“Supa Spectacular Seminar of the Ultimate Reflection”
Our last seminar of the unit was about reflecting on our MYP journey.
The first question asked about our favorite or most memorable unit. We all held differing opinions; however, our choices all centered around the same core reasons, such as pleasant learning experiences, opportunities to acquire new knowledge, or engaging assignment formats like role-play performances and mood board creation. When discussing our most memorable or least favorite units, the main reasons for disfavor mostly boiled down to confusing course content or overly challenging assignments.
The second question asked which book from the MYP curriculum each of us would recommend to incoming students and the reasoning behind our pick. My first choice was To Kill a Mockingbird. I recommended this book to challenge future learners, as it is an outstanding work featuring abundant themes suitable for in-depth analysis. My classmates put forward various alternative book recommendations of their own.
The third prompt covered key takeaways from our full MYP Literature course. Some students cited ethos, logos, and pathos as vital knowledge gained. Others valued the seminars greatly, noting these sessions helped us articulate personal thoughts, refine language organization, and improve pre-discussion preparation. For my part, the PEAS essay framework—Point, Evidence, Analysis, Summary—stood out as the most essential takeaway. This writing structure applies across all subjects, courses, and assignments and serves as a fundamental tool for analyzing problems and expressing personal viewpoints.
The final question sparked great enthusiasm among everyone: what suggestions would we offer to improve the future ELL curriculum design? One of my proposals was to replace large group classes of twenty-five students with smaller-sized classes, since smaller class settings deliver higher learning efficiency and better learning outcomes. Other classmates suggested adopting clear ABCD assessment criteria, defining specific corresponding tasks for each criterion and sharing these requirements with students either ahead of or at the start of every unit.
This seminar was graded against Criterion B, which made it easier for participants to earn strong marks. I scored an eight on this seminar assessment and feel proud of this result. Even so, I still have room for improvement: I can structure my arguments more logically and incorporate more formal, specialized vocabulary when elaborating on my ideas.
Anna and Ryan led the seminar exceptionally well. Anna condensed all workbook prompts into these four broad open-ended discussion questions. In addition, she maintained a fixed speaking order to ensure every participant got a turn to share their perspectives.