During the first semester of U.S. Government, I grew in my ability to critically analyze the amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which better preparers me as a United States citizen by knowing what rights I do and do not have. There was no particular project or endeavor, but the attended goal for the quizzes, artifacts, were to further exercise our critical thinking skills regarding the amendments.
The first artifact that truly displays this growth, was the Bill of Rights TedEd Critique quiz. This quiz is important to the development process because we had to watch a TedEd video and critique how valid its description of which rights were protected under a particular amendment. For example, not only does the II Amendment gives us the right to bear arms but it also gives us the right to a well-regulated militia. So, this quiz is essential to my overall growth because it forced me to examine each amendment’s rights carefully in order to point out which parts of the current amendment were not being explained thoroughly and accurately. This same skill is used beyond the classroom when you are voting for a particular bill and need to identify if your constitutional rights are being violated or even limited if a particular bill was being passed. Another artifact that contributed to my overall growth, was the Supreme Court Case Log. In this log, were ten “key” cases that were centered around a suspected violation of someone(s) constitutional rights. Each case involved a specific amendment that was brought to the Supreme Court judges and where they decided if certain amendments “expressed” rights were being violated during a particular situation. For instance, the Stafford United School vs. Redding case involved a girl being stripped searched to her bear underwear because she was speculated to have ibuprofen on her, which is a violation of school policy. So, even though, in terms of the fourth amendment, the teachers did have “probable cause” to conduct a search but since the search was extremely violating, it violated her “implied right” to privacy. The main difference between an implied and expressed right is that expressed is when the Constitution actually stats the right while implied is a right that may not be explicitly stated but can be seen through the combination of other amendments. A prime example, is the right to privacy and how it is not plainly stated but amendments three, four, and nine imply that there is a right to privacy. The Stafford United School vs. Redding is only one situation where I would have to use my knowledge of the Constitution to determine if an expressed or even an implied right is being “broke” or if due process is not being followed (depending on the situation).
Throughout this semester, many challenges were experienced with some moment of success as well. The biggest obstacle was to identify what privilege a particular amendment protected and under what conditions can those particular privileges can be revoked. I overcame this challenge by relating the amendment to a particular event. This helped me comprehend the overall meaning of the amendment and what issues it truly addressed. However, a major success was when I received an “A” on my TedEd Critique quiz because this showed me that I can successfully analyze a form of media and verify if an amendment is being discussed in the correct fashion. Again, this skill can be further improved and utilized in the “real world”, especially when I have to take a legal side on controversial issues, and I would have to use logic and investigative skills on the amendments to truly support a reasonable opinion on that certain issue(s).
Checkout the artifact that shows my Ted Ed Critque Quiz
Checkout the artifact that shows my Supreme Court Case Log
Chemistry
The observation vs. inference lab involved taking two pieces of aluminum foil and placing one in a solution of copper (II) sulfate and the other in copper (II) chloride. After submerging the two pieces in aluminum foil, we recorded our observations on the given worksheet. The goal of this project was to determine, by using scientific reasoning and logic, why did the aluminum foil reacted at a such fast pace and developed a brown hue in the copper II chloride, but reacted slowly in the copper II sulfate. Through this lab, I enhanced the skill of developing sound inferences by using scientific reasoning, which is a skill that better prepares me for my future career.
The first artifact that demonstrates my growth is the observation and inference lab sheet. This sheet was given to the class in order for us to record, as the title suggests, our observations and inferences based on the copper II sulfate/chloride experiment. The reason why this sheet is important to the learning process is because it was the first experiment we did in chemistry. First, we redefined the terms observations and inferences. We defined an observation as gathering information that is heavily based on your five senses and are always facts. And an inference, was defined as making a prediction or assumptions based off the observations you’ve recorded. Next, we filled a test tube half full of copper II sulfate and another test tube half full of copper II chloride. Then we placed a piece of aluminum foil in each tube. After placing the pieces of aluminum foil in the tube, we documented our observations and developed scientific inferences. But from those inferences, the class nor I could actually figure out why the copper II sulfate reacted so differently to the aluminum foil compared to the copper II chloride.
The second artifact that supports my overarching goal is observation vs inference lab part two. This second procedure sheet is the same experiment as before but this time we, the class, learned new terms and concepts that could help explain why this reaction occurred. First, we setup the experiment, then we recorded our observations and from those interpretations we developed a hypothesis for why copper II chloride reacted faster to the aluminum than copper II sulfate. We discussed these possible hypothesis as a class and individually came up with one for why there was a difference in the two solutions. Personally, I thought that the reason why the aluminum foil reacted faster with the copper II chloride as compared to the copper II sulfate was because chloride has no bonds compared to sulfates who has four bonds.
The concepts that were used to support this hypothesis were nomenclature and Lewis dot structures. Nomenclature classifies the type of compounds into three distinct sections. Of these sections, Type 2 describes the copper II sulfate and copper II chloride. The reason for this is because Type 2 compounds begin with an atom whose charge is unknown and then paired with atom that has a known charge. For example in copper II chloride, we know that chloride has a -1 charge, but we don’t know the charge of copper, due to being a transitional metal, unless it is either given to us or is inferred based on the amount of the second atom. In this case, copper’s charge was +2 since when you write the compound out it’s charge is represented by a Roman numeral, like copper II chloride. In addition to nomenclature, the Lewis Dot structure was also needed. The Lewis Dot structure is a visual diagram depicting how many electrons a particular atom or ion has and/or needs to become stable. For instance, since sulfate is polyatomic ion, a group of atoms covalent bonded that carries a charge as a group, its Lewis dot structure is shown to have four bonds compared to chlorine who has no bonds due to not being a polyatomic. All of this draws me to the hypothesis that sulfate having multiple bonds is a reason why it can’t react to the aluminum as fast as chlorine who has no bonds. This process of developing a hypothesis, which is a specific type of inference will help me in my career since I would need to have some form of reasoning that is supported by either quantitative or qualitative data to prove why I think this plane, missile, or any other shuttle operates the way it does
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Throughout this process, I had experienced both mental successes and challenges. The overall challenge was trying to figure why there was a difference in reactions to the aluminum foil. And the hardest part about this particular challenge was that even the professional scientist don’t really know why copper II chloride reacts with the aluminum foil faster than copper II sulfate. So the main success was also what I learned from the challenge, and that was I came up with a logical hypothesis that is backed by sound reason why these difference of reactions occurred. Again, this lab helped me in developing inferences that are rational and sensible to a desired topic.
Checkout my observation and lab sheet part one
artifact
Checkout my observation and lab sheet part two
artifact
The project or endeavor that we completed was the Usability Testing and Instructions project for Technical Reading and Writing class (TRW). This project involved writing detailed instructions in a way that could be understood by a sixth grade audience based on the experiment we completed in Chemistry. The purpose of this endeavor was to practice and utilize the skills it takes to write clear and concise instructions, while learning how to properly incorporate the intended audience choice of design and medium. The new TRW skills I have gathered from the Usability test and Instructions endeavor can help me better prepare for my future career because I can utilize the skills of developing instructions and tailoring a medium based on an intended audience. For example, if I become an Aerospace engineer, I will need to be able to address my intended audience by either using verbal or written methods. If it’s another engineer, I would need to implement the same “lingo” in telling him or her how to build or operate the shuttle.
The first step in our process of developing instructions involved putting our instructions, that we recently revised in our peer critique, through a simulated a test. This test involved a small group of sixth graders, between four to five people, trying to follow the procedure we laid out for them. Then we presented surveys that questioned them on specific parts of the experiment. The surveys were required because we needed to see how effective the instructions were. While they were completing the experiment, we wanted them to vocalize all thoughts and concerns, so we could write them down and refer to the feedback later when going through the next part of revisions; this method is often referred to as the “Think aloud Method”. After the test, we then gave the small group of sixth graders surveys that had a couple of questions that basically gave them the opportunity to share some specific feedback addressing issues while following the procedure. This method of testing is called Retrospective testing and it’s where we gather detailed feedback from the testers about the instructions after the test, but this form of testing is limited by having the tester remember their problems rather than having them just say them or record them during the process. Both surveys, helped me learn how to construct instructions based on my audience. By using the constructive feedback, I reconstructed my experiment to fit the needs for that audience, so they wouldn’t get confused or too heavily challenged on the presented procedure.
The first artifact that shows my growth, is the group surveys we created. My group created surveys for us and the testers to fill out during and after the usability test. These surveys allowed my group to reevaluate our instructions and point out any weaknesses. For instance, we assumed that the six graders would care that the graduated cylinder is measured in five units. We soon came to realize that it would be simpler to just say: “Wait until the water has completely stopped flowing into the cylinder” to direct their attention to the more significant parts of the experiment instead of throwing measurements in their faces. Also, we decided to add more steps to the Additional Experiment section. The reason for this was to add clarification and provide a smooth transition from one experiment setup to another. For my future career, it is important that I keep my instructions simple yet logical, so any employee can use them to get to the gist of the issue without unwanted misperception and confusion.
The second artifact was the “booklet” that we created to resemble the shape of a flask. This was the final draft of the instructions based of the flask experiment. The booklet was essential to the process as it represented the final draft of our instructions, which, at that stage of the process, should be clear enough so that anybody could follow and replicate the experiment without very little or no assistance. In order to get to this point, each group had to go through group critique. The critique was supposed to highlight if any key concepts were missing from the instructions. For instance, every instruction must begin with an “action” verb to display the commanding voice that is needed in the instruction. Also, the instructions must be laid out in chronological order, so the process can be followed verbatim without any faults. After polishing the instructions, my group focused on the medium and design of our directions. We portrayed the instructions in a flask shaped, so it seemed like a fun activity to the sixth graders during the test. This allowed them to become more incline to work through the process rather than focusing on how the steps looked boring and/or tiresome. As my group stressed the importance of medium and design, I would also need to consider how important it is when I’m targeting a CEO, manger, or fellow colleague of a corporation. Since they might lose the importance of the document, by being more focused on how uninteresting the document looks, or how I could have improved on the visuals of the text.
In conclusion, I realize growing in the ability to write clear and concise instructions and format a medium/design to a particular audience extends beyond the classroom and into the career field as well. These skills can help me relay directions to my colleagues in a way that is understandable, which increases efficiency in the job field since a worker can follow the commands without someone constantly telling them how to go about the process. In addition, instructions that are tailored to a specific medium allows a fellow college(s) become more eager and willing to receive the necessary information that is presented to them.
Technical Reading and Writing
U.S. Government
Checkout the surveys we used for the usablity test
Checkout the digital version of the booklet we assembled
Honors Algebra 2
The new Pre-Calculus skills from the Classifying Functions endeavor can help me to better prepare for college by already exposing me to the complexities of equations that I may be exposed to in college and introduce some study habits that allow me to grasp the concepts sooner on the test. The Classifying Functions project is centered on Chapter 1 in our books and throughout the chapter we learn about many different functions and their properties. The purpose of this endeavor was to educate us, the class, on how we could find the missing values of any table by simply identifying the pattern of that table and matching it with the corresponding function. All the knowledge that we acquired regarding this unit, is shortened and condensed into a note sheet booklet which represents the final product. Due to this project, I am better prepared to face more challenging problems regarding functions and have gained affective study habits that can aid me in my understanding of difficult math terminology.
In order to prepare myself for challenging problems, I constantly exposed myself to those specific problems, so I can practice and master solving those particular functions. The first item displaying my growth will have to be the review sheet packet that was presented right before the final step of the process, the test on functions. This review packet had many questions that we would see on the test. It allowed us to practice those questions with help from our friends and teacher, so we can better understand them for the test. Among those questions was a question requiring the use of a Logarithmic function. You would use a Logarithmic function in math to determine the power of the actual exponent when only given a base. For example, if I had 3^b and the question told me to solve for b. I would use a Logarithmic, log for short, to actual get this value. For college or even in later on in the school year, I may be given a problem where I have to figure out the rest of the table where I know the rest of the values but not b. So I’m going to have to apply the function of log to that situation to get b, so I can solve for the rest of the problem. Again, the terms I learned during this endeavor will tend to recur not just for this year and next but for years to come, depending on the circumstances.
Good math study habits are essential for all levels of math not just for the “hear and now”. Towards the end of this process, we created a note booklet that had all the functions that we learned in Chapter 1. This artifact is the final product because it minimized all the information we knew down to a simple 2 by 3 booklet that could be used to study and refer to on the test. The booklet is crucial to my growth because each section represented one function that we learned and when you opened the flap of that section it contained definitions, equations, graphs, and domain and range of each function. This helped me to simplify the information and not have it all in my head. Some terms that were discussed in those sections were Logistic functions and Point of Inflection within a Logistic function. A Logistic function is used when you want to determine data values of a given situation that is within a certain limit. For instance, if we recorded how many baseballs I could hit within a ten minute time span then I could use a Logistic function. Within Logistic function is a term called the Point of Inflection and it’s when you want to find the “middle” or median of the data on a graph, so to do this you would divide the max by two to find the “middle” (this is only for y-values only). Using the baseball example, I would have the max number of balls I hit within 10 min and divided by two to get the median of the data. For now on, I need to consider making a simple study sheet to study from, so I can get a true grasp on complex concepts that I may run into during my college career.
Lastly, while traveling down the road to understanding how to identify functions; I encountered some obstacles along the way. The most challenging moment for me was master how to find the missing values of a Power function. Through this challenge, I learned that hard work and perseverance is what led me to figuring out how to find the missing values. The hardest part in finding those values is remembering you need to have two points in equation form lined up so you can do Systems of Equations to combine the two equations into one. In addition, use Log function in determine the missing b value that I mentioned earlier. Although, I did experience my greatest triumph which was learning how to manipulate most of the Logarithmic principles. This was a personal triumph because a giant burden seemed to lift off my shoulders when I grasped the meanings of when or when not to use these principles in a given situation. A few principles would be: multiply the logs together when the problem has log 1 + log 2, dividing the logs together when the question says log 4/ log 2, putting the log of one value over the other to get b like log.125/log .5 = b, and many more. In conclusion, the Classifying Function unit allowed me to discover new functions that I will most likely see in my secondary education and convey to me how using the same study techniques can still help me with challenging subjects in college.
Eleventh Grade Introduction: I am more equipped for the rigors of college and my future career this year due to me growing in knowledge of many different subjects during my junior year. The course work for my junior year was more thought-provoking than years past. In U.S Government, I grew in my ability to critically analyze the meanings behind amendments. In Chemistry, I was able to develop sound inferences by using logic and reasoning. In language arts or Technical Reading and Writing (TRW), we completed a usability test that involved testing the effectiveness of my group’s instructions. Through this project, I learned how to develop clear instructions and create a medium that is tailored to my desired audience. In Honors Algebra 2 this year, I developed good study habits and improved on my ability to comprehend complex math functions/equations. While in Spanish I, I learned about articles (the, a, an, etc.) and how to manipulate them in order to make grammatically sound sentences. Throughout my 11th grade year, I have grown in certain skills that better prepare me for the trials of college and career. The following sections reflect on each class, their artifacts, and my growths during my junior year.
Checkout pictures of my function booklet
Checkout my review packet
artifact
Spanish I
The purpose for learning about article agreement in Spanish class was to learn the basics of how to write grammatically sound sentences. That is why in class we spent a good deal of time learning the difference of when to use certain articles depending on if the noun is masculine, feminine, and if it is plural or not. Learning the difference between different articles and when to use them in different parts of a sentence better prepares me for college by supplying me with the fundamentals needed to write fluent and cohesive Spanish sentences.
The first artifact that led me to my understanding of Spanish articles was the Artículos –Articles worksheet. This worksheet provided general information on the two main types of articles: definite and indefinite articles. Definite articles are used when you are talking about a specific noun or group of nouns. While, indefinite articles are used when you are talking about a noun or group of nouns but are not trying to be specific. I also learned the difference between masculine and feminine articles. In the Spanish language, words are described as either being masculine, (male related) or feminine (female related). Once you have found out the “gender” of a particular word, you match up that article with that word. For example, if I say: “the rat.” Then I would write it as el ratón since I am talking about a specific rat and it is a masculine word. If I said, “the house.” Then I would write la casa since I am referring to a specific house (definite) and house is a feminine word (la). Again knowing the difference between indefinite and definite articles, is key for Spanish in college because the professors would expect me to at least have this basic grammatical structure mastered before I pursue a post-secondary education in Español.
The second artifact that aided my comprehension of Spanish articles was the Definite and Indefinite Article worksheet. This worksheet put more emphasis on the gender on particular words and how to match the article with that gender. For instance, if a word contained: –ción, -sión, -tad, -dad, -umbre, or a; then the word is feminine, like a window would be una (indefinite) ventana (feminine) Same goes if you saw a word end in either: -or, -ón, -és, -ma, or o then the word is usually masculine. The reason why I say usually is because some words violate this rule such as mapa, which ends in “a” but is masculine. Knowing the gender of particular words is critical when writing a sentence that utilizes feminine and masculine words.
The overall product that was result from both of these artifacts was the fashion show description. This involved multiple sentences that were describing the type of clothes that were being worn by the models. Again, articles played a major role in this product because you have to use an article then list the item of clothing. For instance, you would say la sudadera for the sweatshirt or a shirt would be la camisa. This project implemented the use of articles since you had to follow the proper grammar mechanics in order to describe the model accurately.
Some of the challenges I had to overcome when learning about this topic is the exception words, like mano, mapa, moto, and noche. All of these words, look to be masculine yet are feminine. Another challenge I experienced, was the separating Él from el. Él means he while el is a singular definite article. I overcame this challenges by practicing and committing these exception words to memory in order to defecate the gender amongst them. In conclusion, the use of articles are significant in any language, so being able to use them, correctly, at this level will give me a head start on more complex sentences in the future.