Author: Reece Garside

Originally published here.

For week 2 of Critical Skills we had to research into what is the best way to cook an egg. We then had to publish a report on our findings and conclude what we felt was 'the best way to cook an egg'. For this weeks assignment, we had to critique our published report - stating how reliable I feel it was and look into the finer details of the report.


As we are reaching the halfway point of the course, I think that I am most definitely a more confident researcher and I know now the correct steps that I need to follow to make sure that a piece of information that I use comes from a reliable source and is reliable enough to use in an assignment. This has made me a much stronger interdependent learner as it means that I am able to successfully to conduct a research project and not be worried about what the sources that I use.

Originally published here.

For this weeks task, we were set a group research project to create a document arguing what is the best way to cook an egg.
By doing this project I have learnt that the research process is very long winded and detailed. For this research, people in my group decided carry out surveys and questionnaires, whereas I only carried out secondary research - looking at other peoples experiments and using their ideas to fuel my own. I also realised that when writing a 'proper' document, you really need to consider the sources and where they came from and who wrote them etc. as this could have a great effect on the accuracy & reliability of the document.

I think that my group were fairly successful in completing the research project. All three of us provided our own (different) ideas and methods to answer the question - what is the best way to cook an egg?
We used Google Docs effectively to communicate and share our ideas - not only for the research stage, but also when writing up the final piece.



However, when reviewing my own personal input, I can honestly say that this week I did not put enough effort and time into the project. I have my reasons, and it is not like me to miss work. In the next few projects, I will put more effort in and be a constructive and helpful asset to the group.

Originally published here.

When I was approached with the idea of this course, it first took me a while to fully grasp what it was that I would be doing and why it would be effective. However, once I had looked into it - things became clear to me.
   I am in my first year of A Level, and from the day I started I noticed the difference in the learning compared to GCSE. The learning style was much more varied - teachers would not necessarily tell you exactly what you needed to do (they would tell you just enough to be able to get by) This was a huge jump from GCSE learning. I think that I have coped rather well with the change, but I know that I could be using my time to research much more effectively. This leads me on to why I wanted to take this course. I feel that by learning new individual research skills it will not only enhance the quality of the work that I am able to produce, but I am hoping it will be able to speed up the time it takes for me to conduct research - time is something I seem to be running low on lately!
   If I were to define independent learning, I would say that it is the ability to be able to successfully teach yourself a new skill using the current resources available and by finding new ones. To be a successful independent learner, it does not necessarily mean you have got to work on your own. I think that if you are able to constructively use your peers and teachers to help you learn then you yourself are a much better independent learner.
   I think that I do have the potential to become a much better independent learner. I think that once I am able to gain the skills I need, I will be able to put them to good use, not only in University but also in the A-Level subjects that I am currently taking.