At the start of this year, I made a vision board to represent my goals in the coming year.
My goals include being more organized, getting consistent scores on assessments, and being fit enough to rejoin the basketball team.
To be more organized, I would use more containers that can separate my shelf into organized sections.
To have more consistent scores, I would try to review before assessments, especially the small 3 for 3s in science. A quick review can help boost my performance.
To be more fit, I can start practicing my endurance with running.
I hope to accomplish these goals through small steps.
In the second unit, we are studying functions. To model piecewise functions, we designed a real-life situation to analyze. We modeled Joshua’s approval rate as a president. I am most proud of our ability to design a story that makes sense. All the increasing and decreasing correlate with what happens in the story. The hardest part was writing the linear equations for each interval. We need to find the y-intercept of the line(even when it doesn’t extend there) while noting down the intervals of increase/decrease/constant. If I were to revise, I would make sure that in my calculations, I would always use function notation. I can use f(x) before my equations. This project helps me to understand that, although having different equations on different sections, piecewise functions still obey the basic rules of functions. (Like the vertical line test rule)
During the public speaking unit, I took an alternative assessment and I reflected on my performance in interviews. A habit that improved the most for me was my engagement. Throughout 4 sessions of interviews, I became more engaged through changing my voice to be louder and more interesting. Something that helped e to grow was slowly adjusting to the time of America(jetlag) and practicing with my parents. Giving myself feedback and receiving feedback from interviewers helped me to improve as some of them said that I was very prepared so I improved on authenticity and genuine speech. One goal I wanted to keep on working is to have a stronger opening and ending line to summarize my dialogue and to catch attention effectively.
After making our tissue box and prior to winter break and Fusion 360, we completed our robotics unit.
The three major builds we (me and Oscar) had done are the sumo bot, racing bot and claw bot. The sumo bot uses a color senser to detect if it is going off the battlefield and has automated code that makes it attack at the robot that was pushing it. The racing bot requires the connection of the motor to a gear box that could make the wheels turn faster but sacrifice torque, or turning power. Moreover, we modified an push sensor to make it touch a wall and return. The other was the claw bot, where we had a basic bot of simple wheel structure along with an attachment of a 2 motor system that could raise and lower a claw while open and closing it.
One thing that we did well in the sumo bot was our code. I used different response systems activated by sensors through coding. Our bot was able to survive against other bots. One thing that we needed to improve on were our defense mechanics. Although I had a variety of them, they aren’t as effective as it always turns.
One thing that we did well in the racing bot activity was that we are able to adapt to our robot’s issues and drive accordingly. Eventually on the race day when we didn’t have enough time to modify we adapted to our robot. One thing that we could do better was to adjust the gear boxes since our robot always drives to the left. We attempted to solve the issue but failed. We suspect that it was due to the not matching gear box structure from both sides and how our motor has gears that connect to both wheels. It seemed that we made things complicated and better. However, one thing I would do next time is to keep things simple as complex structures are harder to manage and perform normally.
One thing that we did well in the claw bot activity was our control. We were able to carefully control the claws of our robot and to stack them well during training. One thing that we could do better is our collaboration. We needed to communicate better with our partner teams so we can get higher scores. If we were to do this again, I would try also balancing out the robot to make sure it doesn’t have weight issues.
In this unit, we are learning soccer in P.E. We learned how to transition from offense to defense and the other way around. I had improved in my transition skills in soccer as I am able to both play defense and offense. I still need to work on my skills in dribbling as I cannot keep the ball safe.
I also did water polo in swimming unit. I was able to make shots but I need to do better in saying on top of the water as I required a float. I am proud of my effort in game.
In Unit Two, we have to write a narration that expands on a basic story AI had written. Then, after we expanded and edited, we are supposed to have a Socratic seminar, or an academic discussion on how we wrote the stories. I picked this as my audio is hard to hear, and the data tables are more direct. This shows my skill in a skillful communicator as I am able to balance talks between one group by speaking only slightly below the average, making the discussion equal with my own effort. I also didn’t just talk to one person, but answered the questions and connected to multiple members.
Above is my Unit One Science Active Learner Self-Assessment. Although I had met setbacks during my science journey, I am attempting to improve. My previous goal was finishing homework on time, but now it has turned into following directions on projects since my homework was handed on time. My proudest moment was when I completed the meteor model. I demonstrated my understanding of meteors in the unit to create a satisfactory model that correctly represents what happens during meteor strikes.
The biggest challenge was remembering to follow directions. I often submitted the wrong type of file which caused some trouble. I actively participated in class. When we were doing a fossil identification activity, I actively helped my group to locate where the fossil should be.
I would choose my first L4 question to show my improvement in my mathematical skills in this unit. I used my knowledge of transitions, angle and triangle similarity, and logical reasoning to find a pair of congruent angles. I finished the process without error. The other question I would choose that demonstrates my learning is subquestion b for the second L4 question. I used only one translation to map a shape on to another. I demonstrated sophisticated mathematical skill by correctly identifying the line y=-x+4. I improved the most on using dilations, transformations, reflections and rotations to create images without drawing any new shape. I still need to work on noticing how the order of a dilation with SF 1 or -1 and reflection across certain lines don’t matter. My first strength is that I am able to use concrete reasoning to prove my congruency. My second strength is that I am able to map complex transformations like dilations and rotations correctly. My third strength is that I know how to effectively use parallel lines to find congruent angles. I want to first improve on the quality of my drawing, my ability to check my answers, and my ability to follow requirements. In the next unit, I want to improve on my accuracy of drawing by constantly using a ruler.
The first unit of the year mainly focused on the use of grammar. However, this boring task took an unusual twist as we were introduced to Flint AI. Flint would act like an alien that landed on Earth, and we are agents attempting to communicate by teaching it English. Parts of speech, like verbs, nouns, prepositions, adverbs, and more are taught with shades of meaning, which is denotation and connotation. I had also enhanced my knowledge in forming sentences by teaching that alien simple, complex and compound sentences. By learning how to use words systematically, I am able to make my text more complex, intricate, and precise. I could use a compound sentence to substitute 2 simple ones, connecting two ideas with les words. In sum, the first unit of the year used role-play to encourage us to enhance our grammar knowledges. My grades for the unit were decent. I had one exceeding on parts of speech, and I did 2 of the alien extensions to prove my understanding in teaching english and explain its process.
The first unit of the year is about table tennis. I strengthened my understanding of serving, adding spin, and doubles rules. During the unit, I gained a deeper understanding of how to utilize spin in powerful shots, often committing to serves and returns that my opponents cannot easily return. That is my strength I found in this unit. However, I need to improve on my skills of rotating with my partner correctly and using smart placement of the shot to make easy ones impossible to return.
These are my grades for the unit. They are generally acceptable, but there is still space for improvement. If I would play more, I could decrease the time I spend to react to shots and find the right place to position my shots.
