At the beginning of History 1120 I was unsure about the overall class as I had only taken one other history previously. The first time I took a history course it was solely based on text book learning, where as this history course we were asked to learn a lot about interpreting documents. I had a little bit of scepticism about this at first because I was not sure how to interpret a history document. My very first reading log I remember being so lost as to how I was suppose to write an interpretation on the topic. When I submitted that assignment I was not pleased with my overall work and knew I wanted to learn the necessary skills to be able to analyze and interpret a document. When it came to doing my second reading log I made sure I got Dr. Penny Light (our History 1120 teacher) to go over it with me to see where I can improve in my overall interpretation and analyzation of the document. After getting some feedback I felt as though I had enough knowledge to analyze the various reading logs. I got stuck again when it came to my document analysis. I was happy to have someone like Brenda Smith (TRU’s librarian) to help point me in the right direction and provide me with some information to pick a primary document. Even though I did not have an extensive knowledge of pre-confederation history I believe I was successful due to all the help from Dr. Penny Light, Brenda Smith and Brian Lamb I think I have had great success in History 1120.
When I graduated with my first degree I did not make use of the professors I had, where as this term I made full use of any help available. I think it is good to remember that help is good and we should not be afraid to ask for advise from someone who has knowledge on a specific topic.
At the end of the course my development of thought shifted to look at what I was saying about a specific topic. I remember doing my second to last reading log and while writing my log I was writing my thoughts down about the log and then asking myself what made myself think that. I think it is important to look back on why you had that view and make sure you always support your answer. Below you will find my second to last reading log on the duelling practice.
If there is one thing I wish I would of done differently I would have started my e-portfolio at the very first class however I had never done an e-portfolio so I did not know where to start. I say this because every time I did a reading log of had a discussion with my group I wish I had it all written down so that I could have added it to my site. Every reading log I had a different feeling and understanding of the historical event and I wish I had captured what I thought about the reading log and why. Now that I know how to do an e-portfolio I will be sure to capture my learning better overall.
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