I have been taking advantage of educational opportunities such as AP classes and Honors throughout high school because these courses will prepare me for college. In addition, an AP class will help me save money on tuition, and it will also help me graduate sooner. I decided to take my first AP class my sophomore year because I was encouraged by one of my previous teachers. I am glad that I took AP Spanish Language and Culture my sophomore year because that gave me an idea of how much work to expect when I attend college. Since, I was very dedicated to passing the AP test, I developed new study skills such as asking questions, making flashcards, and taking cornell notes. All of these study skills were very helpful because I passed the AP exam.
My junior year, I decided to take three AP classes which are; AP Psychology, AP English Language, and AP Spanish Literature because I wanted to challenge myself. To begin, AP Psychology has helped me improve my note taking skills. What interested me the most about AP Psychology is that there is a variety of different topics such as; emotional health, depression, addictions, etc. On the other hand, AP English Language has helped me improve on analyzing articles. For instance, I have been analyzing articles about death penalty. The death penalty has many debates between people because it has it’s pros and cons. In addition, AP Spanish Literature has helped me read more frequently without stuttering so much like I used too before. I enjoy reading stories in AP Spanish Literature because all the stories involve a small portion of history. For example, I have read stories from Renaissance, Modernism, Golden Age, etc. AP classes are college classes that prepare you to go to college and if you pass the test in May, you receive college credit, which means that you won’t need to take that course anymore.
Students should communicate with their counselors to select a manageable course load based on their own aptitude and interests. Certain combinations of the most difficult AP classes may be difficult to handle for all but the most brilliant students. However by making smart informed decisions, students can challenge themselves by taking appropriate AP classes.
In high school, I have taken both AP and IB classes. Along with rigorous school work, I
As the semester finally approaches the finish line, I revisit my past work to compare and contrast how this class has developed me into a successful writer at the college level. Throughout the year my writing style has developed and become broader as I have learned how to incorporate more of my personal views as well as reliable, unbiased information. This portfolio is a representation of how many things I have learned along the way while being an English 102 student.
Sitting in AP Chemistry lab class, thinking about how much I didn't fit in with all the brilliant overachievers, I began to wonder why I took the course. While I knew it was because I have a passion for chemistry, I didn't know what exactly entices me about the subject. Moments later, I found my answer; I love experimenting. Reading textbooks and listening to lectures are definitely informative, but they aren't the only ways to learn. Learning through experience and physical results is the most interesting and fun way to understand topics. Reading about chemical reactions and actually performing and seeing results is another, which is why the “volcanic eruption” project is so popular. Instead of trusting everything textbooks say, people can
The arrangement of the classroom has a significant impact on students’ attitudes toward classroom behavior and learning. Students need the environment that is organized, neat and comfortable in order to learn and behave appropriately.
The movie “The Class Divided” was a very inspirational movie because it taught a lesson on discrimination and racism. The film covers Jane Elliot experience with the “eye-color” exercise and it shows how the participants responded to being a victim of discrimination. The teacher who came up with the exercise was a third grade –teacher that wanted to explain to her kids the reasons behind Martin Luther King death. She divided each class she taught up by their eye color and treated them according to whatever eye color was more superior that day. Her lesson influenced and inspired the younger kids and older adults because it taught them a life learning lesson that could stick with them for years to come.
This semester has been long and daunting and with AP tests coming up, it will be a lot darker before the dawn of the upcoming semester. So in order to better prepare, I have decided to partake in mock AP tests at school and at home. Not only am I preparing to be successful on the days of the test but also I intend to be academically prepared to be even more successful in the future. These test do more than just assess my skills in English and history but also in time management and text interaction which includes highlighting, underlining, and annotating.
Over the course of this class I have pieced together many things about my own life that before went unnoticed. I am now able to see things in a bit of a different light. Now that I have been introduced to the realm of psychology I understand some of the reasons for behavior around me. I have learned that there is a reason for most everything and a lot of our behaviors and mental processes can be explained through psychology. Studies have been conducted for many years to try and pinpoint the source of our behavior and it is not something that most people think about every day. Having a better understanding of why we operate the way we do will help me to better understand myself and the others around me.
I took AP Statistics my junior year of high school and I was the only junior in a senior class. At first, I was really shy because I did not know anyone in the class, but after a few weeks, I had made new friends and was enjoying everyone's company. Usually, I am used to excelling in math with minimal effort, it simply came naturally, however anyone who has taken statistics knows it is not like other math class. It was extremely difficult in the beginning and was trying as best I could to understand what we were learning, but it was like nothing I had done before, however, it was the teachers first time teaching AP Statistics so, she was trying to figure things out just like the rest of us in the class. On open house night, my mother and I
This time last year, I was in AP Literature at Green Valley High School. Although I had already passed the Language AP test, Literature helped reinforce my writing and gave me the fourth English credit I needed to graduate. Ideas from both those years have merged together over time, however my second year proved to be less about a test for me. I learned about effective proportions where most of the paper should be argument rather than detail or evidence and how certain writing elements and literary devices can give writing more depth. Although I passed the AP tests both times, I still find myself at a lost when it comes to defining my argument with precision. A skill that has been useful most often is to “trust your pen;” I’ve found that
Before being enrolled in BA 101, my career path and perspective on majors were shaped by the organizations I was part. Although insightful, these organizations held a clear bias being geared towards Finance. Due to BA 101, I could discover my interest and skills, which inevitably led me to determine my major and minor while at McCombs. Furthermore, BA 101 helped me develop my professionalism by learning how to craft a resume, cover letter, and how to engage in an interview.
For this reflection on the learning development among students in my practicum, I will focus on both the freshmen World History class and the AP Psychology class. Focusing on these two groups is appropriate because of the different changes that are occurring among them. The teacher has to recognize the differences among each group in the areas of cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical, in order to assure that the students are engaged in the learning environment and gaining a maximum level of understanding regarding the material.
Without a doubt the lessons and exercises on time management were the most meaningful to me. They brought insight into why I seemed to be constantly working yet still never really got anything I wanted to accomplish throughout the day finished. I realized the majority of the activities I had been spending the most time on didn’t reflect my values of hard work and self discipline and long term academic goals to be successful in college. This motivated to completely change the way I managed my time by effectively striking a balance between my maintenance, committed, and free time.
A system could be considered as elements structured together because they continually affect each other through time (Senge, 2012). Think of the human body. It is a network of interrelated organ systems derived from organs, tissues and cells working together as one. Individually, each organ may stand alone in its uniqueness of function. However, it cannot successfully help the body to move and survive without the aid of the other parts of the organ systems. School systems work much the same way. A teacher cannot alone affect change in the school within the confides of her classroom. However, the teacher can reach students who are connected to other students and teachers that work together for the positive change in the school environment. It is through a system change in education at the school level, leaders can ignite and initiate revolutionary change to push the success
This guidance class has helped me get a better understanding of how to become a successful student in college. I really enjoyed learning new writing techniques, different styles of notetaking, test taking skills and especially my learning style because now I know different techniques to help me learn to my full ability.