Tag Archives: Educational*

May 5 2016

Independent vs Dependent Learning

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After reflecting on the year as a whole, I realized how my Ole Miss experiences have differed from those of my high school years. More importantly, I have seen an increased amount of personal growth in myself than I have in high school. In fact, I feel that I have become a more independent learner and person compared to high school.

Take a look at my Weekly Artifact: NEVER LOFT YOUR BED ALONE . My head got ahead of my capabilities and there wasn’t a soul there to talk me out of it. I made up a list of why would it be a good idea to loft my bed rather than why it is not a good idea to loft my bed. When I look back on this moment, all I can think is “Only Madelyn Moments”. This simple example demonstrates how I have begun to think independently about life decisions. Although I think this was a huge learning moment for my personal life, I believe that this is dramatically different from how I would have acted in high school. During those four short years of my life, I had to have permission from my parents before I did something. This prevented me from making the bad decision or not thinking something through entirely. In college, I don’t have to have parental consent. If you had asked me a year ago if I would decide to do something without asking my parents first, I would laugh in your face. Now I am making all kinds of decisions on my own, whether it be about personal matters such as what I am going to eat for lunch to educational decisions about doing my homework. Therefore, I believe that through out my first year at Ole Miss, I have become more of an actively independent person in my life actions.

My independent thinking was not limited to the personal life experiences. In my educational opportunities, I have become more independent than my high school self. If you consider my Weekly Artifact: Math Master , it becomes more clear how I have begun to have to think and learn independently. This post highlights how I have developed many perspectives on how to solve a math problem. I was presented with a problem from a class I have never taken and was able to solve it because of what I have learned from another math course. In high school, I can guarantee that if I was presented with a problem like that, I would have gone straight to the teacher and they would have showed me how to solve it. Absolutely no outside problem solving. I think this example really goes to show how I have begun to further my knowledge and be less dependent on a teacher spoon feeding me the information. This idea of independent problem solving becoming one of my strengths in college is evident in other classes as well. I believe that this really demonstrates who this one skill is not only new, but one that can help me in life and other educational obstacles.

In my Classroom Ideas post, I mentioned how I hated group projects. What I have realized during my first year in college is that I absolutely hate having to rely on other people doing work that will affect my grade. I guess this labels me not only as a person comfortable with doing things independently (even if it means more work on my behalf), but it also classifies me as a control freak. I am a perfectionist and have come to the conclusion that I work better by myself than with other people. In high school, I absolutely dreaded independent projects. Anytime I had the opportunity to work with my friends, I did it. I believe that my high school self would also rely on other people to do the work for me. I absolutely hated research, writing/composing the final project. Oh my how times have changed through out this first year at Ole Miss. I think a lot of this stems from the fact that I was a very lazy learner and relied on people more than I did on myself. I also believe this demonstrates how I have grown as an individual with one year of being out of high school.

So what changed within this last year that made me such an independent person? I believe that my attitude towards my grades and reputation in college is way more important than it was in high school. During grade school, your grades were important to your teachers’ reputations, thus your grade was a reflection of how the teacher wanted to be represented. At Ole Miss, your grades represent nothing more but yourself and your work ethic. I truly realized this when I posted my Weekly Artifact: History or Theology . I talked about how in my history class I read a book that paralleled and contradicted beliefs/parts of the Bible. As I was commenting, I realized that not only did I view myself as an independent learner, but I learned how to conform to be independently different from class to class. Since my teacher was a nonbeliever, I had to conform my personal thoughts into a manner that the opposing viewpoint would at least respect. I think this post and comment really demonstrates how college has uniquely shaped me into the learner I am today. In high school, I would have easily just written the paper or assignment in the exact manner that my teacher would want, even if this meant putting my personal beliefs aside. With this new concept of my grades representing me, I want them to be the best they can be which required me to learn how to individualize my courses.

I think on a much larger scale, being independent from parental control, high school “babying” and collaborative work has better prepared me for future classes and moments in my career. This first year of college has been nothing more than a “trial-and-error” year. I have made the spontaneous decisions and learned. I have been presented with a problem without teacher assistance and learned. I have failed many assignments across all my courses and learned. Time and time again, I have begun to develop into a well rounded learner who does more than copies down notes, regurgitates it on tests and assignments, then forgets about it. With each experience in college, I realized how independent of a student and individual I have become compared to the high school version I once was.

Apr 25 2016

Weekly Artifact: Netflix As a Study Tool

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So today in biology, I realize that Netflix is maybe not a bad thing. We are currently talking about the different systems in the body and how they correlate with each other. Usually when I’m in biology, I’m completely lost. She might as well be teaching in Spanish because it wouldn’t make a difference. But today…I knew exactly what she was talking about. I happen to be a huge fan of Greys Anatomy. I have watched every single episode of all the seasons and let me tell ya, I learned a lot without realizing it. The entire class today I was writing the different characters/events from Greys Anatomy that correlated with the notes that I was taking from the lecture. The connection I drew between the tv show and the lecture is important, but I think that the bigger connection was how I understand the information better because I connected it back to something in my life. Not only is it the first time I learned something and actually understood it, but it is the first time I learned that it will be easier to recall the information on the test. Overall, today in Biology I was able to not only draw connections between a tv show and class, but how to write better/more beneficial notes in class.

Apr 25 2016

Multimodal Reflection

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To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed this assignment. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved a good challenge. So this project was exactly that!

For starters, I am computer challenged. I don’t know why, but sometimes I just have the hardest time with doing more than the bare minimum on the computer. When I saw this assignment was a website and immediately panicked. Once I understood the assignment, I went and made a “trial website” with a different email and web address. I did this so I had another place to work on becoming familiar with the website and if I messed up or accidently deleted something, it didn’t really matter. I think this was very beneficial for myself. I was able to remain more calm and motivated through out the project unlike in projects in the past (aka Powtoon).

The next obstacle that was at hand was reducing the amount of words and turning them into visuals. I think this was one of my stronger areas, because I had made an outline before writing the paper, so I was able just to use the wording on my outline. I also did a little extra reading and researching in order to obtain more visual elements to get my point across. Overall, I feel that this was the part of the project where I felt most confident.

This process really reminded me of the synthesis essay. I didn’t necessarily have to include visuals in that particular paper, but I had to juggle many different elements into one project. For example, in the synthesis essay, I had multiple texts, an audience and a different type of structure to consider. Likewise, the multimodal assignment had the same set of issues plus a few more. With careful planning and self pacing, I was able to grasp the project and complete it with only one meltdown. I think that just like how I learned from the Powtoon how to address this project, I learned from this project how to tackle a future assignment. A part from actually composing the paper/multimodal, I think I finally understand how to arrange evidence and stay organized in my papers. In addition, I believe that I have a better handle on how to address the different audiences I may have to conform my paper to entertaining.

I say all of this to come to the final point that it is important to have an element of creative writing through out academic papers. Time and time again, I read over my friends’ essays (I’ve been titled editor of the friend group) and think man this is just so traditional. I really have strived to add a since of my personality to my papers, without it being to evident and non academic. I think about what I would want to read if I wasn’t writing the paper and in what way would I like to read it. All of this, I feel, is what has helped me grow as a writer and become a pro at the computer.

Apr 4 2016

Language of cause and effect paragraph

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Initial Effect
         When lawmakers sat down and decided that there was a need for legislation in the education world, they had one issue on their mind: money. In efforts to keep funding more equal across the United States educational systems, they revised the wording of the IDEA laws. As a result of this, regular education students benefited at the cost of those who are in need of protection, students with disabilities. According to the Education Journalist Christina Samuels, “The provision, called “maintenance of effort,” is meant to keep funding stable…school systems are locked into spending a certain amount regardless of any system wide changes they may make.” While this law seemed to be reasonable and productive for all, it has left the special education programs with less money than they had to begin with. Once they are locked in with a particular set of digits, there are no revisions. Where this becomes a problem is with the school systems that are located in poverty regions, for they don’t receive much funding initially. In conclusion, the change of funding is the starting point of the continuing decline of special education students’ protection by the law across the nation.

I feel that this paragraph is a good start, but not something that I plan to turn in. At this point in my drafting stage, I am all kinds of unorganized. I find myself starting to write about one topic then I introduce the next topic in that paragraph. By the time I get to the following paragraph, I repeat what is said in the prior paragraph. So long story short, this draft is a mess. I plan to finish my very, extremely, terrible rough draft tonight. Then on Tuesday, I will go through and move my thoughts around, re-word, and add subtitles to the paper. I hope that from this point, I can get a better understanding of how my actual writing and content after the conference. Overall, I will be working on this paper all week.

 

Mar 30 2016

Connect 10: Timberlake’s Concert

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The most memorable introduction that has stuck with me was with my celebrity crush, Justin Timberlake. My junior year in high school he went on his 20/20 tour with songs from his new album. My friends knew of my love for him so when they surprised me with tickets I couldn’t wait. Now, I don’t know if this introduction was so memorable just because I was looking at the love of my life since I was a little girl listening to NSYNC, or if the introduction was really memorable by the elements in which it started. A part from me looking at my lifetime crush, the there was a huge replica of the machine you use during a Retinoscopy at the eye doctor. I remember initially thinking how strange it was to have medical equipment as a part of a concert, but I was just going to roll with it. Once I realized that his tour was about 20/20 vision of the future, everything because into focus (lol,what a pun?!). As the intro music started, I saw this elevator rising and there were letters spelling out his name through the eye machine. As soon as the beginning note of his song “Pusher Love Girl”, the elevator curtains dropped and there he stood. After talking about the purpose of an introduction in class, I realized that the elements to this opening concert were so complex. I think that each of his introduction played a part in getting people to look at the stage, hold their attention and promote his new album. In conclusion, I think that just like how the concert opened in such a complex yet simple manner, I should include things that subtly express the complexity and have that final, “wow” moment with my thesis.

Mar 11 2016

Annotated Bibliography with Cause and Effect Argument Proposal Reflection

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I was extremely intrigued, fascinated and awakened by this particular research project. In fact, I think that the research for this project has changed my perception of my choice of major the most out of my time here at Ole Miss. I have always known that there were obstacles and challenges that special education students and teachers endure daily. This is part of the reason I chose the field. I want to be the voice and representation for those students who may not have a voice or a family that cares. With this being said, after researching, I realized that I have a much bigger battle than I originally had thought. What really surprised and changed my point of view was the amount of people that are constantly influenced, yet all in different and sometimes unequal ways. From the very beginning of my research, the article in Re-reading America, I knew that the education system was more flawed than I had assumed. The author’s personal experiences and connections to other statistics really allowed me to have a better understanding of the issues that are in need of improvement. In addition to this wider understanding, I think I have learned a lot about how the special education department works within the United States. More particularly, I have learned how the finances are divided, processed and handled for special education programs and resources. If you would have asked me at the beginning of the project if I would be interested in looking at the financial aspect of the educational system, I would have laughed in your face. I have never, until this point, had much of a care about the finances of the school districts. I now have learned that these components of money are extremely important to understanding why the systems and programs are the way they are. I think that this knew connection between financial relationships and the quality of education has impacted the projects I have worked on in the past. Within these prior assignments, I was always quick to point the finger at the teachers and administration for not doing more for these kids. In reality, my accusations and place of blame were in the wrong direction. After completing my research, I learned that national lawmakers and school district officials are the ones to blame. Ultimately, they produce and enforce the laws and restrictions that puts teachers and administrators in a bind. In conclusion, all of this change of perspective, better understanding, and new attention to the laws comes down to a single turning point moment of my research: when I learned how special education students in my new and old hometown are being treated unequally. This particular moment made all of my research more personal and increased my passion for this field of work. With all of this noted, I think this research moment could easily be titled my favorite and most thought provoking event this semester. Overall, I loved the research and new knowledge from this assignment and can’t wait to turn all of this into a paper.

Mar 8 2016

Weekly Artifact: Math Master

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This week, I was able to draw the connection between two different math classes. My friend was working on business calculus homework last night, while I was working on college algebra. I have never stepped into a calculus class in my life, but she was stuck on a problem and asked if I would try to help her. I looked at her like she was crazy, but with a little faith, trust and pixie dust I decided that I maybe able to help her. As I was looking at the example problem and how she was solving the problem, I realized that a lot of basic college algebra rules and equations were within this single math problem. While I knew that some maths were based off one another, I never realized how important it was to have a good base understanding of simple solving and rules of equations. In fact, where my friend was making her mistake was in the manner of which she was trying to simplify her equation. Luckily for her, this is the one section of college algebra that doesn’t make me want to have a mental breakdown. I will never understand why it is important for me to find an answer to something with letters and numbers, I now know that it is important to have a good basic knowledge before I attempt upper-level math.

Mar 2 2016

Weekly Artifact: Study Habits

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For this week, I drew a simple connection to how I’ve grown as a test taker through out my time here at Ole Miss. I was looking back at all of my experiences, both in high school and college, and realized how much I have learned as a student. I used to have terrible test anxiety. I would get super splotch on my chest, super light headed and I would forget everything that I had studied. With midterms being this week, I realized that these occurrences don’t happen as frequently as they have in the past. The more I considered this idea, I was able to draw the connection between how I studied in high school vs college. In high school, I would study the night before and would only read through my notes. Now that I have been here at college, I rewrite my notes on flashcards or type them on the computer or go through and color code things in order to process my learning. I started recognizing that I had a better understanding of the material, therefore I was doing much better on my test here in college. Overall, I was able to connect how my test anxiety has decreased because of the manner in which I learn and study for my exams during my freshman year.