1: Math Semester goals

Improve my speed when simplifying complex algebra expressions. My action plan is to spend 15 minutes on every tuesday and thursday to practice simplifying algebra expressions online, and use calculator to double check my work.

My second goal is to enhance my presenting skills for other projects and practice to pronounce word clearly. After the first research project, I realized I wasn't that good on presenting so that's the reason why I added this to my goal. To acheive this, I planned to create a speech document before every presentations and practice dry run presentation to get feedback. 

My last goal is to get a B grade in Math class, but also get used to the concepts taught. My action plan is to submit all the work on time, and double check if there's any mistakes.Also actively taking notes to make sure I can review it at anytime.

Week 7 check In: Over the past seven weeks, technically 5 weeks, I have consistently followed the algebra practice schedule. I used my calculator to verify every expansion on the complex algebra expressions. During the presentation in PBL, I also applied what I promised in math on it. I also felt a big difference when solving algebra and linear equations compared to the beginning of the semester.

2. Research Project: 

Most interesting thing: I was fascinated to learn how the ancient Greek mathematicians like Pythagoras used physical toolds including shadow lengths to create the basic geometry principles without any modern devices we're using right now. Exploring this topic was developed showed me that math was about real world problem solving.

Most challenging thing: The most challenging aspect was to conclude the complex geometry into simple slide that classmates could easily read through it. I overcame this by breaking down each proof to small bullet points, replace the heavy texts with the main annotations, and add images.

I improved my source tracking skills the most. In past projects, keeping track of references was difficult, but during this project, I typed in and sort each research links by adding sub-topics like "classic geometry introduction" and make sure to cite the sources in my slide.

What will I explore further if I have time: If I had more time, I would explore how ancient geometric principles influence the early architectural enginnering, especially how ratios and symmetry were applied to structures.

How this changed my thought about math: It shifted my perspective from thinking math as only memorize the formulas to recognizing math as a human language that's designed to explain the patterns in nature and physical spaces.

Peer feedbacks + Improvements

My classmates told me that my presentation was too unprofessional and the slides were too wordy. Not only that, they also noted that the transition between ancient geometry and recent application is too abrupt. 

Improvement 1: Increase the clarity and graphics' amount in my slide, to improve, I bolded my texts, added more pictures, and simplified my wordy paragraphs to bullets so the audience can follow easily 

Improvement 2: Prepare a speech for the presentation, to get better at presentation, I prepared and practice presenting to the air with my typed script to see if I pronounced every word correctly and see if the speech is smooth or not. 

Improvement 3: Improve the presentation flow between topics. To improve this, I inserted a bridge inside my speech to make the transition between paragraphs more fluent. 

3. Algebra Unit Section:

1. Linear equation balancing: In this activity, I learned how to use inverse operations to isolate variables in multi-step equations with variables on each side.

2. BEDMAS: In this activity, I learned the order of operations, basically what you calculate first in an expression. This could be useful even in the future's math studies because it's the basic rules.

3. Word Problem challenge: In this activity, we focused on writing the mathematical vocabularies in the small box and understand what they means. I learned how few vocabularies mean like substitute. Substitute means to remove the old thing and put a new one on the place.

Algebra Reflection Question:

What would someone learn about me if they look at my work, if someone look at my work, they will notice that I'm a dedicated student who really focuses in class. My informative notes will show them how I concentrated and learn in class. I separate different topics with a line so it's easier to find what I need.

Specific Growth and Plan

I need to improve working with negative algebra equation because I often misunderstood them and accidentally make them positive.

I will work 3 extra problems each week, write down explicit steps of negative signs or positive signs and use my calculator to verify my answer. 

4. Final reflection& meet the rubric 

What will someone learn about me as a student by looking at my work ? 

They will observe that I'm a reflective students who takes pride in improving. I view assignment as a opportunity to refine my thinking instead of a task. My research shows that I organized facts and cited source accurately. My algebra reflection demonstrated that I take feedback and analyze my mistakes with honesty and build action plans to overcame the challenges.

Study habits & Area of Growth 

When I got math homework to do, I often procrastinated and spent 2 times the time I need to complete the work. To improve my time management, I will implement a time schedule and app locker to help me prioritize finishing homework first instead of doom scrolling for hours. 

Project & other class connections

In my taipei settlement factor project from social study, I used numerical data analysis, percentage comparison that was reflected from math class.

During my PBL class work, I used the research skills I learned from math course to check if the sources are reliable or not. 

In our PBL course shark tank pitch, I used the information organizing skills I gained from Math class to make our presentation neat and readable. 

Growth across the year

Last year when I was working about linear graph and equations in grade 7 math, I struggled a lot because I wasn't sure how do you find the slope and y intercept. But in this semester, through our fun activities and class working time, I've now processed the informations and reconginzed how to find the slope.