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This activity helped to develop my Personal Awareness and Responsibility competency. While most people wouldn’t attribute a Computer Programming assignment to this particular competency, I’ll explain how this assignment was developmental to me. I was fortunate enough to attend the 2024 Centennial EuroTour trip over spring break – an experience that was amazing and full of learning experiences, but unfortunately led to me missing a few days of class prior to spring break. When I arrived back to class after spring break, I found that I was behind. I am working hard to get back on track with my work, completing many assignments including the one pictured above. I have used the following “I can” statements in order to demonstrate Personal Responsibility:

I can use strategies that help me manage my feelings and emotions– Through the process of getting caught up, I have often encountered an assignment that is challenging or difficult. I often feel frustrated and inclined to give up, but I manage these feelings by taking deep breaths and focusing on the task at hand.

I can advocate for myself and my ideas – I have felt overwhelmed with the amount of work to complete in this class, and have expressed that to my Computer Programming 11 teacher. She has allowed me to stay in the classroom during my free block to work on assignments. Had I not advocated for myself, I may have not been able to take advantage of this opportunity to get caught up.

I can take ownership of my goals, learning and behavior– Rather than giving up and allowing myself to fall behind further in this class, I have made an active effort to take ownership of my learning and try and get late assignments completed, even if it means working at home or in flex blocks. I am balancing this class with Pre Calculus 12, which is a class that takes up most of my flex time, but I take advantage of my free block to complete assignments.

Artifact: Piggy Dissection Lab

I demonstrated the Communication Competency during this lab. I collaborated with two other lab partners to perform the pig dissection on a fetal pig. During the lab, we each took on roles in preparation for the dissection, including setting up materials and preparing the pig. Throughout the dissection, we helped each other to identify different parts of the pig, and each utilized different resources such as our notes, textbook and lab book to identify the functions of each part of the pig’s digestive system.

During the week of the dissection, we identified that the dissection would take us longer than we anticipated, so we coordinated times to come in for extra work time. We were able to come into school early, as well as book flex blocks to allow for more dissection time. Throughout the lab, we took turns participating in different aspects of the lab, including making incisions, draining liquids and pinning different parts of the pig. As well, we divided clean up duties equally in order to quickly and efficiently tidy up our dissection station. 

Overall, myself and my lab partners collaborated to perform our dissection effectively and competently. When encountering roadblocks involving a lack of dissecting time, we worked together to coordinate a solution that would allow us to find more dissection time outside of class. We were able to successfully dissect the fetal pig and fully complete the lab to the best of our abilities.

What is your Inquiry Question? Has the focus of your inquiry shifted or changed since you wrote your Personal Learning Plan?

My Inquiry Question is: How can I go through the process of publishing a short story, and how far can I take my publishing journey? The focus of my inquiry has not changed very much, but my publishing endeavor has taken me in some exciting directions and I am exploring new opportunities for my short story that I didn’t think were possible at the time of writing my Personal Learning Plan. 

How is your time management? Are you using CENT time weekly to work on your Inquiry, or are you finding other time during the week? 

My time management has been good. I have been using CENT time for IDS every week unless I am requested to be somewhere else by another teacher, and I have been doing work for my inquiry outside of school when I’m unable to dedicate CENT time for IDS. 

What resources (people, websites, apps, videos, etc.) have been most helpful? 

My mentor teacher Ms. Hothi has been very helpful with connecting me to opportunities and providing guidance for my process. I have also been referring to the Voices Visible writing contest website in order to guide my editing so that the story fits the contest guidelines.  

What challenges are you currently facing with your Inquiry? What challenges have you overcome? 

I am currently facing the challenge of finding a new title for my short story. My story was initially titled “The Wedding”, but I have since decided to find a more imaginative title. This has been a bit daunting, as the title of a story can sometimes determine whether or not a reader is interested. A challenge that I have overcome is the process of editing my story, as I had to cut down my word count from 2500 words to 1500 words in order to fit the Voices Visible criteria. This was a difficult and lengthy process, but I am proud of my work. This editing also made it possible for me to submit my story to a magazine, as the word count for the magazine aligned with the Voices Visible contest. 

Describe your growth of a Core Competency through this inquiry process. 

I have grown in the Communication Core Competency. During my publishing journey so far, I have collaborated with my Mentor teacher and had weekly meetings where we discussed my progress. I have practiced my skills in efficiently communicating information and brainstorming ideas. I have also learned skills in email writing, as I have had to write concise, professional emails when submitting my work for publication. 

How will you share what you have been learning, creating or planning in this Inquiry? Are you on track to share your learning by the end of May or early June? 

I plan to share my learning though a presentation such as a PowerPoint presentation or Flipbook. I am on track so far to share my learning by early June, but I am not sure when I will hear back from the places that I have submitted my story. 

Will you continue working on this Inquiry, or parts of it, for your Capstone next year? 

I may continue working on this inquiry, as I have found it to be an enjoyable and rewarding process. I could take other writing that I have done and try to get it published as well. 

Artifact

About the activity

During this project, I had to create a Legal Code that would govern a society that was stranded on a deserted island. This code had to address any problems that the society might encounter, as well as look after the survival needs of the society. Additionally, I compared and contrasted my Legal Code with other codes from history. I also reflected on the effectiveness, strengths and weaknesses of my Legal Code.

Core Competency Reflection

I can analyze my own beliefs and consider views that do not fit with them. I chose this statement because I had to think from a different perspective while doing this project. In order to create a Legal Code for a group of people stranded on a desert island, I had to think from a survival standpoint rather than an ethical one, and some of the conclusions that I reached for the code didn’t align with my beliefs, but they would help a stranded society survive.

I can develop a body of creative work over time. I chose this statement because I had to use my time management skills during this project, as our class was given lots of time in class to complete this project. I was able to use class time effectively to reach daily goals that I set for myself. For example, I dedicated a few days to the creation of my code and set goals for each day for how many sections of my code I wanted to complete by the end of the class.

I can advocate for myself. I chose this statement because I was able to demonstrate that I can advocate for myself and my needs during this project. As the due date approached for this project, I realized that I needed more time than was given to finish my project. When an extension was offered to those in the class who asked, I advocated for myself and requested an extension so that I could finish the project to the best of my ability.

I can recognize my emotions and use strategies to manage them. I chose this statement because I was able to manage my emotions and stay on task during this project. I was able to handle emotions like frustration by taking breaks from my work when I got stuck so that I could return to my work with a fresh mind.

I can ask open-ended questions to gather information. I chose this statement because it is a goal that I would like to work towards, as I sometimes refrain from asking questions and try to work out problems by myself without the information that I need. While figuring out problems by myself is a good skill to have, I would like to improve on seeking help when I need it.

I plan to use brainstorming strategies to help me when I am stuck. 

When I am given tasks that allow for lots of space to be creative, I occasionally find it hard to sort through all of my ideas to produce a concrete plan. When I find a task challenging or hard to navigate, I can use brainstorming strategies to find ways to succeed. Some strategies include mind maps, lists, and diagrams. Using a brainstorming strategy can help me to clearly see my ideas on paper and help to formulate creative, fresh ideas. 

I will make connections between my identity and the work that I am doing. 

When I have the opportunity to reflect on my learning, I will try to make connections between myself and the subject matter. I will try to find ways to relate to what I am learning, and how it may apply to me in the real world. I can use this skill to see the subject matter at school in a new light and recognize the ways that what I am learning could benefit me in the future. 

I will prioritize my mental health by taking breaks from my work when I need them. 

When I am studying or completing my schoolwork at home, I can work for lengthy periods of time. However, studying or working for extended periods of time without breaks usually makes me feel quite burnt out, and I lose motivation to finish my work. One method that I will try to implement this semester is taking breaks every 30 minutes when I am doing schoolwork at home. I will try to take a walk, drink water or play with my dog during these breaks. This will allow me to focus on my work for longer periods of time, and I feel that the quality of my work will improve if I take care of myself and my mental health.