JunYan's Portfolio

Collaboration: 

For the murder mystery task, we worked together trying to rearrange the cards in the correct order without speaking. I helped organize the cards and tried to contribute by sharing my ideas by pointing at cards. We had to use a lot of different hand gestures and movements. This required us to use a lot of collaboration skills and was in fact quite challenging.  During that task our groupmates got into minor arguments about the placement of the cards. I tried to help resolve these conflicts by sharing other possible solutions. 

Usually when assessing my contribution to group projects, I look at how well I was able to work with other teammates, and what I was able to accomplish. I would always try my best during such projects and would always look to contribute.  

I was able to learn that by working together and being open to others’ ideas, we could quickly find solutions together. The collaboration tasks that I worked on helped show me the importance of teamwork and how we can accomplish so many more tasks when working together. I learned that it is very important to listen to the ideas of others, as it can really help improve our productivity. 

Critical thinker: 

I remember when I volunteered at the PTC, I met one mother that was looking for a teacher but didn’t have any idea where he/she might be. The mother had said the name of counselor that I knew, and using my critical thinking skills, I quickly inferred that the counselor should be at the high school office. When I brought her to the counselor, she was really happy and waved goodbye to me. This made me quite happy that I helped someone. This experience showed me that being attentive and using reasoning can lead to effective solutions. Volunteering at the PTC has boosted my confidence in both problem solving and communicating.  

An important part of critical thinking is taking what you know and combining it with logic or reasoning. Throughout my day during the PTC, I met many minor problems that I had to solve using basic thinking skills.  

Overall, I learned that critical thinking is an essential skill that is part of my day-to-day life. I have to make important decisions and judgements. These tasks that I completed helped encourage me to look for solutions and think more creatively when faced with challenges. 

Resilient: 

For one of the tasks I completed, I practiced juggling for a week and reflected on it. The first time I juggled it was kind of difficult. But as I juggled more, I got better over time. I used tutorials that were available to me on YouTube. To challenge myself even more, I would try different variations with the balls.  

In another task, I wrote a nice supporting email to my friend. This was interesting as my partner had to send one back. We asked each other if there was anything that was troubling each other and used that to write our email. After we sent and received the email, reading what each other wrote was both funny and exciting.  

Another time, I had to perform at the international fair for my jazz band. This was the first time I performed with this specific band, and I was quite nervous. When playing I made a couple of mistakes, but still persevered. After my performance, I was relieved and decided to enjoy my day at the fair.  

In conclusion, the resilience tasks that I completed taught me to push harder when things get tough but also help each other out during such times. 

Communicator: 

During my visit to the elementary school library, I read a book to a younger kid. This fun experience helped me understand the importance of communication. 

As I read aloud, I noticed that I needed to change my tone and ask follow up questions to keep them interested. I learned that a younger interaction required me to change to a different style of communication. From this, I was able to understand that the way I communicate must be different for every person I talk to. For example, when talking to smaller children like such, I should use simpler language and make everything more playful. In contrast, when talking to adults, I should use a different tone and a different vocabulary. When leaving the library, I thought to myself how much of a great time I had.   

In another task, I collaborated with a partner to deliver a sales pitch. This experience taught me that the way you articulate your ideas is quite important. The way you utilize persuasive language and clear expressions can significantly impact how your message is received. 

Overall, the communication tasks that I completed helped improve myself as a communicator and a listener. I learned that listening actively and speaking clearly is the key to communication. I became more confident when socializing and communicating, understanding how important they are to building relationships. 

Creativity: 

In one of the tasks that I participated in, our group created a fun card game. First, we brainstormed about the various ideas for our card game. This was an important part of our game making process, as it was where it showed our creativity. Our group listened to everyone’s thoughts, eventually forming one large idea. 

Each teammate took on a role. Some were cutting the cards, while some were writing down the rules. After we had everything set, we began drawing on the cards. Our card game was about the elements. We took inspiration from the classic game of rock, paper, scissors and made it slightly more complex.  

After the game was completed, we decided to test them on one of our own classmates. We played the game and got some feedback.  

In another task, we were able to design our own T-Shirt for our class. Through this experience, I was able to use my creativity and create a design that I was proud of.  

Overall, I was able to improve my creativity and how I utilized that for the tasks that I needed to complete. Most of the tasks I completed were light and fun.