RAJWA BINTI RAHMAN @ ABD RAHMAN (MIC180042)

GIG1005 SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT: REFLECTIVE WRITING 

RAJWA BINTI RAHMAN @ ABD RAHMAN (MIC180042) DATE: 6/4/2020 

I was beyond excited just to think about the opportunity we got through this course – 

me and my batchmates from Biomedical Science 2018/2022 got to visit chosen schools around 

University of Malaya to plan and execute some activities with the students! I always wonder 

how it will be like for the students to experiment on something as tiny as DNA strands – and 

that was what we were focusing on during our time at SMK (P) Sri Aman. Our group was the 

first group to have a go for the Social Engagement course among other groups, and SMK (P) 

Sri Aman was one of the schools that participated the course. We had to plan half-day activities 

with Form 4 students from the school, including presentation or seminar, hands on activities 

and quizzes. Given DNA as our main topic for the day, we were wondering how we could 

approach the topic so that it is understandable and light enough for upper secondary school 

students to understand and get a better picture about this tiny yet important genetic material in 

our cells. I was chosen as one of the hosts for the program alongside my friends Syafiqah, Anne 

and Amir. Two days before the program, we had an internal workshop for the facilitators to get 

familiar and knowledgeable about the topic we will be sharing, also for us to have our own 

experience conducting the experiment. The activities were mainly focusing on DNA extraction 

from our own cheek cells and common fruits such as banana, papaya and mango. We also had 

a brief meeting to explain details about the program and assign roles to each facilitator to help 

with the flow of the program. 

Two days felt so short, as we got to SMK (P) Sri Aman for the program after we finished 

our Molecular Technique class in the afternoon. The program was expected to start at 1pm, so 

we arrived about half an hour earlier to set up and prepare for the presentation. Albeit starting 

a bit late, we managed to finish all sessions on time and wrap up at around 3.45pm. 

The presentation went off smoothly, with some questions from us hosts to make sure 

they understand what we were sharing and to get them on track together. The students seemed 

to have a little background on the topic, and they paid full attention to us while scribbling on 

their notebooks. We presented the slide made by Year 1 students for about half an hour, and 

released the students for afternoon prayer while preparing for the next slot which is the hands 

on activities. 

Students were very energetic and hyper in this session, as everyone is involved in 

getting their cheek cell DNAs extracted to be visible to their naked eye. All facilitators helped 

during this session, engaging and talking with the students during waiting times to keep them 

occupied, and students were very cooperative and talkative to the facilitators. I enjoyed seeing 

them happy and laughing alongside their batchmates. During the DNA extraction with fruits, 

they worked together in mashing the fruits inside the ziplock bag, though some got too excited 

that the ziplock back burst and ruptured. 

The quiz session was the last before closing ceremony. I was so happy to see the 

students being engaging and responsive during the session, they raced with each other to 

answer the questions prepared as we also prepared gifts for those who answer right. This shows 

that they have been paying attention during the presentation and the hands-on activities to be 

able to answer questions in a short span of time. They were also supportive towards their friends 

when they answer the questions right, clapping and cheering for them as their friends came 

forward to get their present. 

It was a very enriching experience for me, as this is my first time conducting a program 

together with the rest of my batchmates. This program taught me to be prepared as the host 

should be the one organizing and determining the flow for the day, and to prepare contingency 

plans in case the main plan did not work out. For example, the program started a bit late because 

the students had another program before ours, but we managed to cramp up the presentation to 

be punctual. 

We also had a bit of confusion and miscommunication during the quiz session, and I 

learnt to prepare for answers by myself beforehand and not relying on the answers given by the 

others as they might change the questions in the slides yet forgot to change the answers they 

gave to me. This miscommunication could make the flow go haywire, but fortunately lecturers 

came to help and we managed to sort the conflicts out. 

Despite some shortages and weaknesses we analysed during the post mortem, I can say 

it all went great and awesome. The students had a great time and they get to increase their 

knowledge about DNA and DNA extraction using household items that they can do by 

themselves. We also got to experience how to manage and conduct programs with school 

students, and this can help us improve and do better for our future programs. Personally, I am 

really glad that I can use things I learned in the course to share with school students to increase 

their interest in pursuing their tertiary studies in Biomedical Science, or maybe in healthcare 

sciences in general. I hope this is not the last time I get to share my experience and knowledge 

with school students, and hopefully there will be more programs like this for us in the future. I 

would like to thank the lecturers and my batchmates for lending hands and being very helpful 

during the program, and I wish to work together with you in the future.