9th Grade: 2018-19

For this project, I paired up with a partner, and we had to pick a topic to debate with another pair of students. We had to compile information on the topic using statistics, studies, information from articles, etc. Then, we had to debate the topic in front of the class. My group chose AIR testing vs. final exams as our topic. My partner and I were on the side for AIR testing and against final exams.

This assignment matches the ISSN Domain of “Recognizing Perspectives” because in order to do this project we had to look at both sides of the issue and see the different perspectives. I already had the perspective that AIR tests were better, and I realized that the reason I thought this was because I think they are less stressful, and they do not affect your GPA. I also had to look at the other perspective and saw that some people like final exams better because they can help boost your grade for the year, and some people think that final exams are less stressful. By doing this project, I was able to share my perspective with others and the reasoning behind it. I was also able to learn about the opposing view.

To prepare for the debate, my partner and I created a Google Form to collect data about the stress levels of students taking AIR testing vs. final exams and their personal preference between the two. We asked JHS students to complete our anonymous form. We also searched for articles on the topic and used information from them to support our side and find out how to discredit the other side. Then, we decided what information we were going to talk about and the order in which we would do so. This project changed the way I think because it showed me that sometimes the answer or a good argument can be right in front of you. My partner and I lost the debate, and after it my teacher brought up the most simple argument that might have won us the debate: if you take AIR tests you don’t even need to take a final exam, so how can final exams be that important? That argument was right in front of us the whole time, but we didn’t even think about it because of how simple it was.

From this debate, I gained experience in forming arguments based off of my own perspective, considering other perspectives different than mine, and drawing conclusions about the perspective that I have. Through this project, I learned how to ask people about their perspectives and respect their perspectives, but also use reasoning and personal experiences to form perspectives of my own. The skills that I learned will help me to be more globally aware and be able to work with people who have different perspectives than me.

To view the full artifact, click this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9Ie16j41f_-wss_p5BPHVLqxBStFf-kRDg5W5IOoRgSGmjg/viewform?usp=sf_link

For this assignment, I worked with a group of people to research and prepare a presentation on two countries. My group chose Egypt and Yemen. The question that we answered within our project is, “What is the economy and poverty like in Egypt and Yemen?”. We searched many articles to find out information about our countries and compiled what we learned into a tri-fold that included pictures and information. Finally, we had to present our findings to parents and students in a gallery walk setting.

This project matches the ISSN Domain of “Investigate the World” because we had to research two countries and explain the information to other people. We had to choose what questions we wanted to answer within our project and choose research topics based on what we felt was most important. We looked at the economies of Egypt and Yemen and explored the different characteristics of them. We found information about their GDPs, imports and exports, income distribution, and the state of the economy as a whole. We also researched poverty in both countries and looked at what life is like for people in poverty and how many people there are living in poverty in each country. This project allowed us to investigate issues that were going on in the world at the time we did this project.

To complete this project, we started by researching basic facts about our countries to make a fact sheet for people to look at on the night of the presentation. Then, we researched about poverty and the economy in each country. We looked at many sources to get our information. Once we were done gathering information, we found photos that showed the things we had learned about. Then, we created our tri-fold, and finally, we presented our project at Go Night.

This project changed the way I think by showing me the importance of understanding what you are doing and what is expected of you. My group didn’t look closely at the requirements in the beginning of this project and it caused problems later on. It also made me see the importance of looking beyond my own country to what is going on in other places. A skill that I’ve learned from this project is how to research things more in-depth. Additionally, I learned a lot about time management.

I think this project was a great way to start off my global learning experience. This was the first big project that we did that looked outside our country and into others. I learned how to investigate the world and find out what’s going on in it. This project allowed me to get a glimpse at what it means to be globally competent, and although it was hard at times, I’m thankful for the experience.

This artifact is a picture from the Heifer trip that we took during freshman year. One night during the trip, we stayed in the Heifer Global Village- a simulation of impoverished countries. I stayed in the house modeled after a home in Kenya.

This artifact matches the ISSN Domain of “Recognizing Perspectives” because the Global VIllage simulation that I participated in showed me how different people in poverty live around the world. From this experience, I was able to learn about what poverty looks like in different countries from the types of houses they have to what food they have to eat. The simulation helped me understand the lack of resources that people around the world have and experience a small part of it myself. We had no phones or electricity during the simulation, so it showed me how a lack of technology can impact your life, too. After the simulation we did a debrief where we talked about our experiences, and that was a great time of seeing other perspectives as well.

After going over some ground rules, getting our country assignments, and learning about the simulation, we headed down to the village and went to our houses. We then started to trade with other countries in order to get items to make dinner. It was hard to trade at some points because we could not reach agreements with other countries; however, we finally came to agreements and were able to trade. My group made noodles, french fries, and fried kale for dinner. After dinner, some countries built fires and we spent time together until we finally went to bed. We also had a water balloon “baby” to protect, so we made a sling out of a sweatshirt to make it easier to carry around. In the morning, the people from Mozambique made oatmeal. Then, we cleaned up and debriefed with one another.

This experience changed the way I think by making me realize how blessed I am, but also showing me a small glimpse of the situation that some people live in. The simulation was good, but it was nowhere near as hard as actually living in poverty. We stayed in the simulation for a night, but for so many people, that is their life. Through the simulation, I learned skills like how to come to agreements with people who had different views. Some trades that I thought were fair others didn’t, so I had to see their perspective and adjust my trade accordingly. Overall, I am incredibly grateful for this experience and I will never forget the memories made and the new perspectives I gained.

For this project I had to make either a poster or a slideshow about things that I did when I was younger. I had to use pictures from when I was younger that matched the things that I used to do and incorporate them in my visual. I then had to present the project to my class using the poster or slideshow that I had created as a visual. The purpose of this project was to practice using the imperfect tense in Spanish and to communicate with the class using it.

This project matches the ISSN Domain of “Communicate Ideas” because it required me to communicate in Spanish with my class to present the project that I made. I also incorporated the slideshow to help me communicate with the audience and give them a visual to better understand the information I was presenting. I had to use the imperfect tense to talk to the class, and since we just learned about it, this project helped us practice with it.

To make this project, I first thought of ten things that I used to do when I was younger. After I had ten things in mind, I started to write sentences in Spanish using the imperfect tense. I put the sentences in a slideshow, because I thought it would be easier for the class to see than if I made a poster. After my sentences were finished, I found pictures from when I was younger to go along with the sentences and put them in the slideshow.

This project changed the way I think by making me understand the imperfect tense a lot better. Now I am in Spanish 4 and I can see the benefits of doing this project when I was a freshman. Through completing this project, I learned how to give a presentation in Spanish and how to get photos onto Google Slides from my home computer.

Though this presentation seems small now that I have done bigger Spanish presentations, it helped me to gain confidence in speaking to others in Spanish. This project helped me understand a part of the Spanish language better and helped me to communicate that to others.

To view the full artifact, click this link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19x7t4QIvRgMgUblZaOOC9Rqjl0zLRR8hBuvP831Mz_I/edit?usp=sharing

For this assignment, I had to correctly color and label the different stages and processes of meiosis one and two to show the complete process of meiosis. We completed this project to communicate, through making the diagram, that we understood how meiosis works.

This assignment matches the ISSN Domain of “Communicate Ideas” because I had to effectively communicate that I knew the process of meiosis and could identify it using the diagram. The diagram that we made was the means of communication that we used to show our understanding of this concept. To make this assignment, I had to anticipate how my biology teacher wanted this worksheet colored and labeled. I had to think about his perspective and the format he used in class to color and label things and then put that to use in my project. We had to follow the instructions on how to make this project, and I had to take that into consideration as well when thinking about how to communicate the information in the diagram.

To complete this assignment, I started out by coloring the different parts of the diagram. Each color represented a different gene, so I had to be careful when choosing where to put the colors to make sure that my diagram was accurate. During the process of coloring, I also had to label aspects of the process. I labeled things like chromatids, centromeres, the nuclear membrane, and many other components that are present in meiosis. After I was done coloring and labeling, I had to choose one of the final gametes and write down the ten traits that would be present by looking at the colors in the gamete.

Through this project, I learned more about meiosis and was able to better explain it. It changed the way I think by showing me that even though things might seem confusing at first, the more you practice and learn the easier it will get. I learned how to better communicate using writing and symbols. For example, when labeling the parts of meiosis I sometimes had to use arrows to point to specific parts of the diagram. It helped me to be precise since I knew the diagram would have to be self explanatory so that my teacher could understand what things I was referencing.

This project was a good learning experience and helped me to use my resources to communicate with others. It gave me a stronger understanding of meiosis and helped improve my global competency.

To view the full artifact, click this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OisytCq11FNVLKFbuvsCLr6UxQx3_ZLI/view?usp=sharing