In lab 20c, we titrated NaOH into HCl to create a solution with a light pink colour. You have to be very careful not to overtitrate and end up with a dark pink solution. I showed that I can work with others to achieve a goal by collaborating with my partner to reach the desired colour. For this lab, you must communicate with your partner, as it is so easy to over-titrate. The article attached shows this by proving that my partner and I worked together to achieve the desired colour. In the first trial, we over-titrated, so for our second trial, we communicated and discussed what went wrong to ensure our next two trials were a success. We figured out who was better at what and put our strengths together to give us the best chance possible. My partner was very good at half drops and has a steady hand, whereas I was good at figuring out mathematically how much to add until we had to be careful and use those half drops, so that we used our time efficiently and got the best possible results. By putting our strengths together, we perfectly titrated our last two trials and were able to get accurate data.
This semester, our social studies 10 class took on a unique challenge: to create a board game that highlighted a significant aspect of a chosen decade. My group decided to focus on teenage independence in the 1960s, building a game that was a twist on “Snakes and Ladders” (we called it “Cigs and Ladders”) but with a historical lens. It was an awesome project that really pushed our group to think creatively and collaboratively.
Improving Our Work
One of the biggest takeaways from this project was understanding the importance of iterative improvement. I can examine and evaluate to improve my own work; evidence of that is how we approached the game’s development. For instance, when we first designed the cards, I created all the fact cards and came up with prompts for the game. We then had other groups play our game, and their feedback was super helpful. They found the game fun and the instructions clear, but they also suggested we include more details in certain areas. This feedback was crucial. It allowed us to go back, refine our facts, and add more depth to ensure the game was not only enjoyable but also a strong educational tool. Even when our group members were tired, we took breaks and then got back to work, making sure we incorporated these improvements to elevate the final product.
Exploring Different Sides of History
Our game was designed to show something significant for a decade, and that meant really digging into the details. I look for, develop and weigh different perspectives and pieces of evidence, as demonstrated by our choice to represent both the positive and negative aspects of teenage independence in the 1960s. For example, when you go up a ladder in our game, it signifies something positive about teenage independence. But when you land on a “cig” (cigarette) spot, representing the 1960s “rebellion” version of a slide, it means something negative that a teenager might go through. This approach meant we had to research broadly, gathering evidence not just on the exciting new freedoms teenagers experienced, but also the challenges and risks they faced during that period. It ensured our game provided a balanced and accurate portrayal of the decade.
Working Together and Building on Ideas
Group projects can sometimes be tricky, but this one was a real lesson in collaboration. An example of where I built upon someone else’s ideas is demonstrated throughout the entire design process. While I contributed significantly by creating the event cards and working on testing the game, it was never just about my ideas. We all contributed to designing different parts of the game. I made sure everyone’s ideas were included when we chose which historical events to feature. When one of our group members missed a day, I messaged them with updates and offered to take on their part until they returned, ensuring their input wouldn’t be lost. I often find myself taking charge in group settings, but for this project, I made a conscious effort to ensure it was a truly collaborative effort, where everyone felt heard and their ideas were valued and integrated into the final board game.
I show that I consider alternative approaches and make strategic choices by thinking about all the possible solutions, looking at the good and bad sides of each one, and then picking the one that fits whatever I’m doing best. For example, if I’m working on a partner science lab, I listen to my partner’s ideas, and we talk about the different ways we could do the project, and decide together on what will work the best for us for the lab. This helps me contribute best to my group and avoid any conflict.
I show that I examine my thinking, seek feedback, reassess my work, and adjust by checking over my ideas and work to see if they make sense, asking my teacher or classmates for advice, and then making changes if I find mistakes or think of better ways to do things. For example, after finishing an assignment, I review my answers, ask a friend or my teacher to look at it, and if they point out something I can improve, I fix it before handing it in. This helps me do my best and learn from my mistakes
Personal Awareness and Responsibility
I show that I am flexible and open-minded because I can understand different points of view, not just my own. When we discuss topics in groups, in class, I listen to what others have to say and try to see things from their perspective. For example, when we discussed the theory of optical illusions, we listened to everyone’s opinions and points of view. I consider everyone’s views, and this helps me make fair and thoughtful decisions.
I show that I can gather, select, evaluate, and synthesize information by finding facts from different sources, choosing the most useful ones, checking if they are trustworthy, and then putting the information together to create a clear answer based on my understanding. For example, when I do a research project, I look up information on websites and videos. I pick the ones that are known to be reliable, understand all the information, and combine the main ideas to explain the topic in my own words. This helps me understand better and make sure I’m getting the correct information about the subject.
Communicating
I show that, in discussions and conversations, I am focused and help to build and extend understanding by listening carefully to what others are saying and staying on topic. I ask questions that connect to what we are talking about, which helps the group think more deeply about the subject and gain a better understanding. For example, during a class discussion, I pay attention to my classmates’ points, add my thoughts, and ask follow-up questions to not only help myself but also make sure everyone understands.
I communicate confidently, using forms and strategies that show attention to my audience and purpose. by choosing the best way to share my ideas, depending on who I am talking to and why. For example, when I give a presentation in class, I use clear language, speak loudly enough, and use pictures to help explain my points. I make sure my information is correct and easy to understand, so my audience can follow along and know what I am saying
What is one thing you felt you have improved on this semester? How can you further use this strength in your next educational endeavour?
One area where I’ve seen improvement this semester is my time management skills. This semester, I was more focused and made sure to study ahead of time and not stress myself out the night before. I can use this strength later on in my education to help relieve stress and do the best I can in all my classes, and not constantly feel pressure.
One connection I can make from this lab to my reflection/core competencies chosen above is that I show that I am flexible and open-minded because I can understand different points of view, not just my own. I showed this in this lab by listening to my partner and considering different ways to go about the lab, since it was a partner lab.
In this assignment, we were tasked with finding a car that makes sense for us to buy, essentially our first car. I enjoyed this assignment because I feel like it is a very realistic and helpful assignment. We’re at the age where we’re getting our licenses, so considering buying a car is very near in our future.
Core Competency Reflection
I use evidence to make judgements or decisions, as demonstrated in this assignment by considering where I will be in two years, financially and physically, to see what car would be best for me. As of right now, I don’t see myself buying a car for a few years, until university or grade 12, so by then I’ll have more money saved up. I don’t want to buy a costly new car; I want my first car to be reasonable, and I’ll buy a nicer one later.
My strategies for collecting relevant information for specific tasks include understanding the task at hand, choosing good sources, summarizing what I found, and making sure my information is correct. For example, during this assignment, I made sure I knew what the assignment was asking: find a car, figure out how much it costs, and see how I could pay for it.
In this course I learned many different things about writing styles and poetry. I really enjoyed how it was more project based opposed to test based since I learn better through projects. One project I am really proud of and enjoyed was the final poetry cluster. Throughout the poetry unit I learned a lot of new things about poetic and literary devices. I believe my final poetry cluster showcases my best work. I worked very hard on completing it when it comes to both parts – the poem and the analysis. At the beginning of poetry unit, I struggled with poem analysis but by the end I was easily able to identify different poetic devices. My poem within the final project is what I am most proud of. It was originally based off the poem, “Dreams.” By Langston Hughes, but I had to change part of the project but I didn’t change the poem. I was able to easily write a poem, edit it, and add poetic devices to make it to the best of my abilities. Overall I enjoyed this course and will definitely use what I learned in the future.
I think this assignment really showed my strength in the communication core competency. I showed that “I can take on roles and responsibilities in a group” I showed this by actively giving ideas and prompts to what the conversation could be about. I also read over the script and helped edit it to ensure that the script was to the best of our ability. I also demonstrated how I can work well with others. I demonstrated this by easily collaborating with my groupmates to ensure we completed it on time.
By changing the k, h, and a values [in vertex form y=a(x-h)²+k], I can develop parabolas that vary from the parent function (y=x²) in numerous ways. Regarding my Red Parabola you can see that is shifted left and up, opens upwards, and is more compressed in comparison to the parent function. This is because of it’s k, h, and a values. The a value of this parabola is positive making it open upwards, it also makes it narrower and more compressed because the absolute value is greater then 1. The h value of this parabola is negative making it shift horizontally 6 to the left, h is also the axis of symmetry which is why the axis of symmetry of this parabola is -6. My k value of this equation is 4 and is positive which makes the parabola shift up, it also means that this parabola’s minimum value is 4. My blue parabola opens downwards because it has a negative a value. The maximum value of this parabola is 5 and it has a vertical shift downwards of 5 spaces. The vertex (x,y) is equivalent to (h,k) so the k value will always determine where the parabola starts and what its minimum or maximum value is. My green parabola appears to be wider in comparison to the parent function, this is due to the absolute value of a being less then 1. This parabola has a maximum value of -2 and has been shifted 3 spots to the left. My purple parabola is quite vertically stretched and narrow because my a value is a larger number. It is also shifted horizontally 8 to the right, and opens down with a maximum value of 1.
Self Assessment
How did you represent the same mathematical idea in multiple ways in this assignment?
Throughout the assignment I showed the same mathematical idea of transformations of parabolas in comparison to the parent function in multiple different ways. I showed different possible adjustments that can be made to parabolas using a graph and written equations. I also showed and explained how these adjustments are made and how certain parts of the equation effects your end result. Desmos allowed me create a graph and use different colours for different parabolas to visually show how my parabolas different from the parent function, rather then looking at a bunch of equations and trying to understand how they differentiate from each other.
What are some relevant mathematical vocabulary words you used to demonstrate your understanding?
Some words I used to display my understanding include; vertical and horizontal shift, compressed, vertically stretched, and vertex. I learned of the words vertical/horizontal shift through online research. A vertical shift occurs when a function is moved up or down on the graph and a horizontal shift moves the function left or right. Compressed is another word I go online when looking for a synonym to narrow. It means flattened by pressure; squeezed or pressed together Vertically stretched is a word I got from class notes. It means taller and narrower (in comparison to the parent function.) Vertex is a word I got from my own memory (we learned it when referring to points of a square). It means a point where two or more lines, edges, or faces meet.
How did you use formatting to share your information in a clear and organized way?
I used formatting to help share my information in a clear and organized fashion in a few different ways. An example of this is using different colours to differentiate the parabolas. This makes it easy to view the parabolas and made it easier for me to explain them. Another example is I thickened the lines of my parabolas so they stand out and are easy to read. I also made the graph easier to read by having a step of 1 for x and y as well as removing the minor grid lines.
I plan to make sure that I review all my lessons, study a lot, and ask questions when needed to help reduce any problems i could have involving my grades. I want to do the best I can in all my classes to ensure the best possible results in the future.
This year I will respectfully advocate for my needs by, asking questions about topics i don’t fully understand. Doing this will make sure i do the best i possibly can in each of my classes.
From day 1 of Spanish I feel my speaking/understanding ability has improved immensely. At the beginning of the course I could only understand and say the basic phrases like “¿Cómo estás?” and ¡Hola! But now I can read and make proper sentences with verbs, present progressive, and proper grammar. Overall, I wasn’t surprised by the difficulty of the course. It wasn’t a difficult class, but you had to pay attention in order to pass. I don’t find anything still specifically challenging other then when to use ser and estar because i do get confused. But other then that I feel like I understand everything we’ve learned.
One project we did that I am proud of is My El Horario. To complete this project we had to state the times each of our classes began and ended. We also had to describe our teachers, and the class overall. My work habits while completing this project were very good. I stayed on task when working to complete it, I asked for help when needed, and went beyond what was asked of me by adding an About Me page. I found this project easy to complete as I stayed on task the entirety of the time i spent working on it. I used creative thinking in this project to decide the layout and overall outlook of my booklet. I also had to be creative to solve problems in order to make sure it all worked. For example, I printed out my title pages but I had to be creative to come up with the sizes to ensure they would fit. I also used Communication in the whole project as I had to translate English into Spanish and use proper grammar.
Overall I really enjoyed this class and would highly recommend it.
I chose to use Canva to create my advertisement. I really liked Canva because there is so many templates you can use for inspiration, there is is many features like stickers or pictures to make your advertisement stand out, and it has a very straight forward layout making it easy to use. The only thing i disliked about Canva was that so many of the stickers and templates were “pro” meaning you had to pay for it. A couple challenges we faced were, tying to decide where to make our ad to make sure our ad was created to the best of out abilities and choosing a price, I wanted a cheaper price while my partner wanted a higher price, we ended up coming to a compromise in the middle. Our print ad is affective because of how we organized the ad. We bolded important words which draws attention, made the cupcake big and the title of the poster big, again to draw attention, and we also put contact information so if there are any questions or issues, they know how to contact us. During this project I demonstrated a few core competencies within communication. I showed I can work with others to achieve a common goal; I do my share. Since this was a partner project we had to complete the assignment by a certain day and do it cooperatively. We split the work and got it done in time, we both did our fair share of work. I showed I can take on roles and responsibilities in a group by doing my fair share and compromising with my partner. I also showed I can summarize key ideas and identify the ways we agree by talking to my partner about our different ideas and coming to a decision together.
