Posts Tagged ‘Academic’

PSE Reflection Unit 1 – Emotional intelligence

In this unit, I have learned about the difference between IQ and EQ. I think that EQ and IQ are both equally important and that they can both be developed by self-awareness and practice.

Generally, I believe that I am quite an open person and I try to be aware of my and others’ emotions and feelings which is a measure of EQ. The scores indicated on the EQ tests that I completed suggested that I had a slightly above average EQ. However, I do not believe that it is accurate as emotional intelligence is very hard to put a number to.

I think that I have quite high emotional intelligence although it is still something I can improve by focusing on being more self-aware.

FOA 1 Reflection

For my first FOA, I thought that I did quite well in exploring how language used to describe netball contributed to the issue of gender equality.

At the start of my presentation, I analysed three different texts to establish the discourse. I believe that I utilised these texts well to explore the initial purpose of netball; however, I think that I was simply repeating similar points by analysing three different texts. Instead, I could have analysed one in more depth and spent more time on other aspects of my presentation.

I think that my close analysis of specific words was quite thorough and I was able to draw important points from very short words and phrases. I feel that one of the other things I did well was identify the effect that text type had on the intention and receival of the text although I think I could have analysed context and audience purpose further. Additionally, I could have concentrated on using more terminology to show my understanding of literary techniques.

Another thing that I could have focused on is commenting on the overall style of the text before doing close analysis so that I can introduce my points before showing examples.

Frantic Assembly Theatre Workshop

In Theatre today we explored different physical theatre techniques used by the Frantic Assembly theatre company. We used the two videos linked at the bottom to guide our class and followed the teachings. Some of the techniques we learned were Hymn’s hands (placing our and each other’s hands on each other’s bodies), round-by-through (stepping around a person, standing next to them, or going through a body part e.g. under their arm), and chair duets (sitting next to each other and having three moves each to place our hands somewhere or do an action).

We then played around with pace, ‘weight’, and eye contact. My main takeaways was how using these three elements created a storyline and created meaning that could be interpreted by an audience. This is quite different from our normal devising method of creating movements to express a particular meaning. Instead, this method works to create the movements beforehand and creating a storyline based off those movements. This means that the performers are exploring different interpretations and are not tied to a particular intention. I think that this is a very interesting and useful method that I look forward to exploring more during devising pieces.

Maths and Me

Reflecting on IGCSE Maths and looking ahead to Grade 11 HL Maths.

In IGCSE, I completed the Additional Mathematics course as well as the Extended Maths course. I think that my grades for these exams represented my knowledge and application skills well.

Normally, I associate maths with two main feelings which are satisfaction, when l complete a difficult question or finally understand a topic, and frustration when I have been struggling to understand how a method works or other concepts. However, I feel that when I am frustrated, I am able to pause for a little while and come back with determination to look at the difficulty with a new perspective.

I am currently starting IB HL Maths. Although I am inevitably apprehensive about this course due to opinions that I have heard that it is very difficult, I am also excited to learn new topics and see how I can expand my mathematics knowledge.

Generally, I prefer it when someone explains concepts to me; however, I also need to be able to work out solutions by myself sometimes so that I can fully understand the topic. In the past, I have found that when I am stuck on a question, it is good for me to restart that question using a different method. If I am stuck on a topic, going through the textbook usually helps me.

I think that my biggest strength in maths is my persistence as if I don’t understand something, I will find ways to help myself. In Grade 11, I am working towards developing more self-discipline as I do not always do maths consistently. However, I have set aside time each week to dedicate to doing maths so that I can practice to become better and improve my self-discipline.