Introduction
At the beginning of the semester, I came in with a willing mindset ready to learn new college-level material. I had to make a few personal adjustments to the new workload and independency to be as successful as possible. Sometimes brainstorming is a difficult process for me but the CODES class introduced new ways to analyze and branch off ideas to have more on-topic and intriguing essays. Collaborating with my teammates was my favorite part of the class but at times I struggled to relay my ideas to them. Although as time went on I was able to convert my ideas into words of speech to contribute to group projects. Articulating my speech and gaining confidence when I speak/contribute is a goal I feel I excelled at in the first half of the semester. By asking questions out loud for lectures and reading for our group at times for assignments I developed more confidence. A goal I want to continue developing is learning how to cite and interpret critics’ understanding to differentiate my writing effectively and ethically.
Goal 1 (10%)
To consider my audience’s comprehension as well as keep a purpose in mind while writing
https://eportfolio.siue.edu/stephen-watkins/codes-121/11-2/
Mid:
I was able to revise my DP#1 assignment to replay a more clear point. It was already generally comprehensible but a couple of adjustments and added information improved the clarity of the essay for my audience.
End:
By this time I’ve had to exercise this goal in various instances for my assignments and collaborations. Rather if it was giving a brief summary of a resource or adjusting my phrasing in a paper. In my final project, we were assigned oral histories as one of our main resources, therefore, having to interpret verbal interviews of hurricane victims and convert their perspectives into an informal paper and presentation for my audience. Below you can see highlighted parts that reflect this.
Goal 2 (20%)
Improving articulating of my speech and feeling confident to speak gracefully while maintaining acceptable eye contact
Mid:
Time Stamp: 1:06-155 Through preparation days and interview practice in my 120 research group I’ve developed a more fluent speech while feeling confident to ask my questions.
End:
Since mid-term, I took the initiative to set a plan to become more confident in speech as I’m presenting. First identifying the problem, I realized I would plan out the whole presentation but when it came time to present during I would become timid and anxious resulting in forgetting information and causing the presentation to be shorter than intended. A solution that came to mind was breathing techniques. I began to research methods to incorporate before practicing reading my paper out loud as if I was presenting. Another method was practicing in front of a friend gradually moving up to small groups of 2 or 3 while beforehand practicing the breathing methods I learned. I feel I could improve more around keeping my head up and not looking at notecards the majority of the time. Overall by the end, I was able to stay fluent in front of the small group with slight speech fumbles. Below are some of the sources I used to come up with the routine for me.
Goal 3 (20%)
Adapt to working with a team through collaboration and groups projects resulting in sufficient research and/or solutions
Mid:
https://iris.siue.edu/codesteam-ywca/2022/10/12/interview-reflections/
That is a link to my review blog post of my research team’s takeaway/ review of our experience learning and adapting to interviewing individuals. I go more in-depth about my experience and how I contributed to the collaboration of the team.
End:
Since mid-term the main collaborative occasions have been the research teams. Realizing that I’m on a team I contacted several members of the team to either study or even assistance understanding something for the class. Beyond the classroom, I would contact certain members to participate in recreational activities, which I found further strengthen our relationship. Within the classroom, we had to assimilate each other’s gathered research in order to form a collective research paper. Below is the link to the slide presentation we collaborated on. My portion of the project starts on the “Pros” slide and ends with the following charts on the next slide.
Goal 4 (30%)
Discover a more broad understanding of the world religions through other people’s perspectives, religious views, spatial upbringing, etc by executing attentive research and interviews
Mid:
Through various interviews, I filmed with my research team and reviews on research topics, I was able to get educated on different people’s cultures and perspectives.
End:
At the start of the semester, I really got get the know other team members and their backgrounds. Some members I could relate to coming from the same city for others our relations came from similar religious beliefs and/or upbringings. These connections with my peers ultimately reinforced our capability to collab with one another on projects. For our last project, when I was reading various interviews, I could assume many people have faith in Jesus Christ in many areas of New Orleans as different people expressed that he will not forsake them in their dire situations. It seems an ethical belief of family and helping others was established growing up as many people mention family coming and friends coming from other areas to help salvage belongings and repair homes. Below are the annotations I feel were best for the paper.
Goal 5 (20%)
Learn how to analyze critics I cite and interpret an understanding to differentiate my writing effectively and ethically
Mid:
Time Stamp: 2:34 -307
I was able to cite the article I choose for DP#2 to create a script analyzing the structure and content of the article for a voiceover for the video.
End:
In all research writing assignments gathering reliable resources is a crucial part of the process. During class lectures and examples showing how to productively research overall improved my research and finding resources to cite for papers. Also, learning how to convey their information to the reader without ideals or standpoints. Below are some charts I cited in my last project to give a visual representation. There is also a link to the paper to get a better understanding of the citing.
Digital Project #3 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5UMBajsaVfaoWnedvEoepp6iJ3aQb-Myy8HGXWYnJI/edit
