It’s that time of the year again! It’s time to reflect my work in the past 6 months and establish new learning plans to ensure that I will reach all of my targets by the end of the year.
POL declaration:
“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.”
First I want to talk about the learning plans I made in October. I made two lists of plans to help me to achieve my goals, one for Maker and the other one for Humanities.
For Maker I wanted to enhance my learning by using the technology I have more creatively. I planned to achieve this by using the new app that I was introduced to (Craft), and try out all the apps that PLP has given me, and hopefully some of them would help me with future assignments. My final target for Maker this year would be 86%.
I’ve demonstrated a lot of growth in Maker this year. The best examples would be my political party video, and the memorial that I built for winter exhibition. When me and Dries were editing our political video, we called each other through Discord for each other’s opinions. Our group gathered stock footage to support our political ideology. We kept contact with each other through group messages or Discord dms to help each other and complete the video to the best of our ability. Though, we did have some issues with green screening, but we did manage to overcome them.
In the winter exhibition, I was building with a lot of cardboard, but I also used my technology to the best of my ability. All the Chinese paper cuttings were designed digitally through Procreate, and they were sent to me through our group message. We designed the paper cuttings with the opposite colors, so when we print them out the ink will only be on the part where we will cut off. A lot of thinking were put into this memorial, and it turned out really well.
So far in the Maker section I’ve been following my learning plan, I’ve been using new apps such as Procreate for sketching and designing. Contacting group members through varies of methods, such as a group chat in messages, or calling/dming through Discord. I slowly adapted the habit of making literature and permanent notes. Although it’s not really useful in a daily basis, but it does come in handy when you are looking for information on a certain topic. During the winter exhibition everyone was busy and rushed, and so was my group. We didn’t plan on having any type of script when we were presenting, and it was frustrating not knowing what to say when you could see the parents entering the building. Luckily, I had some literature notes, and permanent notes to help me out. I already had the information on my iPad, but because of Craft I was able to get a good use of it. I will be using Craft more for taking notes, and try and discover new apps or methods that could enhance my learning.
For Humanities, I wanted to make better reflections on my work when writing blog posts, come up with more thought through answers to the driving questions, and be more excited and have more passion over school work. I planned to achieve this by participating more in group conversations, enriching my vocabulary by reading more books, and articles. I also wanted to practice my public speaking skills by presenting my project to people through exhibitions. I want to be accomplished/extending in Humanities this year (86%), and I’m working hard to achieve my targets.
Over the past 6 months, I’ve achieved some of my targets, such as engaging more in group conversations, and speak up when I’m presenting my work. I have two examples that shows my growth in Humanities so far. When I was presenting my “cut off” memorial, and when I was discussing my group’s political ideology during the “Why should we govern ourselves” project.
My memorial group had great teamwork, and we came up with many creative ideas during our brainstorm session in class. as a group we discussed why our anti-Chinese immigration memorial is important to us today, and we listened to each other’s opinions. The group discussions that we had, and the field studies that we have been to had significant impacts on my personal answer to the DQ of that project. I tried my best to summarize the work my group has put into when presenting my memorial to the audiences. I didn’t have a script to read off of, but because of the work and information that I gathered beforehand, I was able to present my memorial smoothly and informatively.
In the politics project I studied a lot about the Canadian election system, and different political ideologies. I wrote three blog posts and filmed one video for that project, and throughout the three blogpost I kept improving myself by using better and more convincing evidences. I revised my work until it’s at accomplished level, and I would join the tutorial time if I was struggling.
I would say that I did decently well so far, but there are still goals I haven’t achieved yet. In my learning plan I wrote that I would turn my fleeting notes into literature notes every day, and turn my literature notes into permanent notes every two days. I’m currently still working on my habit of using craft, but sometimes I just forget about it after school. My solution to this problem is to use “Things” to remind me, but developing the habit of using “Things” is another process that I have to go through. Lastly, I planned on reading books/articles over my free time to enhance my vocabulary. Usually, I work on online learning after school, but even after my learning sessions, reading would not my first choice.
Everything sums down to my time management skills. There are so many activities available to me after school, but there is only a couple hours each day. Over the next week (the start of semester 2), I’m going to sort out my priorities straight, and create monthly plans and put them in my calendar.
Core Competencies:
I’ve met my expectancy so far, I evaluate myself to be at least profile 4 for all the boxes.
when I communicate, I do it purposefully using a variety of forms appropriately (profile 4). I confidently interact and build relationships with other group members to further shared goals (profile 4). I demonstrated this through discussion time in class, and contacting group members through Messages or Discord after school.
when I think, I can think “outside the box” to get innovative ideas and persevere to develop them (profile 5). I can gather and combine new evidence with what I already know to develop reasoned conclusions, judgments, or plans. I demonstrated this through my memorial project. I came up with the Chinese paper cutting idea, and the design of projecting the paper cutting’s shadows. As a group we did our best working towards the design that I (we) came up with.
personal and social:
I can recognize my strengths and take responsibility for using strategies to focus, manage stress, and accomplish my goals. (profile 4) I demonstrated this by completing and handing in all work on time. I’m able to focus on my work when I’m working, and being productive makes me feel better about myself 🙂
I have pride in who I am. I understand that I am a part of a larger community. (profile 4) I understand my role as a student, and learning is my priority at school.
I can take purposeful action to support others and the environment. (profile 4) If I see my classmates struggling with their work, I would reach out and help.
Thank you for you’re time and patience. I’ll update again at the end of the year to check on my progress.
Bye!