8th July Group 4

Group 4

Alison Kwok 3T (17)

Nichole Cheung 3T (9)

Chelsea Wong 3S (32)

Sharon Ng 3A (25)

8th July, 2016

Lecture 1: Mathematical Problems and analyzing

Today we started off the day with a mathematical lesson. We learnt about static and dynamic games, and the 4 main criteria of a game, which includes a set of people with the same set of actions, a winning criteria and a set of rules. An example of static games include prisoner dilemma, which taught us the mind set if a rational person, and the probabilities of a person being sent to jail, again teaching us the various probabilities the two prisoners might face, and teaching us the way of thinking. We also played dynamic games, and we learnt about a number game involving analytical thinking and different patterns. We learnt how the multiples of 3,5 and how different numbers like7 and 5 can affect the ending of the game, which taught us how thinking backwards in a situation reflects and helps us through the challenges we might face in daily life.

Reflection:

We thought that this activity was very compelling and innovative, helping us enhance our rationality and our way of thinking, teaching us to look at different perspectives in different ways , and not necessarily portraying that number from the very end, instead portraying that certain subject from the start and analyzing it thoroughly to achieve a certain pattern. We all thought that these methods really helped to improve our analyzing skills and our thinking skills. We thought that the games were also really interesting and creative; at the same time helping us improve our thinking ways and our creativity. We all thought that we could apply these different methods of thinking into our daily lives to solve challenges and questions we encounter in life and help boost our creativity and our way of thinking.

Lecture 2: Choice and Decision Making

We attended a decision making lesson and learnt about the different procedures in making decisions. We learnt mostly about the main six elements of making a good decision, creative alternatives, useful information, sound reasoning, commitment to follow through, helpful frame and clear values.  Thinking of creative alternatives means to think what we can do in order to make a good decision; useful information refers to knowing what is needed to make the best decision; sound reasoning questions whether we are thinking straight or not; commitment to follow through means the probability we will do it; helpful frame makes us think what are we deciding seriously and carefully. Last but not least, clear values refer to the outcome that we want. The teacher also taught us an effective process to make a good decision. Firstly, we define an appropriate frame. Then, we do a quick check through all the links, and see which of them is the weakest, and then strengthen them so that the decision made would be wise. Lastly, we need to balance the whole circle and check it for bias. For the group discussion, we chose the choice of an alternative pathway for the teenagers, and we discussed the advantages and the disadvantages of the decision, helping us expand on the topic and understand other group mates’ way of thinking as well. We also learnt that a good decision should be made sensibly.

Reflection:

We thought that the methods of making life decisions really helped us understand more about the choices we make in our daily lives and the methods we use to make better choices. We also heard a few life examples from the teacher himself, and helped us understand about this topic more by watching a short clip and helping the people in the clip make a decision in groups, then presenting it in front of the whole class. Through group work and presentation, we built up our confidence and social skills, and understood more about the topic of making a decision. Through the presentation we learnt more about the choices of other groups and learnt about how and why they chose that certain choice, learning and understanding their perspectives on the topic and creating a bond between all groups while presenting.

Scavenger hunt: We also participated in a scavenger hunt at the very end of the day. We were grouped with group 3 and we had the opportunity to learn more about them and bond with them, helping us to find the sights efficiently. Through the scavenger hunt, we were also able to take in the in various sights of the campus, and learn more about the surroundings of Stanford campus. We all thought that the campus was really beautiful and historical. We also learnt the importance of cooperation and leadership in the scavenger hunt, helping us bond more with our classmates throughout the process. It was a really enjoyable experience in the trip!