1. Describe your story and what real-life situation it modeled?
The story and real-life situation me and my partner made was a man (Billy Bob) plowing snow on different roads. Since the roads had different structures and functions, the speed at which the snow plow moved also differentiated, which we showed with our graph. There were also specific intervals in between which disrupted the snow plowing as there were breaks or even malfunctions. For example, Billy Bob had to have a lunch break, and when the snow plow malfunctioned on the hilly roads, he had to stop his work to get it fixed before continuing again.
2. What part of your project are you most proud of? Why?
The part of the project I am most proud of is the story that me and my partner created, as I think it was both original and we also thought of a lot of different scenarios in which the snow plow plowed snow. We also included a lot of different details that made the story a lot more interesting to read and graph.
3. What was the hardest part of creating your piecewise function?
The hardest part of creating our piecewise function was figuring out how we were going to solve the questions that we created. The questions that we created could not be easily solved by just looking at the graph, so we had to go back and look at all of our points that we plotted to find exact sections where we had to cut or continue. For example, what would happen if the snow plow had not malfunctioned and Billy Bob just continued to plow snow. We had to delete the intervals in which he stopped and went to get it fixed and find the final time.
4. If you could revise one part of this project, what would you improve and how?
If i could revise one part of this project, I would try to improve being more specific with what questions we had to create. Although our questions couldn’t be directly found on the graph, they were also a little too shallow as it all it was required was some more complicated math. Therefore, I would try to come up with other questions that could challenge our thinking further.
5. What did this project help you understand better about piecewise functions?
Before this project, I thought that piecewise functions were only limited towards math and school. But after completing this project, I realized that they could also be applied to day-to-day life as well, such as simply shoveling snow. Therefore, I now understand that this could be used by certain companies or people to find out different aspects of life.
In my summative of unit 2, one question that is evidence of my best thinking is the first critical thinking question, as I was able to identify how there are so many other factors in the result of a students test scores, such as sleeping and simply just the time you spend studying, not just because someone listens to music while doing so. Another question that is evidence of my best thinking is the entire L4 question 7, where I was able to show my critical thinking skills by applying what I know from the real world as well as from the data graphs to make inferences about for example, does the evidence actually support the claims, or determining whether a linear model for a residual plot is appropriate.
Throughout unit 2, the skill that I improved the most at is making inferences about the data from residual plots. Before this unit, I did not even understand what residual plots even are, but now I am able to identify its purpose as well as how it could support specific claims from the data points. One skill from this unit that I still need to improve at is figuring out specific aspects of a function on a graph that is good and is bad. This is one of the questions on the COL where I struggled the most, as I failed to identify a unique feature of a sample graph where the line of best fit is good for the scatter plot. The biggest challenge for me on this assessment was one of the L4 questions (6), where I had to think for a long time about what I knew about scatter plots, the association, the regression equation, as well as the correlation coefficient and the residual plot to figure out whether a linear model is appropriate for a set of data or not. I think I struggled here as I was not sure how to combine all aspects of info that I had into one clear inference, and had to slowly sort through my thoughts. One strategy that helped me during this test was first going through the entire test before writing a word so I could distribute my time evenly. For example, I knew I had to think for a much longer time and write more during the L4 section, therefore, I tried to quickly go through the L3, make quick checks and then immediately move on.
Part 2: Goal Reflection & End-of-Semester Check-In
Last unit, I set the goal of trying for L4 options more often. I think that I completed this goal pretty well, as I did attempt to directly work on option 3 on some choice boards, and did manage to push through to finish the L4 section on this COL. What helped me make progress was first, my friends encouraging me to challenge myself, but it was also a challenge at the same time too, as I wasn’t really confident in my abilities to be able to complete the tasks if it was too difficult.
3 strengths that I have shown last semester is turning all work in on time, reaching out to my peers and teacher if I need help on a certain question by asking, and collaborating with my classmates on certain group activities (including the pumpkin explosion). However, 3 areas where I need to improve is making sure to self-check my homework after completing it, being a lot more active in group discussions and triple-checking my work on assessments to make sure I didn’t make any small mistakes.
In the next unit I want to be more active in class by providing my thoughts in group discussions. However, this goal may be challenging as I would either be scared that my answer was wrong, speak in front of my other classmates, or just don’t have the energy to do so. However, if I get stuck or need help, I can reach out to my classmates for moral support, and ask for their thoughts to add on to mine before speaking.
For our final project of unit 3, we had to analyze a form of media such as movies or songs with a romantic relationship in them. For example, Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games, Belly and Conrad/Jeremiah in The Summer I Turned Pretty. It required you to find different elements of healthy and unhealthy aspects of their relationship, such as consent, boundaries, gender stereotypes that are perpetuated and communication. Analyzing these concepts in different media forms could help us see more clearly that some of these unhealthy actions are not at all “romantic” like how the media portrays them as, but rather extremely dangerous for the wellbeing of the relationship.
Me and my partners decided to go with the song “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, where the singer (Taylor Swift) is portrayed as Juliet while the male in the song is portrayed as Romeo. There were several aspects that were extremely negative that we found in the lyrics. For example, Juliet says: “and I was crying on the staircase, begging you (Romeo) please don’t go.” This portrays the girl as the more passive one without any power in the relationship and with all the control lying in the more dominant male’s hands. Another example is: “so I sneak out to the garden to see you.” This shows that the relationship is more of a secret without any transparency or communication with other family members from both sides. However, communication is extremely important and doing things in secret should not be promoted as romantic and a good thing to do. (There were many other lyrics that portrayed actions with similar conclusions).
The first important idea that I learned from this unit is to never assume someone’s gender identity if they have never gave a clear answer (don’t ever force it out of them). This will only make the individual more ashamed if your assumption does not match with their own identity. The second important idea is how establishing clear boundaries is they key towards a happy relationship. If even one individual in the relationship crosses the other boundaries and lead to them feeling uncomfortable, it only decreases the chances for more open communication in the future as one will be a lot less willing. Finally, the third crucial idea that I learned is how the media has influenced what we thought of certain media that contain these romantic relationships. As these medias grow popular, certain edits (for example fan edits) will portray unhealthy actions in these movies as romantic and slowly influence into thinking that these actions are normal and should be done, even though the context never applies in real life. These ideas that are placed into audiences minds will impact their own relationship as well, as these media might promote stalking, overprotection and even closed communication, which is the opposite of what you need to do to maintain a good relationship with one’s partner.
In unit 2 of health, we learned about different mental health disorders, the stigma or stereotypes around them, the causes that led to it as well as the impact on daily life. In the beginning of the unit, I thought that mental health meant the wellbeing of our spiritual body and mind. However, some assumptions and misconceptions that I had is that I believed is that those who suffer from these disorders are all on the extreme spectrum. For example, those with depression spend their entire day in their room, those with OCD are germaphobes that wash their hands 10 times until they are satisfied, and that those with eating disorders either eat 5 meals a day or eat nothing at all.
However, after doing a lot of research about issues such as eating disorders and looking at presentations of other ones, I realized that this is only a minority of cases. For example, some with these disorders might not show it obviously to their peers, but are still suffering on the inside. Some of them might also not be really extreme like how the media portrays them as some cases may drag on for multiple years. I’ve also realized that there are also many different types of treatment then just directly going to a therapist. Although it is a good solution, they vary for different types of people. For example, some may treat their condition by opening up to their friends more or just by avoiding social media for a period of time as it is a main factor of stigma and shame.
Finally, I’ve also realized how mental health effects different people. Before going into this unit, I thought that the majority of these cases are all young women because of things like body image issues. However, I now realize that all kinds of people from different genders, ethnicities and ages can suffer from almost all of these issues.
My current goal for Active Learning is to make my organization of recording my tasks better in order to improve getting work done before the deadline. This looks like choosing the right format for myself which is one where its really simple to record tasks or reminders and easy to access and see every time I open my computer to get work done. My progress towards this goal is half-completed, because although I have found a method that works okay, which is the stickies application that is on my desktop where I can quickly see what I need to get done, I still find it really hard to remember to record my homework there. Therefore, I think I should solve this issue by recording the task immediately after being informed of it.
What are you most proud of in this class so far?
I am most proud of my time management in Science. For example, I always try to stay on task while not falling behind or skipping ahead with the assigned tasks.
What has been your biggest challenge in this class?
My biggest challenge in this class is participating in group discussions. Although I think I’m willing to ask questions more privately, I don’t really speak up about my ideas for multiple different prompts that were given.
How have you demonstrated the qualities of an Active Learner — preparing effectively, participating fully, collaborating well, staying positive, and reflecting to improve?
I have demonstrated my qualities of an Active Learner in science class by speaking up about certain concepts that I don’t really fully understand yet. However, I want to improve next quarter by participating in class activities more (look above for more context).
In unit 1 of grade 8 math, we had to complete a project where we designed a sticker following the transformation rules and applying it to our final design. What I liked about this project was just how much space we were given to create as we could almost make a sticker of anything as long as it fitted the math portion of the project. Therefore, I chose to make a donut with cat ears as I thought that it was not only fitting as a normal sticker but also allowed me to make a lot of transformations with it. However, something that I wish could be changed was being more clear with the instructions at the start of the project when we were still brainstorming ideas. This way, we could be sure of the purpose of this project as well as moving forward with the right away which could potentially give us more time to extend further.
In unit 1, we focused on transformations, triangle congruence and angle relationships. In the COL this unit, one question that is evidence of my best thinking is question 8, where we had to find the imposter among 4 triangles that was not congruent to the rest of the group. Although I thought it was quite confusing at first as the third triangle didn’t seem to have corresponding congruent angles and sides to the first two, I was able to identify the correct answer (triangle 4) as the imposter as it just didn’t have enough info. I think this showcases that I am able to pull info from the unit and use it in situations like these.
Another question that I think showcases my best thinking was the first L4 question was the first L4 question. To prove the congruence of at least 2 triangles, I had to apply my knowledge of not only the congruence rules, but also what I know about angle evidence. To prove the congruence, I had to prove that corresponding angles were congruent in parallel lines and apply it back to the rules that I had to learn before. Therefore, I think that this is another showcase of my knowledge.
Throughout this unit, I improved the most at transformations. In the beginning, all I knew were simple transformations such as translations and dilations with the origin as the center of dilation. However, now I know the mapping rules for both reflections and using proper prime notation for all the transformations included. However, I feel that I still need to work on angle relationships, as I need to think a lot harder on how the angle rules apply to parallel lines that were not as simple.
3 of my strengths so far in the year is turning in all work on time, reaching out to my teacher for help and collaborating with my classmates. However, 3 things that I need to improve for the next unit is trying for L4 or option 3 choices more to challenge myself and extend my knowledge, trying to complete the optional problems in homework and participating in class discussions more often.
In the next unit, I want to try for L4 options at least twice. Something that might get in the way of achieving this goal is either my fear of not understanding the content or trying to just stick with my friends. However, in this case I need to learn to move on and challenge myself, even if that means asking even more questions.
The app that I am going to use is a journaling app called Day One, where I can record my emotions, feelings, and answer the daily prompts. I believe that this app will help me achieve my wish of communicating with my peers more calmly by handling my emotions better as I can put all my stray and negative thoughts into this journal. Unlike offline journals, I can open it whenever and wherever and even take photos to record what is happening. By using this app, I can try to take out my frustration and put it into words, which will help me feel that I already expressed it clearly. As a result, I can communicate without these feelings being locked in.
The first outcome that I hope to see after using this for a week is that my emotions are more stable. This looks like not having a ton of mood swings and sudden outbursts of anger. The second outcome is that I am more present in the moment. This looks like not dwelling on whatever made me stressed or upset in the past and focusing on what I can do next to make my mindset more positive. The final outcome that I hope to see is communicating more clearly with my peers, especially my parents. This looks like finishing my sentences, asking for advice, and not becoming mute after they say something that angers me, and instead saying that I don’t want to talk about this issue right now to let them know the reason.
I will document my process on my goal by using my mood scale. This looks like going back on all of my journal entries and seeing how constantly I’m in a bad mood or when I’m feeling calm or even happy. I can also go back and see why I was feeling in such a way on that specific day and try to take that mood or event into the present.
Analysis/Review
Functionality:
Core Features for Supporting Your Wellness Goal: Day One offers several core features that directly support my goal of communicating emotions to peers in a positive and collected way. The primary journaling feature allows me to create entries where I can document and process my emotions, which helps me understand my feelings before expressing them to others. The app also includes multimedia options, letting me add photos to my entries to capture moments and emotions more completely. Additionally, it also provides various prompts from different categories like reflection and gratitude, which could help me explore my emotional responses more deeply. Finally, the streak calendar feature tracks my journaling consistency, encouraging regular emotional check-ins that support my wellness goal.
Most and Least Used Features: I used the basic journaling feature most frequently because of its convenience and simplicity. I could quickly take out my phone, capture a photo, and record my current emotions without any complicated setup. This immediate accessibility makes it easy to document my feelings in real-time, which is essential for my goal of better understanding my emotions before communicating them. In contrast, I used the different prompts and templates least often because some felt too complicated and lengthy for my current state (time). When I was experiencing strong emotions, I wanted to quickly record my feelings rather than work through elaborate reflection exercises that could be completed when I have the sufficient time, so the simpler approach worked better for my specific goal.
App Promises vs. Actual Experience: Day One’s marketing description aligned almost perfectly with my actual experience, particularly regarding quick entries for recording day-to-day life. The app delivered on its promise of making journaling accessible and efficient, which was crucial for my emotional tracking needs. However, one feature mentioned in the description that I didn’t experience was connecting with friends through the app. This might be because I didn’t create any shared journals, but the social aspect wasn’t as visible or accessible in my experience as the marketing suggested.
One of the apps promises
App Limitations: The main limitation I identified was the lack of a mood tracking feature with visual representation. I think the app would be more effective for emotional wellness goals if it included a simple way to rate how high or low I was feeling on a scale, and then track these emotional waves on a graph over time. This would help users like me see patterns in their emotional states and better understand improvements in their ability to manage emotions, which directly relates to my goal of communicating feelings more positively to peers.
Usefulness:
Hypothesis Evaluation Using Baseline Data: My hypothesis was strongly supported by the evidence I gathered through my baseline data and journal entries. Throughout my trial period, my journal entries clearly showed that I was becoming increasingly more calm and composed when processing my emotions. The regular journaling practice helped me think more critically about what I could do to improve my current emotional state rather than simply reacting impulsively. Additionally, I found that I was able to identify and understand my present emotional state much more easily than before using the app. Finally, my peers such as my mom also noted that I became a lot more calm when communicating, showing the effectiveness of this app.
Unintended Consequences: The app encouraged some behaviors that I didn’t initially expect, particularly around habit formation that bordered on addiction. I found myself constantly checking back on my streak calendar and feeling obligated to maintain my journaling consistency, which was generally positive. However, this also led me to spend excessive time answering prompts that weren’t particularly relevant to my wellness goal, such as reflecting on seasonal changes or other less important observations. While the app was designed to encourage regular reflection, I sometimes found myself wasting time on prompts that didn’t contribute meaningfully to my emotional development, simply to maintain my streak or explore all the available features (answering all of the prompts).
These entries aren’t particularly useful for my emotional being (other than fantasizing)
Effectiveness for Different Demographics and Lifestyles: Day One appears to be most effective for people who prefer a more organized lifestyle and structured approach to wellbeing tracking. The app works well for people who want to systematically track their personal development and have the time to engage in regular reflection. It’s particularly valuable for people whose wellness goals involve self-awareness and emotional growth, as it provides tools to look back over weeks, months, or even years to see patterns in feelings and development. However, the app might be less effective for people who prefer spontaneous or less structured approaches to emotional wellness, or those who don’t have consistent time for regular journaling practice.
Design:
Design Elements That Encourage Continued Use: Day One incorporates several design elements that encourage continued use, and these are largely beneficial rather than manipulative. The streak calendar feature motivates users to maintain consistent journaling habits by visually tracking daily entries, which supports long-term emotional wellness rather than exploiting addictive behaviors. The app includes a variety of engaging prompts that range from fun to deeply reflective, such as “When is the last time you laughed super hard?” These prompts encourage meaningful self-reflection while keeping the experience interesting and varied. Additionally, the multimedia integration feature makes users want to “snap” moments of their daily life, turning routine moments into opportunities for emotional awareness and growth. These design choices genuinely support the app’s wellness purpose rather than simply maximizing screen time.
Streak Calendar
Business Model Analysis: Day One generates revenue through user subscriptions and membership tiers, which influences its design in several ways. Since the app relies on attracting and retaining users, the prompts are designed to appeal to normal people’s day-to-day experiences, making the journaling practice feel accessible and simple rather than intimidating. The membership model creates additional design incentives by offering premium features like enhanced creative options and different media formats, including audio recordings. This approach allows the basic app to remain functional for wellness goals while encouraging upgrades through genuinely useful additional features rather than restricting core functionality.
Dependency vs. Healthy Habits: Overall, Day One appears to build genuine healthy habits rather than create harmful dependency. Even when I found myself journaling excessively or spending time on less relevant prompts, the behavior wasn’t creating any real harm beyond some time management issues. The app encourages self-reflection and emotional awareness, which are extremelty beneficial skills that can be transferred to real-life situations.
