Reflections

Weekly Reflective Journal Entries

Click any of the journal entries below to open its doc file.

#1 - Getting Things Started and Our First Attempts

#2 - Improving Our Performance and Getting Feedback

#3 - Trying Out New Strategies

#4 - Progressing In Our Placement and More Feedback

#5 - Persevering in a Time of Extra Stress

As part of the service learning course, SCIB03, it was essential that we made continuous reflections on different aspects of our placement. This was done in the form of journal entries, in which we decide on a topic about how our placement has been going so far, and then write a reflection on it. The main way this was done was by explaining certain events, what we learnt from them, and then determining how we can apply this knowledge in the future. This allowed us to take meaning out of the work that we did in our placement, and helped us realize how we are learning through it.

Overall Reflective Piece: My Transforming Experience in Service Learning

            When I first applied to the Lab Skills Seminar Mentor placement through the service learning course SCIB03, there were three main things that I wanted to be able to gain from the experience. First, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the concepts in CHMB42, especially that which I had trouble with when I took the course myself. I wanted to be able to review material that I may have forgotten, and perhaps become more familiar with lab techniques, and all of this was important to me because I will still be taking chemistry lab courses that may build on the theories from this course. Second, I wanted to develop several skills that would be beneficial in both work and educational environments. This included teamwork, leadership, organization, time management, teaching, and presentation skills. By developing these skills, I felt that I could then carry them forward to new job opportunities that I may be interested in. Lastly, I wanted to use this course to be able to “expand my portfolio”. That is, I wanted this experience to be included in my resume, or list of extra activities that I did outside of standard education. This was important because my future goal is to apply to medical school and I would need to be able to show proof of such activities that I become involved in. Now that I have completed the placement and I look back, I cannot believe that all of this has been fulfilled way beyond what I expected.

I answer a student's questions about spectroscopy

            There have been several occasions throughout the placement that I was able to relearn many important concepts and discover new lab tips from CHMB42. As part of our responsibilities, we were to prepare seminar presentations on each of the five labs for the course. At first, I took this rather lightly and assumed that I still remembered most of the material, especially since I have also taken third year organic chemistry lab courses. However, the first few presentations turned out to be unorganized, unclear, and I even became stuck on some student’s questions (the professors had to cut in to explain). At first, this made me a bit discouraged, but soon I realized in order to be more successful, all I had to do was get more prepared before presentations (at first I didn’t do too much of this). And so, from then on, anytime I was unsure about any concepts, I would first ask the others in the LSS team, but if they were also not sure, I went directly to our supervisors, Wanda or Lana. They were always willing to help me out, and they explained the concepts really well so that I could quickly understand. Through this, I felt that I was becoming more familiar with many of the concepts and I became more confident about my performance in the placement. With this continued growth and development in organic chemistry knowledge, I could directly apply it as I learn new concepts in other chemistry courses, such as the lab course I was currently taking, CHMC31Y. As time went on, I continued to learn from my supervisors and even from my fellow mentors, and not just theoretical concepts, but ways to improve my lab techniques as well. And as I continued in CHMC31Y, I realized that I was able to understand the material more easily and I was able to improve in my labs. Thus, through this placement, I have certainly gained a more solid understanding of CHMB42 course material.

            Next, there were several skills that I was able to develop further than what I expected to. At the start, I thought I already had good teamwork, leadership, organization, and time management skills. I have already been working as a leader of a team at work at the Toronto General Hospital, and we have been doing really well so far with our tasks. However, I would say the LSS team was very different from the team at work. I encountered new challenges with them that I hardly had to deal with at work. This was likely due to the different types of responsibilities each team had. Through this, I was able to realize that my skills were still limited, and it isn’t until you try to apply them in many different types of situations, with different types of people, that you can fully develop them. There were times where I had to be able to encourage the team to get things started, such as new presentation slides, and I was able to learn how to coordinate them so that we can become productive. Other times, some of us were very busy, and there had to be a somewhat uneven distribution of the work. This could sometimes annoy or irritate team members, including myself, since it would seem unfair at the time, but we had to recognize that it would all even out at the end (since later on, others will become busy and others will become more available). This allowed me to realize that teamwork does not always run smoothly, and it is sometimes necessary to communicate with each other well and make compromises, in order to solve problems like these. Working with this team also taught me important lessons in time management skills. I am used to dealing with a particularly solid unchanging schedule, but this session was very different. I now had to be able to deal with a more “fluid” or “dynamic” schedule, because there were times where more work seemed to exist than other times.

We meet up to edit the slides for the first LSS

            Other skills that I was able to develop were my presentation and teaching skills. Again, I thought I had already developed these to a good degree, since I have done presentations at university before (receiving good marks for them) and I have been a tutor in the past. However, through the placement, I was able to realize how much I still had to develop. In the past, I would present with a lot of improvisation. I always avoid “scripting” them, and just work with a list of general topics that I would just elaborate on at the presentation. It works sometimes, but I realized I needed to find more of a balance. At first, I tried presenting this way, but I ended up getting stuck and stumbling on my words. I ended up sounding awkward and unclear, and this did not allow me to teach properly to the students. After this, I became aware that I needed to try new strategies to improve my performance. So, although I did not need to script the presentation, Donald and I began to practice the presentations beforehand, so that we can become more familiar with what we had to say (instead of just improvising it all), and be able to organize who would present what material. Sometimes we even practiced in front of friends, or even better yet with Natalia and/or Taleen. They were able to give us further pointers, such as telling us when they did not find something clear. They would also come up with potential questions the students may ask. Many times, the students did actually ask the exact same questions in the seminars, and we would be able to answer it confidently. This has certainly allowed me to become a better teacher. So as we continued to do this, I felt that I was gradually improving in my performance, and the more I practiced and sought for clarifications with concepts I was not sure of, the more confident and clear I was while I presented. After exposure to all these experiences, I felt that I could then be able to apply these developed skills to future situations, since I have learnt how to use them in new ways.

            As for the last outcome, I certainly felt that this experience can be added to my “overall profile” which can be used to assist me when I apply to new jobs or even medical school. Throughout the placement, as I have mentioned, I have been able to develop so many skills that I can be valuable for my future aspirations. To apply to medical school, I need to be able to show that I would be qualified to become a good doctor, with all of the necessary qualities that would allow me to perform successfully. As a doctor, I will have to be able to collaborate with a lot of other health professionals, and be able to take initiative sometimes to make decisions. I would have to be able to present information to other professionals, such as research findings or development, and I may have to be able to teach to others, such as patients, about medication or treatments. It can become very vital that I do these tasks accurately and effectively, for the well-being of patients and others I would work with. Overall, I need to become a well-rounded person, and through this course, I felt I have been able to become more like this. Through all the experiences, I felt that I have been transformed in a sense, and become more mature as a student in his final undergraduate years. I feel that I am becoming more prepared for the whole new world that I could soon be facing, and I now have something more meaningful that I can contribute by being more qualified to become a doctor.

Taleen and I present together on one occasion

            Although I was reluctant about doing them, through the regular reflection journal entries, I feel I have been able to effectively organize my thoughts and really determine what I have gained through each event in my placement. It allowed me to learn from all the things I did, and has helped me to become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses. Through them, I was able to make connections and monitor my progress in the developing of my skills. At first, I did not expect to have been able to gain so much through the course. But instead of just gaining the outcomes I wanted to get from this service learning experience, I was also able to gain more skills and knowledge. The course has definitely created an important impact on my undergraduate education by allowing me to apply my knowledge in a different way, and develop so many skills that would allow me to hopefully become more prepared and successful in my future goals.