🧠mPOL 2022🧠

Good morning and welcome back. It’s been a long, long time since my last formal reflection and evaluation, that’s not to say there’s been none of it within the recent timeline. Without further ado:

   In September 2021 we were tasked with fine tuning a Learning Plan to best fit and foster our learning needs. In doing so, we’d, similarly to last year, set a goal as for where we’d like to see our grade by this coming June. The beginning of the year had a smooth, relatively balanced start. Our first project is what I’d define as the perfect failure on all fronts. The base and driving question may have been solid, but it’s outcome lead me an understanding of how undependable current events tend to be. It’s difficult to work with something present, hoping the result reflects that of a class’ combined opinion. As the first opportunity for me to present my teamwork skills as well as work on my writing, I know the two were on opposing sides of the spectrum. The teamwork aspect doesn’t seem to bode well for me, never really has. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy working with like minded people, and those who can bring various skills to the table. With a project about politics, the idea of “like mindedness,” flies out the window. Since this project was prior to the fashioning of my Learning Plan, when posed with the task of stating my learning intent, the results of the project got me thinking.

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“This year I’d like to focus on building what I’m calling an “inventory of strengths.” By that I mean perfecting my already strong habits and skills as best as possible and utilizing support to grow the skills that are currently lacking.”

Quote from my Learning Plan.

   The so called, “inventory of strengths,” has gone practically unthought of for the past few months. Despite my inability to keep that in the centre of my mind, in reflecting on the work I’ve done and competencies I’ve demonstrated comprehension of, I can clearly see where the “inventory,” can be recognized. 

   If I were to break down the “inventory,” there would be 3 general categories: Writing, Teamwork, and Revision. In considering these specifications, I came to the conclusion that they go hand in hand with our 3 competency and profile categories. Writing, having always been a strong suit of mine, might not necessarily need a section of its own, but after much debate, I’ve decided to stick with it. The three profiles that support growth in the writing area are, creative thinking, critical and reflective thinking, and positive personal and cultural identity. In my writing I tend to articulate myself in a specific way. For example, in my Hiroshima analysis from our December 2021 project, I found myself conflicted between appeasing others opinions, expressing my own, and balancing the level of sensitivity because the criticism was on a narrative non-fiction book about the events in Hiroshima in 1945. I was proud and happy with the result, and while I didn’t receive feedback on it, I’m pretty confident in that being a good example of my abilities. That being said, I’m unsure if that confidence is deserved. 

   Like I said, teamwork isn’t always my forte, but I do enjoy working in a large group, or on class wide projects. As we inch towards spring break, we’re working on a never before successful project. Studying Shakespeare’s, Macbeth and how the play may parallel or reflect events of the 1950’s. Interesting topic, and an interesting execution. We’ll be producing a film adaptation of Macbeth set in the 50’s. When I asked my teacher how I could climb the ladder and achieve a higher grade, the response wasn’t exactly music to my ears. Perhaps not putting myself in a writing position. In every other class wide or group production, I’ve been the script or screen writer. In order to demonstrate different skills, and grow in the area of teamwork I’ll be taking up a role that I’m not entirely comfortable with. I do enjoy being the boss so naturally, a management or production position is what I’m drawn to, but who knows. The past couple of projects haven’t provided much room for growth in any area other than literary analysis, writing skills and note taking, which really just transfers to organization. My goal with this upcoming project is to really feed off of the environment we’re being thrown in, and be a leader, while also playing as an equal teammate. I hope that with that we can not only be successful in the production of the Scottish Play, but also that I can prove my profile levels in the areas of collaboration, communication, and both personal and social awareness and responsibility. 

GraphicMama-team / Pixabay

   Again mentioning the Macbeth project as an example, last class we discussed the lack of revision this year. Last year working with our podcasts allowed for many revisions and reiterations of our works, so the skill isn’t entirely lacking, but it certainly has been in recent months. Right off the bat, I’d like to acknowledge that I haven’t seen much initiative on both ends of any given assignment. This is certainly something for me to work on, but I’m only able to recognize so much until I can’t anymore. By that I simply mean that receiving feedback is by far the most vital part of revision and somewhat of a “table stake,” or expectation I have for my teachers. I do recognize that sometimes I need to take that initiative and ask but there are times when I hand in an assignment and expect some form of acknowledgement that they’ve gone over it. I’ve never really required that much revision on blog posts, and if at this point I’m not doing it right, then that’s a whole new issue. For assignments like our song analysis’ from the Playlist Of My Life project, I had feedback from peers and my teacher which lead to better iterations of work. I honestly think I could’ve done more for those analysis’ but we ran out of time, resulting in less feedback and time to revise. I certainly could’ve requested more in that instance, but my time management skills did not come through. Again, this goes hand in hand with the communication and critical and reflective thinking profiles.

Peer Critique

   The driving question for this seasons mPOL’s did change, and I guess it’s a bit of a challenging one, because honestly I left my Learning Plan open to interpretation so that it would blend and move with my growth throughout the year. I think the only change I’ll make to it is in specifying which “strengths,” I want to see built upon by June. That is simply everything I’ve said in this mPOL. Ultimately what matters is fine tuning ways for me and my teachers to get me to the grade I want and the goals I’ve set. That only happens through frequent conversation and changing the direction of my learning away from what I already know, to what I need to know. 

Thank you again for listening, I welcome you to provide feedback and ask questions.