Introduction
This semester, we’ve mostly been working on our individual products that tie into our group capstone projects. We’ve also done a few readings; related to emergent strategy and tying our learning to joy and curiosity rather than recognition. I’ve really enjoyed the process of planning my products around a general theme that my research team is aiming for, and striving to make my work as quality as possible while also contributing to the group project as a whole. I struggled a little bit with a couple of the readings, just because of how dense they were. I think I excelled at my goals to not miss class as well as contributing actively with the planning for my team’s project. I think I need to work harder the rest of the semester to make sure my work is turned in on time , I’m remaining focused during class, as well as finding ways to continue doing community service each weekend.
Goal 1 (20%)
Learning Outcome 12C: Works independently toward goals by contributing and meeting deadlines
Taking ownership of the Works Cited page for my group’s project has helped me develop the skill of contributing towards a collective goal and meeting deadlines. While the deadline for the project isn’t here yet, taking ownership of a part of the project that I feel I can do a good job at will hold me accountable. For my second product, I decided to try making an Idea map for how I wanted it to look. I had actually never done an idea map before, and it turned out to be extremely helpful in clarifying the direction I want to go with my multimodal composition product. Moving forward, I may take photos of the sign-in sheet for our IRIS center times so that I can use them as artifacts as well as taking photos of meetings with my research teammates.
Goal 2 (30%)
Learning Outcome 13A: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose
These two reflections both demonstrate myself meeting my goal of effectively connecting important points from class discussions/readings to my work. Both reflections are about pieces of reading we had to do for class, and I think I did a good job at making sure my reflections were still relevant to those readings. I think this is something I need to sustain and continue for the rest of the semester before I can say I accomplished this goal or even excelled at it, but I think I’ve made a good start. Further, I need to do a better job of collecting evidence of make-up work the rest of the semester.
Goal 3 (20%)
Learning Outcome 13C: Uses language to skillfully communicate with clarity and fluency
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ECfeKOvdMZK-Qjfz3epqmu0tRNZX-ruDkUU686jt6B4/edit?usp=sharing
My artifact #1 was a two page long reflection on my experience as a mentor at the Boys and Girls Club of Alton, Illinois. While there are still some edits to be made on the product, I feel that it is another demonstration of my strong writing abilities especially when it comes to reflections. I think the length of this assignment helped me further develop my ability to write reflections, because I had to put more thought into it than just the base level of what I experienced. Moving forward, I need to do a better job of getting stuff turned in on time and not just on the day. I think I didn’t get the assignment turned in by class time, but it was turned in by the end of the day.
Goal 4 (15%)
Learning Outcome 7C: Reviews prior learning inside and outside of the classroom to reveal significantly changed perspectives about educational and life experiences
There is no artifact for this goal because I am yet to really do something this semester that has involved much of our previous research. Hopefully this will be accomplished by the end of the semester through my work on my research team’s capstone project, as well as in some portion of my second product.
Goal 5 (15%)
Learning Outcome 1B: Connects and extends knowledge from academic study to civic engagement
Due to my team project not being completed yet, there is no artifact yet for this goal. On top of that, I have yet to find time to volunteer as much as I wish I would have so far this semester, so that is something I need to put more focus on moving forward.