Foundations of Inquiry Reflection

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Originally, when I started my inquiry, my Inquiry Question was: How can sustainable and fair health systems be created to achieve universal health coverage and improve global well-being? 

The focus of my inquiry shifted since I wrote my personal learning plan, as I wanted to do something that would better showcase my creativity and also complete something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. In the end, I decided to do this by writing a children’s book based on an event that occurred for me a few years back, while incorporating elements of the negative effects of climate change into the book, to get children interested in how issues related to it can be solved in the long run.

I feel that in general, I had good time management over the duration of the project, as I was able to finish by the time I expected to, when I originally started. I would say that I have spent roughly 45-50 hours in total completing the project. Reading other children’s books as a source of inspiration and knowledge was a valuable resource when I was imagining the story, and it helped me fix some things in the book that have now made the book much more enjoyable for a potential reader. 

I originally faced many challenges coming up with ideas for the book, as it was quite overwhelming to have to author an entire book from scratch. However, this was short-lived, and I changed my perspective by simply writing what came to my mind as a draft and making significant edits and expansions as I went along with the project. 

I feel that my Critical/Creative Thinking skills have improved drastically during this project, and I have enhanced my imagination in the process. In addition to learning much about how to write a children’s book and just a novel in general, I have learned lots about the publishing process and the steps I will be taking afterwards, likely during the summer once the illustrations are done and I am ready to publish. I also feel a good sense of personal/social awareness coming, as I plan to donate any money raised from the sale of the book to organizations and initiatives funding climate change issues and general problems in the world. 

I have formally shared my learning and complete progress in front of a group of peers/teachers/mentors twice, through simply explaining a brief synopsis of the book and the overall process of how I have completed my project. Furthermore, I have presented my vision for what I will be doing next in terms of my novel; (self-publishing on Amazon KDP, illustrations, donating money raised from book). 

I will be doing Advanced Inquiry next year and will be working on a new project. However, I am currently unsure of what that is. 

Personal Awareness and Responsibility: How I manage school-related stress

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Something that helps me manage my stress inside and outside of school:

When I get stuck on a problem, I have strategies for what to do next. They include trying to review content related to the question I am working on, and theWhen I make mistakes, I don’t beat myself up. Instead I …n try again with new insight into the problem. I also like to watch videos on the topic, as I find different explanations on a challenging topic to be interesting.

When I need to boost my mood or re-focus, I often enjoy meditating or listening to calming music. I also like to indulge in creative activities like writing and playing the piano when I have lost my focus. These activities help me, as they reset my mind from all distractions and make me feel more calm.

I can prevent some school-related stress by trying to finish my work whenever I have free time, and creating a proper study plan that fits within my time schedule. I can also reduce stress by taking short times off to recharge, like spending time with friends and family.

When I make mistakes, I don’t beat myself up. Instead, I remind myself that mistakes are a crucial part of learning effectively, and progress does not happen without them. I continue to put my best efforts forward, and correct mistakes along the way.

Inquiry Journey

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My Inquiry

For my inquiry this semester, I had originally decided to do something related to Good Health & Wellbeing, but then switched to something more focused on Climate Action, as I felt that it could tie into some of the other goals of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and thus be more effective and interesting to do a project related to. For this, I decided to write a novel focused on children aged 7-12, which would give them an interesting perspective into sort of ‘the modern climate situation’ in an interesting and captivating matter.

The above is a small part of the so far 7 chapter book I have been writing for part of this semester.

Curricular Reflection

So far, one challenge I have faced is being able to consistently work on my project, as I sometimes find it difficult to manage many assignments simultaneously, however I’ve been able to drastically improve my work habits and prioritize my commitments. At one point, I shifted my inquiry focus from researching about Good Health & Wellbeing to writing a book about the effects of climate change, in a very child-friendly yet informative way. Moving forward, I would like to eventually publish this book, and continue to learn more about the interesting topics of the science of climate change.

Core Competency Reflection

I deliberately learn about things that interest me, and new ideas pop into my head.
An example of how I have seen growth in this competency this semester is when I shifted my area of focus rather substantially, which shows that I follow the ideas and topics that I am most interested in researching and developing my knowledge in. I have also further developed my creative abilities by being able to develop small ideas like a simple book idea of a young boy, into a fascinating, well-progressed (thus far) book.

I give, receive, and act on feedback to progress in my goals.
An example of how I have grown in this core competency this semester is many times when I have received useful insight from others regarding my book. I have asked many friends and some teacher about what they think could use some improvement in the book, and I have been able to incorporate many of their ideas within the book, or keep them in the back of my mind for adding them into the story later, as it continues to progress. In order to reach my goal of creating the best possible book possible, I understand that accepting and acting on constructive criticism is paramount.

French 11 Reflection

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Elle Me Dit – MIKA

Core Competency Reflection

Evidence that I can acquire information about complex and specialized topics from various sources synthesize it, and present it with thoughtful analysis can be found in my presentation on the song Elle me dit by MIKA. After researching and understanding the song’s deeper meaning and it’s connection to the purpose of MIKA writing it, I was able to then show how it was connected to how the song reflects themes like optimism and questions like ‘what are you doing with your life’.

My strategies of where I communicate clearly and purposefully can be seen in my presentation, where I organized the information in an effective way, used visual support for the key points, and presented it in a way that the class would understand, as our simple French has not yet fully developed.

Going Forward

Going forward I would like to improve my speaking skills and confidence, especially in past tense. This is because I think it’s very important to be able to convey information in different forms, and simply being good at present tense is not enough. To achieve this goal, I will continue to practice my French skills and pay special attention to speaking effectively in past tense and future tense. This will help me improve my general communication skills as well, as I will have a more nuanced understanding of words and structures.

Chemistry 12 Core Competency Reflection

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Our goal in this lab was to determine the solubility product constant (Ksp) of a slightly soluble salt. We used test tubes and measuring cylinders to prepare solutions of different concentrations and observed the formation of a precipitate (solid) to find the saturation point and calculate Ksp. By recording the ion concentration at equilibrium, we obtained the value of the solubility product constant.

While working on this lab, I demonstrated my Social Awareness and Responsibility by showing that I can work well with my partner and take responsibility for my actions by dividing the job equally. I can also resolve problems respectfully and effectively. During the process of the lab where we were combined the two sets of test tubes, we were somewhat confused on how it should be done, and we each had different idea. While one of us thought we were just putting the test tubes together, the other thought we were mixing them together. We settled that mixing the contents together would be the right away, and I confirmed it by asking the teacher.

I also feel that our time management during this lab was quite good, as we had ample time to review our results and make predictions about some calculations and what they would encompass.

Active Health Unit Core Competency Reflection

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An example of one of my daily lifestyle trackers, in which I had a very good amount of exercise, excellent nutrition, and very good hydration throughout the day.

An example of a plate of food with a variety of fruits and vegetables, plenty of protein rich foods, and excellent whole grain options.

Considering my daily lifestyle tracker, I feel that I exceled at eating very nutritious food and burning the required amount of calories through various intensive physical activities. On the rest aspect, I am confident that I consistently get a good amount of sleep every night (usually 8-9 hours). For possible improvements, I think that I can work on being more social, especially with those I am unfamiliar with. Additionally, I can incorporate different types of sports into my exercising routine, rather than solely focusing on ‘racquet sports’. During this unit, I demonstrated the core competency of positive personal identity, which was reflected by my ability of eating consistently healthy foods, while being able to drink a good amount of water/other forms of hydration throughout the day, especially when exercising. I demonstrated the competency of personal responsibility in this way, by taking a few minutes after each day in the daily lifestyle tracker to honestly note my health down. It also reflects my social skills as I was able to effectively connect with friends, as evident on my daily trackers.

Computer Programming 11 Final Reflection

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Throughout this course, we have explored many topics within computer programming, more specifically in the language of Python. In Unit 7, however, we discovered how to use Circuit Playground devices with Arduino. In this Unit, an assignment that particularly challenged and intrigued me was the “mini project” assignment, in which we were required to make an application utilizing a minimum of 3 of the board’s features. For my project, I decided to simple ‘Sun detector’, which would display red Neo Pixels when placed in areas with increased brightness and temperature (hence detecting a sun-like object), and display blue Neo Pixels when placed in areas with lower brightness and temperature. To do this, I used the temperature sensor, light sensor, and neo pixels output display methods. I began by researching the ways I could input these features into my project, and how they could be as useful as possible. Originally, I set the minimum temperature detection to be 20 degrees, but realized that the room was much colder than that, and reset it to 10 degrees, which seemed to be just right. In the process of creating the project, however, I did not remember to add proper commenting and documentation, which is something that I would like to take away from this project. Always plan your code out, and make things as easy to read and interpret as possible!

I can experiment with different ways of doing things.
I can explore materials and actions.
I can implement, monitor, and adjust a plan and assess the results.

Titration Lab 20C Reflection

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The titration lab which we performed in our class was a lab which I found very interesting, yet considerably challenging at the same time. In this lab, we were required to do a titration between NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) and HCl (Hydrochloric Acid). I found it more challenging due to the increased precision of the amount of the chemicals used, as my partner and I quickly realized that even a slight over/under application of a solution could negatively affect the accuracy of our results. As a result, it was imperative that we communicated clearly during the lab. I showed this attribute throughout this lab, asking my partner questions when necessary and splitting the work evenly. I also actively demonstrated that I can make effective judgements and decisions based on evidence.

Image 1: A lab device called a buret, which we used to store the base for this lab (NaOH). This chemical was eventually dispensed into the Erlenmeyer flask below.

Image 2: My partner using a suction bulb to pipet the acid into an Erlenmeyer flask.

Image 3: A light pink, pale, translucent liquid, which is the final result of the titration lab.

Computer Programming 11 Self Assessment

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In Unit 4, we encountered various new concepts within the Graphics and Animation component of Computer Programming. One assignment which I found particularly interesting was the “Interactive Drawing Exercise”. At first, I considered the assignment to be quite challenging, and struggled to even come up with an idea for the project. After some thought, I decided to attempt creating a program that would draw the emotion of user based on their input, using turtle graphics and functions. At this time in the unit, we had not yet learned about key concepts such as recursive functions, list concatenation, and fruitful functions, which allow the program to be constructed in more efficient and condensed ways. As a result, the graphics for my code ended up being very long. After a considerable amount of coding, I got the program to work effectively and received full marks on the project. I did my best to follow all the criteria for the project, incorporating two different functions for the code. I think my code is well written and well organized with coding comments, algorithm, and docstrings.

I can experiment with different ways of doing things (Critical Thinking)
I build the skills I need to make my ideas work, and usually succeed, even if it takes a few tries (Creative Thinking)
I can ask open ended questions and gather information (Critical Thinking)

Quadratic Equations in Vertex Form

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My Parabola:

Significance of Variables in My Equation

As shown above, the vertex form of a quadratic equation is: y = a(x – h)2 + k.

Within this equation, the value of ‘a’ determines whether the parabola opens upwards or downwards, as well as how steep or flat it is. A positive value for a makes the parabola open upwards, wile a negative value of a makes it open downwards. Additionally, the wideness of the parabola increases as the value of a decreases. The negative value of a in my equation clearly shows that the parabola will open downwards. And since the value of a is quite small, it will be considerably more wide in comparison to the parent function. The value of a in my parabola is -1/3.

When identifying the vertex of a parabola, the h value is half of the entire process. Our h value is crucial as it is our x coordinate for the vertex and determines the horizontal shift and the axis of symmetry for our parabola. If h is positive, the parabola will shift right and if h is negative, it will shift to the left. In our original equation, our h value is 5, allowing us to infer that our parabola will shift right, and our vertex will be (5,y). This means our vertex has shifted right from our parent function by 5 units.

The second half of finding our vertex is the k value. This is what gives us our y coordinate to our vertex. The k value dictates the vertical shift of our parabola and represents the minimum/maximum value. It represents the minimum or maximum value depending on whether the graph opens up or down. If the graph opens upwards, the vertex is at the lowest point of the parabola, and therefore has a minimum value. If the graph opens downwards, however, the vertex is at the highest point in the parabola, meaning that it represents the maximum value. With the example above our k value is -4 giving us a y coordinate to our vertex. This means our vertex has shifted down from our parent function by 4 units. This information gives us the vertex of (5, -4).

And, since the graph opens downwards (due to the negative a value), we can see that the maximum value of the parabola is -4.

Summary – Stats of the Parabola

(a) value: -1/3
(h) value: 5
(k) value: -4
Vertex: (5,-4)
Axis of Symmetry: x = 5
Minimum/Maximum value: y <= -4

Self-Assessment

1. How did you represent the same mathematical idea in multiple ways in this assignment?

I represented the mathematical idea by showing that making alterations to the a, h, and k values of the parabola can have an effect on the position and shape of the graph. I did this by explaining the significance of each variable in my own equation, as well as using Desmos to graph my function.

2. State the relevant mathematical vocabulary words you used to demonstrate your understanding.

Parabola: A curved graph that goes through points according to its quadratic function.
Vertical/Horizontal Shift: The number of units that the graph is shifted left/right and up/down
Quadratic Equation: A polynomial function with 5 variables
Vertex: The highest/lowest point of the parabola where the graph changes direction
Origin: The midpoint of the graphing paper (0,0)

3. How did you use formatting to share this information in a clear and organized way?

I used Desmos to graph both the parent function as well as my assigned function. I then edited the image by adding the corresponding equation and vertex of each graph.