I have definitely consumed a lot of learning in the last 6 months and I have grown significantly, not only as a learner but also as a person. I have gone and looked back at the work I did at the start of the year and I have noticed that there is quite a stupendous change. From the answers in my reflections to the slightest things like punctuation, I have improved my work and my knowledge of learning. To accompany this assessment a driving question has come into play, which is βwhat is your learning goal that you want to reach by the end of the year, and how will I meet it?β For me this is βhow can I balance soccer with school work, and not leave everything to the last minute?βΒ
So far in humanities we have done a couple of projects that have really opened up different opportunities and experiences such as our advertising unit and our religious studies. In our first project, βMedia is the Messageβ I was still getting used to high school so it was a big shock for me. I struggled with the amount of work and time to complete the projects, as well as the classes were twice as long so I couldnβt focus for the whole 90 minutes. A lot of revisions came into play because I knew as well as my teachers that I could do better. Another reason I revised my advertisements so much was because I thought that I needed to go beyond the expectations and not have the same project as the person beside me. Our next project was βKnockin’ on Heavens Doorβ where we studied different religions. I found this project quite tough because religion isnβt my cup of tea and itβs hard for me to understand, so this pushed me. Although this project was quite helpful, I didnβt really enjoy it, it felt quite repetitive due to all the similar religions. What I found really interesting was when we actually went to the temples to see how other people practice their religion, it was fascinating to see the difference in lifestyles between myself and them. Throughout my time in humanities, I definitely need to improve on my work times, I always left it to the last minute because I didnβt enjoy the project but I soon realized I had to get over it.
To introduce us into our new class, Maker we focused on growth mindsets and skills to help us with our future life. While doing this project I saw an improvement in my look of things, this really pushed me to look at everything positively and even if I donβt enjoy to stay positive because if you do something that you have already set an opinion to it will effect your end product. This really helped me in our next project βThe Power of a Pencilβ where I took the advice of always trying my best and applying it to my art. Iβve never been a very creative guy so I didnβt think Iβd like this project but since I kept a growth mindset, I actually really enjoyed it. Once again I feel like I couldβve been more on task at school and got more done so I wouldnβt have to cram it all in to the last night. Without the knowledge from the last maker project I most likely wouldnβt have enjoyed this project as much as I did and I would feel like I was forced to do the project.
We have had a few PGP gatherings but I wouldnβt even consider it a class, itβs just an occasion group meeting. Our main focus was organizing our lives using Calendar and Things, personally time-blocking my whole day and recording all of my homework in things doesnβt help me as a learner, it just makes me feel more overwhelmed. Even though it doesnβt help me itβs a skill I need to learn now because eventually I will wish I had it. The only way I think I could stay on track with using things is that if I go full on and go over the top to really get me in to it. Otherwise it just wonβt work. Also our trip to Oregon was considered part of PGP but I didnβt really look at it like that. This trip made me grow as a learner because I found out other peoples strengths and personalities as well as mine. Hopefully in the next months I can improve on my organization skills and be on track with my work. This would also help my goal to balance out life with school work. If I could get used to using things I would definitely become a better learner and be more efficient with my schooling. It all comes down to if I am willing to try a different style of learning and I would say I am.Β
In Scimatics weβve already completed a few projects that I have completed well but couldβve been much better. Math is one part of the class and I am actually interested in it and could possibly take further in my life, but the second half in Science which has the opposite effect on me. There is one project in particular that I couldnβt quite grasp and that was βTectonic Platesβ I pretty sure that disliking the subject played a huge role in that but there were other reasons as well. I could definitely be more on task with the little readings in Scimatics because at the moment I am just scanning through it for the sake of it and not getting any information that could really benefit me. So far, in all of our projects in this course have been marked on the curricular competency βquestioning and predicting.β I would say that I meet this competency but could easily push myself to go beyond which would result in a better curiosity about the problem. In our βMazer Tagβ project I felt that I showed the communicating and representing competency very well, I put to use all of the math skills we had done in class to show that I demonstrate a curiosity for the math portion. One thing really important that I learnt quickly in Scimatics was if I didnβt understand a topic I shouldnβt just sit there and guess, instead I would clarify that topic so I could know for sure and continue with my project without any queries.
Before concluding this post, I want to show some work that I think I did really well on and some that needs improvement.
One piece of my work that I feel needs recognition is my Big Life Journal. Although it didnβt result in a blog post I thought that I went above and beyond the expectations and really made it my own. Something that I couldβve improved was my Oregon Reflection. Most of my work I feel proud of when itβs complete but for this particular project I didnβt get that feeling. Even though I met the expectations I just felt that I couldβve gone much further and differentiated it from all my other peers.Β
I would say that I have achieved a lot so far but I know for sure that there is room for improvement. Now what that all said lets go back to my goal. How can I balance soccer with school work, and not leave it until the last minute? This is a goal that I feel that I can reach but it all depends on if Iβm motivated enough to actually complete the given assignment. In order to stay motivated I will need to keep my growth mindset and stay involved with the topic. I have also thought long and hard about a question for you, and that is…
How can I improve my in class work habits so I can reach that balance of school vs everyday life?
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