An assignment that I’m most proud of so far is my Showoff exercise. This assignment required me to use 4 out of 8 of the coding concepts we learned. Before this I wasn’t sure what half of them were but after looking through the textbook carefully and some trial and error, I got my program to run properly at a proficient level. This was the turning point of this course when things started to click, prior to this I wasn’t confident in my abilities but after the time I put in I am fully confident.
I Can Statements:
I can celebrate my efforts and accomplishments. (self-determination)
I can present information in a clear and organized way. (communication)
I make my ideas work or I change what I am doing. (Developing ideas)
Curricular Competencies Reflection (Comprehend and Connect)
Reflecting on this assignment, I learned about many indigenous stereotypes that are offensive towards the indigenous community, how a large company like Disney builds on these stereotypes, how easily they are dismissed, and lastly, how these companies will edit parts of history to sell more tickets, in most cases damaging the reputation of the indigenous community. In general, my reading and writing improved during the duration of this essay because I had practice finding sources, taking valid information from the text, and blending quotes into my essay. Something I learned was how to find authentic First Peoples’ texts. After researching Pocahontas,” I learned that many people want an apology and for the stereotypes, movies, etc. to either be stated to be false or corrected. For reconciliation to be built, companies like Disney have to listen to these requests and meet these reasonable demands.
While researching for this essay, I had to tell the difference between facts and opinions to support my points with unbiased sources. I did this by going over multiple websites to see if they all had similar points or facts so I could use them in my essay. This is a useful skill that will be used in assignments in the future. Additionally, I had to analyze articles and make decisions about whether they seemed authentic enough before looking at other sources. Lastly, I reflected on my thinking to come up with the best topics I could think of in order to make the essay as engaging and insightful as possible.
We were given a unique scenario to create a government from scratch, after crashing into a deserted island with your class. You must be ethical and fair with the decisions you make about your government. All government bodies must be discussed with rights and laws to ensure the survival of your citizens and future citizens. The estimated time of arrival of your rescue is unknown and could potentially be forever.
Core Competency Reflection
I can work with others to achieve a goal.
My partner and I conversed and collaborated to produce each response to ensure we agree with almost every law and right. We would bounce off each other’s ideas to complete the project more efficiently. For example, Carter wanted harsh punishment, but that was too extreme for minor infringements, so I bounced off that idea and made a point system which eventually leads to the death penalty.
I can recognize different points of view and can disagree respectfully.
My partner, Carter, wanted our island to be under a communist government. I was opposed to that opinion and respectfully disagreed. I expressed my point in a respectful but persuasive manor telling him, “I envisioned our island under a democratic government that gave the citizens on our island the ability to rise to power through their individual hard work and dedication.” We narrowed down the pros and cons of each and we settled with my approach.
I can take on roles and responsibilities in a group; I do my share.
Before we started this project, my partner and I looked over the criteria and created an outline of our project. We split the work evenly and when I eventually finished my share, I helped my partner finish the remainder of the work.
I can analyze evidence to make judgements.
When brainstorming ideas on our government’s structure, I made sure to look at present day and past governments to find characteristics that would benefit my government in the uncommon position it is in. For example, I looked at the Canada’s charts of freedoms and rights to influence my own government’s rights and freedoms. Additionally, I looked at the Hammurabi code which influenced the harsh punishment criminals on my island face.
Goal: something I need to work on:
I consider more than one way to proceed in an investigation.
Sometimes I can be stubborn and once I find a certain format or idea I like, I find it hard to change it. I can improve on this by brainstorming multiple ideas and keeping an open mind when trying out other ideas. It seems like a simple fix, but it still may take time because it is hard to change one’s mindset when it believes it cannot possibly be wrong.
Curricular Competency Reflection
Originally, my partner proposed the idea of having an almost primitive like government. This involved throwing anyone prosecuted, even for minute crimes, into the sea and left to fend for themself. This of course would lead to the end of our government fast. We decided to change the format of our government after looking at Canada’s government and the code of Hammurabi. We came up with the idea of keeping harsh punishments as a deterrent but having a strike system to prevent the problem faced previously. Additionally, we looked at Canada’s rights and freedoms from Canada’s charter to influence ours. We wanted our government to be fair and equal to everyone, giving everyone the same opportunity to flourish amongst the rest. Our government includes the death penalty which is considered unethical to most considering how often it happens on our island but, given the certain circumstance our government is put in, it is ethical enough because, it will ensure the laws are followed in an early civilization guaranteeing the survival of the island. When the community is flourishing and has a surplus of resources then the punishments will be more relaxed, but until that happens it will remain the same.
The variables “a”, “h”, and “k” all have their own effect on the parabola. They all come from the equation shown in figure 2. The “a” value determines if the parabola opens upwards, downwards or if it’s narrow or wide. Since a is positive and greater than 0, a=3, the parabola is narrow and opens upwards. The “h” value determines if the parabola shifts to the left or right on the “x” axis. If “h” is negative, it will shift right, if “h” is positive the parabola will shift left. Since h is -4 the “x” value of the parabola will be 4, shifting to the right and the “x” value of the vertex will be 4. The “k” value decides if the parabola will shift up or down. The “k” value is 2 meaning it will shift up. Additionally, the “y” value of the vertex will be 2, vertex = (4,2).
Self-Assessment
I portrayed the same mathematical idea through my graph, paragraph, and equation. For example, I explained the “a”, “k”, and “h” values in my paragraph, and they, additionally, have visual aids through the graph and the equation.
I used mathematical vocabulary multiple times throughout this assignment. For example, when explaining what the “h” and “k” values do, I used phrases like shifts right or left on the “x” axis or shifts up or down on the “y” axis to explain my point.
I used the website Desmos to graph my two parabolas in a neat and tidy way. After, I found a scale that made it easy to differentiate my parabolas and took a screenshot leaving just the graph, none of the unnecessary border.
In this lab, there was a titration reaction which occurred. A titration reaction is a neutralization reaction using a unique technique. You put a given amount of acid into an Erlenmeyer flask with a couple of drops of phenolphthalein as an indicator. After that, you put the base in a burette and add it drop by drop sometimes by doing the half drop method when you are close until the color of the mix changes. After, we find the initial volume and the final volume and subtract the two reveling the amount needed for a neutralization reaction to occur. In this lab, the titration was used to find the volume of NaOH needed for a reaction to occur between NaOH and 10mL of HCl. The end point occurred when the drops of NaOH were visible for thirty seconds and the solution became a visible pale pink. The results we found in this lab were the Molarity of the [HCl] = 0.146M. The average volume of the NaOH was 14.60mL, and lastly the moles of the average NaOH were 0.00146 mol HCl.
Core Competency Reflection
We used our critical thinking skills throughout this lab to successfully find the volume needed of NaOH for a neutralization reaction with 10mL of HCl. We ran through four trials to find the volume needed. We learned from our failures to eventually do it right. For example, in the first trial, we rushed not knowing we had to take it slow, drop by drop to find the right volume. We improved on the next run, getting closer to our goal. Additionally, it took us a couple of attempts to find the correct colour of pink to look for. Once we found what we were looking for, we got the right shade of pink for the next trial. We used a kind of guess and check technique, learning from our mistakes from our past trials to improve on our next this eventually ended in success with us finding the correct volume of NaOH.
