My Senior Year
Calculus
Name of Assignment: Homework
Subject: Calculus 1
Facilitator/Teacher: Nicholas Okamoto
Description of Work/Assignment:
Every week, we are assigned one homework assignment that can be about 50 questions long. They are designed to take about a week-long because it gives us plenty of time to complete all of the complex problems. According to last year’s calculus class, one of the homework problems took 55 minutes. Finishing these assignments takes hours of reading the provided textbook, extra youtube videos for examples, and in-class lectures to fully comprehend the topics. So far, the main idea is to find the derivative of a function or constant. There are power rules, product rules, quotient rules, chain rules, and logarithmic functions rules.
Which 21st Century Skill do you feel this assignment addresses, and why?
I believe that these assignments contain many self-directional skills because there isn’t enough time to cover the whole lesson in class. The students have no choice but to go home and study themselves instead. Each lesson takes me around one to two hours to read through the unit and take notes. Then I proceed to watch youtube videos to gain a greater understanding.
Another 21-century skill this homework contains is critical thinking skills. This is because completing the assignments takes a ton of trial and error. Switching one negative sign can screw up your whole answer a lot. You must scavenge for solutions when you realize that you have no idea what you’re doing halfway through the problem. You start to get creative when you are desperate for an explanation for your mistake.
The third 21st-century skill that is used is problem-solving. An example of this is when you can’t find the answer to why your answer is wrong. You have searched for the question, looked up the answer, watched youtube, and reread the textbook, but you still find nothing. My last step in this dilemma is to contact a classmate I’ve never talked to before or even just email the professor for some help, even though he doesn’t always get back.
The last 21st-century skill that I used is communication skills. This is because of the number of times I have texted a classmate or emailed my professor for help. Even in class, when I don’t understand a problem, I might as well talk to someone new and ask them for help.
What are you most proud of from this assignment, and why?
I am most proud of retaining an excessive amount of information. It is not only this assignment but there are many things to study and remember.
How did you develop and/or improve upon your 21st Century Skill with this assignment? What was most difficult about completing this task?
I believe that this assignment has helped me improve my self-directional because of the amount of independence it takes to complete the course. The most difficult task was to memorize the information for any upcoming tests.
How could you improve this work? If you could start over, what would you do differently? How does this relate to what you have learned in the past?
If I could improve, I would improve the amount of time I take on these assignments. Sometimes, I notice that I tend to rush through because of the stress it can cause from time consumption. This relates to many time-consuming assignments I’ve had in the past and is a fault I am working on.
How can you apply this to future learning?
I can apply the assignment to my future college courses because most of them are extremely self-direction, and I will 100% use all of these skills. Starting a difficult class like this while in high school will prepare me for the real college world.
Subject: Calculus 1
Facilitator/Teacher: Nicholas Okamoto
Description of Work/Assignment:
Every week, we are assigned one homework assignment that can be about 50 questions long. They are designed to take about a week-long because it gives us plenty of time to complete all of the complex problems. According to last year’s calculus class, one of the homework problems took 55 minutes. Finishing these assignments takes hours of reading the provided textbook, extra youtube videos for examples, and in-class lectures to fully comprehend the topics. So far, the main idea is to find the derivative of a function or constant. There are power rules, product rules, quotient rules, chain rules, and logarithmic functions rules.
Which 21st Century Skill do you feel this assignment addresses, and why?
I believe that these assignments contain many self-directional skills because there isn’t enough time to cover the whole lesson in class. The students have no choice but to go home and study themselves instead. Each lesson takes me around one to two hours to read through the unit and take notes. Then I proceed to watch youtube videos to gain a greater understanding.
Another 21-century skill this homework contains is critical thinking skills. This is because completing the assignments takes a ton of trial and error. Switching one negative sign can screw up your whole answer a lot. You must scavenge for solutions when you realize that you have no idea what you’re doing halfway through the problem. You start to get creative when you are desperate for an explanation for your mistake.
The third 21st-century skill that is used is problem-solving. An example of this is when you can’t find the answer to why your answer is wrong. You have searched for the question, looked up the answer, watched youtube, and reread the textbook, but you still find nothing. My last step in this dilemma is to contact a classmate I’ve never talked to before or even just email the professor for some help, even though he doesn’t always get back.
The last 21st-century skill that I used is communication skills. This is because of the number of times I have texted a classmate or emailed my professor for help. Even in class, when I don’t understand a problem, I might as well talk to someone new and ask them for help.
What are you most proud of from this assignment, and why?
I am most proud of retaining an excessive amount of information. It is not only this assignment but there are many things to study and remember.
How did you develop and/or improve upon your 21st Century Skill with this assignment? What was most difficult about completing this task?
I believe that this assignment has helped me improve my self-directional because of the amount of independence it takes to complete the course. The most difficult task was to memorize the information for any upcoming tests.
How could you improve this work? If you could start over, what would you do differently? How does this relate to what you have learned in the past?
If I could improve, I would improve the amount of time I take on these assignments. Sometimes, I notice that I tend to rush through because of the stress it can cause from time consumption. This relates to many time-consuming assignments I’ve had in the past and is a fault I am working on.
How can you apply this to future learning?
I can apply the assignment to my future college courses because most of them are extremely self-direction, and I will 100% use all of these skills. Starting a difficult class like this while in high school will prepare me for the real college world.