The Future

The future is a scary thing, but it is also exciting... but mostly scary.

Because you never know what could happen.

My near future plan after this course, it's simple:

• GET INTO UNI.

At the moment that's my future, it's what I want the most. However, where do I see myself in let's say 5 years... that I don't know, but there are various futures I could have:

• Doing a masters degree in Biomedical Science
• Studying dentistry or medicine in abroad (China - I've looked into this)
• Taking a year off to work
• Marriage? (oh jeez)
• Kids? (Oh dear)

Obviously, I'm still young, but I should be old enough to know what my future is? Nope.

But my goal to finish uni with a degree is one I WILL attain, to be honest I'm not sure what I want to do in 5 years, there are so many options and I could change my direction so many times. 

As soon as this course is over it'll be summer break, how will I fill it:

• Work on my skills, interpersonal and talents etc
• Work on my biology, learn everything that I would have learnt if I did a-level biology.
• Get work experience in a professional environment

The list is endless...
But I hope the future is brighter for me... There have been some bumps, and I am taking a long route, but I will get where I want to be.

Not As Easy As I Thought...

So I'm just over halfway through my course, and I am realising that this is tricky.
I went in thinking "There are no exams, it's all just coursework, piece of cake" BOY was I wrong.

So naive Zoe -___-"

It isn't like school AT ALL, the coursework load, the referencing, learning biology without having the a-level knowledge, it's all a bit overwhelming.

There isn't much time left, so I am making "Mid year targets" just so I know where I'm going for the short time I have left:

• Manage time better: Because there are only a few months left, this is VITAL
• Complete first drafts so I can receive feedback for coursework and improve then be done with it
• Make a list of all the coursework I've completed and what I have left
• Get help where it's needed!

Reflection of the year so far

So looking at the targets I set earlier this year, I wasn't always on point e.g.: 

• Posting on my blog
• Getting a job
• Spending 2 hours on coursework everyday

However some targets were met:

• Finish UCAS: I have an offer for the the second year of Biomedical Science at the University of Hertfordshire!
• Finish personal statement
• Perfect CV: I have updated this and am now looking for a job for summer
• Attend every class (despite lateness)
• Making a social network group: Using a app called Whatsapp I made a group for me and some of my classmates that have the same goals as me for us to share and talk about the course. This has come in handy for whenever we can't reach teachers or need front sheets for coursework etc.

So setting targets wasn't a waste of time at all, looking at how much I've done compared to what I haven't shows me that if you make targets and TRY meet them, you will ^__^

Barriers

A task I was given was to think of what the word "barriers" means, doing this in a mind map format:

Barriers Mind Map

There are various barriers that prevent work being done. Our generation has been polluted by new technology, and though it is helpful, it's also a curse on us.

Mind maps are "the first things that come to mind", meaning you don't think about it, you just write... Which is hard for me to do, I tried not to think too much, so this is a skill I must work on.

Barriers that apply to me especially that I wrote on this mind map include:

• Technology: iPhone's are very distracting.
• Confidence: It fluctuates a lot for me
• Leisure: I love browsing the internet, but get sidetracked
• Time: Thinking I have a lot of it, when I don't

Tackling these barriers and other ones that might occur is something that takes a while, so I plan to take down each barrier one at a time,  little by little.

The "Uni" Life

From the beginning of February, I was able to go to the University of Hertfordshire because my friend does the BSC Biomedical Science, I observed what a university lecture would be like. I did this for various lectures e.g. Fungi, Microbes, Pharmacokinetics etc.

Above is the evidence of notes I took during the lecture, and it helped with the other modules that I have to do on this course.

Being in a lecture hall was good because it gave me an insight to what life would be like in uni and how different it is to sitting in a classroom.

At first it was a little intimidating because it was so big and fancy, but soon I grew accustomed to my surroundings and settled as if I was part of the Biomedical course myself :)

Targets

Today I'm going to set some targets for 2013 academically and personally;

What do I hope to do?

• Make a calendar highlighting events, holidays, due dates etc
• Spend at least 2 hours on a piece of coursework everyday
• Post on this blog every week
• Make a group on a social network for me and my classmates to share ideas etc
• Finish UCAS
• Perfect my CV
• Get a job
• KEEP HEALTHY
• Attend every class
• Finish all of my coursework by mid June

Usually I don't like to make targets for myself, but I understand why they are important and how they help organise not only my academic life but my personal life too, if I stick to these targets closely (maybe not on target, but somewhere around it hehe) then I hope I will get where I want to be, where I was supposed to be. Just taking a long route to get there.

Fingers crossed  ^__^

A New Year

Dear Journal,

It's been a few months since my last post, an a lot of things has happened since. So I'm going to do a summary of each month :)

DECEMBER
Throughout this month I was working on my UCAS application,  as I did this last year it wasn't to hard to get familiar with the process again. I was able to improve on my personal statement, particularly mentioning the HNC course. I sent off my application just after the Christmas holidays and received responses quite quickly

Also in this month I partook in the MIMC (Made in medicine challenge) at the GSK Biocatalyst Centre. My job was to mentor students in year 9 and help them complete the challege. It was an amazing experience because I was able to meet young people with a passion for science and was able to share my passion with them. I also met important people in the science field such as two women representing the Royal Society od Chemists, a man from a company called Eisai, and more. These people gave me vital infomation on how to persue a career in science and gave me a lot of hope. The day overall is one I will always look back to as, maybe I'll end up woking for GSK!

JANUARY
Returning to college again was strange, but I was able to get UCAS out of the way and focus in the MANY assignments we have been given. This month I have been trying to organize when I'm going to do what, a yearly planner, by creating a calender and trying my damnedest to stick to it! I have broadened my biology skills, as I have not done it since GCSE, and remembered how much I love biology. This month I have realised that this course is very denading, and different to anything else I have done, but I am willing to go all the way.

That's if the snow doesn't stop me Dx

That's all for now journal,  bye bye ^0^

Kolb's Learning Cycle

I googled "Kolb's learning cycle" so I'd know what to write of this post and came up with this:

"Having developed the model over many years prior, David Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984. The model gave rise to related terms such as Kolb's experiential learning theory (ELT), and Kolb's learning styles inventory (LSI)."
To be honest, this wasn't very helpful. Then I found this image:

...So the Kolb's Learning Cycle is like this;

• Concrete (feeling or experiencing something)
• Reflective observation (watching something that you've just done)
• Abstract conceptualisation (learning from it)
• Active Experimentation (planning something from what you've just learnt)

Kolb proposes that experiential learning has six main characteristics:

• Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes.
• Learning is a continuous process grounded in experience.
• Learning requires the resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world (learning is by its very nature full of tension).
• Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world.
• Learning involves transactions between the person and the environment.
• Learning is the process of creating knowledge that is the result of the transaction between social knowledge and personal knowledge.

Reflection

Kolb's learning cycle applies to me because I'm still young, I'm still 
learning a lot, educationally and personally. I make mistakes, look at the mistake I've made, learn from it then do the same thing and hope I am right this time. If not the cycle starts again.

Learning about this cycle was interesting because I've never though of learning as a long process, I thought of it as "you learn something then you apply it" but to learn something, you have to do it slowly or it won't process well, and you'll end up stuck in the Kolb's cycle :(

I don't think anyone will stop using the Kolb's learning cycle as long as they live.