APPENDIX J

ePortfolio - Example Final Reflection Questions:

During the process of the Journey Project, we expect that students learn, grow and adapt. Reflection
is a large part of this. Students will need to be prepared to reflect on their own status, growth, and
through processes. While these reflections may be written in first person, responses must adhere to
all formal language and grammar standards. The following should also be expounded upon in
complete sentences:

RESEARCH TOPIC SELECTION WRITING FORMAL PAPER

1. How did you go about narrowing your topic selection? What made you decide on the
final topic? ​I tried to think about things that I liked to do, something that I wouldn’t
mind researching and possibly in the future turning into a career. I wanted to do
something either science or art related since those are my major focuses. After
looking at my options, I deemed that art was more interesting and I was scared
that I wouldn’t be able to find a mentor for the science field that I was thinking
about. My mother mentioned graphic design and after doing a little research on
my own and as the topic was due, I decided to choose graphic design as my topic.
2. While writing your paper, what did you learn about the research process? ​I learned that
the research process was a large and extensive one, I had a lot of possible
sources and throughout the research process, I had to weed out which sources I
needed and which ones were no longer necessary or did not fit the content I was
looking for. Over the research process, I needed to be specific with what I was
looking for, I needed to know specifically what I was looking for and what kind of
things I needed the research to talk about while collecting resources.
3. When you complete research in the future what will you keep or change about the
process? ​I think that I would change my research process relatively the same, the
method I have to obtain sources and researched and it worked well. I think the one
thing I would change is making an effective outline before starting the research
process in order to waste less time looking at sources I don’t end up using. I
spent a lot of time looking at sources I assumed I would use, but since I didn’t
have a clear outline, I didn’t end up using a majority of them and had to find more.
4. What did you find the most challenging in the process? ​The most challenging part of
the research and writing process was getting my thoughts onto paper. I often
found myself writing and re-writing the same segments since it didn’t sound right
or match what I was thinking in my head. It was really difficult to formulate my
thoughts and write things fluidly without losing the train of thought or the original
purpose of the paragraph.
5. How confident are you in completing formal research in college? ​I think I am
moderately confident. I did okay on paper, but I know I could probably do better. I
learned that I need to get the help that I need since during the Pride Paper I often
didn’t go get help with the paper since I was intimidated by the teacher and was
scared of getting yelled at or being told that my essay was trash. So I think that I
am moderately confident with my own research and essay skills in preparation for
college.
PROFESSIONAL PARTNER
1. How was the research related to your professional hours? If your professional was not
directly related to your topic, what did you learn about the career/industry that can be
translated to any future professional setting? ​I wrote my paper on graphic design and
my professional partner, Ms. Walter, has graphic design knowledge. She has
 experience doing her drawing online, and though I didn’t do my project online, she
taught me a lot about the drawing process and the steps I needed to go through to
create, color, and publish my book.
2. Can you describe the professional hours that you completed in terms of timing, quality of
experience, confidence in a new setting, challenges you faced, etc. ​I spent four or five
hours with Ms. Walter, talking with her in her office about the process I was going
through and showing her some of my art to get her opinion on some of my design
options. She helped me find how to scan the pages in using the scanner at school,
getting me in touch with Mr. Hyatt in order to complete the scanning at a high
resolution and capturing the entire page. She helped me become confident in my
drawing and coloring skills, giving me the support I needed, looking over my
storyboard and plot.
3. How did working with your professional affect your understanding of the topic area,
development of your project and/or the professional world? ​Working with Ms. Walter
really helped me learn and understand the importance of each step it takes
creating art, making the character design, storyboarding, making a good plot. She
really helped me develop my art and increase my understanding of the artistic
process, similarly to what a true illustrator would do.
4. If your mentor contributed to the development of the product, how were they involved?
Ms. Walter helped me scan my art into the computer and also looked over different
elements of my project as they developed. I sought her opinion on the coloring
process regarding my mediums, what character design I should use, and asking
whether my plot was good and aiding in its development.
PROJECT
1. How did you go about narrowing your project selection? What made you decide on the
final topic? ​I wanted to do my project on something that related to my paper, which
was on graphic design. I came across the idea of doing a wordless picture book
when Mr. Alburger suggested it. I went out and collected a selection of picture
books, some of them wordless, and over a couple of days, fell in love with the idea
as I began to generate my own ideas about the project. I picked it as my final
product since I was developing a bunch of ideas and it would feed into my love for
literature and books along with reading and drawing.
2. How did creating a product and completing the hours challenge you personally? ​It was
really stressful doing this project, each page was a mental struggle. As an artist, I
am my own worst critic and I was being a perfectionist, making sure each project
was perfect. It was really stressful trying to balance drawing the book and
developing it along with filling out college applications and doing homework. In
the beginning, I really wasn’t happy with what I was creating and had to go back, it
was hard scrapping a majority of my ideas and concepts, but in the end I created
something I liked and appreciated more.
PRESENTATION
1. Do you feel prepared academically and emotionally for the presentation? If not, why? ​I
felt mostly prepared, I was really nervous since my sister and mentor were all
coming to my presentation. Everyone's presentations were so different too, I
wasn’t exactly sure what each of the specific rules were, whether I should have
words on my slides or if I should include my SMART goals or other aspects other
people did. I was confident in my presentation, I just wasn’t sure if it was what I
was looking for. I was really nervous doing it in front of everyone, but it was a lot
more relaxed than I thought and I was really able to get into my presentation.
2. What challenges did you face preparing and practicing the presentation? ​I decided that
 I didn’t want to have any words on my slideshow, which was the first challenge. I
was not going to have any hints or clues of what I was going to say on each slide
other than the pictures, so I was memorizing everything. When I practiced my
presentation, it originally went around 11 to 12 minutes, but when I get nervous, I
talk really fast which was a big hurdle. I knew that I needed to be within the time
limits and that since I was memorizing things, I couldn’t afford to forget an
important point or get nervous and talk fast otherwise it would degrade my
presentation.
3. How did you change or grow as a learner and as an individual? What “life skills” did you
acquire and how will they help you in the future? ​I think I definitely learned to
persevere, their were plenty of times when I was sitting under a desk thinking that
I never wanted to touch a pencil, paintbrush, or piece of paper ever again. I
needed to get the project done so I learned to split my resources, finding
something fun to do while I was drawing, painting, or coloring so I wasn’t
stressing as much. I don’t think that drawing is a “life skill” but I think that time
management and learning to do things that you don’t like are important skills. I
had to push through pages and art that I didn’t like and I had to learn to put my art
out there. Everyone was looking at my book. They could've not liked my style or
my color choices, or my drawings, but I put it out there for everyone to see and
criticize and I got excellent feedback, I learned to be happy with my own work.
4. Other than time management, describe any obstacles you faced and how you overcame
them? If you had to go back and do parts of the project again, what would you do
differently? ​I had to overcome fear of my own art, I really didn’t want people to see
my art and when I first started drawing and was building my confidence, someone
told me they didn’t like my style and that I needed to change it. It was really nerve
wracking, I had done a bunch of drawings and figured out which was the most
popular and found one that I liked only to have it shot down. I really had to learn
how to be comfortable with my art and not let anybody else's opinions change
what I was doing. If I had to do this over again, I’d probably see if I could get a
partner, that would have made some of the workload easier.
5. Based on the entire Journey Project experience, do you plan to pursue this field as a
career or area of study in college? If so, why? If not, why? Provide specific reasons. ​I
don’t think that I’m going to pursue this as a career. I love drawing, and it’s
definitely something I will continue, but tackling a project like this all by myself
taught me about my art skills and that maybe, being an artist like this wasn’t for
me. If I could be guaranteed a team of people to work with, a storyboarder, and
illustrator, and colorer, than I would do it again in a heartbeat. I really enjoy
science, so I’ll probably go into that in college. I’m not crossing off drawing,
illustrating, or designing as a possibility, I’m just putting down the pencil for a
while.

***ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE ONLINE DOCUMENT***

FINAL REFLECTIONS

1. What are your overall thoughts about the Journey Project? ​I actually enjoyed this
project. When I wasn’t under a desk having a mental breakdown, doing the project
was mostly fun. I wish I’d done it in a group, but I’m proud of what I did. The
Journey Project seemed a lot more relaxed than the Pride Project and I really
 enjoyed the support I got from friends, teachers, and staff members as I
completed the project. I like only having one semester to work on it, I feel like it
made it less stressful since we were only working for a semester.
2. How did you feel about the Journey Fair evening event? Are there things we can do to
make it better? What would you do differently if you needed to do it again? ​I thought
that it was fun, having other people and their parents look at everybodies projects.
I also liked getting the chance to see other kids projects, though I didn’t really get
the chance to leave my table and see everybody else. It was really loud in there, I
felt like I was screaming at people and couldn’t hear anything.
3. In retrospect, would to re-choose this same topic? partner? project? Explain. ​I would
definitely do this again, the topic and project were pretty fun. The only thing I
would change is maybe grabbing a partner to help me throughout the way.