Reflections

Earth Science and Teaching

• What are your strengths as a student and as a teacher?

As a student, I am very diligent with my work and put great care into what I'm working on. I try my best to understand all the material presented to me, even if it takes a bit of time. As a teacher, I think I'm very patient with people and I can be very understanding in most situations.

• What are your weaknesses as a student and as a teacher?

I think my weaknesses as a student include procrastination and self-doubt. As a teacher, I think self-doubt comes into play as well because I tend to change my mind a lot as I'm beginning to feel like whatever I'm working on isn't turning out the way I want it to. I also feel like, as a teacher, even though I am patient, I tend to get a little impatient with whoever I'm teaching.

• What do you feel most nervous about when teaching Earth Science?

The topic I feel most nervous about teaching would be making the connections between topics, such as how tectonic plates are connected to literally everything on the planet.

Personal plans

• What is your SMART goal for this class?

My SMART goal for this class is to obtain as much information as I can for my portfolio and have a deep understanding of the material. I will know that I have reached my goal when I have completely filled out my Earth Science page on my Portfolio. In order to reach that goal, I must take notes and save all material received from this class. I plan to accomplish this goal by the end of the semester.

• If this were a graded class, what would your (realistic) goal be, based on your current life situation and expectations?

My realistic goal would be to pass the class with an A, by doing all my work and showing up for participation points.

• What are some specific steps/plans that you are taking to achieve this goal?

Some steps I have that I will take to achieve my goal are to discuss the material with my peers and instructor, take notes and input them into my portfolio, and continuously go over my material to make connections and form a deeper understanding.

• As you know, there are some specific student learning outcomes that are expected for this class. What are some ways you can think of to assess your growth in this class? This obviously will take some creative thought...take your time.

Some ways I can measure my growth is by how much knowledge and discussions I have with the people around me about the material we've learned.

Un-grading

• What are your thoughts as we go into this semester regarding the idea of un-grading? What are you looking forward to and what are you nervous about?

I'm excited to go through this idea of un-grading. Even though it's a new concept to me, it feels familiar and comfortable. I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be, but I am very excited to go into this semester.

Anything else?

• Anything else you can think of that you would like to record your thoughts and feelings here at the beginning of this journey?

I don't have much else to say at this moment, except that I'm excited to get this semester going.

You

• Where do you think you have exhibited your personal strengths in this class?

I think I have shown in this class that I am very well organized and tend to keep my assignments and deadlines up to date and with the most accuracy. I'm very good at creating things and keeping them neat and appropriate for the presented material.

• Where do you think you are weakest?

I think I have a tendency to think that I can do things without detailed instruction, or being watched over. The confidence I have creates this complex that makes me think I am better than what I'm being shown. This causes me to not focus in class because I think that I can just do it myself later, and then I end up procrastinating and not doing anything until the last moment.

Goals

• When you look back at the goals you set for yourself at the beginning, how do you feel you are coming on them?

I think I am doing well on keeping up with my work, done towards the deadline, but done regardless (and to my personal standards). I am not studying as much as I'd like to, but it's not because I don't want to, I just don't have much time to do things on my own.

• • How often have you been present in class? How focused on what is happening in class have you consistently been?

I have only missed one day of class, but I was sick and was sent home (I still tried to show up at least). I'm usually focused enough in class but the lectures and discussions we have are not enough to take notes on, or are done too fast, so I can't write down everything I want to and tend to forget some details later.

• • How many hours a week do you typically spend on this class? When thinking about your progress in this class, do you feel it is enough?

Typically, outside of the class I will spend maybe 2-3 hours working on the assignments, lesson plans, etc. in the library on days I come to school. So about 4-6 hours a week, not including the 3 hour class session. Although that doesn't seem like a lot of time, when I go back to my notes, or the portfolio, I feel like I refresh my memory of what I've learned and it does help me "study".

• Looking at your work in this class, what letter grade would you give yourself?

I would give myself a solid A. I work hard on all my assignments, I'm present in class and an active participant in all activities. I ask questions and engage with my peers.

• Now that you have had a chance to contemplate your focus, time, and performance in this class, is there anything that you are planning to change for the rest of the semester?

I will try harder to spend more time on reviewing my work and notes in this class, along with reading more of the posted lecture materials, but it all depends on how my personal schedule goes as well.

Teaching

• How do you feel your comfort level with teaching earth science has been impacted by class so far?

I feel more confident in teaching earth science lessons, some of them I feel I could learn more and have deeper understandings, but I think my lesson plans for each topic are coming along nicely and if I had to present them now I could.

• How do you feel about your e-portfolio and what you've built there so far?

I like how my portfolio looks and the organization of it. I wish there was more related pictures to each topic, they're really hard to find. But I think each page is coming along nicely and I have good organization so things are easy to find.

Other

• Is there anything else you would like to share regarding how you feel things are going at this point in the class?

I think the structure of the class is fun. Not having a full 3 hour lecture helps stay concentrated and engaged in the actual classroom and gives us an opportunity to learn about multiple things too.

Class/Teacher Interaction

1. For what percent of our classes were you present for?

I was usually there everyday, I only missed twice because I was sick but both on two separate occasions.

2. When you think back to your presence in class, what percent of the classes were you actively participatory in? (ie. not on your phone, talking, sleeping, etc.)

I was never too actively participated, I did engage in most of the lesson plans presented by my classmates. During labs, I usually was one of the first few done and had majority of my information right (except for minor things). If it ever seemed like I wasn't listening just because I was on my computer, I always was, but I find it beneficial to write down what I'm hearing at the moment, so all lessons were almost word for word being typed onto my computer. I find it a little more difficult to retain the information if I'm staring straight at the speaker.

3. How many hours a week (on average), outside of class, did you study for/work on this class?

I usually work on this class in between my other class, I have 2 different 2 hour gaps on Mondays, and only one 2 hour gap on Wednesdays. I use that time to work on any class material I have, and I typically work fast.

4. How many times during the semester did you directly interact with me on an individual level? (ie. coming and asking questions, getting clarification, an inbox message, etc.)

Only on the times where I wanted clarification on how to do something or just to make sure what I was doing was accurate. Never that often, but definitely when I needed help.

5. How do you think that your participation with the class and me may have impacted your knowledge and growth in this class?

I did learn a lot this semester and I'm very thankful for that. I learned a lot about how other people teach and their styles to their learning. I worked with a lot of people to create lessons and got a lot of insight from them. I also learned a lot about the planet and the many wondrous quirks she has.

Practice Work

1. How many of the practice work assignments did you get a "complete" on?

A few of them, but not all.

2. How many of the practice work assignments did you get an "incomplete" on?

A few of them as well.

3. How many of the practice work assignments did you not attempt?

None of them, I tried to do all my practice work and labs.

4. How many of the assignments that you did submit were submitted on time? (usually 1 week)

Most of them were, only the ones I was absent for were submitted a bit later. Or if it was online, I was just confused as to whether she wanted them in person or online.

5. When you look at those numbers above and your knowledge of topics, how do you think that your participation with the practice work impacted your knowledge?

I think that whether my work was 100% correct or not, is not an accurate representation of my effort and knowledge of the subject. Usually, the portions I was marked down on in my papers were slight errors and not critical enough for me to feel that I need to re-submit it, in order to receive any type of credit for it. I love the idea of having an "un-graded" class and it feels more stress-free, however not being able to receive any type of credit for one mistake on a practice assignment, feels discouraging.

That being said, I did learn a lot from this class, as you can see in my portfolio, it is quite rich with information on the topic, videos, links that contain even deeper knowledge, and even corresponding activities that enrich the learning process of the material. I don't feel like whether my assignments were 100% completed to the course's standards reflect what I've learned over the last 6 months.

ePortfolio

1. How soon into the semester did you get your e-portfolio url created and submitted to me?

Within the first week.

2. How many objectives did you get submitted and receive feedback on throughout the semester?

It was a little hard at first to figure out exactly how the submissions for the portfolio were being done, but about mid-October we went over it and I began submitting portions then.

3. How many objectives did you complete within the last 3 weeks?

In the last three weeks from today (Nov. 28) I have completed and submitted 9 lesson plans and resource pages. I have about 15 in total completed. I just need about 4-5 more topics to create resources for.

4. When you look at the answers above and your final product, how do you feel your eportfolio turned out and the impact that the answers may have had on its quality?

I love the way my e-portfolio turned out and I think I did a really good job at staying on top of my work and keeping it structured and organized. During lecture, I would be working on that topic's page anyway. Any information or additional comments I had were added and I finalized the page a couple hours after class.

Overall class

1. When you look at the overall class, the entire semester, what are you most proud of accomplishing during your time in this course?

I am most proud of my portfolio. It is a lot of information in one spot but it's calming to look at and very organized and detailed.

2. When you look at the overall class, the entire semester, what is it that you most wish you could change or do differently?

I would just change the way

3. When you look at the overall class, the entire semester, what final grade would you give yourself based on your current knowledge of the class objectives?

4. Do you think that your grade would match the grade I would give you? Why or why not?

Final Thoughts

1. Any last thoughts/reflections/comments on your personal work/participation/growth in this class?