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Natasha.97

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USyd Unit Reviews
« on: February 20, 2018, 05:37:34 pm »
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USYD Unit Reviews

This thread is a collection of unit reviews and ratings for the University of Sydney. If you wish to ask about a particular review, use the general chat thread or message the person who wrote it 😊

We encourage everyone to review any/all courses they have taken, even if other reviews for the course already exist. The more reviews we have, the more useful this collection will be! :)

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Note: The views expressed in these reviews are those of the authors and do not represent the opinions of the university or ATAR Notes.  Keep in mind that despite best efforts, information provided may not be accurate.

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Code: [Select]
[b]Subject Code/Name:[/b] [url=insert link here]SUBJECT CODE - SUBJECT NAME[/url]
Insert the UOS outline for the subject, and replace SUBJECT CODE SUBJECT NAME with the appropriate details)

[b]Contact Hours:[/b]  Specify how many lectures, pracs/workshops, tutes etc. and their duration

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[b]Assessment:[/b]  Give a rough/detailed outline of the various assessment methods, and if possible, their weightings.

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[b]Notes/Materials Available[/b]:  If possible, provide links to any resources available to help with the subject.

[b]Textbook:[/b] What is the textbook? In your experience, is the textbook required, recommended, or completely useless?

[b]Lecturer(s):[/b] List your lecturer(s)

[b]Year/Semester of completion:[/b] EG - 2016/2

[b]Difficulty:[/b] Out of 5

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[b]Comments: [/b]
Give your comments on all aspects of the course (keep it objective!)

Here is a duplicate version of the templates without the descriptions, for the sake of convenience in copying and pasting. Use the above descriptions as your reference :)

Code: [Select]
[b]Subject Code/Name:[/b] [url=][/url]

[b]Contact Hours:[/b]

[b]Assumed Knowledge:[/b]

[b]Assessment:[/b] 

[b]Lecture Recordings?[/b] 

[b]Notes/Materials Available[/b]: 

[b]Textbook:[/b]

[b]Lecturer(s):[/b]

[b]Year & Semester of completion:[/b]

[b]Difficulty:[/b]

[b]Overall Rating:[/b] 

[b]Your Mark/Grade:[/b]

[b]Comments: [/b]

« Last Edit: January 06, 2020, 04:50:56 pm by Bri MT »
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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2020, 09:21:00 pm »
+11
Subject Code/Name: MCGY1008 Harmony and Analysis 1, MCGY1009 Harmony and Analysis 2

Contact Hours: 1x 1 hour lecture, 1x 1 hour tutorial

Assumed Knowledge: For MCGY1008: Ability to read musical notation including treble and bass clefs, and knowledge of scales, intervals and triads in tonal music. I would recommend completing AMEB Fourth Grade or an equivalent to it. For MCGY1009: MCGY1008

Assessment: Assignments (35%), online quizzes (10%), examination (55%)

Lecture Recordings? Yes; they are uploaded after the lecture is delivered.

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: Workbook for Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music 2nd Edition (Robert Gauldin)

Lecturer(s): Lewis Cornwell

Year & Semester of completion: 2019, Semester 1, 2

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: MCGY1008: 77 DI, MCGY1009: 76 DI

Comments: This subject was the cause of most of my stress this year. I entered Harmony having what I thought was a decent amount of knowledge about classical music harmony but I was completely shocked coming into my first few weeks of MCGY1008 and realising how behind I was from everyone else. MCGY1009 was a lot better experience-wise because I changed my study strategy for the subject completely so although I scored just a bit lower, it at least did not feel like a fluke.

The assessments make sense but I am not a fan of the online quizzes. I had to put a reminder for myself to do them just to ensure I could get a guaranteed good mark for that 10% in the unit. The assignments also got progressively easier over time but my results still fluctuated depending on the topic. I hope this is something that I can tackle better next year. I found the final exam great structurally and easy to prepare notes for but definitely could have revised better for it in hindsight.

At the end of the day, I think both units are really beneficial and important to the study of music. Despite my complaints and concerns throughout the semester on whether I would be able to get by in it, I managed to come out of both MCGY1008 and MCGY1009 feeling somewhat accomplished. I do think that Lewis is one of the best lecturers at the Con and I only wish I did him more justice with how I performed. My tutor Peter though was really amazing and left me some great inside jokes and roasts in my feedback which motivated me to try harder (though I really just could not get out of the habit of having parallel fifths). I hope I can look back at my experience with fondness long term and am interested to see what is in stall for Harmony 3!
« Last Edit: July 14, 2020, 10:51:48 am by angewina_naguen »
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Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2020, 04:03:02 pm »
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Subject Code/Name: MCGY1001 Aural Perception 1A, MCGY1002 Aural Perception 1B

Contact Hours: 1x 1 hour Lab, 1x 1 hour Solfege tutorial

Assumed Knowledge: For MCGY1001: You will complete a Music Skills Evaluation prior to the semester for streaming purposes. For MCGY1002: MCGY1001

Assessment: For MCGY1001: Weekly Lab tests (25%), weekly Lab assignments (15%), Solfege tutorial assessment (15%), Lab examination (25%), Solfege examination (20%). For MCGY1002: Weekly Lab assignments (15%), Non-Western transcription (15%), Lab examination (30%), Solfege tutorial assessment (15%), Solfege examination (25%).

Lecture Recordings? None

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbooks: Manual for Ear Training and Sight Singing 2nd Edition (Gary S. Karpinski), Anthology for Sight Singing (Gary S. Karpinski and Richard Kram). I would also highly recommend Solfege des Solfege (Adolphe Danhauser) which I obtained when I first started singing and still use today as supplementary warm-up material.

Lecturer(s): None; you will be assigned with a tutor for both classes. I had Andrew Faleatua for both Lab and Solfege in MCGY1001 and MCGY1002.

Year & Semester of completion: 2019, Semester 1, 2

Difficulty: MCGY1001: 3.5/5, MCGY1002: 3/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Your Mark/Grade: MCGY1001: 86 HD, MCGY1002: 92 HD

Comments: Aural Perception in first year has been quite the ride. I came in having very basic sight-singing and terrible dictation skills and have come out of the units a lot more confident in both. I was streamed into 1A and B, instead of doing 1 and 2, which worked out nicely for me because it allowed me to take things slowly and really hone in on all the foundational aspects of solfa that I missed out on in high school. Our classes were also smaller so there was more individual attention given to us. I personally preferred solfege classes over lab which reflected in how much more willing I was to practise sight singing over completing extra dictations on top of what I was assigned to do.  Balancing equal commitment in AP across both is something I hope to improve for this coming year.

The weekly assessments for AP were quite friendly and super chill. My tutor provided advice for me all the time when I asked him and this communication ultimately amounted to my success in the subject. Similar to Harmony, the final exams are worth a ridiculous amount and regular revision/practice helps a tonne in the long run. I always attempted at least one unseen sight-singing example and dictation exercise from the books outside of the ones we were assigned to check if I could properly apply the concepts elsewhere. Doing more of this during the week would've been beneficial and could potentially have elevated my marks even higher.

While in the moment I dreaded it the most, the non-western transcription was perhaps the assignment I most benefitted from in this subject. My biggest criticism of solfa is how it doesn’t accommodate for all types of music. I liked that the course coordinator was aware of this and made us critically reflect on the effectiveness of the system, especially when it fails to capture the musical idiosyncrasies of other cultures. It was a pain to complete and I still have the shakuhachi melody from the assignment looping in my head but I gained heaps from it.

I really enjoyed AP despite the morning classes (9am start was huge yikes) and had a fantastic tutor who motivated me to do well. He always framed everything in a really positive and growth-oriented way which pushed me to want to improve independently. The skills I learnt in AP have been transferrable in many other aspects of my study at the Con such as choir and my other musicology subjects. I’m interested to report on the leap from 1B to 2 over the next semester.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2020, 04:06:13 pm by angewina_naguen »
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Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2020, 04:49:27 pm »
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Subject Code/Name: MCGY1019 Musicology Workshop 1, MCGY1020 Musicology Workshop 2

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour seminar; every fortnight, you will also attend the Musicology Colloquium Series talks as part of the unit.

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: For both: Reflective journal (40%), participation and short tasks (20%), End of Semester presentation (40%).

Lecture Recordings? None

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: Compulsory readings are allocated each week, along with your own resources based on your elected research topic for the semester.

Lecturer(s): Alan Maddox

Year & Semester of completion: 2019 Semester 1, 2

Difficulty: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: MCGY1019: 78 DI, MCGY1020: 78 DI

Comments: I chose to do MCGY1019 and MCGY1020 as electives because they supported my principal study/major (musicology) and my future aims to pursue research of some kind in music education (though funnily enough, they're now the core units of the musicology principal study so it actually worked out in my favour that I did it). I really enjoy reading, thinking and discussing ideas which is perhaps why I found this subject well-designed for me. The class was small because our major is quite niche which meant we were all comfortable and good friends by the end of the year.

In terms of assessments, I felt like the presentations were nightmares. I fell out of love with my research topic for Semester 2 for a long period of time and found it challenging to get myself back on my feet. It's a completely different vibe presenting to a doctor in your field who literally specialises in your research area of interest than it is to tutor, teach or lecture so although I had lots of people saying to me it shouldn't have been "that bad", it was still nerve-wrecking. I also learnt after Semester 1 to not do my weekly reflective journal entries last minute and this greatly reflected in my marks in the end. While I started to hate reflective writing at many points in the subject, and in other subjects I'll review later where I also had to complete reflective journals, it was really helpful to consider the benefits I found from each week's seminar and actively linking it to my own research aims. I was also praised by my lecturer for my "riskier" arguments and critiques of the readings which was a bonus because it definitely helped me feel like my views were validated and valued.

The subject's design really allowed for diversity in content (we had a different topic every seminar, ranging from Spanish liturgical music to musical earworms) and reflected the eclectic nature of musicology as a discipline as a result. The MCS talks were super interesting and have helped me become a better lecturer myself here with AN over time. Overall, I'm really going to miss doing these units and having Alan who is literally the most awe-inspiring person at the Con. Beyond these units, I'm hoping to carry on the skills I learnt in the course and the thirst for knowledge and enquiry it inspired in me into the rest of my degree.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2020, 02:19:17 pm by angewina_naguen »
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Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2020, 12:34:47 pm »
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Subject Code/Name: ENSE1041 Choir 1, ENSE1042 Choir 2

Contact Hours: 1x 3 hour rehearsal; there are also additional rehearsals and a performance night during Special Projects Week (Week 10).

Assumed Knowledge: For ENSE1041: You will complete a short pitch and range test before rehearsals for voice placement.

Assessment: Continual assessment of professional demeanour and ensemble skills demonstrated during rehearsals and performances (100%).

Lecture Recordings? None

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: None; you borrow the score for whatever work is being studied and performed for the semester from the Con library before the first rehearsal.

Lecturer(s): Elizabeth (Liz) Scott

Year & Semester of completion: 2019, Semester 1, 2

Difficulty: 2/5

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: ENSE1041: 78 DI, ENSE1042: 87 HD

Comments: I enrolled in these units to fulfil my mandatory performance and ensemble units for the degree. I knew I was going to enjoy choir because I've been in choirs all my life and was really excited to do the subject for credit. I was also keen to sing more extensive works, as most of the songs I did in high school were at most five minutes long. For 2019's program, we did Handel's Dixit Dominus, Alice Chance's Fiat Lux for Semester 1 and the Con's very own Paul Stanhope's Jandamarra for Semester 2.

The nature of assessment is still a little strange to me. To pass the subject, you need 100% attendance at rehearsals. From then on, it's consistent observation on Liz's end to determine how well you carry yourself. Performance involvement, expression and enthusiasm are the criteria they look out for but to this day, I have no idea what the difference between a DI and HD for this unit is. That being said, as long as you're not bludging and you've come to the performance well-rehearsed/ready to go, there's no way you can possibly fail this subject. I am curious though as to how choir is assessed so perhaps this is something I should ask Liz myself some time next semester.

Choir was definitely amongst my favourite subjects from 2019 because it allowed me to do what I love most: sing. I loved all the works we got to perform, despite some of the slightly sadder alto parts I had to just accept was necessary for good voice leading and the rest of the harmonies to sound phenomenal. It was an amazing experience to perform with the orchestra and to sing with some of the most talented vocalists in the state, making a whole term's worth of afternoon rehearsals and commitment worth it. Liz Scott had a huge role in the success of the SCM choir this year; she's probably the best conductor in Sydney and one of my favourite people on this earth. Working under her weekly was a privilege and I've learnt so many fun choir warm-ups, techniques and pedagogical/ensemble directing strategies from her. I will only do Choir 3 next year but I may decide to join as a non-credit student for Semester 2 because I just loved this subject so much. Super hyped to see what we have in store this year!
« Last Edit: January 13, 2020, 02:19:47 pm by angewina_naguen »
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Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2020, 02:18:46 pm »
+11
Subject Code/Name: MCGY2613 Music in Modern Times

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour lecture, 1x 1 hour tutorial 

Assumed Knowledge: Ability to read music notation.

Assessment: Mid-semester test (20%), 1500 word essay (35%), tutorial preparation (10%), final examination (35%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes; they're uploaded on the day after the lecture but slides are available for view well in advance.

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: None; scores are available in PDF form/can be borrowed every week and different readings are assigned for each week.

Lecturer(s): Rachel Campbell, Philip Eames

Year & Semester of completion: 2019 Semester 1

Difficulty: 4/5

Overall Rating: 5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 81 DI

Comments: This unit is a compulsory history subject for education students and *spoiler alert* the one subject I feel everyone should be made to do because it was F A N T A S T I C. I did modernism in Prelim and HSC for every single one of my subjects except for Music 2 but that just made this unit even more satisfying because I was able to draw knowledge from everything else and combine it with my love for music history. I placed a pretty high difficulty rating because it was definitely hard but that made things so much more rewarding at the end.

Doing the assessments for this subject was a challenge. Tutorial preparation was intense with lots of question and analysis but I was lucky I had the day off before the day I had my tutorial to do it properly. MCGY2613 were the best tutorials I attended this year and I always felt like I was being intellectually stimulated. The exams required heaps of revision to do well in and I only wished I had tried harder in my finals. They relied more on your ability to argue and present a logical point, rather than just identifying musical techniques being used which I much preferred. As for the essay, I found this the most enjoyable assessment to complete (how nerdy, I know). I really enjoyed writing about the works I chose and was happy with my performance in it, along with the subject overall.

As you can already sense, loved this unit and was definitely my favourite subject for the semester alongside MUED1007 which I will review later. For the hundredth time, this subject also proves how great the staff are at the Con. Philip was definitely my favourite history lecturer I've had so far and I would take any subject he picked up in a heartbeat. He had memes in his slides, played the examples he used in the lecture live for us to hear and was very helpful when I bombarded him with questions about the essay. I severely missed doing MCGY2613 in Semester 2 and would highly recommend every Con student to study it. It was a thrill and I would live through all the blood, sweat and tears again to experience the growth I did from completing it  ;D
« Last Edit: January 13, 2020, 02:21:06 pm by angewina_naguen »
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-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2020, 09:52:44 pm »
+12
Subject Code/Name: MCGY1031 Musical Worlds of Today

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour lecture, 1x 1 hour tutorial

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: Tutorial participation (20%), critical response (20%), essay (40%), final examination (20%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: None; you are provided with weekly readings to do online. I, however, would highly recommend the book Being Australian: Narratives of National Identity (Catriona Elder) which I found a great supplementary text to read and use for the essay assessment.

Lecturer(s): Rachel Campbell and other guest lecturers

Year & Semester of completion: 2019 Semester 2

Difficulty: 3/5

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 90 HD

Comments: This subject is a compulsory history unit for education students and is taken by pretty much everyone at some point in their degree at the Con. Having previously seen above how greatly I felt about MCGY2613, I felt like this subject didn't really get a fair shot from me because in my eyes, it never lived up to how fantastic the history I did in Semester 1 was. Coming into it, I was already quite apprehensive but over time, I came to really not enjoy it.

The assessments were really poorly coordinated and communicated with us. I know the unit of study outline exists and yes, I did read it, but there was almost no mentioning of our critical response until the tutorial the week before it was due (meanwhile, Phillip reminded us literally a month in advance for our MCGY2613 assessments to get them done). On top of that, I really did not enjoy doing the essay, largely because I was comparing it to how much more originality and creativity I could offer in my MCGY2613 one but also to an extent because (and this is going to sound super horrible but I would like to be honest) I felt like even I could write a better question. The guidelines for that essay were also vague and although I did well, I was still confused about it after getting my marks back. As for the exam, I'd have to say it was the most chilled I have ever been for one. It didn't require much studying if you had revised during the semester but I still had to conduct extra research to build my notes because we hardly covered anything about the set works in the actual tutorials.

I do have to say most of my negative feelings stem from the inconvenience this unit had for me in the semester; both my lecture and tutorial followed 9am 2 hour seminars so the unit wasn't in an ideal place to be appreciated by me from the get go.  If I'll give the subject one point of praise, it'd be the lecturers they chose for the individual topics. Since the topics were so diverse, I was really glad they chose to bring in experts in those fields to speak about them. I particularly enjoyed Clint's lectures and felt like I learnt valuable lessons in them. While I didn't come out of this subject saying "I would love to do it again" (in fact, it's probably the subject I'm feeling the least inclined towards), I can recognise that it taught me to contextualise music more and to consider the cultural discussions that emerge from contemporary music-making practices.  I have submitted most of these thoughts in my survey so I hope they review the subject carefully and improve it because it has potential to be a formidable history subject at the Con with better organisation and direction.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2020, 11:25:34 pm by angewina_naguen »
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Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2020, 11:02:26 pm »
+9
Subject Code/Name: MUED1010 Key Ideas in Music Education, MUED1005 Key Approaches in Music Education

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour seminar

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: For MUED1010: Peer teaching assessment (50%), weekly ePortfolio reflective entries (50%). For MUED1005: Peer teaching assessment (50%), sight reading test on chosen instrument (25%), weekly ePortfolio reflective entries (25%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes; all classes are recorded and uploaded on the day.

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: None; there are no set textbooks but I would recommend getting doing the supplementary readings to enhance the reflections you have to write.

Lecturer(s): James Humberstone and other guest lecturers

Year & Semester of completion: 2019 Semester 1, 2

Difficulty: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Your Mark/Grade: MUED1010: 73 CR, MUED1005: 85 HD

Comments: These are the foundation units music education students do as an introduction into pedagogy and practical methods for teaching. KIME and KAME were similarly structured with six weeks of training in a particular method (Orff and Kodaly respectively) and the rest looking at contemporary pedagogies and other ways of learning and teaching music. They're 3 credit points so it only has a two hour class per week but that being said, demanded a lot of work and attention for me to do well in.

The assessments are hugely weighted as you can see above which forced me to think and start early. The ePortfolio reflections were really difficult to do because not only did it have to be sophisticated and critical each week, but they also needed to look professional. I'm not fantastic with technology so my entries were quite bland and uninspiring for the first semester which is also perhaps why I was significantly dragged down results-wise. I also suspect incorrect referencing was a reason for this shock (it was alluded to in my feedback and most of my cohort members also lost marks for it). I really learnt from this in Semester 2 so I spent much more time on them, incorporated a variety of academic sources and readings and ended up getting a HD for the portfolio section of my mark. I also picked up ukulele this semester in this unit and have become quite attached to my uke Edwood. The sight-reading assessment was more of a jam session which I loved and although I made a few slips up, I felt good coming out of it. As for the peer teaching assessments, I did well in both and really pushed myself with Kodaly by choreographing my own dance and arranging an accompaniment part on my ukulele (which is why I'm taking the AKC this year!) to get my mark into a HD. I felt like the five minutes restriction we got ended up being really helpful because it forced me to be creative and present my best teaching forward. These assessments have shaped me well as an educator thinking about and applying ideas and approaches to education.

Overall, these subjects were really enjoyable. My only issue was perhaps the inconsistencies in marking that were experienced and felt by all the students throughout this year but I do think that's something being actively revised right now. Other than that, we always have so much fun dancing, jamming and singing in these units. I've really been able to bond with my cohort members because of these units and I'm excited to do more music education units with them in the next three years  ;D
« Last Edit: January 19, 2020, 11:24:44 pm by angewina_naguen »
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Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2020, 11:03:20 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: MUED1007 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour seminar

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: "Sell the song" task (40%), co-composition project (60%).

Lecture Recordings? Depends on the week; some weeks were recorded for assessment purposes.

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: None; you are provided with readings in PDF form each week. I would recommend reading anything and everything Elizabeth Mackinlay. Her research aligns significantly with this unit and her papers were my main sources of research material for the reflective essay after the co-composition project.

Lecturer(s): Thomas (Tom) Fienberg

Year & Semester of completion: 2019 Semester 1

Difficulty: 3/5

Overall Rating: 5/5

Your Mark/Grade: 85 HD

Comments: Despite the unit's title not really reflecting this, "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music" is heavily designed for education students. MUED1007 was geared towards thinking about cultural tensions and issues in the contemporary classroom and exploring how we can use music as a means to understand and resolve them. This unit is also taken by second year students but as part of my major, I had to do this in first year and I'll have to say I'm really glad I did.

The assessments we had for this unit looked really confronting from first glance but was broken down into smaller components worth 5% to 30%. Other than perhaps the peer teaching assessment and choir, the "sell the song" task was the only other performance assessment I had. I felt like this was a great task because it encouraged myself and my partner Helen to do heaps of research into the song, practise consistently and to even email (and get a response!) from Jessica Mauboy herself. It was a really liberating experience to also perform something pop at the Con and I overall felt like the assessment was immensely enjoyable. As for the co-composition project, I struggled with certain parts of it like the transcription and the collaborative workshop (I was slightly nervous about contributing ideas since my peers were all second years) but the essay was by far the most fun assessment I've done in uni so far. It really allowed me to reflect and write critically, whilst still injecting my personal voice and flair into it. MUED1007 really nailed assessment on the head and I came out of the course feeling a lot more confident in my ability to empathise and lead music education in a cultural framework.

As I previously spoilt, this was my favourite subject alongside MCGY2613. I learnt so many meaningful things in this unit and I felt like I've grown more as a person from it. I've even created a playlist full of music supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in Australia and still listen to it frequently. My credit for succeeding in this unit needs to go to Tom who I was really close with. My highlight of the whole semester was when we, along with another one of my classmates, went for drinks and saw Baker Boy at the Oxford Factory. I felt like I was able to apply everything I was learning and discussing in MUED1007 into real life and had a very fun time then. Tom was super responsive to all my questions, pushed me to think more critically and made me feel welcome amongst the second years. A lot of the effort I put into the unit was because of his excellent teaching and I hope he gets permanently hired as the lecturer for this subject. I definitely miss doing this unit but I've found myself doing my absolute best to keep what I learnt alive from it in my daily life and I hope this will be even more so when I head out to teach.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2020, 11:05:58 pm by angewina_naguen »
-HSC 2018-

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97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

angewina_naguen

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2020, 08:16:34 pm »
+7
Last one  ;D

Subject Code/Name: MUED3603 Composition in Music Education

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour seminar

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: Arrangement (30%), digital content for student composition (20%), final composition project (50%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes; they are usually uploaded a day or two after the seminar.

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: None; we hardly worked from a textbook. There were further readings you could complete if you wanted to support your studies if you wished.

Lecturer(s): James Humberstone

Year & Semester of completion: 2019 Semester 2

Difficulty: 4/5

Overall Rating: 3/5

Your Mark/Grade: 71 CR

Comments: I knew I would come out of MUED3603 having mixed feelings; on one hand, I think it's a fantastic unit that tackles a key issue in how music is taught in schools today but on the other, it really had to grow on me. This is a compulsory subject for music education students and is usually taken in third year but I had to take it as part of my first to make room for my principal study later on in my degree. Between this and MUED1007, this was definitely more of a challenge for me and lacking two years of experience really put me at a disadvantage.

I found that the assessments themselves were well-designed for the unit, similar to how I felt about MUED1010 and MUED1005. I did so much supplementary reading for this unit to get myself into the credit range because I knew without critical analysis and literature reviews, my performance was going to be greatly affected. I personally found the first task the most fun and due to the intensity of the other two, I had to really force myself to work productively for the time I allocated in my study schedule to get quality work churned out. I like how it was periodically assessed (we had to submit drafts and attend check-in meetings with James) because it kept me on track but beyond the theoretical ingenious of the assessments, I had many moments where I just dreaded doing anything.

If there's one thing the unit did do successfully, it's that it converted my views on composition. I didn't particularly enjoy it in high school and if anything, would make a hundred excuses to avoid doing it as often as I could. As a result, I was also really afraid of the prospect of having to teach it in the future since I myself am not the greatest composer. After doing MUED3603, I was equipped with plenty of useful skills and resources from studying this unit and although my results weren't as great as I would've liked, I definitely gained a lot of insight from this subject. James is awesome and continues to prove to me why music education at the Con is the best thing that's happened to me and how honoured I am to be studying under a total genius. Overall, I hope the skills I gained from this unit will be transferrable into my future classrooms and I'm excited to see what 2020 has in stall for me!
-HSC 2018-

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97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

angewina_naguen

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #10 on: June 02, 2020, 03:50:38 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: MUED1008 Fundamentals of Teaching

Contact Hours: 1x 2 hour seminar

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: Research reflection (30%), Lesson planning and assessment (40%), Online teaching resource (30%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes; they are uploaded by the evening of the day the seminar is on.

Notes/Materials Available: None

Textbook: Teaching: Challenges and Dilemmas 5th Edition (Susan Groundwater-Smith and Robyn Ewing). There will also be other set readings provided in PDF form relevant to the week.

Lecturer(s): Rachel White

Year & Semester of completion: 2020 Semester 1

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Your Mark/Grade: 85 HD

Comments: Only having one education subject this semester really allowed me to channel all my energy into MUED1008. This is a compulsory unit for music education students that is typically taken in second year but is actually now moved to first year after they changed the enrolment program earlier this year. Since the course is theory-heavy, I found the subject quite enjoyable and helpful in filling some of the gaps that KIME and KAME left last year.

The assessments for this unit were well-designed and manageable. I found the written reflection the easiest to do and performed the best in it because I knew I thrived more in writing-based tasks and dedicated a good amount of time to it. The lesson plans were definitely a challenge for me because I was really indecisive about everything and the idea of being marked for how I design content was daunting but I was happy with the mark I received at the end of the day. We were also meant to do a group teaching assessment but given COVID-19, Rachel had to change the assessment to accommodate for social distancing. I found the online teaching resource fun to make and gave a great avenue for me to exercise my creativity. In terms of assessment feedback, Rachel was perhaps one of the fairest markers we've had so far and while I was initially shocked with how I went for the lesson plans in particular, her comments justified the marks she gave me and I could definitely see where I could improve in the future.

Overall, this unit did exactly what its premise outlined and it was to provide us with the fundamentals to teach and to understand how to teach. The readings were a little extensive but they did spark some interesting questions and discussions for us during the classes. It was huge shame that we had to do the majority of this unit online because I know that Rachel had multiple group activities that would have been only possible to do in person. I really enjoyed having Rachel as a lecturer for this course as well; she was responsive to emails, had invaluable insight for all the topics we covered and a great sense of humour. What I liked most was how the assessments were created with applicability in mind and I am excited to use some of them in my first prac next year.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2020, 10:41:05 pm by angewina_naguen »
-HSC 2018-

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97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

kauac

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2020, 11:04:57 am »
+7
Subject Code/Name: CHEM1111 Chemistry 1A

Contact Hours: 3x1hr lectures,  1hr tutorial, 3hr practical (though online it didn't take as long, and wasn't every week)

Assumed Knowledge: HSC Chemistry

Assessment: Pre Lecture Quizzes (10%), Tutorial Quizzes (15%), Lab Work (15%), Final Exam (60%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes! Each stream is recorded, so you can listen to your own lecturer!

Notes/Materials Available: Revision and practice resources were provided throughout the semester.

Textbook: CHEMISTRY 3E, Blackman et al.

Lecturer(s): Varied according to stream. For my stream: Brendan Kennedy and Peter Harrowell

Year & Semester of completion: 2020, S1

Difficulty: 3/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Comments:

This was a really well organised unit, and I was impressed with the communication and support with the switch to online learning. We asked for further resources, and they provided!

As for content, a lot of this unit was revision of HSC Chemistry, but going into some areas in a bit more detail. There was a whole section on quantum numbers which was new - I found this a bit conceptually challenging, but rewarding to learn! Overall, it was an enjoyable unit to take and I know I learned a lot!

2018: HSC

2019: Gap Year

2020-2024: B Science / M Nutrition & Dietetics @ USYD

kauac

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2020, 11:53:33 am »
+7
Subject Code/Name: BIOL1008 Human Biology

Contact Hours: 2 x 1hr Lectures, 3hr practical/workshop a week.

Assumed Knowledge: HSC Biology

Assessment: post-module quizzes (10%), Living Data (25%), scientific report (20%), skills test (5%), final exam (40%)

Lecture Recordings? Yes.

Notes/Materials Available: none

Textbook: Van Putte, C., Regan, J. and Russo, A. Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology, McGraw Hill or any anatomy & physiology textbooks. (I didn't really use a textbook).

Lecturer(s): Too many to name them all  :)

Year & Semester of completion: 2020, S1

Difficulty: 1/5

Overall Rating: 5/5

Comments:

I really loved this unit! There was some revision of HSC bio content, but also many new things to learn - particularly about the liver, pancreas and immune system. We were introduced to many different health conditions and learned about their symptoms and treatment. The assessments were creative and interesting to complete! The coordinators were helpful and supportive in enhancing online leaning. It was a shame we couldn't do face-face practicals, but every effort was made to make online practicals as engaging and helpful as possible.
2018: HSC

2019: Gap Year

2020-2024: B Science / M Nutrition & Dietetics @ USYD

kauac

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2020, 12:10:58 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: BIOS1163 Speech Science

Contact Hours: 1x 2hr lecture, 1x 1hr lecture, 1 hour practical, 1hr tutorial a week.

Assumed Knowledge: None.

Assessment: Mid Semester Exam (30%), Quizzes (10%), Final Exam (60%).

Lecture Recordings? Yes. Though there was often a delay in uploading.

Notes/Materials Available: none

Textbook: JA Seikel: Anatomy and Physiology for speech, language and hearing 4th Edition - didn't use this at all.

Lecturer(s): Too many to name! :)

Year & Semester of completion: 2020, S1

Difficulty: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3/5

Comments:

This unit was geared towards speech pathology students, but still very interesting to learn as someone not studying speech path. Communication was a bit tricky at times, but we got through the semester okay. It was cool to study such a diverse area of topics: anatomy, physiology, speech physics and respiration.
2018: HSC

2019: Gap Year

2020-2024: B Science / M Nutrition & Dietetics @ USYD

kauac

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Re: USyd Unit Reviews
« Reply #14 on: June 26, 2020, 12:21:48 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: CSCD1034 Linguistics and Phonetics

Contact Hours: 1x 2hr lecture (grammar), 1x 1hr lecture (phonetics), 1hr tutorial a week.

Assumed Knowledge: None

Assessment: Transcription exam (25%) grammar exam (25%), final exam (50%)

Lecture Recordings? Yes.

Notes/Materials Available: Practice Transcription Audio Files, Grammar Handbook, Phonetics Handbook

Textbook: Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., Hyams, Amberber, M., Cox, F., Thornton, R. (2015). An Introduction to Language (Australia and New Zealand 8th edition) Thomson Educational, Victoria.

Lecturer(s): Gregory Flannery

Year & Semester of completion: 2020, S1.

Difficulty: 2/5.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Comments:

This was a really fun unit, and I definitely learned about language! Greg was really passionate about what he was teaching, and I think that definitely inspired me to learn! There were a few glitches with the online assessments, but were promptly addressed. I loved the phonetics tutorials, and learning to transcribe phonemically felt more like a hobby than a requirement for the unit.
2018: HSC

2019: Gap Year

2020-2024: B Science / M Nutrition & Dietetics @ USYD