They say that Asians "in monsoon Asia" are mostly book nerds, that's probably true.
***********
A. Input.
I, myself, however, don't like people who always study and even "study for exams" during P.E. That's way over normalcy. If I am graded based on the number of notes I took, I'll likely have a 1.0 GPA.
That doesn't mean I don't learn with effort. When you live with cats, you learn to play cool; when you stay with dogs, you learn to play ball. I consider myself a moderate learner, mitigating this "do nothing but study" culture to a more healthy and balanced attitude. This is one reason I consider I'm more qualified than most of the fellow Taiwanese applicant. For most local students, they don't have as wealthy and deep-developed extracurricular experience while having a decent GPA (they'll usually only have one); for other international school counterparts, they, unless taking calculus and record A+, will not learn more than us local students in late year 11.
For now, in order to elaborate how I learn, I wish to use the way I approached National Earth Science competition as a model. I'll start from talking how I input, then goes to how I integrate and uses the information, finally, how I benefit my juniors via counselling them.
Note: For the sake of article's continuity, I will now attach an information piece that can be found in my application standalone explaining how National Earth Science competition works.
National Earth Science competition in Taiwan is one of the six STEM field's highest accolade in domestic level. To represent my school, I need to be the best in my grade (1/500), to represent my city, I have to get through the city round, which stands at 3/130. Throughout the contest, it tests the candidate's ability in astronomy, oceanography, atmospheric science and geology. Testing favourites including operating telescopes, identifying minerals, ability to interpret graphs and other practical hands-on experiments.
I had the honour to represent my school and my city to compete in National Earth Science competition twice. As the time this application is drafted, I also hold the counsellor position of the program to select a promising sophomore who will take my seat after this year's contest.
It was difficult already when I was the selected sophomore last year. I devoted an hour every day to this for three months, in accord with my extracurricular record. This year, things get trickier. No longer can I follow my senior's step, instead, I have to be a man and try to retain our school's prestigious streak, Thus, I'm required to design teaching materials.
Note: For the sake of article's continuity, I will now attach an information piece that can be found in my application standalone explaining how National Earth Science competition works.
National Earth Science competition in Taiwan is one of the six STEM field's highest accolade in domestic level. To represent my school, I need to be the best in my grade (1/500), to represent my city, I have to get through the city round, which stands at 3/130. Throughout the contest, it tests the candidate's ability in astronomy, oceanography, atmospheric science and geology. Testing favourites including operating telescopes, identifying minerals, ability to interpret graphs and other practical hands-on experiments.
I had the honour to represent my school and my city to compete in National Earth Science competition twice. As the time this application is drafted, I also hold the counsellor position of the program to select a promising sophomore who will take my seat after this year's contest.
It was difficult already when I was the selected sophomore last year. I devoted an hour every day to this for three months, in accord with my extracurricular record. This year, things get trickier. No longer can I follow my senior's step, instead, I have to be a man and try to retain our school's prestigious streak, Thus, I'm required to design teaching materials.
***********
A. Input.
The following are extracts from my note. Now, I do know that taking notes is like a civic duty for students, however, I have particular show points.
When viewing my note, there's no need to refer to the original textbooks, because, red words are standout points while black ones are all points that will be tested in an examination. This double-layer feature can suit different study plans, and ensure that my juniors can take advantage of my note.
B. Integrate.
When I construct my note, I don't look at textbooks and write down important information. I started by reading through the whole chapter, then, I recreate the chapter in my own way. This enables me to connect relating information or data worth comparing together, ultimately enhancing my learning efficiency. I also understand that mankind is a visual group, thus, I use many graphs, usually self-designed ones, to strengthen my memories.
C. Experience pass-on.
I designed many teaching materials when I am a counsellor. Unlike most others who assumed the position, I never use existing materials. I customize to meet every student's need. The photo above is the midterm exam that I made, even the pictures. Now, I'll attach three papers that I made.
As for this competition, we do not have many lab record, but I do feel the need to demonstrate my ability to perform research. Thus, I will now attach a chemistry report from a lab session.
One point that Taiwanese students are often laughed at by Americans is that we master math when the calculator is prohibited, but we don't know how to operate this digital monster. Thus, what we are capable to do becomes extremely limited. I am not that kind of guy. I am interested in math, numbers, relations and statistics since I was young. I have a copy of "Statistics: Concepts and Controversies" by David Moore when I was nine. It is until now (I'm seventeen!) does the school start to teach contents inside it, and still not full of it. Thus, I can safely conclude I am able to deal with research data for my early start.
ADDITIONAL BONUS:
The above link was the science fair that I had done with my two geek friends in year eight. It was not in high school, so I did not promote it.
It was about Torricelli's law and its application on liquid flow.
No comments:
Post a Comment