Well once again its that time of year. It’s the end of the year and TPols are in progress, so today I will be taking you an a journey though my personal grade 9 experience. I will be demonstrating how the PLP Success Behaviours have prepared me for Grade 10.  

“Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner”

Me as a learner

Its at this time of year where people can get a better insight on the workflow for PLP students. Overall, my learning journey through grade 9 has left me with a mixed bag a feelings. Sometimes I felt really good about my work and other times I felt I could have produced better work and be more creative, if I had more time to complete it. 

Touching on my previous work, “In the Name of Nationalism”, demonstrated to me that I’m still struggling with Balance between my school work, deadlines, and a regular exercise schedule. Although I produced what I think is a high quality finished product, it required a lot of seated time in front of my iPad and computer.  As one of my goals this year was making sure I scheduled breaks into my work flow, I set my timer and took time away for nature and walks outside. Although this may have seemed unproductive in a traditional sense, taking these self imposed, mandatory walks helped me return to work with a clearer view of what needed to be done and a fresh outlook. This falls into the development of my Success Behaviours.  Although, I did well on this project, sometimes I struggled juggling my school work with physical activity. This is something I want to work on next year. At the beginning of Grade 10, I will add this goal to my PGP (Personal Growth Plan) and set a target that will prompt me to take time for activities, even when my school work is overwhelming. 

Getting Distracted 

Even though Science wasn’t part of this semester, I do have some take aways related to this topic. Friends and social activities inhibited some of my progress in Science this year.  Social distractions crept into Science  because it was a more casual environment and the learning pace wasn’t as intense as other subjects. This helped me realize I work well under pressure and in a structured environment. Next year, I’ll self-monitor the environment and separate myself from social interactions to ensure I stay focused.  

My Biggest Mistake

(This year in PLP)

Maker is continuous and it touched into all subject areas, and projects I completed. In terms of my Preparation skills, my WWI Graphic Novel project definitely showed me that I need to manage time and tasks more consistency when at home working. This project was huge and my graphic novel ended up with more panels than I originally planned for. Plus, it was the show case piece behind the 2024 Spring Exhibition so I wanted to make it perfect.

I think I didn’t understand the time involved in making a graphic novel as this was my first time.  If I had managed my time better on the weekend, than I wouldn’t have had to put in such long hours into finish it.  Next year, I will add this as a goal on my PGP at the beginning of grade 9.  I will set the goal of estimating my time for a project and then double it to account for errors in my estimate.  I can also create a project portfolio in Craft which can include the deadline, how much time is needed, and the general progress. This will visually help me stay on track better. 

Working With Other

Some of my Maker projects were collaborative which helped me work on my Communication skills. This includes the skills I need to work in a team, share ideas and listen to others. Last year I received feedback that I needed to let my peers ‘have a turn at the wheel’.  I was conscious of this and made sure I asked my teammates for their ideas and opinions before sharing my own. I found this improved  team communication, helped me build relationships with my classmates, and improved everyone’s joy and satisfaction completing the work. But this wasn’t always the case this year.  “Running a Remake” didn’t go as expected.  The problems I encountered where related with team work ethic and lack of collaboration.  This resulted in my project being late. In fact, Mr. Harris had to remind me a few times to get this work submitted. Next year I plan to set the goal of handing all my work in on time to the best of my abilities. I think creating a Craft project portfolio will really help me with this.

My Conclusion

Even with all the ups and downs overall, I feel I’ve developed as a learn and have gotten to know myself better. I am look forward to learn even more next year in grade 10.