End of Term/Year Reflection
Semester 3:
After spending all of semester one and two researching on a topic that we have now become very passionate about, this semester we were able to put all of our knowledge into words and create a long essay. This was really helpful for me because it allowed me to organize all of the information I have gathered on this topic and put it into my own words. Also, in the process of doing so, my writing skills have definitely improved. Mr.Paterson helped me understand the proper and formal structure of both an academic and extended essay. He also introduced us to several convenient tools on the internet that drastically changed my writing. I would say one of the biggest improvements I was able to make was my vocabulary usage which was largely affected by the Academic World List. When we were first introduced to the writing tools back in semester one, I was amazed by it but could not efficiently utilize it in my writing. However, now I have learned to utilize all these different websites and vocabulary lists and especially Zotero.
Being introduced to Zotero was one of the main focuses of the last semester. Most of what Mr.Paterson has shown us (including Zotero) are tools that I will definitely be using after this school year and for a long time. They are the reason that my writing has improved to a level that was out of my reach. It also helped me realize all the possibilities technology has and yet to be known about. Now when it comes to talking about citations, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a correct citation/bibliography. In fact, being able to use Zotero was one of the reasons I realized how important it is to have an accurate citation. I had always been told I need to make a good and proper citation but there would always be mistakes and I would forget some parts of it so I really practiced using Zotero and now I can make a mistake-free citation both with or without Zotero.
End of year reflection:
Throughout this school year, I have comprehended how much work needs/should be going into creating a good quality presentation. There are so many aspects we need to think about in the process of creating one and it takes a lot of effort and time. However, this past year has helped me understand the importance of focusing on several elements of a presentation and have gotten closer to feeling the great feeling of doing a good presentation. I have learned small/detailed things like why not to look up at the ceiling during a presentation, how to keep an open body posture, what types of slides to make to big/broad things such as how these skills can be used in everyday life other than a presentation. Since presenting needed a lot of confidence and communication skills I have grown to be able to organize my thoughts before I speak and have more meaning in what I speak to other people. Compared to a year ago, I definitely put more thought into each sentence I speak especially when it comes to speaking in front of several people. Now that I think about it, I use the words "like" "um""you know" which is a big improvement I have been trying to make for years and very proud of myself for changing this bad habit.
I have also learned how to more efficiently get my message across and how I need to back up my statements. In our brochures, websites, and presentations I really needed to stand in the viewer/readers' point of view and think about how to be more persuasive or convincing. I have learned to more thoroughly research my topic before talking about it in front of people and have evidence that will strengthen my point. This goes for projects in other subjects as well. I can already tell my writings and presentations have gotten more convincing and trustworthy. A big change that has happened within me is the interest I have for public speaking or presentations. I love to talk and communicate with people but speaking in front of a large audience or presenting was not necessarily something I would consider I was good at. No matter how much I practiced or how much time I had put into creating this project I would always be so nervous that I could not give the best presentation in front of people. However, this past year working on this project truly helped me gain confidence and assured me that I was doing the right thing. There certainly are areas I need to practice more and put more effort into but being taught a successful way or structure of presenting has helped me feel less nervous and be able to do better even in front of an audience.
Something that I had not been thinking too much about throughout the year was how much these blogs have changed and improved my learning. At an IB school, we are constantly encouraged to reflect on what we have done and how we can do better. In reality, students do not go home and reflect on every single class they had that day and deeply think about what they need to work on next time. However, in this class, since we had these blogs and were assigned to write down what we had learned, I was actually able to reflect on my learning that day. I would take notes during the class and start writing my blogs towards the end of class and continue writing it on the train on my way home. I would then go home and edit it and publish my blog preferably within the day I had class. I never had the idea of writing my class reflections on a blog, but since it is electronic it was really convenient and fast. I would also look at my friends' posts and see what they had learned in that class. Often times reading my friends' blog posts would help me realize POV's that I had not even thought of and reading what they felt or learned was really interesting. Before the second semester started, I read through my old blogs which helped me bring back everything I had learned and refreshed my memory. This was really helpful and being able to look back on certain reflections was extremely helpful. When I would receive advice from the teacher or if he said something really important, I would write it in my blogs so that I could look back on it and make sure I would not forget. This made my learning a lot more efficient and honestly more fun.
I have learned so much about various things in areas I would not have even thought about. I will be definitely be using this knowledge in the very near future. Thank you so much for a wonderful school year!!
After spending all of semester one and two researching on a topic that we have now become very passionate about, this semester we were able to put all of our knowledge into words and create a long essay. This was really helpful for me because it allowed me to organize all of the information I have gathered on this topic and put it into my own words. Also, in the process of doing so, my writing skills have definitely improved. Mr.Paterson helped me understand the proper and formal structure of both an academic and extended essay. He also introduced us to several convenient tools on the internet that drastically changed my writing. I would say one of the biggest improvements I was able to make was my vocabulary usage which was largely affected by the Academic World List. When we were first introduced to the writing tools back in semester one, I was amazed by it but could not efficiently utilize it in my writing. However, now I have learned to utilize all these different websites and vocabulary lists and especially Zotero.
Being introduced to Zotero was one of the main focuses of the last semester. Most of what Mr.Paterson has shown us (including Zotero) are tools that I will definitely be using after this school year and for a long time. They are the reason that my writing has improved to a level that was out of my reach. It also helped me realize all the possibilities technology has and yet to be known about. Now when it comes to talking about citations, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a correct citation/bibliography. In fact, being able to use Zotero was one of the reasons I realized how important it is to have an accurate citation. I had always been told I need to make a good and proper citation but there would always be mistakes and I would forget some parts of it so I really practiced using Zotero and now I can make a mistake-free citation both with or without Zotero.
End of year reflection:
Throughout this school year, I have comprehended how much work needs/should be going into creating a good quality presentation. There are so many aspects we need to think about in the process of creating one and it takes a lot of effort and time. However, this past year has helped me understand the importance of focusing on several elements of a presentation and have gotten closer to feeling the great feeling of doing a good presentation. I have learned small/detailed things like why not to look up at the ceiling during a presentation, how to keep an open body posture, what types of slides to make to big/broad things such as how these skills can be used in everyday life other than a presentation. Since presenting needed a lot of confidence and communication skills I have grown to be able to organize my thoughts before I speak and have more meaning in what I speak to other people. Compared to a year ago, I definitely put more thought into each sentence I speak especially when it comes to speaking in front of several people. Now that I think about it, I use the words "like" "um""you know" which is a big improvement I have been trying to make for years and very proud of myself for changing this bad habit.
I have also learned how to more efficiently get my message across and how I need to back up my statements. In our brochures, websites, and presentations I really needed to stand in the viewer/readers' point of view and think about how to be more persuasive or convincing. I have learned to more thoroughly research my topic before talking about it in front of people and have evidence that will strengthen my point. This goes for projects in other subjects as well. I can already tell my writings and presentations have gotten more convincing and trustworthy. A big change that has happened within me is the interest I have for public speaking or presentations. I love to talk and communicate with people but speaking in front of a large audience or presenting was not necessarily something I would consider I was good at. No matter how much I practiced or how much time I had put into creating this project I would always be so nervous that I could not give the best presentation in front of people. However, this past year working on this project truly helped me gain confidence and assured me that I was doing the right thing. There certainly are areas I need to practice more and put more effort into but being taught a successful way or structure of presenting has helped me feel less nervous and be able to do better even in front of an audience.
Something that I had not been thinking too much about throughout the year was how much these blogs have changed and improved my learning. At an IB school, we are constantly encouraged to reflect on what we have done and how we can do better. In reality, students do not go home and reflect on every single class they had that day and deeply think about what they need to work on next time. However, in this class, since we had these blogs and were assigned to write down what we had learned, I was actually able to reflect on my learning that day. I would take notes during the class and start writing my blogs towards the end of class and continue writing it on the train on my way home. I would then go home and edit it and publish my blog preferably within the day I had class. I never had the idea of writing my class reflections on a blog, but since it is electronic it was really convenient and fast. I would also look at my friends' posts and see what they had learned in that class. Often times reading my friends' blog posts would help me realize POV's that I had not even thought of and reading what they felt or learned was really interesting. Before the second semester started, I read through my old blogs which helped me bring back everything I had learned and refreshed my memory. This was really helpful and being able to look back on certain reflections was extremely helpful. When I would receive advice from the teacher or if he said something really important, I would write it in my blogs so that I could look back on it and make sure I would not forget. This made my learning a lot more efficient and honestly more fun.
I have learned so much about various things in areas I would not have even thought about. I will be definitely be using this knowledge in the very near future. Thank you so much for a wonderful school year!!
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