TMA-01 T176-21

Henry Doughty
H7350446
 Contents
Page 1-2- Question 1

Page 3-5- Question 2

Page 6-7-Question 3

Page 8- Question 4
 Question 1
PPDP activity 6- I apply the reflection process very often in my tutoring, the main things I consider to
decide if a session has been successful are; how engaged the student was in the material (usually can
be worked out by the amount of work completed), did the student improve or worsen their
confidence on the topic covered and how much new knowledge did the student absorb throughout
the session (checked with general questioning during the final 10 minutes).

There have been many sessions in which I identified something I could do better, one example is I
used to use paper worksheets that I would print off before a session and leave them with the
student to be used for revision, I found this had a few drawbacks. If we had a very productive session
and finished all the questions, I had brought it would leave me scrambling to create new questions
which were less than ideal, I also found that a large number of the worksheets would end up
wedged in schoolbooks and in revision files which would frequently end up never being looked at
again. I have since changed my approach, by bringing a laptop to my sessions with all my worksheets
organised and saved into it meaning I never run out of resources for my students. This also made me
more flexible as to what the content of the session could be, students often ask me to cover a topic
they have been finding difficult at school without warning and having access to those resources has
proved invaluable. I have also taken to sending the content we have covered to either the student or
their parent's as an email, this makes them far less likely to be lost and also provides a record of the
topics we have covered and when for reference.

Another example of the reflection process proving useful in my tutoring is in how I keep my students
engaged during sessions in which we cover topics they have found difficult or boring in the past, this
has been something I have especially paid attention to in the last year where all tuition has been
forced to move to online sessions. During online learning, I originally allowed students to do sessions
without their camera on if they chose, this caused both myself and the student to be less invested in
the session. From my perspective, I found that I felt like I was talking to a screen rather than a
person and I noticed that the student could far more easily to doing something other than giving me
100% of their attention. When I reflected on this, I realised this and now ask if possible, to be able to
see the student in our sessions. The sessions now feel much more like they do when we are in
person and have caused us to be more productive, as well as the student's knowledge retention, has
certainly improved.

TMA comments-

The changes I implemented have proven themselves successful in every session since I implemented
them. I made the decision to change from paper worksheets to laptop-based study and digital record
keeping over the course of the winter term break, the break allowed me some perspective and to
consider how I was performing at my role as a tutor by the metrics listed in the first paragraph of
activity 6. After implementing the change for a term, I took the time to reflect over the spring break
if it had been a positive change. The metrics listed above are difficult to precisely measure but I did
feel that my students had benefited, the clearest indication of this was that I received far more
referrals and tuition requests from the friends and classmates of my students. The change during
online learning to require my students to have their cameras on during our sessions has impacted
more on my own performance in the sessions than that of my students. I found that with the camera
off, I could not effectively monitor the body language of my students and left me unable to tell
whether an explanation was inspiring confidence or confusion. Being able to see my students has
drastically improved my own teaching to close to the level on my in-person sessions.

Document Technical content
number
1 There are technical terms
used throughout but each
one is explained, and the
text would be generally
understood by anyone in the
manufacturing field and by
interested laypeople. The
writer seems to have tried to
make this accessible to a
wide audience.
2 There are more technical
terms in this article than in
Document 1 and they are
not explained, this limits the
accessibility of the content
of the text. Despite this, the
average person would be
able to understand this
article as a whole but would
likely have to skip a few
paragraphs in the middle of
the article.
3 The paper uses technical
terms throughout and a
huge amount of detail on
each printing method, it
would not be
understandable by the
general public. The target
audience is other scientists
working in the same field
and so the assumed
knowledge of the reader is
very high.
Question 2
Part A
Style and tone
The intent of the article is to
inform, the phrasing is direct
and there is little effort to
persuade or entertain. The
only diagram is a flowchart,
and the headings break up
the text into clear sections.
The article is clearly trying to
inform the reader but also
entertain and excite them
for the future, phrases such
as "the sky is no longer the
limit" would not be found in
anything not targeted to the
general public.
The style and tone this
paper are typical of a
scientific paper, it is passive
and impersonal with the
intent to deliver information
to the reader in a highly
detailed, dense and efficient
manner. It is intended to be
used as a reference for
future papers and for other
scientists to aid them in
their work.
Credibility
The document is
credible as it doesn't
have any clear ulterior
motive aside from
informing the reader,
it would benefit from
references however it
does have quotes
from the companies
that developed the
technology that
details the process
without any obvious
bias
The article has limited
credibility, the writer
is a mechanical
engineering lecturer
at an unrelated
university and uses
her own knowledge to
explain the concepts
in the article, while
she may be correct it
is left to the reader to
take her word for it as
she has included no
quotes or references
as to where she
obtained her
information.
The credibility of this
paper bolstered heavy
referencing,
containing 98
references. The paper
contains a balanced
perspective on the
technologies
discussed, there is a
table detailing the
advantages and
disadvantages of 7
different methods of
3-D printing and the
 applications of each
one. The multiple
authors working in
different universities
and fields reduces the
probability that paper
is bias decreases.

Document 1- https://www.industrialheating.com/articles/93048-heat-treating-3d-printed-metals#

Document 2- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/3d-printed-rocket-engine-just-
launched-new-era-space-exploration-a7765496.html

Document 3- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702117301773

Part B

I have chosen to review TMA-01 from T194-19J. I achieved a score of 80 and it was submitted
14/11/19.

The things I felt went well in this TMA were the maths questions in which I was able acquire most of
the marks offered. This has highlighted that solving and rearranging algebra-based problems is a
strength which I will be able to carry through to future assignments.

The layout of the working out especially in question 3 was clear and brief with comments explaining
what I was doing during each stage of the calculations.

My written communication was concise and precise and on questions that require worded answers I
attained full marks.

Part C

I would believe that I completed this assignment the night before the deadline, this is something I
would change in the future as if any problems had occurred, having more time to solve them and
inform my tutor would have been useful.

I did the maths on lined paper and uploaded an image which I inserted into a word document, this
was done for convenance and makes my work look very unprofessional.

I did not attempt the finial two questions of the assignment, which was likely due to the time
pressure, I will endeavour to complete all questions in all future assessments.

Part D

Overall, my style of written communication has remained consistent since my early TMAs, however
the way I structure my writing has changed to include clear breaks when I change subject. I find that
I generally use shorter sentences now which have a specific purpose.
Part E

My main strengths in my written communication are that I am very effective at delivering

information to a reader in a succinct and accurate way. Each of my sentences and paragraphs has a
clear purpose and there tends to be little present in the text that does not directly serve that goal.

I am dyslexic and so I am forced to write or type slowly to minimise spelling and grammatical errors,
while I am practiced at dealing with this and have multiple spell checkers, occasionally a spelling
error will be missed or auto corrected to a different word than I intended, causing confusion and
making my writing appear unprofessional.

I am planning to continue to read texts with a wide range of intents and contexts to broaden my
exposure to styles of writing, they will include fiction and non-fiction books, scientific journal articles
and scientific papers on a wide range of topics.

I will also review my writing before I submit it and thoroughly proofread it, ideally having some time
between writing and proof reading.

I found the TMA review task in the earlier parts B,C and D very useful and I will continue to review
my own writing, once I have completed this module I will apply the same process to this TMA and
TMA-02 applying any relevant feedback to improve my future writing.
Question 3
Part A

Synchronous communication includes all methods where information can be exchanged by multiple
parties in real time for example, phone calls, in person meetings and video conferences. These
methods tent to be more personal and can be used to build rapport and convey information and
feedback that maybe be interpreted in multiple ways, they are also useful in time sensitive situations
as there is no lag between pieces of information. These methods do require the participants to be
available at the same time as each other and to dedicate all of their attention to participate, there is
also usually no record of these methods of communication aside from when they happened.

Asynchronous communication methods involving the exchange of information that involves a lag
between the sending of the method and the receiving and interpretation of it. Eg. Email and text
messaging. These methods are good for conveying detailed information that can be later referenced,
it does not require the participants to be available at the same time. However, these methods can
slow down decision making processes and are impersonal.

Part B

Email has certainly been my most common method of communication for the last year, it is an
asynchronous method and is best used in situations where detailed information needs to be
exchanged clearly and in a non-time sensitive manner. This method tends to be more formal and
structured than other forms of text messages, emails tent to have an appropriate greeting, a main
body of text containing the content of the message and an appropriate valediction. Emails also can
have files attached to them and this can be used to exchange documents whilst providing them
some context in the body of the email. In general, people take more time to respond to an email
which allows them to consider their response but does slow the rate at which emails are generally
exchanged. Due to it being text based, the tone and intent of this method can be misinterpreted and
due to emails being more formal it may cause recipients to act on this incorrect assumption.

Video conferencing has been an increasingly common method of synchronous communication, it is

the closest method to in person meetings that can be conducted remotely. I have found that video
conferencing is usually less formal and are useful for conveying information that is likely to be
misunderstood as questions can be asked in real time to clarify and one of the few methods which
allows participants to read each other’s facial expressions and body language. It does require all
participants to have devices capable of video and a stable internet connection which limits its
convenience. All participants must be available at the same time and give the conference their
primary attention which limits its utility for low priority matters. This method is best used for fast
decision making on complex issues.

Direct text messaging is a method of communication that can be used to quickly provide short pieces
of information and ask questions to either a single person or a group. It is often the least formal and
least structured form of text communication. This method is best used to discuss time sensitive
information as fast responses are often expected, direct text messaging can also be used when
discussing low importance topics. Unlike other text-based methods of communication, direct
messages often contain emojis which can be used to aid the reader in understanding the tone and
intent of the writer which reduces the chance of miscommunication. Due to the fast response time
of this kind of messaging, often the messages are sent immediately after they have been written and
can contain mistakes and confusing structure. Miscommunication is common in this method but due
to its mostly unformal structure it often does not lead to any consequences other than slowing the
rate of information exchange.
Question 4
Part A

1. I believe I have demonstrated knowledge and understanding of a topic in engineering by

consideration of the underlying principles, concepts and motivations.

2. By using of appropriate technical vocabulary, outline the acquired knowledge in the broader
context of engineering practice. Partial

3. Interpret instructions accurately in order to collect and evaluate, from an engineering standpoint,
scientific information from published sources and from your own investigations in the
laboratory/workshop/field or in the workplace. Partial

4. Manage your learning and professional development by analysing your own approach to learning,
assessing your current abilities in certain key skills areas and the factors that are likely to help or
hinder your own further learning and development, and drawing up and maintaining a development
plan linked to a strategy for achieving your goals.

Part B

I feel that working through the nuclear case study and ICMA-51 has enabled me to gain knowledge
and develop understanding of the underlying principles, key concepts and processes involved in the
engineering involved in nuclear energy. My result in the ICMA and the posts in my learning log
evidence this.

During the reading of the articles in PDP study guide activity 8 and 9, I gained some knowledge and
understanding of key words in the additive manufacturing field. However, I have not outlined this
knowledge in my own work to date.

Activities 8 and 9 also provided the opportunity to accurately collect and interpret scientific
information from published sources, assess its credibility and think about how it could be applied in
practice. I am yet to do any on my own investigations to put these skills into effect.

In activities 1 and 2 I assessed by own learning and reviewed my study habits, writing the learning
log entries enabled me to reflect on my current level of attainment and my trajectory. I have a clear
set of specific, measurable goals which I will review regularly.