Blog Update 29/1/15 (M3)

Reflection

The 21^st week of the academic year is coming to an end and the week as a whole has been more positive than negative. I have been late to every first lesson this week but I have managed to work hard as soon as I get into lesson. Punctuality is still an issue I need to address, but I am determined to resolve the problem. I have been given deadline extensions for upcoming assignments that are due in. This was great news for me because it gives me more time to complete the assignment to a good standard. I have also been given a few other bits of good news this week. Tomorrow is teachers training day which means I get a whole extra day to get assignments done. Next week is also RAP week which means I only need to come in for teachers who I owe outstanding work to. There isn’t too much for me to catch up on so it gives me a lot more time to get assignment work done. I will still be in college most if not all of next week to get help from teachers in case I need it. I have been given a lot of good news this week and there aren’t too many negatives, I just need to catch up with certain assignments.

I have completed two personality questionnaires where I discovered that I am a kinaesthetic learner predominately and I also predominately use the right side of my brain. I seem to work better by being practical and actually doing things, I also like to analyse situations and self-assess myself. I have a more spontaneous style according to the personality test, where I prefer a less structured environment and my attention tends to wander unless I am focused on something that I am interested in.

Areas of development

As I have recently discovered the type of learner I am, I am going to start developing on using my learning style to my advantage by researching ways to utilise it effectively and start using it more predominately in college as well as outside. Punctuality is still an issue I need to work on, late slips are being scrapped after next week which is extra motivation for me to get in on time as the teacher will have the option whether or not to let me in the classroom if I am late.

What has gone well?

I have received lots of good news this week. In terms of being given extra time to complete assignments as the deadline has been extended, as well as being given extra time off to focus on specific work. The recent discovery of my learning style has also been good news as I have found out that I have a preferred learning style, so now I have the foundation to build on and practise on using my learning style to my advantage.

Long term goal

My long term goal is to finish college with at least Merit standards, but I will be pushing hard for distinctions. I am still deciding between getting a full time job and going to university, so my goal is currently to be successful in college.

Blog Update 27/1/15

Reflection

I have now started week 21 of the academic year, the week has been up and down so far. I managed to meet a deadline for an assignment and I feel that I did well for that assignment, however it hit me today how much work I have actually got to hand in. There are one or two pieces of outstanding work, because I have made a few errors which have caused me not to meet criteria. As well as outstanding work, I have assignments with official deadlines for the end of this week as well as the end of next week. There are still two months to go for the first year but that time will be needed for the new units we are being introduced to. Time is against me at the moment so I need to make sure not to waste it. On top of this I have already been late for my first lesson twice this week, I know I promised not to get another late slip for the rest of term and it only took a week to ruin that. However I am still determined to change for the better, I really need to pull my socks up and keep being punctual from this point on.

Areas of development

Punctuality is still an issue at the moment, but I am progressing on it as I am managing to get to college on time a lot more so there are signs that I am trying to develop. I also need to develop my time keeping in another area which is getting coursework completed. I have a lot of coursework to complete over the next few weeks so I have to make sure to use all the time I’ve got effectively and efficiently. There are only a couple of months to go until the summer comes, work now whilst I have the chance and rest over the summer.

What has gone well?

I managed to complete an assignment due in on Sunday, on time and the assignment wasn’t a small one. I dedicated a lot of time to it and feel that I completed it to a good standard. It also showed me that I can get work done well if I give myself enough time. This will be used as inspiration for the coming weeks of college. It will help me to complete assignments on time and to a good standard because I feel that I have already proven I can do this, I just need to be consistent.

Long term goal

My long term goal is to finish college with at least Merit standards, but I will be pushing hard for distinctions. I am still deciding between getting a full time job and going to university, so my goal is currently to be successful in college.

Blog Update 20/1/15

Reflection

I have now started week 20 of the academic year and I am off to a good start in terms of developing myself. Last night I had parents evening where it was addressed that my punctuality is a bit of a problem and I am a bit slow in terms of getting work completed on time, however I am using the feedback from my teachers as motivation to improve. What was addressed last night I have already mentioned a lot in my blog, but now is the time for change. I am in a good position in terms of how much time I have in order to meet all of my deadlines for both courses. However I need to make sure to use my time efficiently in order to meet every single deadline. I have thought of a strategy to planning my time well which is to spend some extra time after college hours completing work to give myself less to do at home.

Punctuality is still an issue as I was late today but this will be the last time I get a late slip this year, I want to succeed in college and the best way to do that is to get the most out of all my lessons by arriving on time. Speaking of punctuality, I have extra motivation to improve on it as a work place won’t stand for it. If I get into the habit of being punctual now it will help me a lot in the future by giving me an extra skill both personally and in my working career.

Areas of development

Punctuality is still a problem however I am highly motivated and determined to improve on this starting from now. I also still need to work on planning my time efficiently for getting work done. However I have come up with a plan to help develop this by staying in college after hours to get work done so I don’t have to bring it home, I just need to make sure to stick to this plan.

What has gone well?

I have boosted my morale at possibly the best time of the academic year to do so, I have managed to start keeping up to date with my work and have given myself more than enough time recently to get all of my coursework completed to a good standard. Providing I spend plenty of time getting work completed, I will be able to get all of my assignments handed in on time and hopefully to a good standard. I have also boosted my morale in the sense that I am highly motivated to be punctual to lessons as I have addressed this issue with family and with teachers, so it is now up to me to do the rest. I am in a position where things will only go wrong if I let them by going back to my old ways, however I am determined to not let this happen.

Long term goal

My long term goal is to finish college with at least Merit standards, but I will be pushing hard for distinctions. I am still deciding between getting a full time job and going to university, so my goal is currently to be successful in college.

Blog Update 13/1/15

Reflection

This is week 19 of the academic year and it has already had a strange start. My first lesson of the week which is a double was cancelled, so I decided to go home and catch up on coursework that I needed to get done. I managed to complete all the work I needed to get done and brought it in to college today. Due to bus strikes I ended up arriving late to class today and we were taught by another IT teacher as our regular teacher isn’t well. Only half of the class are in today so we spent our 11:20am lesson today as a lesson to complete coursework. We are using this lesson also to complete coursework, which has been handy because it reduces the amount of coursework I will need to complete later on.

Areas of development

I still need to make sure to get to college on time and be punctual as much as possible this term. I also need to make sure to plan my time wisely and efficiently as I have given myself enough time to complete certain assignments but I need to make sure I don’t let that time go to waste.

What has gone well?

I have managed to get assignments handed in on time and have been a lot more efficient in giving myself enough time to complete them. I am currently in a position where I will need to plan my free time wisely for once, as opposed to planning time I haven’t got to complete assignments to a decent standard. I can now plan my time to complete assignments to a great standard and hopefully reach target grades or higher.

Long term goal

My long term goal is to finish college with at least Merit standards, but I will be pushing hard for distinctions. I am still deciding between getting a full time job and going to university, so my goal is currently to be successful in college.

 

Blog Update 6/1/15

Reflection

This is the first academic week of 2015 and I have already managed to be punctual to all lessons so far. The Christmas break gave me a lot of rest and enabled me to be refreshed for the New Year. Over Christmas, I saw a lot of family and was able to catch up with them, I also worked as a Christmas temp for Marks and Spencer. The second half of this academic year will be my opportunity to improve on issues last year such as punctuality and meeting deadlines, New Year fresh start.

I have already been given an opportunity to improve on last term, as I have assignment deadlines coming up. I need to make sure to start early on these assignments and work hard so I can get the grades I want. I have had to play catch up with outstanding assignments however, because I was ill the last three days of the autumn term so I have been setback a bit. I am determined though to get these assignments finished so I am not setback for too long and so I can give myself more opportunities for gaining higher grades in my units.

Areas of development

I need to make sure to get to college on time and be punctual as much as possible this term. I also need to make sure to meet deadlines with assignments and start work on them early, to be more efficient with my time and improve the quality of my work. If I can develop on these two things I can overcome my challenges from last term.

What has gone well?

I have already managed to be on time for all lessons during the very first academic week of 2015 and started making progress on work as soon as it has been assigned. So far I am doing well to overcome my challenges of the autumn term. I need to make sure to keep these up so I can hopefully make being punctual and making progress on work as soon as it has been assigned second nature.

Long term goal

My long term goal is to finish college with at least Merit standards, but I will be pushing hard for distinctions. I am still deciding between getting a full time job and going to university, so my goal is currently to be successful in college.