what i learned in regards to the curriculum
The curriculum states that by the end of this course, students will "use appropriate social science research methods effectively and ethically; conduct research to determine the critical differences and similarities among the approaches and concepts of anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and summarize their findings; and, effectively communicate the results of their inquiries". I believe that I have definitely learned a lot in regards to these expectations throughout the time of working on this course. I have used appropriate social science research methods (creating and distributing surveys, analyzing data, making sense of the data, etc.) in order to better my understanding of the education system. This was quite effective as I was able to collect data from a variety of age groups and it helped in order to see what people from our school thought could be different about our education system. Throughout this course, the concepts of anthropology, psychology, and sociology were always present, as they helped to distinguish many aspects of life and the education system. However, we did also dissect each concept thoroughly in the beginning of the course (unit 1) in order to see what really makes each one different and how they all relate together. I have also learned how to communicate all of my results and findings, and I have been creative in how I do so.
what i learned about my skills and abilities
This course has definitely been beneficial in learning about my skills and abilities. I most definitely learned new ways to collect and analyze data from creating a survey and distributing it to using Edsby to create a poll for students. I have discovered new ways to get in contact with people or find information about people online (blogs, messengers, etc.). This has been helpful in collaborating with people all over the world in order to retrieve the greatest amount of information possible. I have become aware of more programs and tools to help me excel in my learning and display my findings in the best way possible. Before taking this class, I was not as comfortable making power points or websites, and through the skills I have learned, I have broken out of that comfort zone and created both. I have found new ways to organize my thoughts (mind maps, notes, etc.) which are definitely skills that I will use later on in life. Overall, this course has definitely opened up my mind and shown me that there is more efficient ways to learn than just from textbooks and there is more ways to present findings than just essays.
what i learned about myself
While taking this course, I did learn a lot about myself and my learning style as well. I learn best when I do not have time limits on my assignments, as it gives me more time and I do not feel pressured to rush to finish an assignment. I learn best by sitting down at home alone where I am able to sit quietly and do my work, this class only taught me that being in an environment with noisy people does not help me get my work done, and I am not able to focus as well. I learned that it is okay to go outside of your comfort zone every once in awhile, and the results may surprise you! For example, before this class I would have NEVER attempted to make a website, because it was never something I was interested in, and I never thought I was capable. However, through the help of this course, I was able to escape that fear in order to create a website that other people can learn from. I believe that my strengths in regards to how I approach learning situations involve; starting assignments with a positive attitude, and knowing that I am going to try my best on whatever the task may be. A weakness in regards to how I approach learning situations may be that I stress out too much when I know there is a large task to complete (especially when there is a due date). There were definitely some stressful times during the course, and there were a few different ways in which I handled them. First of all, I took a deep breath. I really put the situation and task into perspective, and usually, it wasn't worth getting that worked up over. It was usually an easy task, and if I were to put my mind to it, I could accomplish it in no time. Another way that I would handle stressful situations was by talking to people that were taking the same course or the teachers in order to ask any questions that I may have been having or clear up any issues that may have had me doubting myself with a task. In future learning, I will most definitely use the skills that I have learned in order to do well on assignments and stand out amongst the crowd.