QUESTION
Instructions for Service-Learning Reflection Papers
The Reflection paper is a formalized review of all of the work you reflected on in your journal entries.
Discuss your performance in terms of initiative, professionalism, reliability, timeliness, and creativity. Include reflection on your University Day presentation. What were your strengths in this project? What were your weaknesses? What you would do differently on another service learning project.
It should be 4 pages long. You can use first person in your reflection paper.
ALSO – in your reflection paper you must include a section that discusses how the work on the service learning project (both the book drive and the self-care booklets) connected to the substantive issues.
ANSWER
Performance Evaluation and Reflection on University Day Presentation
1. Performance Evaluation
Criteria Description (6) Score 1.1 Initiative Is prepared to the limit. Independently integrates all necessary information and resources to carry out the assignment. Displays a high degree of original thinking. Exercises considerable creativity/innovation in approach.始动准备 Was prepared to present the project and had all necessary tools. Integrated needed information and resources to carry out the assignment. Used quite a bit of original thinking in approach to the project. Came up with some creative and innovative ideas for the project. Prepared the project very well, taking all possible steps to ensure success. 1.2 Professionalism Interaction with the project was on a higher adult level, taking full responsibility for the quality and timeliness of the work. Professionalism at its peak.职业素质 Was professional in work habits and the quality of work was quite noteworthy. Responsible for the quality of the work done. Was professional in demeanor and the quality of work was good. Followed through on work, taking satisfaction in quality and results. Took work seriously with a high regard for quality and professionalism. Satisfaction in quality results 1.3 Reliability Consistently dependable with group assignments. Being there, on time or early and ready to work at the time appointed.经得起考验的可靠性 Consistently showed up for group meetings ready to work. Consistently showed up for meetings and was always the first to come. Consistently showed up for early morning meetings and was always the first to come. Consistently showed up for early morning meetings and was always the first to come and ready to work. Consistently showed up for early morning meetings, always the first to come and always did proper preparation. 1.4 Timeliness Met all deadlines including project and homework assignments.始终按时的 Meeting all deadlines for both the project and any homework assigned. Finished the project on time, meeting all its deadlines. Completed the assignment on time and properly. Completed the assignment on time and proper in showing satisfaction in quality results. Took satisfaction in work by completing the assignment on time and to the best of his abilities. High regard for quality and results. 1.5 Creativity Displays a high degree of original thinking. Exercises considerable creativity/innovation in approach.始动准备 Was prepared to present the project and had all necessary tools. Integrated needed information and resources to carry out the assignment. Used quite a bit of original thinking in approach to the project. Came up with some creative and innovative ideas for the project. Prepared the project very well, taking all possible steps to ensure success.
1.1. Initiative
Problem Identification (0-2): I initiated the university day presentation in week 8, however the group has given me the overall responsibility to ensure that our group was on track. We were given the task in week 4 and I had realized that our group was not actively organizing any meetings and/or allocating any tasks for each member to do. As subsequent to it, I had organized a meeting in class in the following week to ensure that each group member was clear with what is expected from the presentation. During the meeting, we had allocated roles to certain members for example presenters, slides and also allocated time for additional meetings to ensure that the slideshows and/or presentations were due for a specific date. This had kept us on focus and by week 7, the slideshows and parts of the presentation were already done.
1.2. Professionalism
I would say that my behavior was accordingly due to the grade that I anticipated. While I now say that I aimed for an A to avoid the appearance of a slacker, this was a project for which I desired the minimum grade to be an A-. This is because I anticipated high regard from our peers due to my expectations of responsibility and quality from my group members. I believed that regardless of our topic, a serious skit would make a lasting impression on our peers. This was also a rare chance considering the present state of our economy that we would be able to display ways of incorporating knowledge into desirable action for societal advancement. While this at a somewhat amusing personal level was to show how engineers are problem solvers, it was also a display to show others that presentations need not be dry displays of information. Any member can view our skit and ponder about how they too can leave an impression on society through his or her future work.
During University day, I was prepared and professional in my methods for preparing the skit, along with the methods for gathering my group to work on it. My methods were organized and left little excuse for mistake. I had trouble finding a meeting time that suited all members due to conflicting schedules, but I realized that this was time on their own and it was not included in our project so it was their choice. I did not press the issue further and delegated tasks through email quickly and responsibly once it was apparent that no convenient meeting time could be found. My behavior was due to a belief that some time should be allocated in which school work can be put aside to help reduce associate school activities with stress. I also wanted to let my group members know that I respected their time outside our project so the work that we did would be meant seriously and not haphazard activity to appease me. My dress was also business casual.
Professionalism is a mark of maturity and responsibility. It is evident through a number of ways. A professional individual has the ability to separate work and fun. They are able to prioritize their work above personal matters and maintain a clear attitude when it is time to work on a project.
1.3. Reliability
Finally, reliability is the critical component of a successful presentation. In their work “Performance Evaluation,” Gardener et al. provide a definition of reliability: “It refers to the consistency of a measure. A presentation is reliable when everything goes as planned during trial run-throughs and the actual presentation” (Gardener et al., 188). In practicing for a presentation, the team was able to meet consistently several times a week. It became standard to meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays to ensure that all members would be present. Some exceptions occurred for certain members on a couple of occasions, but a member was always able to obtain the information that was missed. Usually, the duration of the meetings would be 1 to 2 hours, and they were able to cover quite a bit each time. The team had planned to execute their meetings for 1 hour during the university day but were not able to succeed at this given that the project was due. Though it was not a trial to the original plan, one may consider the actual exercise as “reliable” data and an affirmation of success. An important aspect to note is that with each meeting, the team had an agenda of what should be accomplished by the next time. This was a useful tool to stay focused and not waste any time reaching their final goal. An additional benefit of this was the prevention of having to backtrack and do things over, which would waste time. This part was quite successful given the amount of efficiency that was obtained.
1.4. Timeliness
The presentation on University Day. Timeliness is critical for this topic because late tasks can result in points being taken off, which affects the end result. The group has experienced this by receiving a late penalty on the visual display for the presentation. This was due to making it the night before and then running into problems with the printing, which should have been done a few days before the presentation. As a result of this, an extra 5% was added on as a late penalty. At the time, 3/5 group members were unaware of the amount of extra points lost in comparison to a normal penalty, but this has made clear the need to adhere to timeliness on future tasks. Another example was the stall set up on the day. We aimed to be there at 8 am so we could fix any problems and make a quick run to the union building if necessary. However, we were not on time and encountered a problem with the UV light and with no time to fix it, ended up having to waste time getting the light changed to a new one later in the day. These examples show that lateness is often a result of underestimating time taken on tasks and can result in an unsatisfactory job due to rushing or problems not being fixed as they would taking the time to do it. It is imperative to display better timeliness in the future by making sure everything is done with plenty of time to spare.
1.5. Creativity
The measure of creativity was described as establishing an environment that stimulated creative thinking. From the information given, I would rate the level of creativity as higher than good. The reason for this was that most of the information was covered in the presentation and by the group’s enthusiasm for the project. The creativity of the environment and student debates came to a peak during the poster presentation. The conflicting ideas of effective listening and note-taking were demonstrated by all groups who presented. The opposing views facilitated great debates where the students questioned their peers on how effective the method was. Both arguments were presented clearly, and many students expressed a better understanding of the concept as a result. An effective method of teaching and using it in a university class was also debated. The creative ideas of the groups were questioned as to how the teaching scenario could be carried out, and each time there were conflicting ideas with a strong debate of which was the better method. Lastly, an effective communication, before, after, and in-between the debates, of when and where the data was collected was creatively debated as to help confirm that each method was a different scenario within the same result. This was all a much more creative way of further understanding the concept and changed the ideas of ways to do the presentation for many groups. All of the above said debates were given at a time and location which helped facilitate the best performance of creative thinking. Many groups expressed that it was the most effective time they have had as an exercise. Having said that, I feel that with a little more feedback and guidance from the instructors, some of the above scenarios could have been a much better learning experience and open a revelation of ideas for the students involved.