My greatest strengths in Visual Studies I include: having a lot of experience and practice with collaging and cut paper, and my ability to follow instructions to use the software. I feel that my writing skills are strong in writing reflections about others’ work, and also in explaining my purpose in the various projects I have completed so far.
For greater success in this course, I need to: practice certain tasks within the Adobe software using the handouts we are given in class, and take notes during the demos so I can recall the most important aspects and of the class each day. Communicating more with my teachers might also be helpful and give me a clearer idea of how I should go about assignments.

My greatest strengths in Foundation Art & Design include: paying close attention to the crafting of each assignment, being concise and detailed in the way I fulfill the requirements while also being creative and putting my own personal taste and perception into my work.
For greater success in this course, I need to: pay more attention to why I make certain decisions in my work and be able to identify my purpose in completing projects in a certain way. This class is very process based, so I am being forced to think more deeply about my process and cohesion of the parts of my project and how they represent one unified concept. This is a cool way of learning, but it has been a little challenging.

My computer skills include: A basic understanding of Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge, Camera Raw, and Premiere, the ability to import and export photos, printing in the labs, and using GarageBand and iMovie as tools for small music and film projects
I still need to learn: the layering features in Photoshop that allow me to collage digitally, and the features in PremierePro so that editing might be a little less frustrating in the future.

My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: being able to write over a broad spectrum of genres, ranging from creative writing to research papers. I am pretty strong at writing analytically in both visual and literary settings, and I am usually intuitive when it comes to finding information and looking for specific resources.
I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: Organization and cohesion of thoughts, and conducting research about art and processes that interest me, or that will be helpful to me in my studies.

I learn best & accomplish most when: My teachers and classmates are encouraging and holding each other accountable to constantly create. I accomplish more when I am submerged in a positive learning environment and also when I am pushed to be the best I can be through positive and negative criticism, and when I am urged to constantly make work that I am interested in and can learn from.

ACTION PLAN

I am struggling more with my Visual Studies class because I am being introduced to so many new concepts and resources that I am a bit overwhelmed. I think I can improve my performance in this class by:
1. Improving my time management skills
2. Getting on Photoshop and walking through the class demos to gain experience
3. Staying organized and writing my assignments down in my calendar so I don’t get overwhelmed and forget
4. Thinking about the process I go through to complete my assignments and how I can use it to gain knowledge and skill
5. Taking notes in class so that I am more attentive and remember the important things from the class periods
6. Utilizing teachers as resources and getting information about my interests and struggles
7. Taking advantage of the equipment and resources available for visual studies students
8. Talking and sharing with classmates and teachers about my interests and the things I want to learn more about pertaining to the things we learn in class
9. Getting more sleep so that I can be fully present and devote my attention to what we learn and discuss
10. Learning from criticism and improving based on the weak areas in my work