Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Efolios... Ahhh the Stress!

This is my most unstructured blog this whole semester but in this blog I am going to talk about the stress and experience of creating an efolio and filling out edTPA.
This semester has been one long ride and after it all we are finally wrapping it up, and parts of this includes completing the efolio. The efolio is the best and worst thing I have ever done. Being in both Social Studies Methods and also Science Methods has made it all twice as hard. Not only did I have to do one livebinder but two this semester! Talk about a lot of hard-work and determination! These last two weeks have been filled with nights of only getting 4-5 hours of sleep, working 55 hours/week and finishing all assignments to be submitted now that classes are over. I am beyond exhausted.
 
 
Overall, completing these assignments and filling out the efolio has required to put my effort to its full potential. I have finished all parts of both efolios completely! wohoo! I am so nervous to get my grade on it. I have tried so hard on this and I have tried so hard all semester. I have a hard time not being able to see my grades until the semester is almost over because once I submitted it all, there is nothing I can do to change that grade. I have had a high GPA all my life and have managed to work hard in all my classes with all A's (except for one B) which is something I am extremely proud of. I hope that the same continues with this class as well!
The efolio includes many different parts, including an about me section, a projects, section, a unit plan section and also a edTPA section. Each section took a substantial amount of time to fill out. I honestly can say that I wish I started it the first day of class and I highly recommend it for anyone that is going to take this class. I was always so scared to tackle it because I had no idea what any of it was. However, I wish I asked Dr. Smirnova about it earlier so I could have gotten a head start at the beginning of the semester, and I could have filled it out as the semester went on. However, with proper time management and the will to sit and work on it, the efolio took me about a full month to be finished. It sounds crazy but it is true! My favorite section of all was the about me section. I really liked this section because I could include my personal opinions, my thoughts, my philosophies, my personal experiences, my blog, etc. The EdTPA tasks and the Unit Plan were definitely the hardest part of the efolio. They both took a long time to fill out and required a lot thinking and writing! However, at the end, the efolio outlines the whole semester as whole. It was a great way to reflect and keep all the assignments organized. Looking back at the experience, I think that it was a great idea to use in this class I just wish we were taught more of how to use it and were influenced to write in it every week!


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