Part One: Goal Setting (PRIOR TO/START OF WORK PLACEMENT)
- Describe your current strengths and interests in relation to your work placement.
- With reference to the course goals, employable skills and core competencies (see reference sheet), list three specific goals you have for your work experience placement.
- For this placement, I believe my strengths will help me contribute effectively. I have strong problem-solving skills, allowing me to think critically and approach challenges with creative solutions. I am detail-oriented, ensuring that I approach tasks carefully and accurately, which helps me deliver high-quality results even when working on complex projects. Additionally, I am a hardworking individual who is committed to putting in my best effort to ensure tasks are completed effectively and to a high standard. These qualities will help me contribute meaningfully to the lab and learning environment at Douglas College.
- During my placement, I have three key goals I hope to accomplish. First, I want to actively seek constructive feedback to better understand how I can improve and refine my skills. Second, I aim to learn new and exciting techniques and knowledge that will broaden my understanding of science in a practical setting. Lastly, I want to improve my ability to communicate in a professional environment, ensuring I can express myself clearly and work collaboratively with peers and supervisors.
Part Two: Growth (END OF WORK PLACEMENT)
- Discuss your growth in each of the three goals listed above. Provide specific evidence of growth and development.
During my placement, I’ve made a lot of progress on the three goals I set for myself. First, I focused on actively seeking constructive feedback, especially while working in the chemistry labs. After each experiment, I asked for suggestions on how I could improve. This really helped me get better at things like using the pipette and doing titrations, and it boosted my confidence in the lab.
Second, I’ve learned a lot of new things. I gained hands-on experience with animals, scrubbed in for surgeries, and got to observe different medical procedures. I also learned a lot in Earth Science and got real college-level experience that showed me how science works in a practical setting. All these experiences have helped me expand my knowledge in ways I didn’t expect.
Lastly, I’ve improved my communication skills in a professional environment. I worked with professors and other professionals, and I made sure to ask questions and share my thoughts when appropriate. This has helped me feel more comfortable expressing myself clearly and working well with others in labs.
Did you meet your goal? Be specific and provide examples.
Yes, I worked towards my goal and saw improvement. For instance, in one of my recent labs, I identified clearer sources of error by focusing on details, such as inconsistent measurements or external forces, which made my conclusion stronger. I also cut down on unnecessary information, which helped me complete the lab faster while still keeping it clear and organized.
What success/challenges were you faced with in working towards your goal?
One success was learning to identify specific sources of error, which I struggled with before. However, a challenge I faced was knowing what details to leave out when trying to be concise. Sometimes I worried I might miss an important point.
What steps/strategies did you use to meet your goal?
To meet my goal, I started planning my labs before writing them. I made an outline of the key points I wanted to include, which helped me stay focused and avoid unnecessary details. I also researched examples of common lab errors to get a better idea of how to write mine more clearly.
Does your goal need to be modified for future courses?
I think my goal doesn’t need to change much, but I can push myself further by improving how I explain the real-world applications of lab results.
What goal would you like to focus on in your next semester courses?
In my next semester, I want to focus on improving my scientific communication skills even more. This means explaining lab results, applications, and sources of error more professionally and connecting them to real-life situations more effectively. I also want to work on managing my time better during labs to become even more efficient.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSNESSES:
My strengths in this course was the Mole unit as I did well on that unit. Math is one of my strong points and I feel as most of that unit was unit conversations and math I did fairly good in that unit. My weakness in this course was our Bonding Unit. I struggled a lot with the VSPER diagrams and it took me a long to grasp the concept. Visualization is not one of my strong points, which is why that unit was quite difficult for me.
- A discussion, with reference to specific examples, of your current strengths within this pillar
I would say my strongest pillar this semester has been problem-solving and collaboration. For these past few months, we were introduced to several new concepts, projects and labs that have required critical thinking and problem-solving. In our labs, we get the opportunity to interact with various people from our class to work on a problem together and complete a lab. I love meeting new people and getting different perspectives on labs we work together. My strong points include good communication and being a team player which is why this pillar is one of my strengths. I try to give my best efforts in labs and support others in my group by listening and taking in their insight. A memorable lab for me was the DNA in vial lab as I got to collaborate with people and look at everyone’s unique DNA. We shared our thoughts and theories about DNA and worked well together as a group.
- A discussion, with reference to specific examples, of areas for future growth within this pillar
The pillar I want to see future growth is the Personal Responsibility pillar. If we have free time in class I try to make the best of it most of the time. Sometimes, I get distracted and have to check my phone which wastes precious in class time to do work. I have a lot of extracurriculars after school and every minute of free class time is valuable. My phone is my main distraction and I want to improve this pillar so that I can get work done more efficiently and quicker with no distractions.
- At least one goal within this pillar
- Ensure your goal is specific (avoid broad/general goals), measurable, and time-sensitive (met within this semester)
A goal I want to set for my Personal Responsibility pillar is keeping my phone in my backpack at all times. Not on my desk where I can see it or in my pocket where I can feel it buzzing. This way, I won’t have a constant reminder to check my phone for unnecessary reasons.
Another goal I want to set for the Personal Responsibility pillar is creating a timetable to manage all my work. With extracurriculars and tons of homework from different classes, it is difficult to keep up and gets overwhelming at times. To resolve this issue, having a timetable set for different tasks will help me make more efficient use of my time and not be stressed about work.
FINAL SELF ASSESMENT: Did you reach your goal? Did you improve and make progress towards your goal? How could you have done things differently? Would you have changed anything?
- I believe I have made progress towards my goal. The goal I had set for my midterm assessment was to improve in my “Personal Responsibility” pillar. I had issues related to my phone, not using class time effectively and creating a timetable. I was mindful about these pointers and made sure my phone was in my backpack during class time. This helped me as I wasn’t constantly distracted by the buzzing sounds and reduced the urge to check my phone. I was also more considerate about class time as towards the end of the semester, the work load increased significantly and using class time was valuable. I created a plan that helped me section my work off and decided how much I was going to finish in class and what I was going to do at home. Finally, I created a timetable that managed all my extracurriculars and schoolwork. I devoted a few hours to homework, some for free time and the rest was filled up by my extracurriculars. Overall, I have tried my best to improve and I want to implement these tactics for next year.
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