Welcome! This is my grade 9 mPOL (mid-year presentation of learning). I’m going to talk about my favourite bits of work I’ve done through the different PLP subjects. This includes Scimatics, Humanities, Maker, PGP. In the end, I will have a question about my learning for discussion. Enjoy!
Scimatics (Math) – Correlation And Causation
For our Correlation And Causation project, we had to look at the difference between correlation and causation. For our final milestone, we had to present this life as a slideshow. We had to show our own form of correlation and causation. To do this, we had to not only research about correlation and causation but also research how to make a correlation or causation. Once we found our correlation/causation we had to set up a survey monkey and survey our class for answers. I worked with Matthew to complete this project.
After completing the project, I think that our communication with each other was very well. We had a thought out plan and because of that, we were able to complete a well thought out project on time. I need to work on avoiding distractions. I find that sometimes not only my iPad can distract me but the people around me can also distract me. This sometimes causes me to get more off task. It then takes even more time to refocus and get back on task. I think that to fix this, I could try simply moving away from the distractions. I could also try tuning the distractions out either with music or long discussions on the topic. Another goal I have for myself is that if I don’t fully understand a topic, I should either ask a peer, go on khan academy, or ask the teacher.
Humanities – Alberta Video
My favourite part of humanities was our field study in Alberta. Our main project in Alberta was to learn more about how place impacts us. We had to get into different groups to study the different types of people in Alberta. My groups were the Albertans and our job was to find out how place impacts them.
To gather this information we had to do research, conduct interviews, and learn more about Albertan’s world views. Interviewing Albertans wasn’t that hard because Albertans are everywhere in Alberta. In my interview, I had help from some of my friends to set up the equipment (mic, camera, question). I was focusing on more of the political and economic side of how place impacts who we are. Something interesting I found was that most people had the same political view and economical view. I did find some differences which I compared in the video I made about how place impacts Albertans.
In this project, I did really well in working with my group. Even though it was an individual project, if I needed help I would ask. I would also help them if they needed help. I also think I showed my ability to edit even with insufficient clips in my video. With some of the interviews, I didn’t have certain interview videos or videos and I was able to adapt and work around it. I think that next time, I need to work on my communication skills with others around me. I didn’t have as many interview clips as I wanted and this may have been because I didn’t take the opportunity to ask people if I could interview them. I also think I could have been better organized. I forgot to ask some of the questions that I had and I didn’t get as many video clips as I wanted. One of my goals in the future to better stay organized is to use the project feature in things. I can use this to set tasks that I need to complete. I can also keep track of my progress and how much of the project I’ve completed.
Maker – Hero’s Journey Winter Exhibition
Recently, we had our winter exhibition. The winter exhibition was a cross between humanities work and maker work. I’m going to mainly talk about the maker side of the exhibition.
For our exhibition, we had to create some type of artifact from our humanities Star Wars hero’s journey story. Our hero’s journey story was a story that had to do with a character from Star Wars. The character plays the role of the hero in the story and because of his/her actions, something good happened in the actual Star Wars story. In my part of the story, there is a scene where the main hero gets captured by the rebels. I chose to create a hologram to show all of the different technology used by the rebels to capture my main character. To do this, I needed to follow the LAUNCH process. I gathered the materials and started making my first prototype. In the end, the exhibition was a success.
I think that I did really well at speaking to larger groups multiple times. I didn’t really know what I was going to say so I had to improve on the spot. It went really well though and as I talked to more people, I slightly changed what I would say and would make it even better. I need to work on organizing my ideas and materials. When I was thinking of an idea for my creation, I thought big. I wanted to create a motion tracking compass that would follow you as you walked around it. I decided to simplify my idea but I should have better organized my ideas before that.
PGP – Take your kid to workday
For take your kid to work day, I went to my dads’s place to learn more about his job. My job was to follow my dad around, collect information about his workplace, and then write a blog post about it. He works at a hospital in Surrey and they had set up various activities for us to do. I say a cardiologist, a pharmacist, and a power engineer. Even though the power engineer wasn’t a doctor, he showed us how the hospital is powered and how heat is transferred through the hospital. There was an issue with filming but I was able to collect quite a few clips and use them in my blog post and video.
I did very well at using Imovie and editing software in my video. I added a variety of different effects such as transitions and freeze frames. I also added narration over my interview to give a clear understanding of what the interviewee said. I could have asked more questions when I was at the hospital. I should have prepared better with questions before I went to the hospital. I also should have planned out the different types of photos/videos I needed. I think I somewhat neglected the take your kid to work day project planner. Even though I completed it, I should have looked at it before I went to my dad’s workplace. I will make sure that If I do have a plan like that, I’ll either write it down in things to check it or set a notification on my calendar.
Question: What strategies can I use to enhance my ability to learn and communicate better in class?
