Can I just say, finally, a lecturer who practices what they preach...

I think JDM will be about making smart decisions and learning how to set our intuition aside. It's about using our resources to achieve the best outcome by making systematic decisions based on evidence. I think I'm excited about this course because I find myself often being...not so mindful, I might say. I think unlike a lot of courses, I could actually use this. I absolutely love the format of this course as well. Jason seems like a very switched on person. I look up to people like him who break tradition and base his teaching style on new evidence. Rather than grumpily refusing to upload lectures, he embraces the internet and uses it to his advantage...and ours. I feel like that is what smart really means. I think anyone can be smart, memorize things, follow set systems etc. But people who think of new, more effective systems with better outcomes are the ones who actually have an amazing effect on other people's lives. It definitely speaks to his character as a lecturer that he actually believes what he says. So far, I really like this format. I think I'll actually learn and remember something for once in my life hahah. My only gripe about this course is that, from what I've heard, we will get shuffled into different groups each week. I don't mean this to be negative and emotional, just suggestive with reasoning to back it up. I ended up really really liking the people I sat with in Wednesday's contact. I just feel like it's really fun getting to know people in classes, especially in one like this with a lot of discussion. I think shuffling students every week can make it really quite crappy for shy or anxious people who needs some getting used to others. Personally, I'm more likely to discuss the content even more and in depth out of class if it's a developing friendship, rather than someone I just met. Especially with somewhat controversial subjects like this, very few people want to really say what they think in front of people they just met. Nooone wants to come off as a dick, again, especially shy or anxious people. One girl in my group today was quite shy and I could see that she was nervous, but at the end of the session, she somewhat warmed up and shared her opinions. It would've been so great if our group could continue developing a friendship with her as she got more comfortable. I don't know, I guess there must be a good reason behind this, but I really really do not like that aspect so far. Maybe it's to push people out of their comfort zones, but hey look, for some people, showing up to class is already out of their comfort zone. And those people didn't come to class for that, they came to learn, which they tend to be unable to do when they're nervous and uncomfortable. I was really looking forward to foster new friendships through clever discussions. I hope so so much that this changes so that all of us, not just some of us, can look forward to class again. Oh my, real awkward if the week to week shuffling is just a myth and I'm typing a whole essay making a case. Anyway, essayed rant over.

All in all, I think we will walk in as psych students and walk out as people who have their heads screwed on right. Jason deserves all the credit for being innovative. After all, innovative thinking fosters progress in education. It creates change for the better. And that is really valuable in our current day and age. I hope that more lecturers will have this epiphany that "hey, science shows this, technology is alive, let's align the two and get with it" This format not only fosters better outcomes, but I think it's demonstrative of what Jason teaches in itself., and enthusiasm (I mean looks at this, I'm voluntarily typing an essay here) I also like all of the tutors :)