HP8003 Are you ok? Mental Health in Singapore

Lessons:
3-hr lecture per week

Assessment:
Mid-terms 40%
Finals 60%

Exam Format:
Mid-terms - MCQs
Finals - Essays

Description:

This is a AHSS/LA GER-PE, and the content covered includes various aspects of Psychology such as development, sexuality, learning, psychosis, substance abuse, etc.

There is only one lecture per week, no recorded lecture. Even though the notes is easily understandable, some of the sections are very simplified. Thus, it is advisable to attend the lecture as the lecturer provides extra information which will be beneficial for your essays. The lecturer always end the lecture way before time, sometimes even 1.5 hours ahead, so no need to worry about lessons ending too late. 
Readings are relatively light as you just have to read the lecture notes.

For the mid-terms, it's purely True/False MCQs (I think there are 40 of them). It's open-book, so as expected, understanding is more important, although it is beneficial if you know where to find information from the notes. Some of the questions may require information that the lecture verbally provide during lecture, so do attend lectures. However, in general, I feel that the quiz is quite tricky. 

For the finals, it's purely essay questions and they are application-based. It's open-book as well, and you need to elaborate your answers beyond what is given in the lecture notes. There are a bit of regurgitation (or rather, "copy-and-paste") here and there but understanding of the content is more important. Time management is important as you have to complete quite a number of essays within 2 hours. Reading through the notes beforehand will be beneficial because despite it being open-book, many people do not have the time to flip through. 

I would find this module quite enjoyable and easy to understand. But since it's open-book, the bell-curve may be steep. 

HP0201 Employment Relations for Work and Careers in Singapore

Lessons:
3-hr lecture per week

Assessment:
Essay assignment 40%
Finals 60%

Exam Format:
Essays

Description:

This module is about the employment relations landscape in Singapore. Contents covered include Tripartism, trade unions, maintaining healthy employment relations, the work of MOM, SNEF, NTUC, WDA, etc, psychological contract, and the various laws in Singapore such as Employment Act, Workplace Safety and Health Act.

There is only one lecture per week, no recorded lecture. It is advisable to attend the lecture as the lecturer gives hints about assignment and finals during the lectures. In addition, the lecturer does not like to reply questions via emails and expects you to consult him during lecture breaks, so if you have questions, you need to attend the lecture. 

Readings are relatively heavy for a 3AU module. Other than the prescribed textbook, you have to read lecture slides (which are really lengthy), articles which the lecturer will state in the course outline or lecture slides, and your own research (yes, you are expected to do research on top of everything). However, I did not really read the textbook as I find them quite outdated. 

For the essay assignment, you have to do it either in groups of 2 or 3. It's a 4000-word essay (or 6000-word if you are in a group of 3). The essay question will be provided in the first lecture and you will have to utilise information from the lecture and your own research. The question can be quite vague and dubious, so in order to prevent yourself from misunderstanding the essay question and what the lecturer wants, I would advise you to consult him whether your essay is in the right direction.

For the finals, you have to complete 4 questions (each question has 2 parts) within 2 hours. In other words, you have to complete 8 essays in 2 hours, so time management is important. It's not purely regurgitation, you have to "discuss" for some of the questions. Questions may require you to use information from your own research, such as recent changes made, the work of NTUC, etc. The essay questions are quite straightforward, and it is good to look at PYP as reference. 

Personally, this module is the least enjoyed modules I've taken, mostly because of my lack of interest and the heavy content. I will not recommend this module unless you have an interest in the employment landscape in Singapore, and have the time and capacity to cope with the readings and content load.

The positive thing about this module is probably that the lecturer provides hints about finals. However, from personal experience, simply following the hints for exam revision is not recommended. You still need to read the content that are not included in the hints.