“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.”
This year is my second year in PLP and a lot has happened. As a learner, I’ve had lots of opportunities to grow, and I’m confident that I have improved myself using these opportunities. I’ve brainstormed, compromised on ideas and reached agreement in group projects, worked on my public speaking skills, communicated with my peers, developed my skills in technology, and overall used my creativity as a driving force for my projects.
I will now share with you how I’ve grown as a learner and why I’m ready for the transition to grade 10.
Evidence of My Progress as a Learner
Science:
If I had to choose a PLP class to be my favourite, I would have to settle for Science. I felt that during the projects that we did in this class, I was really able to unleash my creativity and create final products that I was really proud of. I feel as though during the duration of Science, I was able to meet, if not go beyond, the goals I had set for myself.
Proud of:
For this assignment, I was really proud of my work on it. I utilized my practice in coding and graphic design to create a “somewhat” comprehensible food web of some of the more basic species. The only thing I’d change if I did this again is making the arrows more orderly and easy to understand. Other than that, this is definitely something I as a learner can be proud of.
I really liked the idea of this project because it relied on two abilities that I’m confident in; acting and video editing. I was able to put both of these to good work in this keystone, and I was thrilled with the results afterwards. The accents and impressions, amazing lines, and “smooth” video editing provided for an experience that I was pleased with.
Honourable Mention:
Maker
This year in Maker, I was really able to explore my areas of interest more. We spent a lot of time working on photography and videography projects, which is a strength of mine, and I was able to apply these skills well.
Proud of:
This assignment definitely preyed on our patience. In this, I created a Stop Motion video that used both my practice in video editing and filming. I put a lot of time and effort into this project, even asking for an extension just so I could finish it at home because I was so keen on getting the final product just right and as close to the original video as possible (Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”). I wanted to make sure that I as a learner could say “I made that” with confidence.
This was a real video editing experience, and I enjoyed every minute of it. From conducting an interview, to filming B-roll of different AR and VR technologies, to spending hours in CapCut, looking over and making sure that my creation was going to be interesting and eye-catching. Creating and presenting this video at the winter 2022 exhibition was an experience I’ll never forget because I was so overjoyed with how the final product turned out and how much people enjoyed watching it.
Humanities
We touched on a wide range of topics in humanities, and I found myself intrigued by each one. From sci-fi and Frankenstuffies, to the five themes of geography and slam poetry, it was an exciting and new project at every turn.
Proud of:
Here we have the project called “Rise of the Frankenstuffies”. I was given lots of creative freedom in this project, and I feel like I used it to its fullest potential. I enjoyed getting to make up my own story from scratch that followed my rules in a world of my imagination. Both the most challenging and rewarding part was the video filming and editing, where it was necessary for me to use a green screen on the backdrop while filming and move my stuffies at the same time. All of these working parts definitely made it harder, but I still managed to complete it with general ease and enjoyment. I enjoyed voicing the characters because I got to make up their personalities from scratch as well as I saw fit.
This project was certainly an interesting one, and I found myself getting more wrapped up in it by the day. In the past I’ve had my fair share of poems, both in grade 8’s coffeehouse, and in my grade 7 and 6 classes, where we learned more about the vocabulary of poems and how to both make and identify one. The thing about this that specifically stood out to me was how, from the very first day, the poem was meant to be revised by your classmates. You weren’t supposed to get it right first try. You were supposed to look back, ask a peer, and see what you could improve on if anything. Even if you didn’t have anything that you thought you could change, the fresh perspective of someone else definitely aided in making a satisfying final product.
This project relied on teamwork and cooperation between your group member(s). Both DIY skills and the creativity of coming up with a (semi) new idea for a board game were necessary in given out to us by the teachers. I had a fun time creating this because I got to design my own player pieces based on information I’d researched about each of the Canadian provinces (see second above photo). I also enjoyed seeing the looks of joy on the grade 8 faces when they got to try our game. I especially enjoyed when they turned to looks of horror when they found out how complicated the game was.
This was the most recent humanities project we had, and probably the one I enjoyed the most in the entire year. Now, that might be saying a lot, but I find it to be true in this project. I’ve gotten to use lots of skills, and even further some new ones for me. From acting and theatre performance practice, to sound design and video editing. Even DIY and script writing were included in this collection of talents! This project had it all, and better yet, it was being performed at the spring exhibition. The final product was a massive hit with everyone, and tons of compliments were showered upon my group and me. Collaborating in a group was definitely something that helped the experience because there’s nothing like bouncing ideas off of people you know to create an amazing piece of art. In this case, a performance.
Stretches and My Strategies to Deal with Them
Driving Question
Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?
I think my work in grade 9 reflects that, as a learner, I have made quite a few final products that I can be proud of, and in the end, I have the skills and spirit to get things done, despite having difficulties arise.
Last year, I had difficulties focusing my attention in class and staying on task. I often distract both classmates and myself, and generally have a harder time completing work within the given class time. This year, though, I’ve had a very successful time focusing and using my time wisely and efficiently to create and accomplish.
I will take my skills, both new and old, my strengths and weaknesses, my strategies for learning, my love of both photography and music, and my newfound knowledge with me as I move into grade 10. (Double digits! Woot woot!)
