COMPLETED VERSION OF PLP Task 4

 

This task provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your Personal and learning goals and strategies to achieve them. You will reflect on the development of the capabilities from year 8 to year 10, and how these relate to achieving your goals in the future.

Go back over your Student Life Programs from Year 8 & 9 & 10.  Reflect on what you have previously written, observed an experienced based on your current knowledge about yourself, thinking and experiences. 

Complete the following dot points:

Current Personal (Learning) Goals (Behaviours, knowledge or understandings important to own learning)

·         I would like to become proficient at workplace related skills and use them in school and in the community even more

·         Would like to become part of something which will improve the lives of many others

·         Prepare myself and organize my life for senior schooling

·         Study for the test and learn to drive

·         Continue or improve the balance in life of study, school, physical activity, and hobbies etc.

·         Articulate my method of learning and analyse my own learning and thinking processes

·         Remember my next steps to take, how to achieve them, and how I will know I have achieved them.

·         Need to find a truly effective method of learning at school and at home

·         Need to know what I need more help to understand in my various subjects

·         I will develop my research skills by starting my Research Project now

·         I need to continue to attend school regularly and complete all set assignments and tests to the best of ability

·         Improve health and resistance to succumbing to allergies including hay fever ensure that attendance can be assured in 2017 and 2018

·         Going back over the basics is important too: I want to understand how to learn and remember and think.

·         Develop skills to study, prepare and sit exams (Most important for Year 12, as the pressure is very different)

·         Understand how to build relationships (not just at school but in the wider world too), reflect on progress, function and contribute to society (where possible)

Current (Specific) Learning Goals

·         In year 12, I will be studying five subjects instead of four or three; must have a solid foundation in all the subjects I have chosen for next year

·         I will focus on organisation, persistence, and reading as well as balancing all other studies

·         Continue to use my diary to organise homework

·         I will make a homework timetable for home and put it up above my desk

·         Make a greater effort to stick to both homework and study timetable

·         I will allocate efficient time frames for language (English and Chinese) study every week instead of forgetting it

·         Increase the amount of English vocabulary and Chinese characters I know consistently

·         Participate in all learning opportunities available

·         I will thoroughly revise all elementary mathematics, Year 8-10 Maths and Science

·         Read Chinese texts for pleasure (even if I have to force myself)

·         Learn important Japanese characters (but ease focus off from them towards the Chinese characters)

·         Learn basic science concepts thoroughly

·         Write essays, stories, text responses not only when they are assigned by a teacher but also for my own study in order to build my ability of creating a wide variety of texts

·         Read widely to improve English

·         Gradually reduce the learning of ICT skills (Software usage etc.) as they can be returned to later on as required

How My Goals have changed through my junior schooling and Year 10

·         In previous years, completing assignments and developing a strong interest in various fields/subjects was the main aspect to develop and work on

·         As the years progress, my goals have become more broader but also specific

·         My goals in the junior years focused on personal goals more than learning goals

·         Skills and knowledge required to achieve a high grade were developed through these goals

·         By Year 10, we are focusing on study, the senior years, and gaining work or learning to drive; skills for life

I have strived to use effective strategies to enable myself to be successful at school and in other areas of my life that matter to me. They include use of time organisation materials such as timetables, strong discipline in regulating and balancing hobby activities,, sport, social activities, and study. Despite striking a balance in life activities, my completion dates of assignments are still too close to the due date, and frequently I have had to hand up work that has not received my complete attention in terms of editing. My work must be thoroughly checked, and in order for that to happen, reasonable times must be allocated for them. In Chinese Continuers classes, I will most likely be completing many assignments every week. This poses an extreme problem for me, as my speed of work is not as fast, no matter what, for the languages. Changing/switching work every hour will only make my efficiency worse. I must complete Chinese and English work at a much faster speed. To do this, I shall have no choice but practise every day, usually at night rather than in the afternoon. One thing to remember here is that the strategies of others may not necessarily work for you or any particular subject(s) you study.

This year, I participated in a school-supervised Work Experience Placement at two public libraries. The location of the placement and the high integration of the library with other Council projects made it a good opportunity to search for community service work/volunteering etc. However, the library only took on volunteers to sort materials and would not be taking any paid work placements due to full capacity. I also visited the Council’s Town Hall, to observe, but once again, there were no paid work for teenagers. Work placements would have to be at shops etc. After the Work Placement I took part in minor volunteering work that were good experiences but were only one-off. During the placement, I used my Critical thinking for the various tasks I undertook and for some special tasks I used my Creative thinking. These tasks were just like those we do at school. Through reading and analysing texts through English lessons, and gathering experience and observations of the community and society, this capability will be developed. I recognise that it will be an ongoing process. I participated in two mathematics competitions and worked towards completing many tests at the same time. (School tests went on in the same week)

Without a doubt, my Literacy capability has been sharpened through the year. At school, we have brushed up on our knowledge and skills  required to complete assignments in English classes, but it is not only this. I have tried to develop skills including certain behaviours and dispositions to improve and enhance past marked work. This skill was sharpened when work for showing other teachers at other schools was required. I have further tried to question the meaning of texts, become more open to ideas, and intensively improve my practical skills. What many students (as well as I) noticed was the heavy focus on practical aspects of English this year. Our language did require more to be learned and improved.  In Chinese lessons I required much more guidance and time as there is no surrounding oral culture and context that would be prevalent in for example, China. To have achieved ‘A’ grades for both English and Chinese was important when making decisions for Year 11 subjects. Talking with Chinese community members, my Chinese half of my family, and others in Chinese was also a goal which I slowly have achieved over the year. In History and Humanities which I have studied over the year, we have completed many assignments that have improved our knowledge and prepared us for the Research Project. Science and Maths have all been a challenge for my Literacy skills; science especially, because it requires deep understanding and the ability to write long answers in research/investigation reports and tests. Even reading multiple choice questions is a skill that some of us can be tricked with in the Literacy aspect! My style of learning was originally most suited to the current ‘research, think and write/present’ sort of style. It is good to research and learn in this way (lifelong learning) as memorising concepts will, in most cases, be inefficient in the long term anyway.

One experience I found to be helpful in achieving my goals in senior school is the two mathematics tests/competitions which were held in the middle of the year. It was difficult to fit in study in the weeks leading up to them but there was a sort of tension or nervousness which I felt was ‘refreshing’ and ‘necessary’ for myself.When I am in Year 12, I will have more skills such as time management, pace, and technique when sitting exams. It will become easier for me to sit them because I will have grown used to it. In addition, I developed a keen interest in the study of mathematics and this in turn boosted my Numeracy skills.

ICT was used in subjects such as design and CAD. I was fortunate to have used my design skills in my work experience placement too. Numeracy skills are not only interpreting data/science, but also reach into the ICT area, such as geometry in design and CAD. Research, in particular, efficient research on the internet as well as well-timed and organised stress-free computing skills were developed in these two subjects and others, which I believe is vitally important in allowing me to achieve my goals in senior school.