Closing Letter
Dear Ms. Tran,
This year in biology I have gained much knowledge on many different topics. Before I talk about what I learned, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for giving me all this knowledge. You are a great teacher and I am very happy that I got the chance to learn from you.
The content in this course was very interesting. The information in this course got better as time went by but because I had 3 other classes, the work piled up so I didn’t enjoy this class as much as I hoped. Still, I learned a lot this year. Many of the topics we discussed were fairly new to me. We may have touched the topics a bit last year in Grade 10 but we didn’t go in to much detail. Some of the topics I found interesting were the uses of plants, co-dominance, learning about Darwin’s voyage, different forms of evolution and the dissection.
This year one of my favourite assignments was the endangered species assignment. This assignment was fairly easy but the knowledge I got from it is priceless. I was researching the endangerment of the African Lion but as I was doing the research I learned so much about this issue. I was researching on the African Lion but the knowledge I got was on the overall topic of extinction. I was very fascinated by the things I saw, read and watched. This assignment really excited me and it made me want to make a difference. Before I did this assignment I didn’t really think I could make a difference. Now I have begun to make lifestyle changes that will help the environment. Now I recycle, reuse or reduce anything possible. This is because I now know that by doing this, I am making a big difference. I want to see a change but if I don’t change myself, I wont see the changes I want to see in the world. I was so passionate about this that I even bought a small recycling bin for my room to recycle scrap paper. Before this I would just throw it in the garbage. This shows me that I have changed, for the better.
One of the strategies, which I said I would use to be successful, was that I would choose the right place to sit. In the beginning I thought where I was sitting was a good choice as I was surrounded with people who I knew would help me do good. As the year went on we got more comfortable with each and we started to have more conversations. Then when the seating plan was changed, I found that I was more focused. In the end I think I could have chosen a better place to sit. Hopefully next semester I can make the right decision.
To improve this course, one thing I would suggest is to have less group summatives where your mark depends on the work your group does. I feel as if this is not fair. Many times when working in a group one or two people end up doing much of the work while others do little. Other times, your work is very good but your mark is brought down because of the work of your group members. I just feel that you mark should be based on the work you do and no the work others.
My overall experience in this course was unbelievable. Many of my friends were in this class so that was one good thing but something that made this class great for me is all of the knowledge I gained. I learned so many new things this year that interest me. There were many experiences in this class that I won't forget and hopefully and I can take the knowledge I learned this year into next year. Thanks to the great time this year, I have chosen to take biology in grade 12 and it will most likely be my career pathway.
Sincerely,
Mayank Kaushal
This year in biology I have gained much knowledge on many different topics. Before I talk about what I learned, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for giving me all this knowledge. You are a great teacher and I am very happy that I got the chance to learn from you.
The content in this course was very interesting. The information in this course got better as time went by but because I had 3 other classes, the work piled up so I didn’t enjoy this class as much as I hoped. Still, I learned a lot this year. Many of the topics we discussed were fairly new to me. We may have touched the topics a bit last year in Grade 10 but we didn’t go in to much detail. Some of the topics I found interesting were the uses of plants, co-dominance, learning about Darwin’s voyage, different forms of evolution and the dissection.
This year one of my favourite assignments was the endangered species assignment. This assignment was fairly easy but the knowledge I got from it is priceless. I was researching the endangerment of the African Lion but as I was doing the research I learned so much about this issue. I was researching on the African Lion but the knowledge I got was on the overall topic of extinction. I was very fascinated by the things I saw, read and watched. This assignment really excited me and it made me want to make a difference. Before I did this assignment I didn’t really think I could make a difference. Now I have begun to make lifestyle changes that will help the environment. Now I recycle, reuse or reduce anything possible. This is because I now know that by doing this, I am making a big difference. I want to see a change but if I don’t change myself, I wont see the changes I want to see in the world. I was so passionate about this that I even bought a small recycling bin for my room to recycle scrap paper. Before this I would just throw it in the garbage. This shows me that I have changed, for the better.
One of the strategies, which I said I would use to be successful, was that I would choose the right place to sit. In the beginning I thought where I was sitting was a good choice as I was surrounded with people who I knew would help me do good. As the year went on we got more comfortable with each and we started to have more conversations. Then when the seating plan was changed, I found that I was more focused. In the end I think I could have chosen a better place to sit. Hopefully next semester I can make the right decision.
To improve this course, one thing I would suggest is to have less group summatives where your mark depends on the work your group does. I feel as if this is not fair. Many times when working in a group one or two people end up doing much of the work while others do little. Other times, your work is very good but your mark is brought down because of the work of your group members. I just feel that you mark should be based on the work you do and no the work others.
My overall experience in this course was unbelievable. Many of my friends were in this class so that was one good thing but something that made this class great for me is all of the knowledge I gained. I learned so many new things this year that interest me. There were many experiences in this class that I won't forget and hopefully and I can take the knowledge I learned this year into next year. Thanks to the great time this year, I have chosen to take biology in grade 12 and it will most likely be my career pathway.
Sincerely,
Mayank Kaushal