TPOLs : the second time around
Over the course of the 3rd semester of PLP, we have done many interesting projects and activities. I learned many valuable lessons and information that I can take into grade 9 and into real life. For my TPOL I want to highlight these examples of work and share them with you.
My first example of work is from Humanities. It was when we did the Sales pitch unit. This unit incorporated history and advertising, because we had started learning about the renaissance and Italy and it turned into a more business and inventing unit when we made our own product. I think I enjoyed this unit the most because of all the ways we learned it. We watched videos, we read readings, we made a booklet and we even invented and pitched our own invention. The neat thing about this unit is all the connections between modern day and history made. When we made our book we showed the advancements in a certain area and how they changed over time. We made a connection on how each aspect of daily life came to be throughout history. And my personal favourite part was when we got to take the learning to the next step, and make out own history by inventing what we thought was to come in the future. Once we had invented a product we got to create an amazing presentation, done in a sales pitch format and try and sell our invention to the company of our choice. This was a unique opportunity because we also learned all about sales technique, which related us back to our advertising unit at the beginning of the year. The most valuable thing I learned from this unit was that not all inventors were praised for their outrageous ideas. It was later that they became famous because people were afraid of change. This is really answers the question on which the unit was based on “How does Change Create Tension?”
The next part of my presentation comes from Science class. This piece of work was from when we did the disease unit. I have chosen this piece of work because I think it was one of my favourite group projects from this term. Not only was the finishing product something to be proud of, my group also worked really well together in my opinion. The basics of the project was to research a particular disease and make a model of it attack the immune system. We also added QR codes so that we could include information that couldn’t fit on the model itself. One thing I would probably do differently if I was to ever re-do this project, is that I would definitely make sure to check the criteria earlier on to make sure we had it all done. This is because my group forgot to incorporate how the Ebola virus effects the cells on the actual model, versus in the video. We realized that we needed to add something to show how it attacks about 3 days before it was due. Fortunately for us, we got it done just in time.
My last and final example of work from 3rd semester is Blue Sky. Blue Sky was overall the unit or piece of work that I am most proud of and learned the most from.
Even though at times I wanted to scream because of a prototype not working or a final touch turning our to be not for final, I still am glad that I did it. The steps that I took to reach my end goals really is something to look back on and be thankful for documenting them in my journal entries. It’s neat to be able to tale something from my mistakes and use them to my advantage. One example of when we did this is when we would get feedback from our clients. My client, My Mom, really helped me understand which part of each prototype was good and what needed to be fixed asap. This I think helped me to not only revise, but also see what the issue was first hand. Blue sky pushed me to my working limits, because I re did a whole project in just under a single week. This was because my first idea didn’t workout and I had to not only conclude what I had for my first one but also create an entirely new project and product. This was a lot of work because I had to go through all the steps again that we had gone through in 2 months.
I spent a good 6 hours working on it each day if not longer, and that is how I finished it proudly by the 15th. My setup was good and I liked how my posterboard and 2 videos turned out.
As I did last term, I would like to set some goals for next year and the rest of my high school carreer…
Communicating with classmates and teachers earlier on in a project
Next year I want to make a point of checking with teachers and the criteria before its too late in a project. Even though I may not be on an IPAd as much next year I still want to be able to feel confident with the materials I have created and that they are up to standard. I also want to always refer back to the criteria when I am working to make sure stay on track and in line with the rules.
2. Choosing a Workgroup that is good for me
Next year I want to know who works well with me and who doesn’t to avoid possible conflict or not getting work done. I know in some of the work groups I was in this year didn’t turn out great and I want to make sure next year I know who I work well with and who I don’t. I will do this by observing how each person works and observing their strengths and weaknesses in a group project.
3. Set a realistic timeline for homework
I think I put this one on my last SLC but it still applies even though it has gotten better. I use the reminder app more often now and I also write a list of priorities on notes occasionally when I feel stressed. The one thing I want to do more of is to set aside days for homework so I don’t do half days where I don’t get nearly enough done.