Hello everyone! Welcome to my tPol! The tPol is the transitional presentation of learning, in which we have to answer the driving question of “why do I feel that I’m ready to move up to the next grade level?” As evidence, I will show examples of places where I have improved and places where I have room for growth. I have taken some of these categories from my statement of learning intent, which says:

“This year, I will do extensive research to learn new things. I will be a valuable team member by sharing my ideas and fully participate in a group. I will share my work with an audience by presenting in person and online. I will ask for help when I am unsure. I will use the feedback I receive to improve my work, and most of all create work that I am proud of. I will understand the topics in a deep and meaningful way and be passionate about my work, by taking the time to really understand what I am learning. I will keep on top of learning by using Showbie and Basecamp.”

All right, let’s begin!

Public Speaking 

At the beginning of the year, the main thing I was worried about in PLP was the exhibitions. I wasn’t sure if I could present my work to the community because I am anxious about talking. When the winter exhibition came, I was very nervous about presenting my work, but it went well, and I realized that I could manage my anxiety enough to share my work with the world. So, in the spring exhibition I was excited rather than anxious about presenting my work to the public. This is not to say that I am not still anxious about public speaking, I am just more confident in presenting my work to people I don’t know and will probably not remember me if I mess up.

Group Work

Another thing I was worried about when joining PLP was group work. In the past, I didn’t like group work because I felt like I would have nothing to contribute and anything I did contribute would be overlooked or mocked. In most group projects, I either contributed nothing, or did basic tasks where I didn’t have to contribute my ideas. But in PLP, I found the groups to be smaller, more organized, productive and more open to ideas and feedback, which gave me more confidence to share my ideas. I would still rather work on my own, because it’s harder to navigate ideas and cooperate with a group. I remember in grade 6 or 7 we had to do a group project on bears. I was so nervous about sharing my ideas or doing something wrong that I just  sat there and did nothing. But in the project The Medium Is The Message, I shared quite a bit of my ideas with my group and they were accepting of my ideas. 

Apps

At the beginning of PLP I had no idea how to use any of the apps that we got. But, with instruction from the PLP teachers throughout many projects, I am now feeling confident in using the apps and knowing what app is best for what. For example, in The Medium Is The Message, I first made my advertisement on Pages, but then I realized that Canva might be a better choice for making a print ad.

Quality Work and Deep Thinking

When I went into PLP, I realized that the teachers were expecting high quality work. In elementary school, I never really put in effort in any of my work because I didn’t care about it, and it was not presented in an interesting way. However in PLP, I am interested in what we are learning about, I take pride in the work that I’m doing and I try to complete everything to the best of my abilities. This was also my first experience with deep questions. In elementary school, we only answered very basic questions where you could just find the answer in the worksheet and didn’t have to think hard at all, whereas in PLP you really have to think about the question to answer it. At the beginning of the year in our Big Life Journal from Maker, I put very simple answers with no depth or elaboration. In more recent work, like The Consequences Of Colonization, you can see how I’m thinking on a deeper level. 

Reminders

One thing I need to work on is writing down deadlines. In PLP, we have to remember multiple deadlines at once, which was a new experience for me. I can remember the deadlines fine, I just can’t remember to put them in Things and Calendar. For example for the project Small But Mighty, I made a place to put in assignments and keystones on Things, but never actually put them in.

Revision and Asking For Things

In the fall, I was asked to attend tutorial because some work needed to be revised. I was so worried about it that I had a panic attack. I felt like I was in trouble and did something wrong. Now, I have improved on getting feedback and asking for help. I have also realized that revision and feedback is an important part of the learning process. I can now come into tutorial and ask the teacher for help or contact the teacher some other way. However, there is still room for improvement. In unfamiliar situations I might not ask for help, like on the Oregon field school where I didn’t ask for lunch one day. 

Stress Management 

Often times I feel overwhelmed with work. A good example of this was at the end of semester 1, the exhibition and the mPols was coming up, and there was a bunch of things due in other projects. I felt very overwhelmed and had a panic attack. But, I was able to break it down into manageable chunks. When I had a ton of things due last week, I felt panicked but for a much shorter time, and I was able to get all my work done.

I have made a lot of progress in all of these areas. I am ready for new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow in grade 9. 

Ok, bye!