Connection in learning between the 2 schools

When comparing what we have learnt in School of Science and Technology and Busan Science high School, there is a lot of resemblance between what we learn. In SST, there is the subject geography, which is similar to the earth science that is learnt in BSS. In earth science, they learn about plate tectonics and earthquakes, exactly what we learn in SST as part of our daily syllabus. Another example is biotechnology in SST being parallel to the advanced topics of biology that the students learn here in BSS, for example agarose gel electrophoresis, a form of chromatography, and deoxyribonucleic acid extraction from body fluid samples. During these 2 activities we tried in BSS, I learnt how to separate DNA samples of different mass and compare different samples based on their retention factors; put simply, the distance the DNA in solution travel based on their solubility in the buffer solution. Though this is taught in SST, it is more simplified but still congruent in terms of what students need to learn. This thus shows the striking homogeneity in the subjects that we learn in SST as compared to the topics offered in Busan.

Extend your learning

From the physics lesson that I had attended as part of lesson observation, the content we learned in the class was about circular and simple harmonic motion. In this lesson, we learnt about the derivation of acceleration, position and centripetal force in a simple harmonic oscillator by using a unit circle and using sine and cosine functions. This made the learning simpler. This is an extension of the physics that we learnt in SST, as part of the "Waves" and "Dynamics" chapters. In the "Waves" chapter, we learnt how light is a wave where the oscillating electric and magnetic fields are orthogonal to each other. This relates to the wave-like motion of a simple harmonic oscillator. In the case of the lesson, we learnt different examples of harmonic oscillators along with the multiple derivations. This relates to dynamics as "F=ma", that is Newton's Second Law, came in handy in the derivation. This is an extension to our studies as although we have not learnt it, it is very important in daily life and is the subsequent level in physics and transcends the current physics that we have learnt. In fact, I had learnt this earlier in the year as part of physics olympiad, something that is covered as an A-level topic, clearly evident that this is an extension to what we have currently learnt. 

Challenge the learning

I think one way in which I can change the way I study is by getting inspired by what I have learnt from BSS and via my BSS buddy. According to what I have learnt from my buddy, the students here are very focused in terms of what they need to learn and are also very competitive. I think from this I need to challenge my own learning, which I feel has been very slack now that I see how hard the students study here. By doing so, I will not only improve my grades, but being more confident, I would also be able to learn and think faster, improving the rest of the sectors of my life, such as my social life as I would know how to speak with less stumbling. Hence, challenging my learning would be very interdisciplinary, and hence I feel it is an important thing I need to integrate into my studies.