Integrative Learning:

Being in Dr. Torres’s calculus classroom this semester has been an emotional rollercoaster simply because It was a tougher level of math I thought that calculus one was a bit thought but now looking at it was rather easier than calculus two. This semester I decided to drop out of the Biology and chemistry classroom because it wasn’t something that I found interesting and it didn’t help with my major, so I was not able to make any connections towards calculus and biology/chemistry. In addition to this, one learning target that I was able to connect with biology and chemistry was learning target 10. Learning target 10 was about the separation of integrals, I started to relate it to science because Dr. Torres gave us an article about fighting HIV with an assist from calculous. 

After reading the article “Fighting HIV with an assist from calculous“, I was able to make a connection with our topic, Learning Target 10. The article was about how Perelson and Ho used a combination of experimentation with protease inhibitors and modeling with differential equations to derive the equations P= c*V0. To estimate this, they had to use the number of virus particles being cleared each day by the immune system. This helped me have a bigger connection with our LT10 because of the way the scientist and mathematician used the separation of variables and integration. Using this math, they were able to find the right amount of prescription to use on patients.

Collaborative Learning: Calculus II was a very challenging class, but what I liked about this class was when it came to studying with my peers. Dr. Torres would write down examples on the board and my peers would together help each other to understand and answer the equation that was written down. We corrected one another without taking the judgment in a wrong way. My team quiz partner, Brunnet, and I struggled together throughout some team quizzes, but something that we did was study together a day before an exam. If we weren’t able to study together, we would call each other and remind each other to study. Once the quiz came, we both trusted each other even if we got it wrong, we had that trust with one another. After we received our grade back from each team quiz from whatever learning target me and Brunett would get together and go over the quiz even if it was correct.

I think that learning target 14 was overall a challenging topic with all of my classmates. It was a topic that made us all be patient with one another, especially when going up to the board, we took our time in comparing our answers and correcting each other. We definitory took more time with this learning target than anything. This was the learning target that Brunnet and I had done incorrectly, learning target 14. Even though we didn’t get the checkpoint I liked how we were talking about the test thoroughly giving our points of view without getting offended. We didn’t get the checkpoint, but we worked together as a team and went over the quiz when we got it back.

Growth mindset: Over all the learning targets the most challenging learning target that had me rethinking how I was studying was LT14.I knew that learning target 14 was going to be challenging but I thought that was going to understand it like I did with other checkpoints. One I had completed the second mini-quiz, and I knew that it was hard and challenging because there were still some stuff that I didn’t understand 100%. What I did to do better on my last checkpoint on learning target 14 was that I didn’t study by myself this time instead I decided to get a tutor. The tour pointed me out on the stuff that I did wrong and gave me advice on how to improve my techniques for the tests. In the end, I felt prepared and confident when I went to bed that night.

Once I took the quiz for learning target 14 I understood what I was doing, and  I got the checkpoint that I needed. I got it because I used the techniques that the tutor had given me, and I stopped overthinking about my work, as well as I was more confident in my work. This checkpoint made me realize that sometimes all I need is a tutor and to ask other people for help when I am not understanding a topic. I also used different videos to understand this topic. It was from “The Good Chemistry’, tutor on YouTube. moving on to the next semester I am going to go to tutors when I am in stressful situations instead of waiting last minute and continuing to use YouTube videos when I don’t have a tutor to help me.

Development of Self-Efficacy: 

 At the beginning of the semester, it was a big challenge because I was going through some stuff that affected me with my studies. For starters, my roommate and I were not on good terms, making me have to move out and go to a new building urgently. My old roommate did not take this well and she threw out half of my stuff to the garbage making all of my stuff damaged. Hence, I received a phone call from my aunt saying that my favorite cousin had gotten into an accident that left him in a coma. I was in shock, and this made me have a mental breakdown. I usually don’t like going to therapy and talking about what’s going on in my life because I was never allowed to express my feelings growing up, instead, I found ways to distract myself so I wouldn’t get depressed.

 The beginning of my spring semester was not a good start, but I didn’t give up. I have my best friend Tais who would distract me from everything that had happened and push me to succeed in my studies. We would go to the library and study almost all day, and at night we would go to the gym. We both kept this routine consistent. I would say that the gym helped my mental health because when I worked out I put all of my anger into the machines, and this made me feel good and less stressed. I am also a catholic so I would pray to God, and it made me feel at peace. I knew that I couldn’t stay down because being sad and depressed all the time wasn’t going to take me anywhere, so I decided to stay motivated and fake a smile every day.