Core Competency Reflection

In math class this semester, I was able to collaborate with others. Group members would volunteer to help write, usually one or two people at a time/taking turns on one question. If I was writing, I would make sure my work was neat and easy to understand. I would write down what I was told, and would politely speak up if the input was incorrect. Sometimes I would write it down on my own, if the others didn’t understand. Then I would explain as I went and at the end I would ask if there was any need for clarification. If I was leading the writer instead of writing, then I would clearly voice what to do and was also ready with my calculator if there were tough calculations to make.

I always managed my time efficiently by staying focused on assignments/groupwork/tests. If there was a question that I was unsure of, then I would skip it and continue with the next question. Sometimes it would help me learn how to solve the previous one. If that didn’t help then I would consult either my groupmates, my teacher’s notes, or the workbook’s notes. When doing groupwork, I always try to keep the group motivated by telling them that “We’re almost done,” or “We’ve been doing really well.” When errors occur, we try to figure it out ourselves, but if a few minutes pass and we don’t know where we went wrong, we know to ask our teacher for help.

I know to always treat myself and others with respect. Whenever we are doing groupwork, I’m always polite if errors occur when relaying information, or if we end up with the wrong answer and I know the solution. Once we are done with groupwork, there’s usually a follow up assignment, whether our teacher made worksheets or we have to do questions in the workbook. I work on my own questions, and if someone asks for help I make sure that I have done the question already, or understand the concepts. If I don’t, then I’ll politely tell them that I can’t be of much assistance, as it would be much better to let them know that someone else should help then than by having me lead them astray.

Advice for Future Students

For any students that are taking Pre-Calculus 11 next school year, don’t get discouraged if the first few chapters seem hard. Lots of students have taken this course and said that. You’ll have just gotten back from a long summer break, with math most likely not on your mind. As you slowly get back on track with the school schedule, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and I hope the math goes well for you. 🙂