Driving Question: Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?
It’s been a long time coming. It’s been nearly 10 months since I first stepped into the PLP classroom and the amount that has changed since then is uncanny. I have not only got comfortable with high school but I have Found a way to make learning my home. I have grown this year, not just physically but mentally. I have exceeded what I would have ever thought I could achieve and I have learned so much about myself along the way. I have learned to view life different whether that be my world view or how I approach every piece of work I do.
We started off this year with a project that I can now say has change my life. As I mentioned in my MPOL, I went into this year with a mostly closed mindset on school and more specifically, PLP. Lucky enough for me, that all change from this one project. In our maker class we began the year with the Big life journal. In this project we learned all about the growth mindset and how important it is when approaching almost everything in life. This project not only taught me an exceptional work ethic, but it nudged me into practicing positive work habits that I have used ever since. I find it fascinating how vividly I remember those few maker classes. The knowledge I gathered from the project went far beyond my school life making me now appreciate the focus and hard work I put into al the assignments that I completed. Another project in this class that will always be neAr and dear to me was the Witness to History project that we finished just a few weeks earlier. This project shows some of my best work this year. I not only worked as hard as I could on this project, but I enjoyed every click of the camera during the process. This project allowed me to show my creativity and what I am passionate about through capturing such a difficult time in the world.
Since the main focus of PLP this year was WorldView, I found myself noticing how my worldview changed much more frequently. A project that had change my view on the world literally and metaphorically was a bit late on in the year than the big life journal. In our second humanities project we explored the major religions that make up our world today. This year has had a lot of highlights but being able to delve into the religions around us was increadibly eye opening. Another project that altered my worldview was a recent piece of work that I am very proud of. The Argh Matey project was our first humanities project at home and I have to say that it wasn’t an easy adjustment. Coming from having time blocked classes all week to have only the guidance of a due date was very difficult. It took a few weeks for me to organize my days and even then my productivity was not at all satisfactory. After spending the majority of the project procrastinating and stressing about the work put out for me, Things had finally began to change.
I realized that our previous knowledge of PGP and the Getting Things Done tools, still applied for online and at home learning. I started by time blocking my days which helped me know when to work and when I could take a break. After I knew when I was going to work, I needed to know whatI was going to work on. I used things to record all of my work then and now as work began to pile up. After, I immediately put each piece of work in the the time blocks depending on their due date. After this process I was able to focus and create some of my best work I’ve done as a learner. This project spark the most growth I have face as a learner of my entire schooling experience. I realized that had finally achieved my goal of being a more efficient learner.
Although this year has been full of improvements, some the areas I grown the most is my group collaboration skills. This year in scimatics we completed multiple projects in different sized groups. One that stood out the most to me was our Ultimate Design challenge. For this project Quinn and I designed and measured a surfboard that we were able to 3D print as our final product. With most of the year to practice my skills of collaborating and sharing ideas in a group, I was able to get over every obstacle in our way way and finish off with a strong surfboard. I found myself appreciating the work we did, which had been rare in elementary grades.
This year had bee one for growth an improvement for me. I’ve learned more than I thought was imaginable and I found things out about me as a learner that have changed my worldview and perception on life itself. Although this year has gone by in a flash, I somehow remember every first attempt in learning and and every time improved in some way. Overall I can say that Ive had a great start to my high school experience and I am exited for all that I grow in the years to come.