Throughout my time in grade 10 PLP, I think our class as a whole can agree that grade 10 is a big step up, and much harder than the previous year, grade 9. This doesn’t mean all bad things though. This can help us engage more in the class and create a more meaningful understanding of the project at hand, therefore extending our learning.

Although I’ve created some really extraordinary work this year, there is one main thing I need to improve on to take that to the next level. My motivation. With the ever strictening deadlines that grade 10 brings and the shorter time frames that we have to complete work (thanks Covid), I feel my motivation has been dwindling, and that makes for shoddy work. However, this does not necessarily affect my learning though, as I feel I still do grasp the concept though I am not displaying that through my work.

One example in my work that I was not extremely motivated to complete was the theme book during the Romeo and Juliet project. Especially since we had already completed the project and I had a full understanding of my learning, I felt it was unnecessary to complete the theme book to show my understanding and had little motivation to try and complete it. This was pushed further when I contracted Covid. I was quite sick, and I pushed away important things in my life that I needed to complete. Luckily I’ve gotten back on track since then, and did complete my theme book. This theme book is a great example of my learning in our humanities class. Throughout the reading of the Romeo and Juliet play book, I grew greatly as a learner. My vocabulary expanded exponentially, my understanding of emotion and how to get emotions across through writing increased, and my world view regarding time in history broadened as we learned of how life could’ve been like through Shakespeare’s writings. My theme book displays all of these things and my growth as a learner during this project through my connections, proposal of a message, and conclusion.

One example in my work that I was very motivated to complete was during the Ology of Apology project. As this was during the start of the year, and our PLP term, I was fresh and keen to learn. I feel the field studies also helped greatly in my motivation as it was a way of experiencing our learning in a way we haven’t gotten too since pre-Covid. This project was also very intriguing to me, always keeping me on my toes. This definitely helped my motivation as when you are interested in a topic, you will always be stimulated, thus motivated. The specific artifact that I will use to display my exemplary motivation and growth as a learner will be our 2021 Winter Exhibition presentation. When putting together our project that we’d be presenting at the exhibition, I became the leader. I designated tasks, undertook work, and completed the project in a timely fashion, Only with motivation would this have been possible. So how does this show my learning and growth as a learner? Well, when working on this project, I learned how to become a proper leader. It was hard at first managing the group, no one wanted to under take the work, and everyone was inclined to leave it to the last minute. By the end, our group was like a well oiled machine. I designated tasks for everyone with goals and a checklist to track our progress and we ended up creating a really meaningful piece to present at the Winter Exhibition.

How can I fix this? I find that once I start work, I want to get it over with and don’t want to stop. The problem is, I push things late and then I get started. One solution is to just say “I’ll only work on this for 2 minutes, 2 minutes is easy and then I’ll do something else.” This way, I’ll get started and I will continue working until the work is done. I’ve found that using the reminders app, and a concise list of my assignments helps me feel organized and in turn, I get my work done.

This year, the place where I have grown the most is within my Zettlekasten. I find during the reflection of my learning and connections through projects and years is where I’ve made the most progress in my learning. A specific example of this is in our current project, Hidden Chapters of history. In learning of WWII and the end of the war, I linked to our previous project, Ology of Apology and a note on what makes a good apology. In my thinking, at the end of the war, Germany would need to make an apology to make reparations, and with my luck we had already learned about apologies and I could link the two together.

Now let’s visit my learning plan I made at the start of the year. I have fallen short of the goals I set for myself at the start of the year but, with goals I set for myself, I believe I can meet them by the end of the year and achieve at least a 90% final grade. One part of the learning plan I believe I need to work on is apart of the thinking competencies, specifically creative thinking. When completing assignments, I need to take in peoples feedback and use it in my own creative ways to benefit my work. So far, I have not been doing this, or even asking for feedback which is a big part of how I can get better. Another part of the learning plan I am doing well in is the communicating competency. Especially in my blog posts, I have been communicating very effectively, using many different means to get my message and learning across. Specifically in my election reflection blog post, I used links, videos, photos, and informative text to show my understanding and to help the viewer to understand.

So now to answer the driving questions.

What are some goals that I can set for myself, specific tasks I can do?

Ask more questions

Ask for more feedback

Reflect on feedback and transform it into creative thinking

Get work in on time

To start work, say I only work for 2 minutes

Start a higher quality work standard

Thanks for coming to my mPOL!