The After party

Learning Goals & their Assessment
When the placement started I set some goals for myself and thought of some ways through which I will measure my success in achieving those goals by the end of the semester.
Learning Goal number 1 and its improtance to me
At the end of the semester, I measured my success by having my placement supervisor fill out an evaluation survey for me. Link to the complete survey can be found here. Below is an excerpt from the survey that measures my success at achieving this goal.  

Response of Placement supervisor from performance evaluation survey
I believe that I was able to achieve this goal because according to the survey completed by Dr. Brunt, it shows that I was always prepared for the meetings and punctual about it. I was always well prepared for each day's procedures and knew what I was doing. I feel that the extra time I put in to go over the lab manual, TA notes and my own lab notebook from last year has paid off eventually and I have become capable of meeting the expectations of higher-ups. I have developed a sense of responsibility which has helped me to remain professional at my work, even though there were times when I did not feel like it. I realize what is expected of me and have developed an attitude to strive to meet those expectations regardless of any personal issues.

Learning goal number 2 and its importance 
At the end of the semester I measured my success by conducting an end of term survey and taking student feedback on my ability to communicate and interact. The actual survey handed out to the students is found here. To view the results of the entire survey and reflection on each question, please click here. Below is the response on the questions that demonstrate improvement in my communication and teamwork skills.
Student response on one of the questions in the Performance evaluation survey 
Based on student feedback I believe that I was able to accomplish my goal for the most part. It was hard at first to develop a certain level of trust amongst the students so they will accept my answers without a doubt since most students would still double check the answers I gave them with their TAs but I worked hard on making sure my concepts were accurate and everytime when the students recieved the same reply from the TA, they began trusting my knowledge and developing communication with them was only a short step then. I feel that I am able to articulate myself better now even with my friends, when we are discussing some course topic or an assignment. I have also become efficient as a part of the team as well as a team leader and I have seen my performance improve at the ChemAid center where I tutor once a week. I applied the communication and teamwork skills in heading my club UNICEF @ UTSC as a vice president and all our events this semester have turned out to be extremely successful. Overall, I have managed to reach my goal. 
Learning goal number 3 and its improtance 

At the end of the semester I asked my placement supervisor if I could use her as a reference on my resume and with her consent I updated my resume. To view the reference section on my resume, please click here. 
BIOC17 Service Learning on my resume

Dr. Brunt's reference on my resume

I believe that throughout the semester I was able to develop a close professional relationship with my placement supervisor and have gained a unique expereince that I can add to my resume. This expereince has taught me the skill set I need to work in a professional setting and has allowed me to not only apply my knowledge of microbiology but amplify the clarity of my concepts so much that I can confidently add this to my resume and apply  the skills gained from this experience elsewhere. 
Learning goal number 4 and its improtance 
Measurement of this goal was a little tricky. In order to decide whether I had achieved this goal or not I made a list of all the skill set and techniques that I picked up during my work. The list was created based on the verbal and written feedback I recieved from the palcement supervisor and the community I served. 
List of skills gained during placement experience 
According to an analysis of various experimental procedures I am able to perform, understand and analyse, the list above indicates that I have mastered the techniques required by an introductory microbiology lab. However, I would like to expand more on these skills and widen this web to add more and more of different techniques because learning should never stop. I plan to do so by pursuing some fourth year courses in microbiology such as BIOD21. 

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