Ashley Schweizer's e-Portfolio

Math 135 was like no other class I’ve taken. In this class, we studied finances which is something I had no real experience with. We began working with functions and interest which was quite interesting. I liked the way Dr. Stanton set up the class because it followed a schedule, and I knew what we were doing each class. She started the class by telling us daily reminders and then going over the daily PowerPoint. This class is very calculator based and easy to follow with a formula sheet. Each week we also had homework on WebAssign. This was the first time I used WebAssign, I cannot say I am a fan of the website. I like the idea of it, but when I got the question wrong it would tell me the answer, but not how to get the answer. In this class we only had two test and three written papers, so good grades on these assignments were important to be able to pass the class. Overall, this was a different math experience than I’m used to but I enjoyed it.

Attached I have included one of the written paper projects I completed for the class. One thing I really liked about this class was that we were able to work with partners. Working with others allows for ideas to flow more easily and for people to bounce ideas off of each other. Luckily for me, I found a group early on where we all pushed each other and made sure we did our fair share. This class taught me how to really work in groups in college and the artifact I have attached really highlights that.

When I first got my schedule in the fall, I was pretty surprised to see I was enrolled in a theatre class. I had never done theatre, and had never planned on doing any type of theatre because I hate being on stage. Lucky for me, when I finally went to my first theatre class, I learned it was more about the history of theater versus actual theatre. We learned all abut the different types of theatre, and the history of theatre. It ended up being a very interesting class that I enjoyed attending. We had a lot of presentations and speaking in front of groups which I thought was super helpful to prepare for my career path of being a teacher.We learned about different theatre techniques and how they used them in the classroom. We were required to attend the Longwood theatre acts that were put on by the school and evaluate them. One thing I really enjoyed about this class was that we got to go behind the scenes and see the stage before production. Overall, Dr. Campbell made this class into one of my favorites, and I hope to take a class with him again soon.

Attached I have included our first project which was to research a famous artist from the theatre business, and I chose to research Paul Gallo. Gallo is a famous lighting designer and he has a had a huge impact on the theatre world. This project taught me how to research about famous theatre icons some wouldn’t think of, and see how they impacted the theatre community.

Growing up I always thought the language of French always sounded so beautiful. So, when I finally entered middle school, I decided to take French. Although the language is still so beautiful, I didn’t realize how hard it would actually be to learn a new language, especially one that is loved by so many. I survived these classes through high and middle school and thought I would never have to speak it again, but then I came to college. I tested into French 111, and I was so nervous because I hadn’t spoken French in almost three years. Madame Bowman was very helpful in easily entering us back in the French world and was willing to help students. I worked really hard in this class and attended weekly office hours to try and maintain my grade. I still struggled with fluently speaking the language, but Dr. Bowman saw my dedication and effort to succeed. I ended the class with an A- and I couldn’t be prouder of myself because I worked so hard for that mark.

Attached I have included one of my writing prompts from the class. Over the course of the class, we wrote four writing pieces all with different topics as a way to work on our French writing skills. Each time we had a writing assignment, I went to Dr. Bowman’s office hours and she helped me through the whole thing. These papers allowed me to get comfortable visiting teacher’s office hours and how to ask for help when needed. That’s what this paper I have attached represents and why I chose to include it. I am glad I learned this early on as it has benefited me greatly as a college student.

After enjoying my CITZN 110 class so much with Dr. Dudley-Shotwell in the fall, I decided to take my history 222 class with her for my second honors class of the spring semester. This class resembled my CITZN class, but with a twist. We were required to annotate the sources we were given but we also got to do other things. We got to watch movies, listen to podcast, and shows all while taking notes. This class we didn’t have the in-class discussions once a week on our articles because every class was a discussion. Although we didn’t get in the typical classroom discussion set up, we were allowed to chime in whenever, make comments when we felt necessary, and address our classmates. Again, I really like this because it allows for students to speak freely and hear opinions from their peers without judgment. One difference with my history class from my CITZN class was that we had quizzes. Although we had quizzes, they were only on our assigned Crash Course episodes and were open-note.

For our final example we were required to create a Buzzfeed Article, using seven of the topics from our class and reflecting on them. I really like how Dr. Dudley-Shotwell assigns projects instead of test because it allows to use everything we’ve learned throughout the semester and really demonstrate our knowledge of the material. I decided to attach my final project as my artifact for this class because I loved the way it turned out and everything I learned from the class. I will definitely be signing up for another class with Dr. Dudley-Shotwell in the future if it aligns with my schedule!

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After enjoying my first honors class so much, I decided to challenge myself and sign up for two honors classes for the  spring semester. One of the honors classes I decided to sign up for was Education 245. I was really excited for this class as it related to my major and something I am very interested in. Similar to my CITZN class, on the first day Dr. Cosby presented us with our syllabus and explained to us what she expected from us throughout this semester. I really liked this because it allowed me to plan my semester out to be the most successful student I could be.

For each class, Dr. Cosby included an interactive activity which I really enjoyed. It allowed for the students to learn beyond the textbook, and apply what we learned. She also had us do many presentations which I liked because many of us are planning on becoming teachers, so we need to get used to speaking in front of the class. Along with the interactive activities, she had very organized presentations for us to follow along and allowed us to chime in whenever. I really liked the way she ran our class because it wasn’t the typical classroom routine, something I hope to carry into my own classroom. I decided to attach my Three Age’s Project Presentation, our biggest project of the semester as my artifact. For this project we were required to interview three different people from different stages of childhood and write a ten page paper incorporating theories into the interviewees answers. With our presentation, we were suppose to share some of our findings with the class and explains our connections. It was a very difficult project, but one that I found interesting and enjoyed doing.

The first honors class I took was my CITZN 110 class with Dr. Dudley-Shotwell. When I first saw my schedule included an honors class my first semester in college, to say I was nervous was an understatement. I didn’t know what to expect for college classes, yet alone an honors college class. The first day Dr. Dudley-Shotwell went over the schedule and really laid out the plan for the class which calmed my nervous. Each week we were expected to annotate an article or multiple and be prepared to discuss it. We would learn about the article further and then we would have a class discussion regarding it. I liked how we followed a schedule and I knew what to expect for each class. In the end, this ended up being my favorite class from first semester because we were allowed to input our opinions into the lessons and have other students respond to it as well. This was a very different classroom dynamic than I was used to, but I really enjoyed the freedom we had in this class.

Although this class had no test, it was made up by all our annotating. Each week we annotated articles, some as long as 26 pages. For our final project, we took one of our favorite topics from this class and expanded it. We created a syllabus for a new class based on that topic alone with several articles that correlated. I chose to focus on Japanese Internment in America, and through this project I learned so much I didn’t know before. Because of this, I have decided to attach my final project as my artifact because I am very proud of the outcome!

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