Blog 23: Final Lesson Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I’m most proud of my senior presentation as a whole. I feel that I did my best work during this presentation. While I was in front of the class, I calmly and eloquently presented on my content. I constantly referred back to my array of sources, and gave personal experiences in the relevant areas. My activity was engaging and proved to be an enjoyable experience for the viewers, and those who followed their leader roles successfully taught my best answer to their groups.

2. Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

AE    P       AP    CR    NC

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE    P       AP    CR    NC

3. What worked for you in your senior project?

My mentorship worked extremely well for me, which was the yearbook elective. This allowed for me to apply all the lessons I learned in research to a real-world environment, which provided me with a treasure trove of supporting evidence for my essential question answers. The convenience was great because I was able to kill two birds with one stone. It also allowed for me because I tend to stress out easy, and the fact that I always had time set aside for mentorship really helped me keep calm and keep sane during times of high stress (yearbook deadlines, projects, essays).

4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I definitely would’ve wanted to have tried to get yearbook approved for my mentorship earlier on, or at least figured out another way to get my mentorship hours. I thought I was confined to figuring something out with my previous mentor (Rebecca Chai, yearbook advisor for Walnut High School). I also would’ve started working on my second independent component much sooner, because we only had three months for magazine issues. This was more of a lack of foresight on my part. I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be run a magazine on top of all the projects and extracurriculars the juniors and seniors had in second semester.

5. Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

While I don’t plan on pursuing a career in journalism, I’ve learned my limits when it comes to leadership. This was a test of my prowess, the culmination of all the group skills that I’ve learned in my years at I-Poly. Managing the yearbook staff has been the largest undertaking of my life, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it. I’ve seen how I handle conflicts among staff members , or group members. There were a few instances in which staffers were unsatisfied with their teammates (I won’t name names), so I had to figure out a solution that would: A, solve the original issue, and B, not hurt anyone’s feelings.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1. My essential question is, “What is the most effective method of managing a yearbook staff, while promoting morale and the success of the book?”
2. My first answer is, “A successful editor-in-chief develops a shared vision with his or her staff, using the philosophy of employee engagement.”
3. My second answer is, “A successful editor-in-chief organizes his or her staff using various media and a hierarchical staff structure.”
4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.
1. Organization establishes clear deadlines and goals.
1. A successful magazine company knows when certain stories are happening, and when their publishing deadlines are.
2. Proper hierarchical organization and delegation outlines what role each member plays in the staff.
1. In government, every level of senator and official and leader has a certain, specific job they must accomplish. One person can’t maintain government spending, deal with foreign affairs, handle internal scandals, and city infrastructure issues all at once, so the work is delegated.
3. Communication, especially when utilizing various media, allows for the staff to be up-to-date and constantly aware of dates, deadlines, and stories.
1. When you have a group project, you always need people to communicate. Then, the group will know when meetings are, whether or not someone can make it to the meeting, what work needs to be done, and similar group project happenings.
5. "MAESTRO METHOD: Building Successful Staff Teams." Editor Handbook, pg 44. 2014. Herff Jones. Print.
6. "Tips for managing flexible working employees." flexible-working.org. Cornwall Development Company, 2012. Web.
7. Bring on the final tradeshow, because I am ready. Not entirely ready, but I’m confident in my answers and my senior project as a whole.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am extremely proud of the visual aesthetic of my presentation. I put a lot of work into the slides, and I feel like it helped maintain the attention of the class. I know that others were certainly engaged by the design of my slides. I tried to compensate for the fact that a lecture on staff management tactics would get boring.

2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

   AE    P       AP    CR    NC

    b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I didn’t do anything exceptional, or worthy of an AE. All of the research I cited in the presentation was tailored toward supporting my answer. I made the time requirement, spoke clearly, and did my best to engage the audience as I spoke. My activity did what it was supposed to, teach my answer in a tangible way. I accomplished all of the P requirements, but I did not go the extra mile (this time around).

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

As cheesy as they were, I feel like my pun hook worked to grab the class’s attention. I was able to calm down my nerves and speak slow enough to make time. My presentation time also worked in my favor, because if I had presented later in the day, the class would have gotten more anxious and paid less attention to my content.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I would have changed parts of my activity. As demented as it sounds, I intended for feelings to be hurt when people were excluded from the party planning process. It was the best way, I thought, to really teach people the benefits of having a shared vision. I would have figured out a different objective for the activity, but kept the premise of “Shared Vision Leader” and “Bad Leader” in different groups.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

My second EQ answer will be “A successful editor-in-chief organizes his or her staff using various media and a hierarchical staff structure.”

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I’m most proud of the fact that I remembered to cite all my sources, and I pretty much gave all the information I intended to give.

2. Questions to Consider

  a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

  AE    P       AP    CR    NC

  b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.

Professionalism: I spoke clearly enough for the class to hear, maintained eye contact with the audience as well as proper posture, and made sure to engage the audience by asking how they were following along.

Justification of Foundation: I constantly referenced my research, published sources, and my interview, as was expected of me.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

Right off the bat, my puns worked to engage the audience. They may have been bad, but I had everyone’s attention once I finished my hook. After that, I’d say my knowledge of my topic and experience as an editor-in-chief definitely helped me make time and convey what I was trying to convey.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?
If I had a time machine, I would rework my presentation to be topic-to-topic, instead of article-to-article. I feel like going by articles confused some people, because a few articles basically said the same thing about certain topics (like communication). The third quarter of my presentation is where I struggled most, because I didn’t take the time to dive as deep into “Shared Vision” and “Employee Engagement” as I should have, and I ended up with more time than I anticipated.