Renae Elsaesser

IR I/10-GT/2
11/6/19

Objectives:

● Work on annotations and critical reads. Get ahead on them. Look through the second

paragrpahs of my annotations and make sure I include all the right information. Start

preparing for compiled annotations.

● Sources of Strength training and Lifeguard training

● Talk to my advisor more about my topic. Talk to her more about ASFP in Maryland and

the Its ok to ask campaign.

● Annotate the books from UMBC. Check out more books relates to my topic and watch

more videos. Explore UMD database. More diversity in citations.

● Keep looking at monthly calendar and focus on major due dates

● Email more organizations for sources

● Work on presentation and practice presenting without memorization. Focus more on

practicing without notecards. Know the freamework but do not get too critical with the

details.

● Present 3 classroom presentations

● Search for keywords, searches by author, databases, and credible websites! Remember to

check publication date and question the reliability and relevance of the data.

Journal:
 At the beginning of this class, my speaking skills were not the best. I have always been

afraid of public speaking mainly because of past embarrassing experiences. After presenting my

Independent Research slideshow to my class period and to a separate group during the Smart

Speaking field trip I feel that I have grown a lot as a speaker. I have become a lot more confident

speaking to a larger audience and I have been able to talk freely without stressing about messing

up. In the future, in preparation for my classroom presentations I will be willing to change up the

wording. This makes it easier to change it up during the actual presentation if things aren’t going

exactly as I originally planned. Memorization only sets a barrier between the speaker and

audience. However, I will make sure to memorize the framework of the presentation. It seemed

scripted and I felt like I could have shown my knowledge on the topic better. In addition, I wish

I could have set my notecards aside because they were more of a challenge for me. I knew

everything I wanted to say but the notecards just made me feel like I was missing something

which made me lose focus on the audience. Some of my strengths as a speaker now are that I

have good body language, good voice control, I am more confident, and more comfortable with

embarrassment. Some of my goals for the classroom presentations are to have better eye contact,

talk slower than I think, and to keep up my energy level throughout the whole presentation. The

most important goal of all is to engage with my audience and make the most of the presentation

instead of trying to get it over with. Fortunately, I have found an advisor from the Howard

County Department of Health on my first letter! I am very thankful and can not wait to work

with them in both the Independent Research program and Sources of Strength program.