Reflection Blog #14

REFLECTION – CHEMISTRY SUMMER


2010Summer School:

1) What are you most proud of from these past 3 weeks? Why?
What I am most proud of from these past three weeks is that I accomplished to learn and understand problems that I had given up in understanding and thought that I would never be able to understand. The reason why I am proud of this is because accomplishing this made me feel good about myself when I felt down simply because I thought I was never going to catch up in Chemistry anymore.

2) Is your grade what you wanted? If yes, what did you do that helped you be successful? If no, what do you think you could have done differently to be more successful?
No this is not the grade that I wanted. The reason why I couldn't get the grade I wanted was because I was falling behind on my assignments when it came to doing blogs. This is because I did not have Internet access all the time therefore I could;t do my homework blogs.


Grading System:

1) Did you like the grading system for the class, or do you prefer the traditional grading system? Why?
I liked the grading system that was used in this class because it was more reasonable than traditional grading. I think it was more reasonable because I disagree with the fact that assignments are divided into categories that are worth different percentages.

2) Do you think your grade would have been higher or lower in you’d been graded traditionally? Why?
I think it would have been lower because like I said, i wasn't able to do some of the blogs and the points given for assignments are divided into different categories.


Hands-on Labs:

1) Did the ‘Lemonade Anyone?’ lab help you understand about Solutions & Dilutions? Why or why not?
I believe that this lab helped me understand the concepts of dilution. This helped me because in this lab we went through the procedure step by step therefore I understand how to complete dilution problems using this step by step procedure. Overall, this was a helpful and fun lab.

2) Did the ‘Household Acids & Bases’ lab help you understand Acids, Bases & pH? Why or why not?
Overall, this lab helped me understand how much easier it is to determine the pH of substances using these test slips instead of using various amounts of steps in an equation. I also learned more about substances that we used which I find important because some of the substances were liquids that we are exposed to daily.

3) After writing the two lab reports, do you feel prepared to write a lab report in Biology next year? Why or why not?
I feel very well prepared to write a lab report in biology next year because I have learned how to write lab reports that pleases the teacher, the reader, and myself.

4) How much effort do you think you put into performing and writing up the labs?
I put enough effort into performing and writing up lab reports because I always finished my lab packet and lab reports in good quality.


The ChemCollective Virtual Labs:

1) What did you like about using the virtual lab? Why?
What I liked about using the Virtual lab was that it was cool playing around the materials while learning what each substance would do once it reacted with another substances.

2) What did you dislike about it? Why?
What I disliked was that it once you messed up in a small detail (or big), you had to start remaking the substance all over again,from scratch.

3) Would the virtual lab have been helpful during the year in understanding various Chemistry concepts?
Yes, it would have definitely been helpful during the year because you get to see the actual substances react instead of imagining.

4) Why is it easier for a school to use the virtual lab instead of an actual lab set-up in the classroom?
I think it would be easier because the Virtual Lab is quicker therefore you would get through the lab quicker and in most cases, us students begin to forget about what is the next step since we took too long in the previous step.