I can’t believe how quickly this term has gone! It’s crazy to think how much I have learned in such a short space of time!
Below are my 3 reflections for this term!
Before the term began, I was a bit skeptical of the huge group work component. From past negative experiences, I had developed quite a dislike for group work and I was worried that these bad experiences would only be repeated. I was very wrong. From our very first group meeting, it was clear that we were all like-minded people and we connected instantly. We all valued clear communication and had similar work ethics, which meant that our group work this term was seamless. From this term, my opinion and understanding on the value of group work has completely changed from thinking that good group work was impossible to experiencing amazing teamwork first-hand. I now truly understand the value of good group work, where one’s skills and motivation can be reinforced by collaborative understanding and teamwork. This term has been the best group work experience I have ever had, and I am going to take this knowledge for what makes good group work into the future.
This term I had a bit of a breakthrough in clarity for understanding my next steps in my university career and education. Going into this term, I had a clear pathway in mind that I wanted to achieve. I wanted to finish my Psychological Science degree, do a year of Psychology Honours then go straight into Masters of Clinical Psychology. I was so set on being a clinical psychologist that I thought that I was ready to do 6 years of back-to-back uni just to get there as soon as possible. However, from this term, I realised that university isn’t everything and that developing the necessary skills and experience is equally as important. I talked to a few of my group members in this course about their education pathway and one person commented that they were going to take a break in between their Honours year and applying for Masters. I had never considered this pathway, and I have no idea why I hadn’t. I had been so set on finishing my degree as soon as possible that I had forgotten that I was unsure if being a clinical psychologist is what I really wanted to do. My Psychological Science degree has a double major in Human Resource Management as well, which I haven’t even stopped to consider pursuing. It is now clear in my mind, that after finishing my Psychology Honours year, I want to take some time away from uni and gain experience in the field to determine if psychology is still the path I want to take. This decision would have never crossed my mind if I had never talked to my group members.
At the very start of this term, I felt quite nervous about learning to code. However, after the first workshop, I immediately gained an amazing sense of community and support from everyone. My confidence with coding grew from there, as I continued watching Danielle’s modules which were so clear and well-explained that it made learning to code interesting and digestible. After the group project however, I began to feel nervous again about attempting to code on my own for the exploratory section. However, with lots of googling, peer feedback in workshops and the Q&As, I realised that I was never truly alone in this coding journey. This term, I learned that coding is not actually so daunting as there are so many resources and people around who are willing to help. I also learned that coding is like learning any new language, as it takes practice and time to understand. I really enjoyed learning code this term and I am so grateful to have developed this new skill!