Hello, “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.”

Welcome back to another annual MPol. We are just about halfway through the year, and I thought this would be a great time to reflect on what I have accomplished so far. Today, I will be discussing what went well and what I’m proud of, as well as what I can work on to grow as a learner by the end of the school year. To prepare, I revisited my “Learning Vision, Missions, and Values” (VMV) that every PLP student created at the beginning of the year. Revisiting this really helped me reflect on my personal learning intentions and what I had set out to do to accomplish them. So, let’s take a look at what I wrote in my VMV.

Something I have recently noticed about myself is that when there is a project I am interested in, school becomes really fun and enjoyable. Having a fun and engaging project usually helps me excel and do really well. I really enjoy when I can have a little freedom and creativity or when I’m physically making something that is hands-on. I feel this really reflects my personality and the mission I set for myself in my VMV.

Work I am proud of that showcases my learning the best:

1) Peas in a Podcast

This was our most recent project in Maker. The driving question was: “How do I craft the story of my learning?” We were tasked with creating a 10-minute-long podcast or two 5-minute-long podcasts about a story of our choice. I chose to make mine 10 minutes long. Together as a class, we built podcast-making skills using the app GarageBand. The only other requirements were that it had to follow a proper three-act structure (beginning, middle, and end) and include a lesson to teach. For me, the first thing that came to mind was my canoe trip from a few years ago, which was very memorable because of the significant events that occurred during it. I had a lot of fun writing the script for my story. I really enjoy creative writing because there isn’t as much structure to follow. Once that was done, I recorded and edited it together with sound effects and background noise. Finally, we uploaded it to Spotify for everyone to listen to!

2) Ology of Apology

The driving question for this project was: “How can we keep an apology alive so the wrongs of the past are remembered—and not repeated—today?” I really had to think about this question. For this project, as a class, we closely examined BC’s history of discrimination and the nature of apology. We started by looking into the beginnings of BC, Asiatic Exclusion and the Chinese head tax, the Komagata Maru, and Japanese internment camps. These were all really interesting topics, but the one I found most interesting was the Komagata Maru, so that’s the topic I chose for my final project. Once we were put into groups of three, we deepened our understanding of the topic by making a Smart Brevity note. Then, we began brainstorming ideas for what our memorial would look like. I made a sketch to get it approved, and then we started the building process. The materials we used were air-dry clay, regular clay, saran wrap, and glue to assemble everything together. It was pretty simple, but we didn’t have a lot of time to actually make it, so we had to work quickly and do much of it at home. I thoroughly enjoyed this project because it was very hands-on. I put a lot of detail into the sculpting, which I am good at. These are my favorite types of projects. This project taught me, and everyone in the class, a lot about Canada’s past with discrimination and how we can avoid repeating it.

To me, these two projects best showcase my learning along with my strengths and abilities. So far this year, I have worked hard to complete my mission while practicing using my values to achieve it. By using agency, preparation, and engagement, I’ve made significant improvements. I’ve learned that small changes can lead to big outcomes in the not-so-distant future. This year, I’ve worked hard to add more passion and creativity into my work and have done a lot more self-directed research, which has helped me dive deeper into the subject matter. I’ve worked really hard to complete my mission, always striving to ensure my actions align with my core values. I’ve learned that it’s not just about finishing the task at hand, but also about adding more of “me” into it at the same time.

How can I push myself out of my comfort zone to take more risks and achieve more depth in my learning?

I need to embrace challenges that go beyond my boundaries. This year, I’ve realized that when I step into unfamiliar or uncomfortable areas, that’s when I grow the most. For example, I could try subjects that are outside of my usual interests to expand my knowledge and skills. I could also push myself to collaborate with new people on my own, which would bring in new perspectives and ideas. A big part of PLP is learning how to collaborate with others, and if I’m not forced to by teachers, I tend to naturally gravitate toward my friends. This is something I want to work on as the year progresses. Additionally, I want to take more risks with my creativity by experimenting with new techniques or approaches that I might not typically use. I’ve noticed that when I take these kinds of risks, I learn a lot more. By setting more challenging goals, seeking out opportunities for deeper exploration, and being okay with making mistakes along the way, I can continue to build on my strengths while gaining even more depth in my learning.

Thank you!