lydia's reflection
At the start of this course I continually mixed the assignments up with my other course and I actually stumbled into my issue. I originally planned on using another topic but when I wrote my memoir as a reflection of caring for my Grandma as she passed away, I realized what my topic was going to be; Death with Dignity.
It made sense to focus my research on Dr. Kevorkian (who made national headlines on advocating physician assisted suicide in the ‘90’s) when the Profile assignment was given. In my research, I was very surprised to discover that four states have legalized physician assisted suicide. Originally, I believed that all persons should be entitled the choice and should not be required to meet the prerequisite legal requirements mandated by those states.
As I used the notebook assignments to further my research and evaluate situations from all different perspectives; my opinion about the requirements changed. I realized the potential for abuse is enormous and deadly. The legal requirements are well thought out and in place to protect not only doctors but also the patients. However, I do maintain my original opinion on the broad subject and believe it should be a personal and private choice based on our own moral values.
As I researched Dr. Kevorkian and his life history I was absolutely fascinated to learn some of the things I did. I tried to incorporate all of the facts into the profile which made the original dialogue outline nearly double the length as the finished video. As I started to transform it into a video I realized it was far too long. I began removing unnecessary sections in order to highlight who Dr. Kevorkian was and why he advocated for physician assisted suicide. Reading through my transcript I realized I wanted to create a better visual aspect so I added and rearranged pictures several times. Once I had my outline I began recording, rerecording, and rerecording.
The topic of physician assisted suicide opened up the wide subject of euthanasia and provided a variety of variance to all of my assignments. I think my best work was the poem adaptation but my favorite piece was the poem titled “I Love ME!” The poem adaptation was challenging because I had to evaluate the purpose and meaning of each sentence in order to reflect that same pattern in my own poem.
My Report on the different types of euthanasia was critiqued pretty heavily in my peer reviews but it made me realize another important aspect to the overall euthanasia topic – Advanced Health Care Directives. I am using that topic for a public speech in my Communications class; take a look at the PowerPoint outline.
My Position is very different than my original assignment and it is actually revised from using dialogue from my memoir combined with a comic strip assignment. I had a difficult time writing my original position because my issue shifted from physician assisted suicide to government mandated medical care due to my research. The final assignment was well written but I didn’t feel it was how I wanted to present my position. After reviewing my previous work I decided to try to combine my memoir and comic strip and felt it was a much better position.
Prior to roles being assigned, I reviewed all of them and I knew my own personal strengths and weakness. Although my personal strengths would have better suited me for a stronger role, I didn't want to assume the responsibility and was assigned to the research manager role. Realizing that my grade may be effected by others performance, I defaulted and relied heavily on my leadership capabilities.
Working in a group created new challenges and difficulties to the class. When my group began, we struggled to communicate using only email and faced the major hurdle of keeping on track due to the holidays. However, after some words of advice and encouragement from the teacher; we were able to move forward with the project and began openly communicating. The transformation happened very quickly and the sudden outpouring of collaboration, communication, and constructive feedback being received and given was amazing.
When our group was initially put together, I wondered how we could relate all of our various topics. The title we picked to interconnect all of our diverse issues was a nice surprise and seemed to help encourage everyone to be respectful of each other’s issues. I was a little concerned that personal opinions would be used in peer reviews but the feedback was always constructive and focused how we could make the assignment more appealing to readers.
The main advice I have for future students taking English 2010 is to communicate with your group and start early! Always remember, everyone in the group wants to succeed but sometimes others need more help. I would also suggest that you voice any questions or concerns about your group to your teacher, as soon as possible. I've learned that teachers are there to help you succeed and can offer invaluable advise.
It made sense to focus my research on Dr. Kevorkian (who made national headlines on advocating physician assisted suicide in the ‘90’s) when the Profile assignment was given. In my research, I was very surprised to discover that four states have legalized physician assisted suicide. Originally, I believed that all persons should be entitled the choice and should not be required to meet the prerequisite legal requirements mandated by those states.
As I used the notebook assignments to further my research and evaluate situations from all different perspectives; my opinion about the requirements changed. I realized the potential for abuse is enormous and deadly. The legal requirements are well thought out and in place to protect not only doctors but also the patients. However, I do maintain my original opinion on the broad subject and believe it should be a personal and private choice based on our own moral values.
As I researched Dr. Kevorkian and his life history I was absolutely fascinated to learn some of the things I did. I tried to incorporate all of the facts into the profile which made the original dialogue outline nearly double the length as the finished video. As I started to transform it into a video I realized it was far too long. I began removing unnecessary sections in order to highlight who Dr. Kevorkian was and why he advocated for physician assisted suicide. Reading through my transcript I realized I wanted to create a better visual aspect so I added and rearranged pictures several times. Once I had my outline I began recording, rerecording, and rerecording.
The topic of physician assisted suicide opened up the wide subject of euthanasia and provided a variety of variance to all of my assignments. I think my best work was the poem adaptation but my favorite piece was the poem titled “I Love ME!” The poem adaptation was challenging because I had to evaluate the purpose and meaning of each sentence in order to reflect that same pattern in my own poem.
My Report on the different types of euthanasia was critiqued pretty heavily in my peer reviews but it made me realize another important aspect to the overall euthanasia topic – Advanced Health Care Directives. I am using that topic for a public speech in my Communications class; take a look at the PowerPoint outline.
My Position is very different than my original assignment and it is actually revised from using dialogue from my memoir combined with a comic strip assignment. I had a difficult time writing my original position because my issue shifted from physician assisted suicide to government mandated medical care due to my research. The final assignment was well written but I didn’t feel it was how I wanted to present my position. After reviewing my previous work I decided to try to combine my memoir and comic strip and felt it was a much better position.
Prior to roles being assigned, I reviewed all of them and I knew my own personal strengths and weakness. Although my personal strengths would have better suited me for a stronger role, I didn't want to assume the responsibility and was assigned to the research manager role. Realizing that my grade may be effected by others performance, I defaulted and relied heavily on my leadership capabilities.
Working in a group created new challenges and difficulties to the class. When my group began, we struggled to communicate using only email and faced the major hurdle of keeping on track due to the holidays. However, after some words of advice and encouragement from the teacher; we were able to move forward with the project and began openly communicating. The transformation happened very quickly and the sudden outpouring of collaboration, communication, and constructive feedback being received and given was amazing.
When our group was initially put together, I wondered how we could relate all of our various topics. The title we picked to interconnect all of our diverse issues was a nice surprise and seemed to help encourage everyone to be respectful of each other’s issues. I was a little concerned that personal opinions would be used in peer reviews but the feedback was always constructive and focused how we could make the assignment more appealing to readers.
The main advice I have for future students taking English 2010 is to communicate with your group and start early! Always remember, everyone in the group wants to succeed but sometimes others need more help. I would also suggest that you voice any questions or concerns about your group to your teacher, as soon as possible. I've learned that teachers are there to help you succeed and can offer invaluable advise.