other. Why? The subject have had what any student needs to develop wanted skills- great tutor, well structured classes, lovely atmosphere and never ending work!
Scott! The literature has never been my favourite subject. However, this year I found something special about the subject. I might take it the next year but maybe as a third subject J Still classes were relaxing and perfectly structured for nine o’clock in the morning. How sad is, that some of us (always late) will never understand what I’m talking about.
Evan! History was always my favourite subject at school. I was really happy to do it this year again. Very interesting subject and lovely tutor, passionate about the subject. I find British history very interesting, however, it would be nice to learn some more of European history. Maybe if it is possible change a number of hours on Friday, from 4 to 3 or 2 with a coffee break :-)
John! I have to say he really helped me with maths this year. I was so scared of it when I find out that we have to do it on this course. Believe me or not I have done really well but just because of John. I can just say: God bless you!
Joe! I have just good things to say about the tutor and the subject. The tutor lovely, helpful just great person! He helped me a lot with my investigation and I’m sure I would not manage without his help. Thank you again Joe!
Improvements
I agree with some of you about having the history assessment a bit closer so people can get more time to do work on the investigation.
I would not change much about the course. However, there are some things, which could be improved. Maybe like access to computers in each class, as it would be really helpful especially for presentation or even every day class. Also Carlos! Don’t take me wrong, as I do understand that the rules are important but we don’t leave in regime. Of course the place is better to study than any other in this college but the person who works there can be irritating. I think we all know what I’m talking about.
Conclusion
I have learnt a lot from this course: how to plan, write, read and survive. I have found myself in this again. This course has changed my life, as before, what I can see now was boring. ‘ The course will change your life’- Dieca kept saying. And you know what? She was right, again!
I have learnt from this course more than from any other school. This course helps people to learn the real life, help to meet and understand people from different cultures. This course was the best decision in my life. I think I’m ready to go now.
The worst thing is that I don’t know if I really want to go!
Friday, 29 May 2009
Reflective Essay
Personal Evaluation of the NQ Access Course at Stevenson College
Motivation and Expectations
I have enrolled on the Access Course at Stevenson College, following the recommendations I have received by an Admission’s Officer at the Edinburgh University’s Open Day in 2007. My motivation is to achieve the necessary level of preparation that would enable me to get an access to University. This course is relevant to my vocational aspirations which are to read for a degree in Languages.
Positive Experience
In the duration of the course I have noticed that my level of confidence have increased with regard to being able to express myself more clearly in English, having in mind English is not my first language. Moreover, I would like to emphasise the importance of the inclusion of the two subjects Communication and Literature in the curriculum, which greatly assisted in my improving in writing in English.
For instance, writing tasks such as essays and other reading assessments were especially designed to develop our analytical, reading and writing skills, which were in fact the practical implementation of these. We were introduced to different systems for referencing, as well as to project planning skills. I have found ‘The Punctuation Book’ that we were given at the beginning of the course a really helpful tool. Also, I have struggled with paragraphing text for my writing tasks. However, paragraphs and clear signposting have become an essential part of my writing now.
In addition, I have acquired useful skills with regard to preparing oral presentations. We have also developed our abilities in planning and writing projects. During the course we were taught techniques for analysing literary works.
Apart from, getting assistance with regard to more effective time management techniques and evaluation of personal progress, throughout the course we have been introduced to new learning and reading techniques that would benefit us in getting prepared for a demanding university course. I think, the subject Study Skills is an essential unit that need to be taken seriously. One may regard it as an unnecessary waste of time, however, without first seeing and analysing weaknesses, one won’t be able to achieve what they know they are able to achieve. As a result, I have certainly become more organised, I have identified certain areas I need to put more work on.
We have access to computers and programmes that are especially designed to enable us to actively apply new learning skills, i.e. understanding of what we learn, why we learn it, and last but not least see the positive results of the learning process.
The course is well structured as there is good balance between writing and practical tasks.
Conclusion
The course is very informative and highly recommendable for anybody aiming at continuing their further education. In the duration of the course I have learned a lot about myself too.
Motivation and Expectations
I have enrolled on the Access Course at Stevenson College, following the recommendations I have received by an Admission’s Officer at the Edinburgh University’s Open Day in 2007. My motivation is to achieve the necessary level of preparation that would enable me to get an access to University. This course is relevant to my vocational aspirations which are to read for a degree in Languages.
Positive Experience
In the duration of the course I have noticed that my level of confidence have increased with regard to being able to express myself more clearly in English, having in mind English is not my first language. Moreover, I would like to emphasise the importance of the inclusion of the two subjects Communication and Literature in the curriculum, which greatly assisted in my improving in writing in English.
For instance, writing tasks such as essays and other reading assessments were especially designed to develop our analytical, reading and writing skills, which were in fact the practical implementation of these. We were introduced to different systems for referencing, as well as to project planning skills. I have found ‘The Punctuation Book’ that we were given at the beginning of the course a really helpful tool. Also, I have struggled with paragraphing text for my writing tasks. However, paragraphs and clear signposting have become an essential part of my writing now.
In addition, I have acquired useful skills with regard to preparing oral presentations. We have also developed our abilities in planning and writing projects. During the course we were taught techniques for analysing literary works.
Apart from, getting assistance with regard to more effective time management techniques and evaluation of personal progress, throughout the course we have been introduced to new learning and reading techniques that would benefit us in getting prepared for a demanding university course. I think, the subject Study Skills is an essential unit that need to be taken seriously. One may regard it as an unnecessary waste of time, however, without first seeing and analysing weaknesses, one won’t be able to achieve what they know they are able to achieve. As a result, I have certainly become more organised, I have identified certain areas I need to put more work on.
We have access to computers and programmes that are especially designed to enable us to actively apply new learning skills, i.e. understanding of what we learn, why we learn it, and last but not least see the positive results of the learning process.
The course is well structured as there is good balance between writing and practical tasks.
Conclusion
The course is very informative and highly recommendable for anybody aiming at continuing their further education. In the duration of the course I have learned a lot about myself too.
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