Obviously, for an M.Ed student like me, the Program Institute is really helpful this time.
The Indian cuisine is yummy; the instructors and those who tool the exam are nice and willing to provide lots of tips for preparing and writing comps. We have some thorough discussion on the sample questions that may appear in comps; we now know more details about how a comps will be like and its general procedure. We now know roughly how much we should write in a comps, how we can write it, and how much time we have in writing comps...
What I have from the Program Institute is more than the aforementioned, though. It makes me realize how far I fall behind if I want to pass the comps with a satisfying grade. Technically, this is not true, as we will only get feedback such as suggestions for revision, pass, or failed, but not the exact marks. Reading and discussing the sample question make me realize I am really poor at critical thinking, reasoning / defending / justifying my position. I don't know how to interpret the question, nor do I know how to set the context for me to compose the content. Worse than that, I can hardly relate all the readings I used to read with the question. These will definately weaken my statement afterwards. Also, I have huge room for improvement regarding my English writing...
During the session I actually start to think what I can do to prepare the comps. I wanna take advantage of this blog to imrpove my English writing skills. It would be better if I can find someone to review my composition then or to have similar writing training with me so that we can encourage and monitor each other. The idea of forming a study group for reading the assigned readings and training for reasoning also comes to my mind. Yet I am not sure if I can make it or not. It is reasonable that I think of forming a study group, 'cause I had similar experience before. It's just that different cultures in different contry and different demands that may matter if I can establish this group. Oh, my determination also matters, for sure.
I think I may have these "brilliant(?)" ideas, yet what's more important is that whether or not I can realize them step by step. Currently I am busy with this semester and might not have so much extra time and efforts. I hope I can start to realize them once this semester finishes. Let's see how far I can go. I hope it's more than 85%. We'll see.
This is the PROMISE to myself.
