Category Archives: Reflection

Introduction

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Introduction

Hello FYW faculty,

My name is Nicole Sampson, and I am a returning City Tech English Adjunct.  My past teaching experiences entailed Mandl, BMCC and LIU (HEOP), teaching in areas of psychology, sociology, reading and writing, and English.  In addition to teaching, I currently work for the Department of Education and have been for almost 20 years as a School Psychologist.

I can’t help but to see a connection between English and Psychology.  Personally, I have walked across the bridges that link fictional worlds to that of my own urban world.  An experience that no student should be without, especially when that is the only journey that they have ever taken away from their own urban worlds.

While cross disciplinary boundaries can get messy and lack coherence, it’s a reflection of the learning process in general, for myself and students’, it’s a reflection of our intellectual abilities and shows how imperfect teaching and learning is for everyone and provides a rationale for an emotional and behavioral reaction.  Ha, ha, I love that!  Reading and writing are immersive, reflective, emotional, a human experience!

As a person, I am a huge lover of animals, in part, because animals are a lot like teaching (they are messy), books (can and can’t be read), and people (sometimes you just can’t figure them out).  I am the proud mother of a 15-year old Shih Tzu, Cashel!  He’s my teacher!  He’s my psychologist!

~Coco~ 

RGarcia Final 1121 Portfolio and Reflection Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1121, semester ????

Portfolio and Final Reflection Assignment

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

Final Reflection and Portfolio

We have arrived at the end of the semester and are nearly done! I am so proud of you all for making it to this point. Now it is time for you to pull all your work together and, look at it as a whole, and reflect on what you have done over the course of the semester.

This is a two-part assignment but the final product is one large document (more details about this below).

Part I (Reflection):

Reflect upon the questions in the box below. You will then create a reflection of a minimum of 1000 words to accompany your portfolio. Make sure to quote from yourself to support your thinking. You must have at least three quotes from different pieces.

What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer and scholar this semester?

How will you be able to use what you have learned this semester and transfer that knowledge to other writing situations—either in college or in your community?

As a way to begin gathering ideas and information for your Reflection, look back through all your work: in-class writing exercises, homework assignments, blog posts, earlier reflections, essays/projects, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself about and take notes on the following questions:

  • How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now? How have your developed as a writer?
  • What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
  • What are some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
  • What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed?
  • How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?
  • What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
  • What was your experience revising assignments?
  • Was there any peer feedback that stands out to you and why?
  • What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?
  • What did you expect to learn in this class? What did you actually learn? Is it the same? Different? Less? More? How do you feel about the class and what you have learned now that the semester is over?
  • What advice would you give to students taking this course next semester?

Things to keep in mind:

  • Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection. In fact, you do not need to answer them all. Instead, use them as a guide to help you brainstorm ideas.
  • Think about all of the essays we’ve read about writing this semester—some of them certainly hooked your interest while others… probably did not. The ones that did were well-written, they had a point, the writer had a voice that you felt was worth listening to. Try to do that in your own writing here.
  • Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing. Treat yourself as a respected author who has learned: you are someone with something to say.
  • Make sure to include an MLA heading with your name, my name, our class information, and a heading. Also, make sure to give your reflection a creative title that reflects the content

Here’s what I will be looking for (and grading you on):

  • Attention to audience. You need to have a “so what?” Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write an article about what you’ve learned. Think about who you are writing for (hint: it’s not just me).
  • Attention to organization. This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 1000-word paragraph, please) and some reason for why they’re in the order they’re in!
  • Evidence and analysis. If you tell me you learned something about yourself as a writer, show me proof! By proof, I specifically mean quotes from your own writing. All reflections should have at least three quotes from your own writing this semester. And, it is really important that you don’t just drop those quotes in there and expect your readers to figure out why you’ve chosen them. Explain why that passage is important to your readers and to your “so what?”
  • Care. Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but make decisions about your language—that is, the words that are there should be there for a reason.
  • Timelines. I am as flexible as possible with deadlines, but it is the end of the semester and the final portfolio (including this reflection) are due ________ and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in. The rough draft is due________. Make sure to get this done on time! You’ve probably never written anything like this before, so I’m sure you’ll want to get some feedback!

Part II (Portfolio):

Put together a portfolio that includes final versions of all your major assignments (Units 1, 2, 3). In your portfolio you should also include two other written pieces from our semester that show your growth as a writer. These can be from your homework, blog posts, reflections, or other class work.

Note: You can choose to revise up to two of your major assignments. If you do revise, please make note of that in your reflection so I can read and regrade the revision(s). With any revisions, you should also include a short paragraph explaining the changes you made and why. This can be included at the end of the revised essay and put under a heading that says “Reflections on Revisions”.

Putting the portfolio together:

Please submit your portfolio as one document in the order below:

  1. Final Reflection
  2. Unit 1 project
  3. Unit 2 project
  4. Unit 3 project
  5. Low stakes assignments of your choosing

Portfolio grading:

Your portfolio counts as 50% of your final grade. You have already received grades for each of the major assignments included in the portfolio and I will regrade any major assignments you revise using the criteria for those assignments. But your overall portfolio will be grades on the following:

  • Care and attention to organization. Is the material presented in the assigned order and in a clear way so that I can easily find each piece? Are the pieces neatly and consistently formatted in terms of font, paragraphing, breaks between assignments?
  • Timelines. Is the assignment on time?

Project 1: 10%

Project 2: 10%

Project 3: 15%

Final Reflection: 15%

 

FINAL DATES, DEADLINES, INFO AND ETC.

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And so, we draw to a close.  It has been so great working with all of you.  I said it before, and I’ll say it again, but I have been truly impressed with your work this semester.  You really came through, especially during the pandemic, which goes beyond anything I have literally ever seen (of course). I’m excited to see those final assignments and portfolios.

I will eventually be sending you a little survey in which I ask you to do your own (brief, 1-2 paragraph) reflection on the semester.  This will help us plan next semester’s PD, which will be entirely online! I also want to let you guys know that, though the PD is done,  I am here as a resource for you whenever you need me.  I’ll be continuing Zoom office hours next semester (and a couple of times in August) and also will be around for one-on-one meetings if you need help, have some cool assignments to share or just want to talk!

Here are the amended dates:

May 29th: Final student portfolios to be uploaded to Google Drive.  I’ve sent you this link.  If you did not get it, email me and I’ll resend.

  • Please use the folder “’20 Current PD Portfolios.”
  • Please make a folder with your own name in this format: (HallCarrie_20)
  • Within THAT folder, make subfolders for each class you are teaching with course and section number. (HallCarrie_1101_351).
  • In that folder, you will have either a file or a folder, as you see fit, for each of your students.  Make sure these are also titled clearly by the students’ names (Blair_Ruben) so they can easily be accessed.

June 5th: All of your final drafts of assignments for 1101 and 1121 will be uploaded to the Open Lab.  This is a HARD DEADLINE– as in this is honestly the last possible day! The “deliverables” include: Syllabus (front matter only, you don’t need the full schedule), Assignment Sheets for Units 1,2, and 3 and the handout for the final portfolio: this would include info on the reflection and what the final portfolio should include.

I will attach a copy a template for the 1101 syllabus if you’d like to use it (it’s optional). The 1121 syllabus template is under “Readings: 2020 Winter Institute”

For each of your final assignments, I know this is annoying, but… you will have to post them separately under their correct category.  This will help the next PD be able to look up examples of each assignment.  So, please use the following  format:

  • Categories: FINAL and the unit you are uploading, such as: 1101 Unit 1-Lit Narrative
  • Subject line: (YOUR NAME) FINAL 1101 UNIT 1 ASSIGNMENT

Please don’t forget the category “final” OR the word “Final” in the subject line.  Believe me, it matters in the long run!  Also, you can select two assignment categories, in case you have an assignment sheet that includes, say, 1101 Units 2 and 3, as some of us do.  It’s fine to combine those two.  Please don’t combine all of your materials onto one sheet, though!

Download (PDF, 127KB)

Here is an example of my final portfolio assignment sheet– I gave this to you a MILLION YEARS AGO in the winter, before “the troubles”.  I don’t expect you to be a graphics dork like myself. I also think the reflection Christine and I wrote this semester was much (MUCH) better than this one. However, I include this because it shows what I had my students include in their portfolios:

Download (PDF, 3.41MB)

Final Reflection Assignment (Ruth Garcia)

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Final Reflection

We have arrived at the end of the semester and are nearly done!  I am so proud of you all for making it to this point. Now it is time for you to pull all your work together and, look at it as a whole, and reflect on what you have done over the course of the semester.

For this final assignment, reflect upon the following questions:

  1. What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer and scholar this semester?
  2.  How will you be able to use what you have learned this semester and transfer that knowledge to other writing situations—either in college or in your community?

Your reflection is due with your Final Portfolio and should be a minimum of 1000 words.

As a way to begin gathering ideas and information for your Reflection, look back through all your work: in-class writing exercises, homework assignments, blog posts, earlier reflections, essays/projects, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself about and take notes on the following questions:

  • How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now? How have your developed as a writer?
  • What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
  • What are some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
  • What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed?
  • How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?
  • What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
  • What was your experience revising assignments?
  • Was there any peer feedback that stands out to you and why?
  • What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?
  • What did you expect to learn in this class? What did you actually learn? Is it the same? Different? Less? More? How do you feel about the class and what you have learned now that the semester is over?
  • What advice would you give to students taking this course next semester?

 

Things to keep in mind:

  • Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection. In fact, you do not need to answer them all. Instead, use them as a guide to help you brainstorm ideas.
  • Think about all of the essays we’ve read about writing this semester—some of them certainly hooked your interest while others… probably did not. The ones that did were well-written, they had a point, the writer had a voice that you felt was worth listening to.  Try to do that in your own writing here.
  • Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing. Treat yourself as a respected author who has learned: you are someone with something to say.

 

Here’s what I will be looking for (and grading you on):

  • Attention to audience. You need to have a “so what?” Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write an article about what you’ve learned. Think about who you are writing for (hint: it’s not just me).
  • Attention to organization. This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 1000-word paragraph, please) and some reason for why they’re in the order they’re in!
  • Evidence and analysis. If you tell me you learned something about yourself as a writer, show me proof! By proof, I specifically mean quotes from your own writing. All reflections should have at least three quotes from your own writing this semester. And, it is really important that you don’t just drop those quotes in there and expect your readers to figure out why you’ve chosen them. Explain why that passage is important to your readers and to your “so what?”
  • Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but make decisions about your language—that is, the words that are there should be there for a reason.
  • I am as flexible as possible with deadlines, but it is the end of the semester and the final portfolio (including this reflection) are due ________ and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in.The rough draft is due________.  Make sure to get this done on time!  You’ve probably never written anything like this before, so I’m sure you’ll want to get some feedback!

 

Thoughts on Final Reflection/ Link to Monday Zoom

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Hello everyone– attached is a sample final portfolio reflection assignment tailored to Spring 2020.  Feel free to use it as much or as little of it as you like.

You are also welcome to use an assignment of your own. If you do, please make sure to have the students quote from and respond to their own writing and to think deeply about the trajectory of their learning this semester. Make sure you structure it in some way that you’re not just getting a meandering list of reflections, but a piece of writing with some thought behind it.

Regarding the portfolio: I have a sculpture background, so I think about a writing portfolio the same way I think of a sculpture portfolio. That is,  what do I want to show off? What is my trajectory as an artist?  What I’m trying to get at here is you can ask students to submit reflections or 1 or 2 carefully chosen homework assignments in their portfolios, if those homework assignments are something they are particularly proud of or tell the reader something about their writerly trajectory.

Tomorrow (Mon April 27) Christine and I will be on Zoom at 3 pm for an optional meeting to talk about the final reflection and portfolios some more–if you want. Link below!

Carrie Hall is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Portfolio and Reflection
Time: Apr 27, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 882 0320 3881
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,88203203881# US (New York)
+13126266799,,88203203881# US (Chicago)

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