So far this year I have not only grown as a learner but as a person. Before I started this post I began to reflect on the work I have completed up to now. I was astonished by how dramatically my work level had improved in such a short time period. I noticed that everything from my grammar to the level that I answered the various competencies, had all changed for the better. I also noticed that my reflection posts began to show more in depth thinking and writing. Not only did the work I complete improve but I would say that I really started to learn how to learn.
I started this year not knowing what lay ahead except for only knowledge of my older brother’s words. I had been informed that there would be a lot of work and a lot of learning, which at first seemed unpleasant. I had formed a fixed mindset and I was not ready to change it. Although, to my luck, we started off the year with the perfect project. We learned all about what a growth mindset was and how we can use it in future learning. Over the course of this project I began to open my mind to new possibilities and approaches to learning. I not only used these skills at school but in my day to day life. This made my life so much easier and stress free. The most important aspect that I learned from that project was my work ethic. I discovered how to not procrastinate, how to organize my life, and how to have healthy work habits.
https://youtu.be/yPAHAxAZN4s
In Humanities, our previous knowledge of a growth mindset was put to the test. At the beginning of the Media is The Message project, I struggled with the amount of work and found it difficult stay on top of homework. Although, after being informed of an app called Things, I found myself more organized which made it easier to learn. Now, looking back on all of the work I completed in this project, I realize how important it was for my future learning. In the Media is The Message project I experienced my first FAIL during the final reflection blog post. Although I had many mishaps throughout the course of the project, this one experience stood out the most. Due to it being my first reflection post I had no idea of what or how much I should write on the post. Due to my lack of knowledge, I ended up saving it all for the last night and wrote way too much. I realized that I could not repeat that experience and that something had to change. I came to the conclusion that In order for the previous FAIL not to re-occur a few things needed to happen. After I received some very helpful revisions, I curated a step by step process on what I would do differently going forward. First off, I needed to spread out the time I would be working on the post, secondly I needed to read the post outline carefully, and finally I needed to make my post shorter and more direct, making the process less strenuous.
Although we did not complete much work for our PGP class, I would say that I have used the message that it provides on multiple occasions. Our first PGP meeting this year was all about organization on the iPad and getting things done or “GTDing”. We learned how to time block on the calendar app and how to organize our life at school and at home. Even though there was not much time spent on this topic, I find that I use those tools everyday.
In PLP, we strive to take our learning to the next level no matter the subject or topic at hand. Our Scimatics projects are all great examples of this. So far this year we have completed two units in our Scimatics class. Out of the two projects, one in particular set me in the right direction to becoming a better learner. In this project, we learned about the Pythagorean Theorem and light. I incorporated science and math in a creative and exciting way. Due to the fact that this project occurred during the same time period of our winter exhibition, Star Wars was a big part of it. We were put into groups of three for the extent of the project. After the learning was done and we were all mathematicians, we created our final product. The process consisted of hours of designing and building with several weeks of class time perfecting our masterpieces. I have to say that I would not have gotten close to the level of work we completed without my team. We collaborated and constructed as a team and all worked very hard to get to the end result.
I have achieved an incredible amount so far this year but if there is one thing for certain its that there is always room for improvement. I decided to make an overall goal for the end of the school year. If I can understand what I need t improve and I know what needs to be done in order to achieve it, I can form a goal. Reflecting on all that I completed so far, I noticed a few big set backs that I can improve to make myself a better learner. I noticed that throughout all of the projects this year, I found myself spending a lot of time doing work at home instead of in the classroom. I realized that problem could be preventable for future projects and that I needed to find a way to eliminate it. After I thought long and hard on how I could change this, I came up with a step by step process that will put me in the right direction for achieving my goal. First off I need to be completely aware of all work during that time period, then I need to record all of my work and their deadlines in Things, after that I will make a hand written schedule for what homework needs to be done and when I will work on it, and finally when it is time to work as hard as I can and try to stay focused. After being aware of the problem and creating a process to solve it, I am ready to form a goal. My goal for the remainder of the year will be to minimize the time spent doing work so I can live a healthy and happy lifestyle. Now, having this goal, I am prepared for whatever lie ahead. This year has been a learning adventure that has just began. Throughout the rest of the year I hope to grow as a learner just as rapidly as before. Thank you for reading and make sure to moment any thoughts or questions about this post.
Wow Ryder! This post is really advanced.