2-Week-Learning Journey's Reflections

How does mindset contribute to my activities's engagement? 💡

As a fixed mindset tends to evoke thoughts of avoiding new challenges associated with the fear of failure, a growth mindset would encourage me to encounter difficulties and regard them as opportunities for self-development. 

From my perspective, the two mindsets significantly influence my engagement in academic and extracurricular activities. For instance, I sometimes thought, "I'm not a software engineering person," which led me to avoid advanced coding and computer operating systems courses because they were beyond my capabilities. This fixed mindset limited my course selection and engagement in activities that required building efficient codes and debugging. On the other hand, I feel more comfortable and curious about creating cool physical objects. This keeps me within the comfort zone of using machines in the Fimbel lab, although some machines might require an understanding of coding and Adobe Illustrator.

Accordingly, it is essential for me to adopt a growth mindset so as to dig into unfamiliar topics. Facing challenging a project or a new co-curricular activity, I would be likely to grasp the idea that I could improve by putting in more effort and keeping persistence which might lead me to personal growth and accomplishment at the end of the project. The growth mindset encouraged resilience, allowing me to reflect on innate out-comfort zones as natural steps in the learning process.

The robot project presented in the first video firstly triggered a fixed mindset inside me like "This is pretty much challenging to me to create such an interactive robot, and this might require a solid knowledge of coding with high programming languages like Java or C++, which are beyond my scope." This perception could result in a hesitation to engage with similar projects and fear of not knowing where to get started. However, by adopting a growth mindset my view has been modified. Instead of considering this project as an impossible challenge, it would turn out to be an opportunity to expand my technical skills and understanding of robots if I learned how to implement the code to create actions for the robot and utilize technical tools to generate my interactive robot similar to the video. The growth mindset has impacted my engagement level: I am eager to experience things that might be out of my comfort zone, not afraid of taking risks and generating comparable projects with the video during the iDesign class.

Stepping into Circuit Playground, Am I ready for the upcoming challenges? 💡

During the first Circuit Playground lab, a neutral blend of excitement and concern about how to use or get proficiently familiar with the Circuit Playground Express microcontroller owning to its complex look came to my mind. In other words, it is a balance between my comfort zone of coding in a new IDE program and the challenges of the intricate Circuit Playground Express.

By working through the lab with my classmate, my initial neutral feeling began to dissolve. An increase in my comfort in making goals/plans before doing and evaluating them afterward demonstrated the role of self-efficacy to some extent. The encouragement and care to tackle each problem from the TA, coupled with clear guidance from the lab documents, nurtured my belief in my capabilities to use the device and code in the Arduino IDE programming. It was such a successful stage that I learned to define a goal like making 2 lights blink red and blue at a fast speed and then carrying it out by adjusting values in the command/arguments in the given sketch code and watching to see if the outcome met my goal.  And, it was! 🤗

In addition, a chorus of self-talk echoed in my mind. This internal dialogue fluctuated my thoughts. It was a voice questioning what should I do next or doubting a solution's feasibility. This self-talk was not just noise; it was a crucial element of metacognition, highlighting my awareness of my learning strategies. Recognizing a mistake in my work through this internal conversation allowed me to modify my code and learn from the redos. It turned self-doubt into self-assurance and uncertainty into determined problem-solving.

The concepts of self-efficacy and metacognition resonated with my experience on the first day of the Circuit Playground lab. They empowered my ability to set goals, implement them, and then evaluate whether the outcome would work well. "Am I up for the challenge?" With self-regulation and a mindset to be willing to learn from mistakes and ask for support when things seem not to work well, I am more than up for upcoming challenges of using the intricate Circuit Playground Express.  

Planning and Adapting when something unexpected happens💡

A of any project usually requires a detailed and well-thought-out plan. When it comes to a time when I had to give up on a plan and wished I would let go of it sooner, it might be when I was working on my data capstone project. In my project, I attempted to sift through datasets and carried out an appropriate method for analyzing delivery times. My initial plan was to classify the delivery times into 3 categories: early, on-time, and late. However, this approach was hard to proceed to build a confusion matrix to evaluate my predictive model. The complexity of handling more than two categories became a significant hurdle and drained my time. I hesitated to leave this pivot away from my strategy because it no longer meets my deadlines in working on each part of my capstone.  

A realization that the method was flawed and a subsequent decision to merge the 'early' and 'on-time' categories into a singular 'not late' category was a turning point. In this situation, an adaptation highlighted the importance of flexibility in the face of unforeseen challenges. In retrospect, the willingness to change plans and implement alternative approaches was necessary to preserve the viability of a project and not sabotage time and effort. Understanding consumer expectations on delivery time due to the overwhelming volume and variety of data was quite challenging. By narrowing the focus to late and not late delivery shipments rather than attempting to analyze all early, late, and on-time, the project gained direction and purpose of finding factors associated with late deliveries in order to minimize their impacts. 

Throughout this experience and beyond the realm of data science, my mind has been broadened by lessons about adapting to unexpected things and viewing problems from different perspectives  Stepping back to see the bigger picture or zooming in on a specific detail, changing the vantage point can reveal new paths forward or expose the 'bugs' in our current approach. To some extent, the courage to let go of plans that no longer serve coupled with a willingness to view problems through multiple lenses might give some insights to overcome obstacles and achieve success. 

Is Circuit Playground Express microcontroller for me ?💡

When the Circuit Playground Express microcontroller arrived in my hands, my initial reaction was a mix of excitement and apprehension about getting familiar with utilizing it.  The board, with its intricate design and multitude of features, seemed to be out of my comfort zone in the beginning. The task of creating light output that changes over time made me question whether I truly belonged in the associated tech space. The fear of being overwhelmed by the intricacies of the microcontroller cast doubt on my ability to navigate this unfamiliar device. 

Navigating the intricacies of the Circuit Playground Express and attempting to understand how the code works. As I delved into the process of building light and sound outputs according to instructions from the lab, I encountered a couple of errors in the Arduino software. The Arduino software is a vital tool for sketching code and updating code for the Circuit Playground Express, which I am not familiar with previously. Sometimes, it showed that there were errors in the system that required troubleshooting. Then I attempted to google the errors, restart my computer, and reconnect the Circuit Playground Expression. While building code, I also utilized debugging functions within the software to find out where the errors were from. Solving the issues made me feel more comfortable and enthusiastic to explore more functions. I began to be interested in the technical device and consider adjusting the given code to make my Circuit Playground Express more fun.   

The question, "Is this for me?" which was raised in my mind in the beginning got an answer while I started working and researching resources. Yes! I am comfortable delving into the applications of the Circuit Playground Express and implementing them. The boundaries of my comfort zone in the coding and technology fields were expanded.  Despite issues during my work, the pursuit of understanding and overcoming technical issues are essential parts of the journey toward the feeling of belongingness in the vast landscape of technology.

How feedback can help us move through the self-regulated feedback cycle💡

Navigating the self-regulated feedback cycle is an integral part of personal and professional development. The value of feedback cannot be overstated, as it provides unique insights and perspectives that can significantly enhance our work. However, the process of receiving feedback, especially when it is critical, might be different. The fear of criticism or the discomfort can inhibit our ability to fully embrace and benefit from feedback. To move beyond this fear, it's essential to reframe our perspective on feedback, viewing it not as a critique of our worth but as a valuable tool for growth. For instance, an instructor's critique on a research paper isn't a reflection of our intelligence but an opportunity to refine our argumentation skills. By adopting a growth mindset, we can learn to appreciate the constructive nature of feedback, using it as a stepping stone. 

In addition, it is a crucial to effectively leverage the advantage of feedback. For example, if my professor highlights a lack of clarity in my project proposal, instead of taking the feedback as a personal affront, I tend to ask for specific examples of where the clarity was lacking. This not only demonstrates a willingness to improve but also helps in pinpointing exactly what needs to be revised. Furthermore, creating a plan of action based on the feedback received is essential. This could mean setting specific goals for improvement, such as meeting with MHC SAW mentor to go over my essay or discuss about my writing or ideas in my assignment. By systematically addressing each piece of feedback, the quality of the work will be enhanced. 

While the process of receiving and integrating feedback may be challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding. By overcoming the fear of criticism and learning to unpack feedback effectively, we can make significant climb in our personal and professional development. Feedback, when received effectively, becomes not just a mirror reflecting our current shortcomings but a map towards future successes.

The Power of a Growth Mindset and Cognitive Flexibility 💡

Before playing around with the EmotoBot, I had doubts about my ability to successfully build the robot as well as a program that the robot would be capable of expressing emotions. The task requires technical skills to make sure that each core goes to the correct place. My teammate and I were quite struggling with how to input emotional expression into the robot. As I delved into the project, I realized the importance of adopting a growth mindset. Instead of viewing my initial inability as a permanent barrier, I began to see it as a starting point for development. This shift in mindset allowed me to persist through difficulties that there was an issue with connecting the core to the LEDs to display the EmotoBot's emotion and learn from obstacles. Although we could not make the EmotoBot show their expression, they can dance cool! 

Cognitive flexibility also played a significant role in navigating the project's challenges. Programming the EmotoBot to express emotions required me to think creatively and adaptively. I had to experiment with different coding functions and mechanical setups, learning to pivot quickly when the LED of the EmotoBot didn't yield the expected emotional expression. When the LED expressed emotion, the EmotoBot could not dance, and vice versa. So, we decided to just have the EmotoBox dance only. This process taught me the value of being open to change and the importance of flexibility in problem-solving. 

Reflecting on building the EmotoBot, if I could speak to my former self at the start of this course or even at the beginning of this week, I would say, "Believe in your ability to learn and grow. The challenges of building the EmotoBot will not only teach you about programming and robotics but also about the resilience of the human spirit. You will come to understand emotions and intelligence in new and profound ways, and this experience will embolden your belief in yourself. Embrace the journey with an open heart and mind."