MATH 3
Semester 2
POW 6 - On Patrol
Semester Project Reflection
How did you like doing your independent research project?
I found the independent research project to very interesting in the fact that it was so open, which made it hard to find something to study. Once I found a topic it was a little better, but still kinda stressful because I didn’t have any guidelines, which meant that my group and I had to create a project based on nothing. I think that overall I was neutral on how I felt about this project. I wasn’t super excited to be doing it but I also wasn’t disappointed.
What did you like and what didn’t you like?
I found myself liking the openness of the project because it gave me the option to do whatever I wanted and go in whatever direction with that project that I wanted. This felt very new compared to previous projects that were given to us. I really enjoyed being able to manage myself. I did find myself disliking that there were no guidelines because this means that there was no way to know if we were on track to have enough math or even if we were going in the right direction. I guess this can be either good or bad, but I found it to be worse than better, at least for me.
What would you change about this project, if anything?
I think that if I was going to change anything it would be the specifications of the project. When we started we were told to find something mathematical and create a project around it. While it was nice to have openness in a project, it was hard to create a project without and guidelines. If I was to change this I would lay out a few simple guidelines but leave the rest the same.
What did you learn about your research topic?
I learned a decent amount about my research topic, most of which relates to casino games and how the statistics can influence your bet. I learned that there is a lot more behind gambling than a good poker face and some luck. I learned that in order to count cards you have to have a good understanding of the probability of each deck of cards. It was really interesting to learn that the total amount of possibilities, of three dice is more that 200! I also found it really interesting to see how much math goes into gambling. Overall, I found everything to be a learning experience, so it’s kinda hard to pinpoint exactly what I learned.
I found the independent research project to very interesting in the fact that it was so open, which made it hard to find something to study. Once I found a topic it was a little better, but still kinda stressful because I didn’t have any guidelines, which meant that my group and I had to create a project based on nothing. I think that overall I was neutral on how I felt about this project. I wasn’t super excited to be doing it but I also wasn’t disappointed.
What did you like and what didn’t you like?
I found myself liking the openness of the project because it gave me the option to do whatever I wanted and go in whatever direction with that project that I wanted. This felt very new compared to previous projects that were given to us. I really enjoyed being able to manage myself. I did find myself disliking that there were no guidelines because this means that there was no way to know if we were on track to have enough math or even if we were going in the right direction. I guess this can be either good or bad, but I found it to be worse than better, at least for me.
What would you change about this project, if anything?
I think that if I was going to change anything it would be the specifications of the project. When we started we were told to find something mathematical and create a project around it. While it was nice to have openness in a project, it was hard to create a project without and guidelines. If I was to change this I would lay out a few simple guidelines but leave the rest the same.
What did you learn about your research topic?
I learned a decent amount about my research topic, most of which relates to casino games and how the statistics can influence your bet. I learned that there is a lot more behind gambling than a good poker face and some luck. I learned that in order to count cards you have to have a good understanding of the probability of each deck of cards. It was really interesting to learn that the total amount of possibilities, of three dice is more that 200! I also found it really interesting to see how much math goes into gambling. Overall, I found everything to be a learning experience, so it’s kinda hard to pinpoint exactly what I learned.
Junior Year Reflection
If you set goals for yourself this year in Math class, were they achieved? Why or why not?
I don’t believe that I ever set any goals for myself this year in math class. If I did set goals for myself then I am guessing that I achieved them. The reason being that I have changed so much over the year in so many ways that this must contribute to these goals. I’m guessing that if I had set goals for myself it would have been to manage my time wisely, and at this point in time I feel as if I am super proficient in this, as I am always done with my work at least an hour before everyone else with it still being beautiful work.
Do you feel more confident in your math abilities? Why or why not?
I do feel more confident in my math abilities, but I know that this comes with every subject where I learn more than I knew before. I know that I have learned a lot in math class and am therefore more confident in my abilities to solve problems and approach challenges from different angles than I was before. I think that this is also true for my other classes, where the more I learned and practiced, the better I felt about that subject. I guess that my SAT prep might also have contributed to my math confidence as I ended up spending at least 10 weeks working on the math sections so that I could feel good during the actual test. In the end I think that I will always feel more confident than I was before due to practice and the ability to learn.
Did you feel you were able to balance this class with other classes you were taking?
Most of the time I felt like I was able to balance my grade level math class with my other classes, and sometimes not. Most of the time we didn’t have a lot of homework that we had to do outside of school, which gave me plenty of time for my other work. However, when we were given homework, it was often tedious and took a really long time, which did make it hard to keep up with my other work such as chemistry or pre-calculus. I think that in general it was easy to keep up with the work, and the times I felt like I wasn’t able to was probably due to stress with other classes.
Do you feel prepared for Math 4 as a senior and any other math electives you may choose to take?
Do I feel prepared? Yes, I feel like I am pretty well prepared for Math 4 as a senior. I think this is due more to me taking pre-calculus at the time and not so much from the grade level math. I don’t feel as if the grade level math really contributed to me feeling prepared as I already knew a lot of the content, whereas in pre-calculus, everything was new and challenging. I think that I am prepared for next year’s math classes because of the electives I took this year and not because of the grade level math.
I don’t believe that I ever set any goals for myself this year in math class. If I did set goals for myself then I am guessing that I achieved them. The reason being that I have changed so much over the year in so many ways that this must contribute to these goals. I’m guessing that if I had set goals for myself it would have been to manage my time wisely, and at this point in time I feel as if I am super proficient in this, as I am always done with my work at least an hour before everyone else with it still being beautiful work.
Do you feel more confident in your math abilities? Why or why not?
I do feel more confident in my math abilities, but I know that this comes with every subject where I learn more than I knew before. I know that I have learned a lot in math class and am therefore more confident in my abilities to solve problems and approach challenges from different angles than I was before. I think that this is also true for my other classes, where the more I learned and practiced, the better I felt about that subject. I guess that my SAT prep might also have contributed to my math confidence as I ended up spending at least 10 weeks working on the math sections so that I could feel good during the actual test. In the end I think that I will always feel more confident than I was before due to practice and the ability to learn.
Did you feel you were able to balance this class with other classes you were taking?
Most of the time I felt like I was able to balance my grade level math class with my other classes, and sometimes not. Most of the time we didn’t have a lot of homework that we had to do outside of school, which gave me plenty of time for my other work. However, when we were given homework, it was often tedious and took a really long time, which did make it hard to keep up with my other work such as chemistry or pre-calculus. I think that in general it was easy to keep up with the work, and the times I felt like I wasn’t able to was probably due to stress with other classes.
Do you feel prepared for Math 4 as a senior and any other math electives you may choose to take?
Do I feel prepared? Yes, I feel like I am pretty well prepared for Math 4 as a senior. I think this is due more to me taking pre-calculus at the time and not so much from the grade level math. I don’t feel as if the grade level math really contributed to me feeling prepared as I already knew a lot of the content, whereas in pre-calculus, everything was new and challenging. I think that I am prepared for next year’s math classes because of the electives I took this year and not because of the grade level math.
Semester 1
POW 2 King Arthur's Table
POW 3 Planning the Platforms
Description of POWs
Why are you proud of these POWs?
The reason that I decided to choose these POWs to feature on my semester project is because I am the most proud of solving these problems. I am proud of POW 2, King Arthur's Table because it was a really tricky problem to figure out. I think that it was the challenge that it posed of finding an equation based upon changing variables. It was really interesting for me to even approach the problem as I had never thought of a game that would be based upon a mathematical formula, at least that I have figured out so far. I found it enjoyable to embrace the challenge and try to find a new way to approach the problem because it forced me to go out of my comfort zone, which was familiar solutions. I am also proud because of my solution, which I thought was super simple compared to the complexity of the problem. I am proud of POW 3, Planning the Platforms, because of my solution to that problem as well. In the beginning I thought it would be pretty easy and I would only have to use addition and subtraction. However, the longer I spent on the problem the harder it became and the more I had to spend my time looking for a formula instead of doing it by hand and then backtracking. I found it enjoyable to create a second formula based on the first formula that I had found. Overall I feel proud of these POWs because they challenged my thought process and pushed me to try something new.
The reason that I decided to choose these POWs to feature on my semester project is because I am the most proud of solving these problems. I am proud of POW 2, King Arthur's Table because it was a really tricky problem to figure out. I think that it was the challenge that it posed of finding an equation based upon changing variables. It was really interesting for me to even approach the problem as I had never thought of a game that would be based upon a mathematical formula, at least that I have figured out so far. I found it enjoyable to embrace the challenge and try to find a new way to approach the problem because it forced me to go out of my comfort zone, which was familiar solutions. I am also proud because of my solution, which I thought was super simple compared to the complexity of the problem. I am proud of POW 3, Planning the Platforms, because of my solution to that problem as well. In the beginning I thought it would be pretty easy and I would only have to use addition and subtraction. However, the longer I spent on the problem the harder it became and the more I had to spend my time looking for a formula instead of doing it by hand and then backtracking. I found it enjoyable to create a second formula based on the first formula that I had found. Overall I feel proud of these POWs because they challenged my thought process and pushed me to try something new.
Silverton Report
Semester Reflection
At the beginning of my first 2017 Junior semester, I thought I could go into it like previous years, which meant just going for it without much planning. However, as soon as a couple of weeks passed, I realized that if I wanted to survive the semester, I would have to plan out as far in advance as possible. Sure, I also had to just jump in and work, but that is how it always is. When I started, I decided to set myself some goals that I could hopefully achieve, and some that may be harder to obtain. I wanted to maintain my grades, which I was able to do so far, but I also wanted to go outside of school and set a goal to maintain a standard. I wanted to maintain a standard of excellence in my life, and I hope I was able to do that. I also felt that it was a good idea to go into this school year hoping to become a better student and person. I think that overall, I have met most of my goals but will continue to stick with them in the next semester. I feel that the whole semester went pretty well and I don't have anything specific that pops out, however, I do think that what didn't go well is my stress level. When the homework would stack up and I would have multiple assignments due, I could tell that it took its toll on me and those around me. I think that this may have helped me change as a person as it helped me to manage my time and refocus on what I needed to do, however, it wasn't my favorite as it meant I had no time to do anything other than homework. I do think that junior year has already changed me as an individual. I have noticed that I spend more time focusing on my friends than my work. I know it should probably be the opposite, but I constantly feel like I want to help others and make sure they are doing alright. I'm not talking about sharing work, I am talking about making sure that everything is ok in their emotional worlds. I have started to care less about myself and more about how everyone else is doing. Yes, of course I am still trying to focus on my work like last year, but this time I want to be the one that people can rely on, whether that is for a shoulder to balance upon or for someone to look for when they need a second opinion. I guess for the coming semester all I really want to do is to protect and support my friends, and while I know all I should be thinking about is school, that is seems less important then the people I strive to be. I hope to accomplish much and go places, sure, but not before I can be sure those around me are taken care of first.