Self and Unit Evaluation One

Katie Meyers

Self and Unit Evaluation – Unit One

REGARDING YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE

1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?

First of all, I am proud of my first compendium. It took me several days to research and write it, and another day to figure out how to make the pictures and the text work together in the blogger format. It was a lot of work, but I am already reaping the benefits of trying (probably a little too hard) my first time around. Now I am more confident with using this blogger’s format, and have used that new-found experience in my later entries.

Secondly, I am proud of my ethical essay. I tried not to be biased, although I did focus on cloning. Since I spent only a couple of hours researching and writing it, I thought my essay came out rather well.

Thirdly, I am amazed that I managed to complete my cell project. It took quite a bit of brainstorming and shopping, not to mention a long, harrowing day with a bunch of very random objects, a digital camera, and me. I am a classical musician, but I have never prided myself on my originality capacity. So, I am very grateful and proud that I managed to pull off a cell project, of all things.

2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?

On my ethical essay, I could have researched more into my topic than I did this time. So, I suppose that is something to improve on in the future.

My first compendium is rather long and possibly a little overwhelming. This is probably because I read the book chapters first and took extensive notes on them, and then watched the narrated Cells PowerPoint presentation to fill in the blanks. However, I think I could better organize my compendium reviews by first watching the assigned PowerPoint presentation, and then reading the book and taking appropriate notes next to my printed out PowerPoint slides. This is what I did for my second compendium review, and it took me a lot less time.

3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?

Since I am not the teacher, I honestly do not know for sure what grade my work qualifies for. However, if I had to give a hopeful guess, I would say an A- or A. I will be using the grades I get from this unit to judge how I did and how to better do my assignments in future units.

4. How could I perform better in the next unit?

Again, I think my main issue this time around was my lack of efficiency. Next time, I will first watch and take notes on the narrated PowerPoint presentation, then go through the book and fill in the topics with a bit more info.

REGARDING THE UNIT (adapted from Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas "Critical Incident Questionnaire")

1. At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?

Most of the time, I felt rather immersed in homework, so I was pretty engaged the majority of the last two weeks. However, I did feel a bit more connected to the rest of my classmates when I started looking at their own bloggers and seeing/reading their assignments. It helped give me another student’s perspective on the topic of the assignment and give me a more objective view of my own.

2. At what moment unit did you feel most distanced from the course?

At first, before I or anybody else had posted any assignments in their blogger, I felt a little alone and overwhelmed, as I had no examples of how the finished assignments should look. However, that lasted for a very short time and was minimal in affect on me as a student.

3. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit that find most affirming and helpful?

I was very, very grateful when the teacher extended the deadline for this unit to early Sunday morning. I was feeling stretched thin and stressed with trying to get all my homework done by Friday, but that small extension of time really saved my neck and nerves.

4. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing?

At first, I was puzzled as to why this class uses online bloggers instead of the traditional blackboard online course website that I am used to using in other online courses. However, after these first two weeks, I can definitely see why we use the bloggers, as they organize assignments according to person, which is very helpful.

5. What about this unit surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to the course, something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)

I have never before written an outline review that was as thorough and long as my first compendium. I did not realize I could pull off something like that.