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My Review of G11

What did I learn the most about myself this year (as a friend)?

I learnt that I can actually be a very good listener, and just by hearing other people out, I can be friends with a lot of people despite not seeing eye to eye with them on a subject matter.

What did I learn most about myself this year (academically)?

I used to look for smart solutions to every problem that I encounter academically and believed every one of them had a shortcut. This year, by working through all of the projects and learning brand new units, I realized that I do have the grit to grind at problems that needs to be faced directly. I also acknowledge myself as a learner who needs to establish a logical flow between all knowledge I learnt in a unit, and can be effective at applying my learning once it is done.

What was my biggest achievement / proudest moment this year?

My proudest moment this year is hard to pin down, but if I were to choose one, I would choose the moment of completion of my EE first draft. This is the first big research and independent project that I have embarked on, and all previously gained skills from IAs were really put to the test here. It also reminded me of the value of mathematics, since I did a mathematics economics world study. It helped me gain even more appreciation for the subjects I am studying, giving me more confidence that the courses I chose will be of assistance in my future pursuits.

What do I want to work on next year?

I definitely want to work on becoming more motivated. This year I realized that doing just what your teacher assigned you is definitely not enough if you wish to achieve 7s or excellence in IB. I was able to stay at high 7s for physics and 7s for math because I am really invested in the subjects themselves, and found it enjoyable to work on outside of class.

Maths and Me

My name is Anda, and I am currently learning HL Mathematics Analysis and Approaches in Grade 11. I had one year of FIB maths experience in grade 10 with Mr.Stirrat, as well as two years of maths experience inside of the MYP curriculum in my previous school. I also spent seven years studying in China, and thats where I set the foundation for my mathematics. My preference for studying mathematics, is having to learn the basic concepts and formulas, then work my way through questions of elevating difficulty on myself and only seeking help when I have no idea as to how to solve a problem. I believe approaching concepts through practice helps you understand the interactions between different fields of mathematics. I participate in a lot of competitions such as UKMT, CEMC, Olympiad, and AMC. It is often the second rounds of such competitions that really get me stuck. Getting stuck for me is more not knowing where to start than not being able to finish solving the problem. I would find similar problems of less difficulty and work my way up as I always do. My biggest strengths in mathematics is being adaptable as well as being inquiring. I have a preference for fields of mathematics, an example would be me favouring geometry over functions. I have a motivation to work further into fields that intrigues me and I am able to convert skills acquired through solving these problems into other fields of mathematics.

Practice EE Reflection Post

My practice extended essay is about the inevitable market failure of the Armament Industry. This is relevant to my IB subjects as I am taking Higher Level Economics. I gained knowledge about the formatting and structures of an Extended Essay. I am more clear on the construction of a research question, and how to have a clear focus throughout my essay.

On 22nd of May, I had a discussion with with my Integrated Humanities teacher regarding problematic parts of my essay. I should have focused on the idea of opacity in politics and its implication within the weapons industry. I also need to find other researchers that support my view of characteristics of politics naturally leading to market failure. I should give more emphasis on the awkward position that the market sits on, which is in between the private and the public sector, and how that creates an anomaly that demands unique solutions.

 

PCF Kindergarten Service Reflection

There service PCF kindergarten was an enjoyable learning and service experience. Being able to be the teacher in many scenarios helped me become more patient and a better listener. It is hard to swap perspectives without an environment like the PCF kindergarten. It is also enjoyable for it reminds of the fun I used to have learning, and exciting ways of introducing knowledge. When assignments are given to me to arrange for activities, I needed to be organised and keep my deadline, so the service was a test of my self-management skills.

 

Sustainability Individual Report

 

The ideology of sustainability focuses satisfying present needs without sabotaging the future generations’ ability to satisfy their needs. The concept of sustainability consists of three essential factors: economic, environmental and social. In order to achieve sustainability, we must take into consideration the impact of all three factors.

Your ecological footprint is the amount of impact you had on the environment through your lifestyle, and your consumption of goods. For example, a t shirt uses at least 150 litres of water during its production, that means when you purchase it, you have imposed a burden of 150 litres of water consumption upon the environment. The water used can not be used for drinking or production in other industries thus being not renewable. With a global population of almost 7 billion, it is important that we recognise our individual, and total environment impact so that our consumption does not exceed the amount of resources that be produced sustainability. Else the Earth’s resources will dry up in the near future, and children may have to live in harsh conditions unfit for human survival.

Above is my personal ecological footprint, and my largest output is carbon output, which takes up about 55% of the total footprint. Two biggest contributors to my carbon footprint are my foods ,and services consumption. However, through reflecting upon my lifestyle, I reckon that the second biggest output would be my electricity usage as I turn on air-conditioning as soon as I get home, and I use a large variety of electricity consuming products.As for my food consumption, I eat a large variety of food that consists of different kinds of meat and spices which contributes quitely heavily to the footprint.

 

Before doing in depth research for this project, I had not realised how much impact the production of foods make on the environment. Beef and dairy related products creates many greenhouse emission. These products come from cows, and cows feed on grasslands. These farm animals require huge amounts of space, and in need of grasslands, many farmers choose to cut down forests for the nutritious soil in the land. Deforestation causes the soil to become less firm, and speeds up erosion. Carbon dioxide is also process and converted into oxygen at a slower rate as a result of this. Losing forests can also lead to loss of habitats for many animals. Farm animals like pig and cows respire, then breathe out large amounts of carbon dioxide as well as farting methane gas, both of which are greenhouse gases that encourage global warming. A lot of water is also consumed when raising the animals, imposing a heavy burden upon the Earth’s already scarce water resource.

 

Electricity can be generated through many methods likes burning coal, nuclear fission, and harnessing wind energy. However, it is still primarily generated through unsustainable combustion of non-renewable resources and nuclear fission. Burning of coal and oil produces greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Nuclear fission is very dangerous, and waste disposal has potential to be hazardous to both humans and the environment. Storage of radioactive materials require much maintenance, yet still being damaging to the soil and water bodies surrounding it.

 

I would start working on eating less meat, or buying food that is unpackaged and locally sourced. Through eating less meat, I am reducing deforestation and carbon output by a small portion. Buying unpackaged food helps reduce plastic use, and buying food produced in nearby regions reduce fuel use during transport. I should also starting turning air-conditioning on less frequently, and turn off electric appliances when I am not using them. I should take shorter showers, and hopefully cold showers so that there is less water usage, and less burning of non-renewable fuel for heating. I should start adding my food waste to composts so we can use them to plant more greenery that would produce oxygen while absorbing carbon dioxide.

 

If I were to choose one of these changes, I would choose to eat a lot less beef and dairy products. The impact of deforestation is so severe, and almost irreversible at the rate we are doing it. The environmental cost of raising cattles are heavy in many aspects like greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, destruction of biomes, etc. By eating less beef related products, I am able to make change on many front, maximising my impact.

 

Works Cited

“Sustainable Development | Path to Sustainable Development | Venn Diagram Examples for Problem Solving. Environmental Social Science. Human Sustainability Confluence | Sustainable Development Diagram.” Https://Www.conceptdraw.com, www.conceptdraw.com/examples/sustainable-development-diagram.

 

2st Personal Reflection

The best part of the project was when we interviewed Ms.Toms about her perspective on sustainability, and she gave some incredibly insightful ideas about our life designs that we should all reflect upon. She talked about how buildings are designed in a fashion that forces us to turn the lights on even during the day, and use air-conditioning when we could have just used natural wind. During this project I have learned about how to reduce my personal carbon footprint, and how to make a proper screencast. The most challenging thing for me was identifying chances of improvement within Ms.Toms’ already sustainable lifestyle. I had to be creative when screen recording couldn’t record my voice, so I had to do a separate voice over. In my team I was the most organised since I completed all tasks required of me before the deadline whilst reminding my group to complete theirs, and add on to the website in time so we can reorganise the information before it is presented.

1st Personal Reflection

At the start of this project, my group and I agreed on what questions to prioritise asking, and using our own life experience, we decided questions about food, transport, clothing, and electricity consumption are the most important ones. These factors contribute heavily to one’s ecological footprint. We will focus on the sourcing of these goods, then hopefully reduce transport costs, and production wastes.

Our client said that they frequently fly, and we acquired details about their transport routine. We learned about their take on sustainability and what they have already done to reduce their ecological footprint. I think we should recommend them to use electricity generated by sustainable power, which is still quite cost efficient. This can reduce their carbon footprint since electricity generated by coal contribute heavily towards urban carbon output. I researched about companies that provide reliable sustainably energy to the city grid. The next step is organising out information, and create lists of recommendations.

Role of Technology in our lives

First Podcast I listened to 

Second Podcast I listened to 

Do we worry too much about the effects technology has on our lives?

Yes, we do. Time spent on restricting web usage could have been used to redirected usage of screen time towards more productive activities. It is reasonable to be worried about technology in our lives as there are more and more cases of internet addiction. but this effect is not just caused by technology, but rather the lack of practice people have on self restraint when it comes to social media and entertainment.

Writer’s Fortnight Reflection Post

Prompt: “Our student-writers rose to the challenge, producing authentic, responsible and powerful pieces”

The construction of the featured article starts by taking notes during interviews. Finding an angle that can successfully engage your target audience is the most important part of writing your article. Journalistic storytelling for me is only powerful if I can somewhat immerse myself in the life experience of the subject. Before I even started organizing my notes, I have already decided on my target audiences being students in my age group since I gained so much insight about university application through my speaker’s presentation. University is a relevant topic to me and my peers. The speaker also had a vastly different point of view towards university application in regards to financial struggles, and it was very touching to me since it was a facet of the process I rarely thought about. Just the planning phase revealed to me the elements that make an article powerful.

In order to create a piece of article that is appropriate to be released into the wider school community, I had to be a very responsible journalist. My first responsibility would be to the guest speaker who I elected to create a featured article on. Listening to the recordings, and going over my notes during the interview was the first step I took to be responsible for the article I was producing. My subject’s consent regarding how I portrayed her, and how accurately the story they wish to present is being told is important to my process of improving as an academic writer.

I presented my articles to 5 nominated readers including my subject before my final submission. Their comments were one of the most fruitful parts of the writing process. I received comments on structure, register, grammar, and most importantly factual errors, pointed out by the subject. Improving and fixing my article was being responsible to the subject, the school community, and myself as an author.

Learning to write a featured article was an incredible challenge for me during the process of improving my academic writing.

 

Podcast Challenge Wrap up post

Three relevant quotes:

“It wasn’t strength or smarts or leadership potential that accurately predicted whether or not a cadet would finish Beast Barracks.”

“Mental Toughness is Built Through Small Physical Wins.”

“Mentally tough people don’t have to be more courageous, more talented, or more intelligent — just more consistent. ”

These quotes link to our challenge as we did screen free meals, meaning the challenge is divided into small fragments of time. It wasn’t about how hard we tried to keep away from our phones or how much more we could gain from not checking our devices. It was about keeping a constant reminder to not pick up the phone by habit and consistently encouraging ourselves to overcome our desire. This correlates with the idea of end of school year as we should reflect on what we were able to consistently do good on, and be more persevering on subjects we feel are challenging so that we can have an accomplishing school year.

I should have thought about self management more during collaboration. Each of us uploading our recordings, intros/outros and thread recordings are very important to completing the podcast making process on time. I would have thought more deeply about having a calendar reminder everyday on a fixed time period to remind me to upload my daily recordings. I need my partner to upload and complete their part of the work onetime the post. Even though our podcast was completed on time, I still felt that if we both scheduled our uploads and completed our works ahead of schedule we could have created a better product since we would have left out time to improve and reflect.

This scissor was the sharpest tool during this challenge as it is for cutting out distractions. Our challenge is about cutting out phones as a distraction so this tool is highly relevant. There are more distractions in this challenge than the screens themselves. Other distractions can be other family members and friends at the table using their phones, or talking about stories they saw on their device. The idea of using your screen just becomes so much more tempting so I definitely needed to work harder to stop these distractions from disrupting my consistency during the challenge.