Jacob ElFattal - Midterm Reflection

You:

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

I think my strength so far has been the lab assignments. Those assignment have required a lot of critical thinking as well as hands on interaction. They have been very beneficial in helping me gain a deeper understanding of the topics we work on.

Where do you think you are weakest?

Right now, I would say my main weakness in this class is not thoroughly learning the material before discussing it in class. I do read the textbook chapter and listen to the online lecture, but there has been several times when taking the chapter quizzes where I do not recognize a key term or definition.

Goals:

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

In terms of time spent on this class, I am not quite meeting my original goal. Although I still try to work on something related to this class every day, there have been several days where I was not able to. I have also found working on the this eportfolio to be more difficult than other aspects of this class. I have been present for all of the classes we've had and have been fairly consistent in focusing during class time. There have been one or two instances where I was extremely tired and found myself zoning out during a video, but for the most part it is not hard to pay attention in class. The average number of hours I spend per week is probably around six to seven. I would say most of that time is spent researching and creating activities to link to the eportfolio, or just messing around with the eportfolio's format. I do think that an increase in the amount of time I spend on this class as well as a more efficient use of said time will help me to improve.

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

Looking at the lab assignments I have done, I would probably give myself an A. The quizzes have been hit or miss but would probably average out to a B. As for my eportfolio, in its current state, I would probably give it a C or a B-. I am planning on improving it considerably by the next feedback day, with the goal of achieving an A.

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?

The main thing I plan on changing is the amount of time I spend on this class. It would be prudent to increase time spent for this class. My plan for accomplishing this is to simply put aside more time each day throughout the week. If for some reason there is a day where I cannot do any work, then I will try to increase the time I spend on the other days to make up for it. I would also like to be more efficient with my time, especially when working on the eportfolio. There are so many different design choices for this website, it is easy to get distracted when working on it.

Teaching:

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

I do think that my comfort level in the realm of earth science has increased. For Example, if I had been asked to teach a lesson about plate tectonics before this class I probably would have done a poor job, using vague descriptions and ambiguous connections to other parts of earth science. Now that we have gone into plate tectonics and other topics in class, I feel as though I can successfully teach in depth.

How do you feel about your eportfolio and what you've built there so far?

Honestly, my eportfolio feels mediocre at this point. I like certain aspects of it, with some of the designs and the content I've put on, but nothing really stands out to me. Despite the good reviews I've gotten, I can't help but feel like there is something missing that makes the overall feel of the eportfolio seem lacking. Even parts that I know are good feel to me like they are not, if that makes sense. They say "you are your own worst critic," and I think that definitely applies to this project.

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 things are going well in this class so far. I am hoping that this eportfolio meets the end goal and becomes a helpful resource for my future self.