Tag Archives: LO5

CAS

Pottery CAS Reflection 1

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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

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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