What noteworthy modules have you taken?

b0gg3r

What modules have you taken as part of your degree or as an elective that you would recommend to others, or warn people off?

Is there a module that benefits Eng students, or Ag students pretty well. Or one that is a time-suck that gives no reasonable return to the student. Is one taught particularly well?

If possible give details.

TheOneWhoDraws

I'm going to assume that the purpose of your post is primarily linked towards the choosing of an elective module for the upcoming academic year. One module which I would strongly recommend you to do, regardless of level, is "COMP20090: Introduction to Cognitive Science". The content of the course, the style of lecturing, and the academic assessment all combine to create one of the most enjoyable and interesting modules which I've taken so far, and would be a module which I would unhesitantly recommend to any individual in search of a module, particularly for an individual who is uncertain as to which modules they should attempt.

The content of the module is perhaps one of the most immediate concerns to any student, and for this module in particular doubly so once they recognise that the module is Stage 2, it's a Computer Science module, and it has what appears to be a rather off-putting name. Fortunately, these hesitations are almost immediately dispelled. Despite being listed as a Computer Science module, this is a highly inter-disciplinary module which covers a wide range of topics across a very broad field; it dabs into topics in psychology, linguistics, personal development, psychology, and more over the duration of the module, yet these are touched upon at a relaxed pace such that the essence of each topic can very easily be grasped despite a complete absence of knowledge in any of the fields. This is highly accessible, and regardless of what you're studying and the style of learning which is present, there is little reason that you should not be able to thrive. The topics themselves, available cogsci(dot)ucd(dot)ie/introtocogsci/, are very interesting, and provides a great deal of perspective on many topics in which you otherwise may not even hear of across over the course of your time in UCD. While the topics are ones which are oft-times very open to interpretation, they taught as such, and you're encouraged to engage in critical thinking and make up your own mind about what you feel in relation to them, but necessitates the importance the importance of backing them up. It covers so many topics (in an enjoyable and appreciable amount of detail) that even if one area does not appeal, or you disagree with a certain styles of thought, that you are not constrained by this as it will quickly move onto another area which you may enjoy more (to take a personal example, I personally had very little interest in the vision aspect, yet loved movement, representation, language, learning and development, social cognition, and consciousness in particular; others come away enjoy different aspects of the course which is to be applauded). It rejects firmly rigid thinking on topics, yet also acknowledges that many people enter the module with pre-existing notions on these topics, and encourages a plasticity in order for you to make the most of the topics. As you touch upon areas regarding the history of cognitive science, the impact of movement and the 'degrees of freedom' problem, the link between language and thought, how symbols and representations impact the lives we live, and the ever-present (seeming) conflict between rationalism and empiricism, you will walk away (because this is a module where you will want to attend, not out of obligation, but out of fascination) with something to think about almost every lecture.

All of this interesting content would be a waste if not for the fantastic lecturer who delivers it in an engaging, approachable, and understanding manner. We've all been enrolled in modules at some stage where despite the content being inherently fascinating, we're left dreading the module every week because it's taught in a bland fashion (whatever that is). This is a module that thankfully soars far above this pitfall. The atmosphere in the lecture theatre is light/casual and relaxed enough that you don't feel intimidated into a silence by the lecturer (something which can often happen when a lecturer addresses the students and asks a question) when the lecture theatre is addressed, and you understand that any relevant contribution or curiosity into a topic will be engaged with openly and gently. The atmosphere in the lecture theatres puts you at ease. The lecturer delivers the material with enthusiasm and openly encourages you to draw your own interpretation from it, while being extremely approachable and seeming quite laid back which makes it very easy to clarify any areas of confusion or difficulty you may have. The class sizes are generally rather small (this can vary though, each individual lecture is given twice a week, and you've two unique lectures to attend a week) and it makes it easy to develop some form of personal relationship with others in the classroom, but also ensures that the lecturer is likely to develop a recognition of you by the end of the semester, which is a very nice change from feeling like you're just one number amongst two hundred others. The lecturer provides a great deal of honesty in regard to his opinions on the subject and injects a great deal of humour into the topics. In the teaching of the module, students are viewed with a great deal of respect, and thoroughly avoids ever being condescending towards students with a great usage of English throughout the delivery of lectures. The further reading is interesting and brief enough (if you wish to make it so) that you can engage with topics more if you develop a curiosity about them, yet you are never 'put on the spot' in regards to them. The lectures are extremely helpful and delivered through Powerpoint slides which are then greatly expanded on via oration; while you may take notes (only you can be the judge as to whether you need to, but I would advise it if in doubt as to your ability to recall information), the delivery is so strong that you are very likely to walk away from the lectures remembering a great deal of the content without writing anything down and a brief refreshment by looking at the lecturing slides is adequate to recall the information. The lecturer is also highly accommodating to any specific needs which you may have.

It is the assessment style which most appropriately bolsters the module. The module is taught through two examinations, a 40% mid-term, and a 60% final assessment. The 40% mid-term consists of ten questions. You answer between two sentances and half a page on each question (most can be answered very briefly). The questions consist of things which one develops an innate understanding of during the lectures, and by simply attending the lectures and briefly recaping the material there is absolutely no reason why you should not be able to achieve a very high grade (an extremely large portion of the class got above an A+) as it's corrected very leniently so long as the information you supply is accurate and backed up (and no, you don't need to use a proper referencing, referring to something is enough). The mid-term is completed entirely in a single lecture, and you should have more than enough time in the forty-five minutes provided; a great deal of students had the paper completed within twenty during my undertaking of the module, and while I personally stayed the full duration of the module in case I thought of something else, I too had finished early. The final assessment consists of some (six I believe) statements, and you write an essay on three. The length of these vary, but similar to the mid-term you will have more than enough time in the two hours provided to write a comprehensive essay. The topics provided on the exam are broad enough that you should not struggle to write a decent essay touching on many of the topics in the course, and are corrected quite leniently as well, so long as you can adequately express your knowledge of the material. To do well, you will need to attend the lectures, but this relaxed assessment greatly decreases the stress of partaking in the module. I had been somewhat hesitant, being a Stage 1 Maths student who rarely writes essays while doing the module, as to whether this style of assessment would appeal to everyone and whether the level of the module would be problematic, but despite my lack of experience with college-style essays it was not a prohibitive issue. By relieving the stress of examinations, you're able to pay much more attention towards the content of the module, and ensures that you're not desperately trying to scramble down a transcript of everything which is said, increasing your ability to pay attention on the module and develop a greater comprehension of the material.

It really is a module which I would highly recommend. I was a student who was very uncertain as to which module to take. I wanted a module which wasn't so difficult or time-consuming that it would detract from my studies elsewhere, but I didn't want a module which was so monotonous or bland that I would be discouraged from attending the lectures. The introductory language modules were consided for awhile, but I lack competency in the area of language acquisition and worried as to my ability to succeed in them, resulting in this module being chosen. This module far exceeded expectations. When I completed it, there were students who attended the lecture simply out of interest in the material being covered without being enrolled. Having completed the module I can easily recommend it to anybody unsure as to what to pick.

DaisyFay

I'd agree with the cognitive science module recommendation 100% - it would be a very interesting module for anyone to do and doesn't require a background in any subject area at all. Its also very easy to do well in (I got an A+ with a half day of study) - the lecturers main concern is that students are interested and learn something for themselves, rather than for exams - exam papers are very repetitive, with at least half of the previous years questions on the current paper. And you can look up the notes etc on the course website before you pick it if you're interested.
The food, diet and health modules are also very interesting - I did both the level 1 and level 3 versions, enjoyed them and did very well with little effort. The level 1 module is very easy and basic, but is difficult to get into. The level 3 version is obviously more detailed, but a great module if you are interested in food/nutrition.
Women and mens health is one thats often mentioned as another easy module, but a lot of people were disappointed this year with their results because though the material is very easy, statistics and figures make up a good bit of the exam so you would need to know these.
Then the last one I did was forensic anthropology - definitely an interesting module with great practicals and lecturers, but the exam was very difficult imo.

haro124

Chinese Culture for the free meal