OU - Exploring Psychology DSE 212 let's chat and worry over assignments!

[muppetgirl]

I?ll start off with an introduction.

I?m Muppet and I?m 32 and have 2 children ( 4.6 and 10 months) I used to be a teacher, early years trained but taught in yr3/4/5. I loved teaching but when I worked in a difficult school I knew I?d found my vocation so would really love to become an Educational Psychologist.

I started this course in Feb. 07 and completed 2 assignments but became pregnant with ds 2 and developed a serious case of baby brain so stopped with a view to re enrolling when I could.

Very excited to start!

Hello again. My essay came back at 11.30pm last night btw, so keep checking . I believe OU tutors are meant to return them within 3 weeks of the deadline, so it can't be much longer (although, I agree, the wait seemed enormous).
I got 73% overall btw, which is a B- I believe.
As for study hours, I still procrastinate like mad, so I would say less than 10 a week, except for the TMA week, when I probably did about 18 or so.
I am skipping the learning chapter, and have read evo and bio pysch, but not done much in the way of notes. I am just relooking at it so I can start on the TMA02. I have done the stats side of the TMA02 though - that is really straighforward and shouldn't take much time once you have read the 2nd chapter of the Methods book.
Hope your essays come back soon

Well done GreenEggs, that's a great mark.
Still checking for mine - it's becoming a bit of nervous tick

Me too. Am tempted to have a toddler-style meltdown.

At last! Got my TMA01 back - B here too. Am very happy.

No excuse now but to crack on with the rest of the work.

Well done!

But.. GAH WHERE'S MINE?

Coco, I really feel for you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed you'll get it soon. It was ridiculously distracting not having it.

I got mine back too, I got A-. Am very pleasantly surprised. Coco, have you been in touch with your tutor?

docket and iheart - well done on your marks . We are obviously on the right track even if it doesn't always feel like it.
Cocodrillo - you must get yours soon - surely thre deadline for returning them is tomorrow? I feel for you - as a first essay, the tutor must be aware that you will be keen to know your mark asap. Good luck

How is everyone getting on in general? I must admit, I have flagged a bit and don't have much sense of direction at the mo!

I am enjoying reading the chapters, but that is all I'm doing, reading them. I haven't taken any notes. I will just have to go back over them later and make revision notes.

The forum is throwing up lots of questions I would never have thought to ask, so has made me realise that I have a tendency to think, yeah, i kinda understand that so I'll move on. A lot of people seem determined to REALLY understand things, which is probably what is being asked for at Level 2.

Not sure if i can make myself think that way...

I got my essay back at 11.30pm on Monday, and I got a B+, so I'm really chuffed.

Iheart, I agree re the reading thing. I'm also finding the chapters interesting to read (on the whole), but I find the note-taking side of it tedious, and don't think I'm really mulling things over and making sure I fully understand before moving on.

If we're doing ok on the assignments, we can't be going far wrong though, presumably .

Now that I've got TMA 01 back I feel I can concentrate on TMA 02 properly. I'm planning to submit it before Christmas, and not wait for the mid-Jan deadline - I want it out of the way!

Hi there,
I have still not received my essay back and I'm beginning to worry a bit. How long should I leave it before contacting my tutor?

I'd be tempted to contact them tomorrow if I were you. We're definitely supposed to have them back by the 6th, as the workbook activities next week focus on essay writing skills and looking at the feedback you've been given by your tutor for TMA01.

I was v tempted to contact my tutor at the weekend, the only thing that put me off was the fact that I wouldn't have a leg to stand on if I was then late submitting one of MY pieces of work .

Hi everyone, it's quiet in here, how are you all getting on?

Leda, did you get your mark back?

Hi docket (and all)

Have you had a look at the TMA02 yet? I thought I'd get the Methods stuff out of the way, but am stuck on Q1 g and h. Anyone looked at it yet?

Have decided to do Evo psych question too. Think I'll get it done first then if there's any time over Christmas will attempt to make notes for all the other chapters, because I've not done that so far. (deep regret emoticon).

Didn't like the biological stuff - too much specific detail in it. Much prefer the bigger picture stuff.

Hi there,

Yes, I finally got it on Saturday. I did really well, so I have forgiven the tutor .

I haven't started TMA2 yet, but had a tutorial last night and feel inspired to start on it while everything is still fresh in my mind. I really enjoy the tutorials, are any of you going to them?

I haven't made notes either and am behind with the reading. Hope to catch up over Christmas.

I have just started my essay plan, haven't dared to look at the methods stuff yet!

I'm doing the evolution question too (in fact, our tutor advised us to do this one rather than the biology one, which suits me fine!). That said I'm finding there is an awful lot of info, will be hard to condense to 1000 words me thinks.

I am desperate to get this out of the way this week but my son is ill and off school. I'm really hoping he makes a swift recovery!

Glad you got your results back Leda

Gulp, ihh, I'm working through the methods Qs now and I know what you mean about 1 g and h. I am a bit stuck!

Hi Docket

Ooh good, glad it's not just me. I had an idea for g then read h and thought, well, the answer is the same for that too. So I've had to think of an alternative problem for g, IYSWIM.

Is it unethical to discuss in detail? (I know they don't allow it on the OU forums)

I a trying really hard to crack the essay today. Have done about half of it, and (perhaps somewhat foolishly) have decided not to follow the plan in the booklet, but am trying to kind of combine the two elements of the question. I thought I'd find it easier to stick to the word count that way, and I think it's working. Am half-way through and have said a fair amount.
Better carry on (DS at after-school club today even though I'm not working - better not waste the opportunity!)

I am sure that talking about the issues is fine - as you would in a tutorial. Obviously, rattling off the multiple choice answers is not good . I found it tricky to get 4 points between (g) and (h)- ended up with 3, so need to revisit .

I am finding it hard to do the essay - I think there is too much to say, and I don't know whether to omit some stuff so I can go into a bit more detail on the other. Has anyone talked out HOW evo psych works rather than just the evidence and thoery of mind stuff?

Hope we get all this done before Christmas

has anyone taken a look at tma03?

it looks terrifying, plus all that stats info to wade through this month.

feel like going back to bed!

Happy New Year (bit belated, but then we have been working on essays .
Hope everyone is done with their TMA02? I don't have high hopes for mine, but glad it is finished.

I have been feeling quite anxious about being behind and amount of stuff there is to revise for the exam, so I am glad I had a look at the TMA guide and the Specimin Exam Paper that came through after Christmas - it was a relief to know that we won't have to do any essays in the exam on topics we have already written about.

MInd you, the list of terms that we need to define and comment on their importance to psychology is scary! They might be short answers but the specimins looked very impressive!

Anyway, are we up for reporting our scores agin once our essays are back? How is everyone finding the stats stuff?

Hi All
Just about to post, but GreenEggs beat me to it. Sent off my TMA today - wasn't as bad as the first one, but I think that's partly because I'm trying really hard not to beat myself up to make it perfect. Feel happy to get an average pass IYKWIM (which is quite an achievement for me).

Have been ploughing through the stats stuff - surprisingly, I'm finding it quite fun. Am I weird? But haven't got to the point of starting work on the TMA03 stuff, so do I have permission to change my mind???

GreenEggs,my tutor said that although we won't have to write a long essay on any of the stuff we've covered in the TMAs, those topics may come up in the short essays section, so worth being aware of that.

(I am also pretty panicked about the exam. I have literally skimmed the last few chapters: no notes, no summaries. I am going to have to do some serious cramming later I think.

Iheart - you sound like me. I am hoping it all comes together later on lol! The exam is the 15th June, yes, so only 5 months to go. I have started to look at the terms we need to write short answers on in the exam, but from that I can tell I have a long way to go...

Shall we do a round up when we get our results of TMA02 - what grade and how long it took the tutor to mark . I looked at the OU forum and some have got theirs back already . I haven't joined the fray though - some posters seem far too clever and others I fear may well nt last the course - it doesn't feel like it will help me if I go on there lol!

Have you looked at TMA03 yet? It looks quite interesting, but quite exacting too

Hope everyone else is far too busy studying to post on here?!

Hi everyone!

Have been absent for a while due to computer problems. Really annoying and brings home how much I rely on having internet access!

Am happy to share TMA02 details, once I've got them. Have had a look at TMA03 and didn't much like the look of it (although to be fair I skim-read and that's never good!).

Am enjoying the stats stuff more than I thought I would. Liked the perception stuff too. One thing with this broad 'intro to' type course is that it seems to constantly move on, I just get into something and then it's time to get to grips with something else. Aaaah.

Not keen on the stats, it is taking me far longer than it should to get through them as they're just so booooorrrring. When I do the exercises I get the right answers, it's just that getting there feels like such a chore. Ho hum.