Skills and Knowledge of Students - Essay Example

GS1021 Proforma for Assignment relating to seminars/workshops are required to attend each of the seminar sessions and to undertake specifiedtasks in preparation for each seminar week-on-week. Each student is required to use the following proforma: to outline how you have followed up the exercises carried out in the seminars ( if there is ) to discuss the skills and knowledge that you gained to indicate how these skills and knowledge might be used in other modules. Do not limit yourself to the size of the boxes below – expand them if you want to. You can complete the different sections as clear succinct bullet points, as prose or a combination of both. When completed this document should be submitted via a Turnitin button in the Assessments area of GS1021 on StudySpace by the deadline given in the Module Guide. Name K Course Week 1: Planning a geo-analysis research investigation Learned the relevance of preparing a list of probable research topics and then pick up and narrow down a final one based on existing literature on it. Learned that a relevant research topic is an issue that needs to be tackled. Also understood that the result of my research must have some significance Found out that an introductory textbook, current periodicals, previous projects done by students and the abstracts of major works could be useful in focussing my topic Found that it is very relevant and useful to keep reading notes with identifiable labels from the very beginning Made out that the topic should be narrowed down into a statement worth inquiring or a research question Knew that a pilot investigation needs to be done around the research question/statement to ensure there will be enough information to work with Learned that if the pilot investigation reveals a deficiency of resources, the research question needs to be reworded Learned that while selecting the research topic, one has to keep a balance between becoming very broad and very narrow. Understood that the research proposal must have a working title, a literature review, statement of purpose, aims and objectives, methods of data collection, research methodology, relevance of research methodology, sampling strategy, method of analysis, scope and limitations, ethical and professional aspects and a timeline for research. Learned that I need to be as precise and clear in my mind as possible, while preparing the research proposal Overall, I should be able to explain, at least to myself, why this topic interests me, what are my key research questions, why will my findings interest others and how it will contribute to human knowledge, what models, concepts and theories will help me and how to draw from them, and how should I go about doing my research. Prepared a group poster on a research theme Delivered a group presentation on a research theme Held brainstorming sessions on the initial ideas and notions about the project Presented a report on the brainstorming sessions to the entire seminar at the end of the session Searched out 5 book chapters, journals papers and web documents, 1 from each category. Read and made notes from all the 5 documents Prepared copies of the documents to take to Seminar 2 Week 2: Reading and reviewing – effective strategies for learning Understood that spatial analysis does not proceed in a simple sequence but in an iterative manner Also learned that at each stage one need to look back to the previous step and re-evaluate it to ensure the validity of the decisions made. A working model for this could be, frame the question, understand your data, choose a method, calculate the statistics, interpret the statistics, test its significance and question the results Learned that I should prepare a checklist of the scope, possible errors and limitations of my study and find ways to overcome them. Read relevant pages from Mitchel (2005), Haining ( 2003, p.359), Steinitz (1993), Draper et al. (2005), Mackay and Oldford (2002), and Daskin (1995, Chapter 9) Learned the modern analytical processes and particulary, the objective-setting and subjects-design and measures-results and conclusions model. Learned the importance of statistical analysis within the framework of scientific research methods Understood that “statistics is defined in large measure by its methodology, in particular its focus on seeking an understanding of a population from sample data”. Found out that spatial and GIS analyses are defined by the methods they adopt Familiarised with the PPDAC model for statistical analysis Familiarised with the iterative process model in which clockwise and anti-clockwise flow of analysis happen simultaneously. Learned principles and methods of spatial sampling Learned the two aspects of spatial sampling, namely, selection of specific points in an existing data set and declustering Familiarised with software packages, TNTMips, ENVI, Idrisi and GRASS Learned how ENVI and Idrisi and GRASS software packages could be utilised to take stratified random samples and equalised random samples from ROI and also random samples discarding ROI Familiarised with point sampling within vector polygons using TNTMips Learned the scientific methods of effective reading which include survey-question-read-recall- review stages. Carried out self-introspection about my reading habits Learned the characteristics of deep approach to reading Learned how to vigorously interact with content, relate new ideas to previous knowledge, relate concepts to everyday experience, relate evidence to conclusions, and examine the logic of the argument Week 3: Referencing existing sources Online resources journals, gateways, bibliographic searches, etc.) Learned about how to avoid plagiarism Learned about the Harvard referencing system for books, journals, online resources, etc. Completed referencing exercises Learned about the web-based bibliography and database manager, RefWorks and how to use it Studied how to reference in Harvard style for science research projects Week 4: Critical Thinking Prepared a letter to the editor of Kingston and Surbiton Gazette evaluating the thinking process involved in the letter to the editor of the Newspaper which argued for the stoppage of overnight parking on all streets of Surbitton. Learned basic tenets of critical thinking through this exercise While analysing each paragraph separately and in detail, trained myself to think comprehensively about a topic and to look into all aspects of a problem from all possible angles Answered the questions of a scoring sheet so as to assess my abilities in critical thinking Learned to differentiate between incorrect judgement, bad judgement, correct judgement, and semi-adequate judgement Week 5: Graphical presentation – construction of effective graphs for geographical data Learned to understand and compile GSI data to prepare scientific graphs Understood ways to select graph types and charts relevant for my study methods and topics Week 6: Designing and constructing a research poster Practised to arrange the whole process and findings of research using bullet points, charts, graphs, etc. in simple power-point presentation style by making use of GIS toolsets Practised poster design and production using power point, freehand, Adobe Illustrator and Coreldraw Learned the components and processes used in scientific poster construction and design Prepared a number of posters using these methods Learned about poster softwares, poster layout, and dos and don’ts of poster designing Week 7: Preparing to deliver an oral presentation Prepared oral presentations Delivered oral presentations Understood the students’ and teachers’ criteria for evaluating oral presentations Learned the importance of content knowledge, structure and organisation, audio-visual aids, audience involvement and non-verbal communication in oral presentation Compared my oral presentation with oral presentation checklist Studied what makes an effective oral presentation comprehensively Learned how to prepare good introduction, good conclusion, ensure clear outcomes, use appropriate and well-organised material, have a clear logical progression, have good supporting material, retain attention, use visual aids and hand outs, create good rapport with the audience, use appropriate language and have good voice control Read More