Tag Archives: collaboration

CAS

Pottery CAS Reflection 1

Leave a comment

LO5 Collaboration

Although my peers and I made our pottery products individually, the initial process of planning and discussing how we should approach our projects was definitely a collaborative effort. As the students who I worked with as well as myself were fairly new to pottery and the mechanisms behind what makes an aesthetically pleasing and sturdy pot, we found our first few sessions challenging. However, we decided to take an entire lesson to plan and brainstorm what we would like to make. Due to the vast amount of freedom we had to decide what we would like to make, this process was difficult but also incredibly creative. Ultimately, by the end of the lesson we were able to form individual ideas of our first project in this activity, through online research and also by asking questions to the teacher supervisors who already had pre-existing knowledge of pottery.

I believe that through our collaboration, we were able to discover new ideas as well as suggest our known. This meant that the ideas we had were endless, which gave us a great imagination and sense of creativity, which is crucial for being successful in this activity.

LO6 Global Value

Although I had not initially thought of the global significance of pottery, I began to get an idea of how pottery can be used on a global scale and carry important functions other than decorative elements. In this activity itself, although I am focusing on aesthetic pieces, I did carry out initial research which led to me to how ceramics are used in global development. What I learnt was that the use of ceramics as technology could be used to revolutionise industrial processes on a smaller scale. What I found most striking was that some cook stoves can cause pollution, and that women and children in developing countries suffer from respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia, caused my smoke and fumes caused by cook stoves and lack of ventilation. Sustainable ceramic technologies can be used to reduce these fumes as well as treat pathogen-contaminated water. This type of technology is not only sustainable but also has low costs which makes it a suitable alternative for daily appliances.  After my initial projects which are mainly decorative elements, I hope to carry out additional research to investigate how I could create something that promotes the global advantages of using ceramics. Lastly, I think that even by conducting individual research on pottery, I was able to grasp a deeper understanding of how this material can be used globally and carry such importance.

CAS

AMK Minds Progress Reflection 3

Leave a comment

LO5 Collaboration

Due to the transition from season two to season three of activities/service, a group of grade 9s replaced the grade 10s that we had worked with for the first two seasons of the year. We had not worked with the grade 9s before so we made sure to plan out activities and guidance before they came in order to be prepared for the last two seasons of the year. Since, as a group of grade 11s, we had gained experience and learnt how to collaborate and communicate, not only with each other, but also with the clients, this process was a lot easier, and it allowed us to transition smoothly.

It was relatively easy to work together as a large group because we were determined to continue to build a strong relationship with the clients at AMK Minds. However, due to the circumstances of COVID-19, we were not allowed to meet with the clients, but we still continued to prepare activities and brainstorm of better ideas to collaborate with them and enhance their basic hand-eye coordination skills.

In the first two seasons, we learnt a lot from the volunteers, about how we could improve our activities to best suit the clients. We were exposed to new ways of teaching and collaborating which allowed us to step out of our comfort zone, where we initially stuck to simple activities. Due to the weeks of time without meeting up with the client, we were able to develop ideas and turn them into simulations to see how they would work in a large group scenario.

Communication with AMK Minds stayed consistent, and we worked with them to discuss how best we could prepare for the future. After weeks of simulations, it was beginning to feel redundant, which was one of the biggest challenges we faced. Not being able to meet with the clients made it difficult to organise the activities into what worked and what did not.

However, we made sure to have meaningful discussions to ensure that we had the clients best interest, and to use our prior knowledge to come up with engaging and effective activities that could be implemented in the future, even if we were not the group to run them. Conclusively, although we might not be able to continue this service until the start of the next academic year, we have made sure to document our progress and video activities to ensure a smooth transition next year.

In this activity, collaboration is key in order to achieve our group outcome but also to keep in mind our personal goals. From the start of the academic year to know, huge progress has been accomplished by each member of the service. For me, I was initially uncomfortable when we first met with the clients, as it was a group of people that I had no experience working with. I was unsure of how to approach them and interact with them at ease. As a result, I was not able to collaborate effectively with them. However, as the season went on, I became more used to the group and I learnt from the volunteers as well as the other students. Most people were initially out of their comfort zone, so we made sure to have a discussion after each session in order to note where everyone was at and to support each other. It was important to communicate clearly in order to be successful in our outcome.

Activity Simulation

CAS

Culturama 2019 CAS Reflection

Leave a comment

LO 2 – Challenge

What did I find challenging?

Since I had never participated in a dance show in a very long time, I initially found the choreography challenging as although the leaders taught it step by step, there was a lot to learn and perfect. Although since most members of our group were not people who dance regularly, the environment was very comfortable as it was easy to help each other out and not feel intimidated. I also made sure to practice regularly in order to keep up with everyone else.

What risks have I taken?

Although I am not a dancer, I was very eager to get out of my comfort zone by placing myself at the front row for example or helping others. I was able to do this by practicing the choreography consistently and making sure that I was completely comfortable with the entire dance, as I knew that it would make the performance easier for myself and for others as well. I think that by taking such risks I have been able to discover a newfound interest for large school shows and performances which I haven’t had since primary school. I have enjoyed being apart of a process where I can get to know new people and develop my individual skills.

What new skills have I developed?

Culturama has taught me a lot of different skills of not only the actual dancing we did but also through the challenged we faced and how we overcame them. Apart from the dance skills I gained, I also improved the skill of perfecting movements and routines in a set period of time. I am more used to developing my skills in sports or academics so learning skills in the arts was very interesting and is something that I plan on continuing in the future. However, although I learnt skills in the arts, I feel that I would still be able to apply them in different areas of knowledge. For example, from now on I think that I would be more committed to learning our moves in Touch Rugby or even developing a certain skill in maths. Since Culturama had a set time period I was able to become more organised and set clear goals for when I wanted to achieve a certain move or step, which made the entire process a lot easier for myself.

How did I measure my improvement?

Our rehearsals were recorded regularly, so by watching those I could see how my movements were and where I needed to improve. Since one of the dances was with a partner, I was able to tell if we improved by our coordination and ability to move around the stage smoothly.

LO 5 – Collaboration

Who did I collaborate with?

For Culturama 2019, I was apart of the Spain dance group, which included mixed gender Grade 10, 11 and 12 students. This was my first time participating in this event, and although dance skills were not required, I was still relatively nervous at the beginning of the rehearsal process.

What made it easy or difficult to work together?

In our group there were definitely people who knew each and had friends with them, but I still think that we all collaborated with each other. Since the dances are student-run, it was initially difficult for everyone to pay attention and learn the choreography as some might have felt more ‘relaxed’ as teachers were not present. Despite that, as a few weeks past, we managed to work more effectively. Although I did not know many people in my dance, I found that I was still able to ask questions to others to clarify choreography and also to help them. I think what made it eventually easy to work together was the fact that we all shared the same goal of having a successful outcome and performance for the show. I believe that this is why leading up to the show we were more determined and motivated to make the weeks rehearsing worthwhile, by cleaning up the dance and turning it into a real performance.

What challenges did we face when working together and how did we overcome them?

Throughout the weeks leading up to the show, some of the challenged we faced were that there were a lot of absences during the practices as a lot of people were committed to other activities and hence could not make it to every rehearsal. This made it more challenging towards the end as it was hard to organise formations without the presence of every group member.

How important was collaboration to achieving the outcome?

Collaboration was key in achieving the outcome as the show required team work in order to make sure that the dance was successful. Although the group consisted of people who might not have known everyone closely, it was vital that we interacted with everyone to ensure that our movements on the stage were coordinated.

Rehearsal Video 1

Rehearsal Video 2

 

CAS

AMK Minds Progress Reflection 2

Leave a comment

LO1 – Awareness

What previous experiences have I had with an activity like this?

Throughout the course of my time at UWC, I have partaken in several services, working with local people in Singapore. However, I have only worked with either small children or the elderly. This is the first time that I have worked with those that have mental disabilities.

What are my strengths and what would I like to improve?

Although I was slightly uncomfortable at the start as I had never had one on one experience with this type of group, I think that as the sessions have gone on, I have become more familiar with the style of interaction between them and us students and the best possible ways that we can entertain them and keep them active. I think that I have become stronger in areas where I can take initiative in the planning of the activities as I am able to reflect on previous sessions in order to decide whether something worked or didn’t. This enabled more effective and productive sessions afterwards. Something that I would like to improve on is still feeling almost 100% comfortable around the client as sometimes I have found myself afraid to upset them or anger them, especially more those that are more excited and energetic. I have also been frustrated at times which is something that I would like to control as I need to remember that the people cannot perform the same activities as us with the same speed and hence I must approach with more understanding and patience.

LO3 –  Initiative

What activities did we plan, and how did they progress?

For the first couple of sessions we used information from the previous year and advice from the organisation’s leaders, in order to plan around three different activities. We had a parachute activity, a simple throwing and catching activity, and a small set of bowling pins. The advice we got was to make sure that the group isn’t sitting down too much as they need to be active, and also make it slightly challenging so that we could improve their skills. As the weeks progressed, we added and removed different activities in order to not only ensure that they were not getting bored, but also to enhance all their different movements and instil some muscle memory. The client leaders also showed us some activities that we could try, which helped a lot and also allowed us to use some more creative activities.

What difficulties did we face in executing our plan? Why?

For a few sessions we had a different set of people so it meant that we had to keep on having an introductory section at the start which left little time for activities. We also found it hard to come up with activities that kept the clients active and engaged throughout, especially those who were very excited, as it was hard to keep everyone together and focused. At the start, it took us a while to delegate different roles to everyone, however as the weeks went on, we were all familiar with what we each of us had to do in order to run an efficient session. Since we are a group of students from different grades, some which have not worked together ever, it was initially difficult to communicate effectively.

How did we overcome these challenges?

The chairs delegated roles to everyone and set up a means of communication in order to make sure that we were fully prepared before each session. We also spent a couple of sessions at the start to plan and express our goals for this year. Furthermore, a few people in our group communicated directly to the organisers every week to fill in on the progress and to receive feedback on how we could improve as a group and our interactions to the clients.

 

 

Uncategorized

ATL Reflection

Leave a comment

Overall, I am happy with my ATL’s and I think that I did well in this ½ term. This leaves room for improvement which is what I will be focusing on from now on. To start off, I agree with most of my ATL’s apart from a few, one of them being co-science. In this subject, I got clear for communication. I personally disagree with this because I feel that I always listen in class to ensure I understand the concepts as well as asking questions and answering questions asked by the teacher to the class. I am quite comfortable in this subject so I find myself doing these things naturally. One main focus for myself in multiple subjects such as: Economics, English, and Math, is to contribute more in class discussions. Sometimes I tend to sit back and take in the information rather than answer all the questions the teacher asks. I am more of quiet learner in these specific subjects. My best ATL was in Graphic Design, which was strong for all aspects of the ATL’s. I am quite pleased with this because I really enjoy this subject. This pushes me to do my best in all aspects of the ATL’s. To conclude, I want to start focusing on what I need to improve, which is contributing more in class (having more confidence in myself to do this) and reflecting on areas for improvement.