Another semester down, and this one was by far the hardest (no thanks to Maths and Chemistry). Exams really did matter this time around, due to the fact that I wasn't confident that I could pass without them
Designing, Evaluating and Valuing Learning- 78 (B+). This subject was very up and down for me, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Like most Education classes, you get to choose what your assignments are about (Primary or Secondary, Subject, Year Level of class, etc). One of my assignments on lab safety in a Year 7 Science class scored me a 92%, which I was ecstatic about. Placement in a Year 10 Maths class went pretty well too (see earlier journal entries), and my final portfolio scored me a cool 70%. 78 is actually the best grade I've ever gotten for a class, but maybe one day I could get 80 or above.
Chemistry 1A- 69 (C+). Ehhhh. Chemistry isn't my strong point, so I impressed myself with this class. I scored an average of 70% over 4 quizzes, which was cool. My three lab reports were super amazing, scoring 81% 96% and 78% respectively (and I didn't get an idiot lab partner for the other two, so I was happy with that). I thought I did well on the exam, but I calculated my exam score to be 59. Then again, I don't do great on exams, so I was happy enough to be done for the semester. This will be the only chemistry class I'll do (that I'm aware of), as future classes focus more on Biochemistry and Biology, which I have more familiarity with
Tools for Modelling the Word- 54 (D). Like I've said before, I was taken aback at the difficulty of this maths class. I want to aspire to be a Year 7-10 Maths teacher, but I'm doing maths with Physicists and Engineers, talking about vectors, and trigonometry, and proofs and logic. I just want to teach kids how to add and subtract fractions... anyway, I calculated my exam scored to be 15%... yeah.
I had a minor illness leading up to and during the exam week, so I went into the exam feeling sore, and having bad stitches in my body. I actually considered getting a doctors note, because I wasn't able to study. But then again, I just want to pass the maths stuff and get it out of the way quickly. I doubt many Year 7s are learning about how to apply quadratic formulae and linear modelling, so this kind of stuff doesn't feel important to me
Junior Sciences Secondary Pedagogy- 74 (B). I was most nervous about this one, because this is a 4th year class, with students studing Master's. I was surprised to find out that the Master's students didn't know what they were doing. This was a fun topic, again I got to choose my own topics for assignments. I did a cool experiment on microorganisms in different types of water (pool, fish tank, lake), and then did a unit plan on electromagnetic and mechanical waves. No exam either, another upside of Education. I liked this class, and luckily for me, there's another one just like it next semester
A lot of ups and downs this semester, but still 4/4 passes, which I'm content with. I don't need to be the best student in the world to be the best teacher. I'm understanding how I can teach through my education classes, and what to teach (sort of) in the elective classes. I'm still figuring out classes for next semester, but it'll mostly be the same as last
