Template for a Class Portfolio

Introduction

In Codes 121 I have learned and gained an abundance of knowledge over these last 8 weeks. I am learning strengths and weaknesses in different things I can improve in the future. Something I enjoyed was the different reflections we were assigned. I liked how it challenged you to think outside the box and compare information that you learned in class. Something I struggled with was time management and communication with my professors. I procrastinated heavily towards the end of the week and never communicated my issues with certain assignments. Even when I had bad days, I tried to figure things out on my own rather than seeking help. I felt my class engagement has been one of my biggest things, especially when presenting and sharing information. Going into the second half of the semester, I want to better how I do my assignments and hold myself to finishing things on time. Not only that but, to have better communication when it comes to handling assignments I don’t truly understand.

With the semester coming to an end in CODES 121, I can say I have made huge improvements in my efforts. A lot of challenges hit me this year and it wasn’t anything with the school. Things that happened at home personally affected me but didn’t stop the work ethic I had to get my assignments finished on time. My professors were understanding of these situations and that allowed me to continue working hard to make my semester end on a great note. This semester challenged me not only to be a student but also to try to balance my social life as we moved forward. Each of the goals I have set for myself I reached and passed this year. Next semester I want to continue to strive to be a good student and stay consistent with my work.

Goal 1

8 A.) Oral Communication

Uses clear organizational patterns and is skillful at presenting content cohesively (20%)

One of the artifacts I chose was the photo essay we had earlier this semester. This project required me to work with a group to take a series of photos and share them with the class. This assignment showed me to not only work with a team but also share information efficiently. The picture I chose above is something I presented about the MUC and was one of the key slides of the assignment. I wasn’t good at presenting in front of people, but it allowed me to share information on my thoughts about the MUC. The next time I present information I would want to try to engage with my audience differently.

For the CODES presentation, I had to share some information on people in Centreville Illinois. I used not only something that hit home for me but also took the time to share the testimonies of others who faced challenges in this environment. I’m using this as evidence because of how I engaged with the audience during my part of the presentations.

Goal 2

8 B.) Oral Communication

Uses compelling, appropriate delivery techniques (20%)

The artifacts I chose were class discussion and DP # 2. Although the digital project didn’t involve me sitting in front of anyone, I made sure to get the message across when discussing the topic at hand. We were assigned to make a video giving details and talking about the article we had read. One thing I learned was having an attention grabber at the start of my video to get the audience’s attention. I know the next project that’s coming is DP#3 and for that assignment, I want to be able to get my points across with less amounts of pausing. In class discussions, I also want to be better at being consistent with the conversation.

Goal 3

9 B.) Problem Solving Skills

Identifies and evaluates multiple approaches for solving problems (20%)

The artifact I chose was Reflection 3 because of how the article worked with my goal. Why so many immigrants rise to the top is about data between immigrant children and native-born Americans in the United States. The article started by talking about the false messages and narratives about immigrants, which is a whole different problem of its own. The part of my reflection I chose was one of the solutions to why immigrants were raised to the top. It was backed up through data and different information presented in the article. The next time I have an assignment I want to be more diverse with the solutions I find rather than jumping to something specific.

Goal 4

9 A.) Problem Solving Skills

Constructs insightful problem statements with evidence of relevant factors (20%)

During my Digital Project 2, we had to support the author’s claim through evidence. The image I chose above was the data set between immigrant children and children born in the U.S. Doing the reflections before this project helped me understand the importance of having relevant evidence when working with a problem. In the future I will continue to back up my claims to a problem with evidence, and to ensure it is relevant to the problem at hand.

Goal 5

13 A.) Written communication

Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose (20%)

For this artifact, I chose to use reflection 4. I chose this because to understand an article you must know the audience they are trying to reach. When I started this reflection, it was the next step for my DP#2 and before we could start the video, we had to know the audience we were making the video for. This reflection helped me understand the importance of these different things and how they all work together. Going into the future I want to be able to show my purpose behind my writing and how it can connect to my audience.