Squizz's Fizzy Diary

redsquirrel80

Hope work goes well today... bed is still calling for me!

I really can't decide what to do about my next steps with Philosophy courses. The options are:

1) An OU course. Pros - interesting course, guided learning, at the right level. Cons - only one course and I really need to do two at that level to finish my degree. I could do one in another subject but the only one I'm really interested in doesn't start until October next year. I have done OU before and I'm not totally convinced that their style of teaching suits me.

2) Another Oxford short course. Pros - I know I like the system, good guidance and system, and there are a couple of topics I'm interested in. Cons - not really indepth enough or at the level that I need - I've been a bit frustrated by not being able to get into issues at more depth.

3) University of London degree. Pros - full degree course by distance learning, can go at own pace. Cons - no tutor support, have to start from the beginning (no credit for previous learning).

4) St Andrews courses. Pros - interesting topics, aimed at teachers so could be good if I want to teach in future, tutor support. Cons - not quite at right level, only a small range of topics.

5) Ask about being able to study at the Uni I work at. Pros - real life teaching and interaction, good choice of courses at right level. Cons - lectures in work time, not sure if I'd be able to negotiate this, not sure if department would accept it as they don't officially do part-time study.

6) Bang head off wall at baffling array of choices and wish I'd stuck with real life Uni when I had the chance!

I've left the financial issues out as they are all manageable. Can anyone see anything obvious there that I'm missing because I really am stuck?!

robsmum_2

HI,
Thread hopping to see if I can help you.

Looking at your options and the pros and cons I think your best option would be to explore option 5. 5 had more pros and you never know it could be negotiated. I would explore that option first - you never know until you ask. If that's a definate no, then I would consider option 1, although it would take you longer (waiting until next Oct for the course you want), you could do 1 part of it and that may be a good choice with your work commitments.
Don't know if that makes any sense:eek:

se999

What are your priorities about the course:

Is it to finish the degree quickly?
Is it to find something interesting and challenging for it's own sake?
Is it to look in more depth in areas more suited to your current idea of career path?
What are your perceptions of the risk of not completing a longer course if your situation changes?
What is the financial risk implications of a longer course if your financial situation changes during the course?
Fit with lifestyle - How much time will it take/ how flexible is the studying, how big an impact on life outside of the course?
Impact on relationship/partners/family of the commitment - current and future during the course?
Impact on work/career/promotions of commiting so much time to outside study?

You might have other criteria?
Once you give weightings/rankings to your criteria, then hopefully an obvious choice for you will become obvious.

Once you have your criteria, maybe an obvious choice for you will appear.

Sorry if it sounds complicated, but that would be my approach.

P.S. There's also the risk of new course providers compared to ones where you know the system.

Cheery_Daff

Hi Squizz thought I'd pop over and stick my nose in

(ooh, and before I forget, don't know if this is any use/more than you were planning to spend, but John Lewis had some nice little hardback notebook type things with fancy patterns on the front and sudoku puzzles in! About £6 I think - lovely for a present)

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

1) An OU course. Pros - interesting course, guided learning, at the right level. Cons - only one course and I really need to do two at that level to finish my degree. I could do one in another subject but the only one I'm really interested in doesn't start until October next year. I have done OU before and I'm not totally convinced that their style of teaching suits me.

What is it about the teaching style that doesn't suit you? Would a different teacher make a difference? Depends what your priorities are - if it's just to finish your degree, I'd suggest doing this one - and talking to the tutor at the beginning about your learning style etc. is it a problem that the other course doesn't start til October next year? Do you have a time limit?

2) Another Oxford short course. Pros - I know I like the system, good guidance and system, and there are a couple of topics I'm interested in. Cons - not really indepth enough or at the level that I need - I've been a bit frustrated by not being able to get into issues at more depth.

I'd say dismiss this option - if it's not the level you need, or the depth you want, cross it off the list.

3) University of London degree. Pros - full degree course by distance learning, can go at own pace. Cons - no tutor support, have to start from the beginning (no credit for previous learning).

Do you really want to start all over again? It's a long time! I'd suggest dismiss this one for now - you can always do a course in a different subject once your existing one is finished! And check the tutor support thing - seems a little bizarre that they'd leave you with *no* support?

4) St Andrews courses. Pros - interesting topics, aimed at teachers so could be good if I want to teach in future, tutor support. Cons - not quite at right level, only a small range of topics.

Again, if it's not at the right level, don't do it!

5) Ask about being able to study at the Uni I work at. Pros - real life teaching and interaction, good choice of courses at right level. Cons - lectures in work time, not sure if I'd be able to negotiate this, not sure if department would accept it as they don't officially do part-time study.

Sounds like you need to find out exactly what the deal is with this option before you come to a decision. they might surprise you!

6) Bang head off wall at baffling array of choices and wish I'd stuck with real life Uni when I had the chance!

Er, I wouldn't bother with this one

Overall, sounds to me like you can dismiss a few of those options immediately for not being at the right level or containing the right information. Put them out of your mind!

Then ask yourself what you want to achieve. If you want to finish your degree, then the OU seems the simplest way of going about it. Does it matter that the other course you want to do doesn't start til next October? That's only 11 months away now! :eek:

And sounds like you need to find out the info about the course at work before you make your final decision.

Not sure whether that helped at all! You're doing the right thing listing pros and cons, but sounds like you've got too many options at the minute, and some of them can go straight away!

redsquirrel80

Wow.. you lot are amazing. That has helped so much (I've actually just had a little cry, bit overwhelmed by your helpfulness and actually seeing things clearly )

I want to finish my degree and I don't want to start from scratch (and yep London send you the materials and let you sit the exams, but don't offer support), so, the options are 1 or 5.

1) I can't quite put my finger on what it is about the OU's style - I've sometimes felt that they're a bit fixed on a certain view which is awkward in subjects where there isn't a 'right answer'. But I think I'd be willing to give it a go and I'd be more confident in bringing things up with my tutor than I was before. Although the other course isn't in Philosophy, it is in a relevant and interesting area, and who knows, by the end of the year they might have come up new courses. With this option I'd be finished by June 2012.

5) I need to find out about this ASAP so I know if it is an option or if I can discount it, in which case, it will be 1! Not sure if I'd be able to start in January or have to wait till September but either way this would take a bit longer than option 1.

So, I will report back once I've found out about option 5!

And Daff, those books sound really nice - I've ordered a bumper book of sudoku puzzles but something like that would be good with the nice pen set... I'll have a look

redsquirrel80

OK, I had a chat with my manager yesterday and she agreed to help me investigate the option of studying here. We both went to see someone in the dept and while they were keen to help, it just isn't possible to register someone part-time. So that option is out. BUT they did say that if I needed any help I was welcome to contact them.

So, what I am doing is - OU courses! Starting in Feb - Philosophy of Mind and from October (unless a new course appears) - The Art of English. I should get the majority of fees paid, and if I sort out my credit transfer for previous study, I should, no WILL have a degree by the middle of 2012!

I've registered for the first course, and printed out the financial support application - need to find someone to certify a copy of my passport for it and can't quite think who at the moment!

I'm really excited

redsquirrel80

Good day all round today - have just finished big block of work for second job, and one of the people I'm mentoring in that job has almost finished their qualification - the first of mine to do that so it feels like a big achievement (and I get paid!)

Karmacat

That first course looks interesting, Squizz - for me in particular, the segment about emotion - I might have a look at the free resources mentioned in the column on the right at OpenLearn.

And yay to doing the mentoring! Well done you - one of your chicks has started to fly! You must be very proud.

redsquirrel80

There are some really good resources on OpenLearn - definitely worth a look though be warned you might end up there for hours!

Karmacat

The link on that page came up as Not Found!!! So I did a search, and a listing has come up that gets really detailed in a good way. Thanks!