SMART Goals: My SMART goals that I set for myself in the first reflection are as follows:
-Pass the class with at least a B at the end of the semester
-Feel like the class has helped me get used to how college works in comparison to high school to help me be prepared for a traditional college.
Right now I would say that the second goal is very well on its way, I have been driving myself to class consistently twice a week, participating in group projects, and working on projects/studying both in and out of class. There are still some differences I haven't experienced yet, like taking multiple college classes at once or doing them while having a part-time job as well, but those will come with time. So far I would say that I am fairly confident in how I am handling the college experience. As for the second goal, I now know a grade will be given out at the end of the semester and that it will be chosen by both the student and the teacher. I would say I have a healthy understanding of the topics so far and could perhaps teach them to another person. I would say my two goals are simple but effective, and that I am well on the way to achieving both.
Methods: In my initial reflection I provided several methods I use to make sure I understand and learn the topics being presented, some of which came from my previous online schooling. These included making sure I have a clear head when studying/working on projects, making sure I communicate with the teacher and balancing study time in both of my schools with personal needs. I also make sure to review my previous notes to see if what I wrote down was important and where I could look in the future. Much like with my SMART goals I would say I am doing their processes justice and so they are helping me stay on top of my work. So far I have never missed a class day and am meeting the set deadlines. Whenever I'm confused about a topic or need help on the technical side I always send an email to the teacher for clarification. At the start, I didn't do as well on the quizzes given out during class but through my methods, I've been improving my scores on them. Including the time in class, I would say I spend around 14-17 hours a week working on class projects or studying. Even if a project is going to take multiple hours on multiple days to get done I know I'm going to get through it with enough hard work. As for general skills I'm picking up from class, I would say I'm mostly learning how to do things on the technical side more efficiently. Studying, navigating various websites, gathering information for a project, and especially my writing quality is all things I've improved on due to this class. Because it's been going well so far and this class being frontloaded, I don't see a huge need to change how I'm working. However, if something does pop up where I need to adapt then I certainly will and then get back to doing good work.
Results(Preliminary): I can't say much here as its only halfway through the semester, but I would say this class has shown quite a few of my strengths. Mainly my good work ethic, people skills, and writing. The last of which you've actually helped me feel more confident in because the way I had always written before was always seen as fine and your feedback helped me realize some things that actually needed improving. As for weaknesses I'm not a big fan of the surprise quizzes because I've previously always had time to prepare for them but I understand their important purpose. I feel like the main roadblock is making sure I'm actually studying the right content to prepare for them, but I bet I'll get them down.
Conclusions(Results): I'm personally pretty confident in my understanding of the topics so far, but obviously we're only halfway through so I'll play it safe for now and say I'd probably get a high B or low A in the class.
Other: I wanted to reserve this spot to ask about you specifically Mrs. Cooper. It seems like you sometimes get stressed out in class quite a bit probably due to some of the issues you've presented in your own example midterm reflection. I just wanted to say I hope I'm being a good student for you and not adding to that stress. Hope the SLO 3 is fun to teach, -Aiden.