AIF project
Week 1
Exploration of Ideas
In class - E1
To begin the AIF project, our class participated in a sticky note exercise (a type of brainstorming activity) where everyone contributed a few possible interest areas on sticky notes. These ideas were then collected and displayed, creating a large class brainstorm of potential project topics. This exercise helped me explore a wide range of possibilities before narrowing down into specific interest areas.
The ideas that caught my eye were starting a small business and training a puppy. However, another interest area that I was also going to explore was sewing.
Reviewing the exercise - E2
Originally I didn't think that this exercise would be very helpful. However looking back I found that completing the exercise was actually very insightful. This learning strategy was beneficial because it allowed me to:
- Visualise a wide range of ideas without overthinking and filtering anything out
This was helpful as it helped me remain open minded. Usually when I have the freedom to chose a specific interest area I tend to overanalyse everything at the early stages. This made this activity particularly helpful as it meant that I did not limit myself to the most obvious options at the start.
- Obtain new perspectives and options that I would not have thought of myself
An example of this is sewing, which is something I would never have thought of myself however it is a project that actually intrigued me quite a lot.
- Seeing patterns in my interest
After seeing a wide range of ideas I noticed that the specific ideas that I was drawn to the most were hands-on skill based projects. All of these involved more then just researching and writing (e.g. cooking) or just practicing one thing over and over again. This activity helped understand more about my own learning preference where I preferred a more hands on and practical learning experience.
At home - E3, PA1
To gain further insight into possible interest areas for my AIF project I interviewed my mum on her thoughts. This idea was suggested by my AIF teacher in class where she said that we should ask people that know us well. When interviewing my mum she suggested that I should consider doing a project related to developing life skills such as housework, cooking and meal planning as I will be moving to university in two years and I may be moving to another state/city. Examples she talked about were buying groceries, preparing meals and organising daily tasks.
I think this perspective was very useful as she made me realise how important learning practical skills would be for my future. In my opinion this was very insightful input as the idea of learning/doing something useful for my AIF project that could help in my personal development was definitely something I would consider in my future decision.
Mind Map - E1, E2
After I collated the ideas from the class brainstorm and the interview with my mum onto a mind map.
This allowed me to systematically weigh the skills that I could develop when conducting each project and the various limitations that may arise when conducting the project.
When talking to a peer he suggested that I organised my mindmap from inside to outside where each interest area was researched and displayed more in depth as it expanded from inside to outside. He said this not could make the colour coding more natural but also demonstrate how I am researching more in depth to a reader.
Reviewing the metacognitive strategy - E2
What I liked ✅
- it allowed me to see all my options in one place, making it easier to compare them
An example of this is how I could recognise patterns in the limitations and skills (that could be developed) from multiple interest areas. Furthermore, this allowed me to judge each interest area more objectively. For example this was helpful when I was researching the interest area of "sewing" where I felt like it wasn't the one I was most interested in. However, after breaking it down into the skills I could develop such as "self sufficiency" I actually found that I was quite intrigued with the idea of making and tailoring my own clothes.
What I Didn’t Like ❌
- it was quite time consuming
The mind map required me to organise my ideas in a structural way. This resulted in the mind map looking quite good after I had completed it. However, what I found was that I spent a lot of my time trying to organise the ideas rather than coming up with them.
- overcomplication
Whilst I did develop a very in depth understanding of the benefits of each interest area I felt like I was somewhat overanalysing the interest areas. For example, things like how learning to cook would help me develop planning skills was quite obvious for me at the start and I probably did not require an in depth analysis of that part.
Overall I think mind mapping is somewhat useful. However, mind mapping may not be a strategy that I can use regularly as it may take up too much of my time.
My Current Thoughts - E1
The two main interest areas that I am gravitating towards are learning to cook and training my puppy.
After mind-mapping, the first interest area I decided to eliminate was the idea of starting a small business. This is because it has too many financial risks and would require parental supervision for handling costs, supplies, and potential transactions. While I liked the idea of developing entrepreneurial skills, I think that at this stage in my life I do not have the capacity to responsibly run my own business.
Next, I also decided to remove the idea of learning to sew. Since no one in my family has sewing equipment, it may be too expensive to buy all the necessary things for me to learn how to sew. Although every interest area requires some degree of financial commitment, I thought that because I wasn’t sure how interested I would be in this project after starting, the money may potentially go to waste.
Learning to cook will definitely be a useful skill in the future, as previously mentioned by my mum. I think developing a skill like cooking would be especially useful if I end up moving out earlier than planned to study in another state. Therefore, this skill would be something valuable that I could learn now, which would allow me to eat both nutritious and tasty food at good prices, instead of falling into the trope of having instant noodles every day.
Training my dog is something I definitely believe I will be actively involved in. This interest area could help me develop a wide range of skills, including communication, problem-solving, and consistency. I think the best part about this interest area is how hands-on it is, and how I have to work with my dog instead of just by myself.
What next - E1, E2, E3
As I found the strategy of interviewing my mum very useful before, I decided to employ a similar strategy when deciding between learning to cook and training my dog. At lunch, I decided to interview all my close friends in the library, one by one, to ask them for their opinion on which interest area was better.
As I wanted them to give their honest opinion, I decided not to use prompts such as “Which one do you think will be better for personal development?” or “Which one do you think will be more fun?” Therefore, all I asked was: “What do you think is a better AIF project — cooking or training a dog?”
Interviewing My Friends for Advice - E1, E3, PA1
To help me make a final decision between learning to cook and training my puppy, I asked my friends for their opinions. This is because I wanted to hear some more in depth perspectives on which project would be better for a variety of reasons that I may have not thought of or perhaps would build on my current beliefs.
Each friend had a unique perspective in which I evaluated after the interview.
1. "Forging a friendship with a dog would be more long-lasting than just food."
-
This made me think of the emotional impact of each project. After considering what he said I compared the idea of being able to play with my dog in a variety of ways and eating a good meal that I made. After this I reflected and felt that, in regards to how I would be feel emotionally if I achieved my goals in each project, training a dog would be better in this sense.
2. "Cooking is better because it is better for later life."
-
This perspective expanded on my previous ideas of how important cooking would be for my personal development and future life.
3. "Every dog is different, so you can develop problem-solving skills."
-
This definitely made me consider how different learning to train a dog would be then any other project as there would be no definitive answers for the problems I would face in the future. Whilst this sounds difficult this actually was very intriguing for me to be able to have a completely new experience than something someone else may have.
4. "If you're preparing for the future, you want to be good at socialisation and communication. Also, it could help in building a family in the future."
-
This was an interesting perspective because I hadn’t considered how training my dog would help in social settings. Furthermore, I definitely did not consider how it would help in building a family in the future. This was definitely an interesting perspective.
5. "Both are rewarding. A more rewarding long-term project would be training a dog, while a more rewarding short-term project is cooking."
-
This perspective helped me see that the outcomes of these projects are different. This is similar to what my first friend said as whilst both would be rewarding I think training a dog would overall be more fulfilling.
6. "Training a dog is more fun, has more social impact, and helps you learn to manage a relationship with animals."
-
This made me consider the enjoyment factor. Dog training is interactive and a part of a wider community. This was a very new perspective as I had not considered the fact that I could also meet new people as a result of wanting my dog to socialise too.
Final Decision - E1
After interviewing some friends and thinking over the two project choices (learning to cook and training a dog) for a weekend I decided on training a dog. This was largely due to the wide range of skills that could be developed and the differences in the learning journey that comes with working with another living being.
LEARNING OUTPUT - E1
•Area of interest:
Dog Training
•Learning Goal:
Train my dog and teach her various tricks
•Learning Output:
Create a video which shows process and improvement in dog training overtime