CAS- Service

I'm now using this blog as evidence of my work at Hippotherapie Zentrum, Binningen.

Hand-in Time.

I have just finished printing out three copies of my write-up. Next I will be printing the process journal and binding everything together.

I'm glad that it's over!

Almost Finished.

Today I am making the last minor changes to my report. I will have my final word count and report ready to be printed and bound at school tomorrow morning. I plan on handing everything in during the second half of school. It will be very nice to have the Personal Project done with.

The exhibition night was a great success. My table was not as elaborate as some people's but it was simple and attractive. I recieved many great questions from parents, siblings and teachers in the ISB community.

My Timeline
Progress as of January 23rd 2010

-Topic selection
-Finish research this week. (week of November 16th)
-Have my plan done by the end of November.
-Star volunteering by December 5th 2009.
-Detailed outline done by December 7th 2009 (handed in), starting to write the draft.
-Starting to put my scrapbook together, January 2nd.
-Draft handed into Mr. Geraets just before ski camp, Jan. 6th .
-Changes made after ski camp, Jan. 10th.
-Good copy of the essay &possibly the product finished, Jan. 17th.
-Project Exhibition evening, Jan. 19th.

-Final date for submission of completed project and process journal, Jan. 25th.
-Internal Moderation of project and interviews, February 11-19th 2010.


Orange has been completed,
Blue is still to be done.

Reflecting.

With the majority of my project done, I've decided to reflect on the things I did/ learnt while completing this assignment.

Difficulties
Something that was very hard for me during my assignment was not making the horses the focus of my project. Since my goal didn't directly mention horses, I wasn't able to include as much about the horses as I would have liked. My scrapbook included pictures and a discription of the horses at Hippotherapie Zentrum, but in my report I could barely include them.
If I could do something differently, I would have chosen a topic that included horses more. I had a lot of problems going back to my write up and cutting parts out because it wasn't linked to my AoI or the goal.

What I learnt
This project has enabled me to learn so much about therapeutic riding and what it does. Before the personal project, I barely knew anything about riding being used as therapy. By volunteering at Hippotherapie Zentrum I feel that I have gained even more knowledge. This knowledge isn't linked to my assignment, but to horse-sense. I have learned what is involved in taking care of horses and that is invaluable to me. I have also been able to learn more about how horses interact with each other.
From the research I have obviously learnt a lot too. The different types of therapeutic riding and the associations that represent the therapy in each country. I feel that the 'hands-on' aspect of working at Hippotherapie Zentrum has helped the most though. I learn better by doing and obvserving rather than just reading or being told.

Time Management
One of the bigger things I have learnt from doing this project is deffinately the importance of managing your time. During the different stages of my project I didn't manage my time effectivly enough. At times I found myself scrambling to finish parts and it left me with a horrible feeling. If I had made an even more detailed timeplan I feel that I would have been more organised during my assignment. I will deffinatly take that into consideration next year when I do my extended essay.

Product Exhibition Night

The Product Exhibition Night is in two days, and my product is almost ready.

I have planned out all the pages and I am just getting ready to start the title cover.

Finished Write up and Product

My first draft has been handed into Mr Gerates and he is in the process of editing it. When I get it back, I will be editing and making the changes. My essay will be handed in on the 25th of January.

I am also in the middle of designing my product. I hope to have it done within two days of the Exhibition. I plan on using water colours and paint to make the title cover and background of the pages.

Project Focus Day 2

I have been working on my write up all day. I am going to have it finished today and have it handed in to Mr Gerates at the end of the day. These two focus days have been very helpful to me, since I had two full days to have all my focus on the project.

Personal Project Foucus Day 1.

I am in the middle of my first focus day. We are in Pi for the whole day working on our projects. At the moment I am putting the finishing touches onto my write-up. I will have my draft finished by Tuesday afternoon and will hand in a hard copy to my supervisor as well as an electronic copy sent.

I will be working on my product tonight. I will hopefully have it done very soon. The exhibition night is on January 19th and I have just finished booking my display board. After the exhibition I will be writing a brief section about it in my analysis.

I had Amber translate some of the pages that were in the packet Sonja gave me. I found them very helpful for the blurb I will be writing about Hippotherapie Zentrum. One of the pages talked about when the center was established as well as who it was established by. These are the type of things that I was looking for to include in my scrapbook.

Tomorrow I will be bringing in the things I am using to make my scrapbook as well as my computer. I will be using my time very wisely tomorrow, since my finished draft needs to be handed into my supervisor in the afternoon tomorrow.

Things for the Scrapbook.

Yesterday I went to M-parc and bought a scrapbook to use for my personal project. I also went into SBB and printed out the pictures of the horses that I will be using in the book.

I am going to start to put the scrapbook together once I have finished the last bit of my draft. I will be making a 'mock copy' first, to ensure that everything fits on the page and looks the best possible. With all the scrap booking things in my house, I'm sure that will have no problems constructing the books. Now the only thing I need to find is the tool that will round the edges of the photos....

The Horses

Description of the horses.
-as seen in the scrapbook


Blakkur
Blakkur can run for hours, do a session then run afterwards. During a session he likes to move around quickly and the children love it. He is an Icelandic pony along with all of the other horses at Hippotherapie Zentrum. He loves to go fast. While working he doesn't always love it, but cooperates because he knows there will be carrots shortly after.

Dimma
Dimma is an equine Houdini. She notices every hole in the fence, no matter what the size, and tries to escape. She is a merry and lively pony who is willing and honest in the arena, but working is not her favourite thing to do. "We are going to go forward, no matter what you do! Watch out! Here comes 350 kg of horse!" She enjoys the longe and moves smoothly between gaits. When there is a child on her back, no matter what position or speed, she is confident and nothing fazes her.

Frami
Frami is sporty and lively, always moving quickly forward. During therapy she is attentive and willing, although sometimes impatient. She is not used for children in therapy. In the herd she is in the third position, and lets everyone know that she is the boss.

Gàska
Gàska is a lively mare who is friendly and like to look around the fields. Sometimes impatient, she is always full of surprises. If the barn door is left even slightly ajar, she creeps quietly, despite being shod and is guaranteed a room full of hay to munch on. She moves briskly and evenly during therapies, to the delight of the children.

Geysir
Geysir is a clown, and loves to pull jokes. Often underestimated because of his size, he does his work unshakably and has the most endurance of all the horses. He goes to work radiating with joy, if he decides to show it, full of joy and energy.

Laxi
A pretty mare, my second favourite, is ranked second in the herd. A rounded individual, Laxi is used for all types of therapies. She is very independent as well as self-confident, and knows what is expected of her during therapy sessions.

Nös
Nös is a good, patient and exceptionally pretty horse. He is used for any and every type of therapy with out any problems. Unfortunately he have had a very difficult year. Tooth problems, mushroom illness, infections and founder have kept him away from working. He recovered very slowly but is back in the herd. He is lucky to have had the support of veterinary surgeons.

Ragnar
Ragnar is the newest member of the Hippotherapie Zentrum and is settled into the herd well. While he carries children he is attentive and unshaken in the arena. He still needs more training, however there has been good progress. His mood varies from day to day, but never stays grumpy for long.

Reykur
The undisputed boss of the herd, Reykur is strong, balanced and always friendly. He is not afraid of intervening when conflict between other horses arises. He keeps the peace in the herd while making sure everyone knows who's boss. While working, Reykur shows he is glad to be working and always cooperates.

Silingur
Sili is the oldest of the herd. At 33 years old he is still in good shape for his age. After suffering from colic, he had to be closely watched while he recovered. His group of "fans" (consisting of hands and therapists) make it possible for the old gentleman to be able to spend his days as a reliable and successful therapy horse. The group checks in on him to guarantee he is groomed regularly, but no carrots for him!


Descriptions courtesy of the Hippotherapie Zentrum website.
Translated by me from Swiss German to English,
some modifications made.

Pictures of the Horses.

After finishing my barn chores, I took pictures of all the horses at Hippotherapie Zentrum. I will be using these pictures in my scrapbook and include a summary of the horses. ie. what breed, what they are used for (if there is a specific thing) etc... I also took pictures of the ramps used to help disabled riders mount, tools used during therapy sessions and the centre's sign.

I was not permitted to take pictures of the sessions, to my disappointment, so I will be using pictures off the Internet and referencing them in my bibliography etc.. By using most of my own pictures in my product, it will make my referencing much easier when I need to put my bibliography together.

I have started putting together my scrapbook, right on time, according to my timeline. I'm planing on having it done just before the exhibition night. I am looking forward to making the scrapbook, because I love doing crafty things like scrapbooking.

Time Line Progress.

My Timeline

-Topic selection
-Finish research this week. (week of November 16th)
-Have my plan done by the end of November.
-Star volunteering by December 5th 2009.
-Detailed outline done by December 7th 2009 (handed in), starting to write the draft.

-Starting to put my scrapbook together, January 2nd.
-Draft handed into Mr. Geraets just before ski camp, Jan. 6th .
-Changes made after ski camp, Jan. 10th.
-Good copy of the essay &possibly the product finished, Jan. 17th.
-Project Exhibition evening, Jan. 19th.
-Final date for submission of completed project and process journal, Jan. 25th.
-Internal Moderation of project and interviews, February 11-19th 2010.


Orange has been completed,
Blue is still to be done.

Computer Issues& Modifications.

For the past two and a half weeks I have not been able to post any of my progress because the hard drive of my laptop has been corrupt, thanks to a virus.

I have begun writing my write-up and am half way done. I will be finishing my first draft in the first days of the new year. The changes to my draft will be made during the focus days (January 4th - January 5th). I will have many people read through it, to ensure there are no mistakes made.

I have made changes to my intial 'product' idea. I was planning on making a scrapbook of my time at the Hippotherapie Zentrumm, including photos of children and horses. I was not able to attend therapy sessions because of my time limitations and privacy rules. Instead, I am going to follow through with my scrapbook plans, with a few modifications:

- I am going to include phots of the horses I work with at the Hippotherapie Zentrum, with an explaination of their temperments, which contribute to a successful therapy program

- I will have pages explaining different things about therapeutic riding with illustrations where necessary

- There will be a couple pages explaining Hippotherapy, since it's a little different than just basic therapeutic riding

- I'm going to be putting a lot of effort into the presentation of my scrapbook aswell as my write-up, of course

Hippotherapy Zentrum.

I have just got back from volunteering at Hippotherapy Zentrum. I will be volunteering every Saturday morning with two other people.

Detailed Outline.

Today I handed in my detailed Personal project outline to Mr. Geraets.
The comments were that it was good, my essay is focused largely on the Analysis section, and that I could have been a little more specific in parts, which will make it much easier to write the drafts and final copies. I will be starting to write my draft in the next couple days when I have time after school.

I have schedualed a metting with my supervisor, but I can't remember the day. I will be confirming the date and time tomorrow.

Saturdays at 7:30.

Every saturday starting on December 12th I will be volunteering at the Hippotherapie Zentrum. I will be mucking out and feeding in the mornings, but since the therapy programs start at 8:00, I might be able to see some of the sessions.

Volunteering.

The Hippotherapie Zentrum sent me a packet full of information, including the names and phone numbers of the therapists that use the facilities. Tomorrow I am getting someone who can read German to translate the packet for me. Most of the therapists work after noon, so hopefully I will be able to observe some sessions during one of the personal project focus days.

photo taken from: http://www.3gaits.org/images/hippotherapy.jpg

Second Half of the Writing Workshop.

The second half of the Writing Workshop was held today in the Aula. "Goal, AoI, link to the AoI, explain how you intend to fufil the goal, AoI, goal!" [1] We have been told this so many times, that I'm starting to understand that the AoI and goal are a very important part of the personal project. I took many notes over the course of the two writing workshops, and I find them very useful while I plan my outline and draft. The following is a summary of today's workshop:

Intro. 1-2 pages
Criteria A

- Can be broken into pieces, making sub-headers
- I can mention any other AoIs that my project relates to, (C&S) but only in one sentence
- The AoI is the driving force of the project, therefore I need to show an accute understanding of it

Description of the process. 2-3 pages
Criteria C

- Everything from initial ideas & finished product
- Including all aspects, giving reasons, NOT an alalysis
- Steps I took to achieve the goal

Analysis. Main body
Criteria D, E &F

1- The why, inspiration
- How effective was the research, understanding, in realtion to the goal and AoI

2- Analyse the process
- What worked, what didn't
- What was learned
- Which of your choices turned out to be good

3- Analyse the product in terms of the goal
- Did it turn out
- What did you learn
- What changed
- Improvements
- What could you have done differently

4- Chosen AoI
- How was it the focus
- Different aspects, that relate to the AoI
- What did you learn
- What does the project teach about the AoI
- Has your understanding of the AoI changed

Conclusion. 1 page
Criteria F

- Reflecting on the impact, re-writing the goal
- Goal > AoI > Research
*For you
*For others
*For the future: Careers, Extended essay etc..
- Suggest new perspectives
- Suggestion for others

Bibliography. (as needed)
Criteria B

- Includes all sources
- Using Noodle Tools
- Must have plenty of intext references
- Wide range of sources

Appendices. (as needed)
Criteria B

- Anything you feel will help the reader follow the process easier
- Time lines, statement of intent, key pieces of research
- Refer reader to correct appendix: "I made a timeline (See appendix 6)"
- Contains all evidence
- Contains extracts of the process journal

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria A includes the introduction, timelines, goal, AoI & aims. It needs to be very clear that all these things for criteria A are understood.

Criteria B includes the bibliography, referencing and appendices. All information and sorting of information needs to accurate and organised for criteria B.

Criteria C is how, what and why. Techniques that were used and justification is key. I need to prove how my choices were thought out, and how they benefited my project.

Criteria D focuses on reflection in the analysis. Personal response to the AoI and how it altered the project.

Criteria E is about the structure of the project. Page numbers, proof reading and how attractive the project looks. Not just handing it in with a paper clip.

Criteria F if mainly in the conclusion. How I thought about the goal, goal reflection and new perspectives.

Criteria G is assesed by the supervisor. It's based on enthusiasm, effort, passion and the monthly meetings held.



[1] Mr. Geraets, Second half of the Writing Workshop. November 2009

Worth a Queen's Ransom.

Important sections of Worth a Queen's Ransom:


"Hannah was the oldest of the three students riding that afternoon. An exceptionally bright ten-year-old challenged by cerebral palsy, she delighted in Andrea's weekly assignment of creating adventures for the group.
The other two riders in today's class were girls a few years younger than Hannah. Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, neither Carney nor Dawn communicated verbally, although Carney was prone to mouth words without making a sound. As a result, and because she was the natural leader of the group, Hannah always led the trio on the trails and was the rider who gave the "walk on" command that our therapeutic riding horses were trained to move forward on. Today, things would be different. [1]

At the sound of Hannah's voice, Carney looked up and smiled. She and Hannah shared a special bond and it was obvious Carney wanted to please her.
'"I'll help you, Carney. Say 'walk on' with me,"' Hannah continued to encourage. Carney's mouth moved, forming the words, and this time instead of silence came a whispered '"waaak on."'
Stronger and more clearly this time, Carney said "walk on," and just like magic, Fred (her horse) moved forward down the trail. [2]

Students like Hannah, who have little or no strength or movement in their legs, rely on the horse's handler to control the pace and side walkers to keep them balanced in the saddle. While the program's goal is for students to achieve as much independence in riding as they are safely capable of doing, Hannah had never trotted before.
TK's (her horse) handler gave the command and he easily moved into a slow trot. Her other side walker and I supported Hannah, keeping her in the center of the horse's broad back as we jogged on each side of him... Before we knew it, we were at the bend and TK's handler slowed him with a '"whoa."' TK came to a smooth halt with Hannah in balance and sitting tall. [3]

Thoughtfully, Carney took the first bill and placed it in Andrea's open hand. Clearly, as if it happened all the time, six-year-old Carney said '"Five."' Everyone remained quiet, not willing to break the spell, as Fred turned his head to look at his tiny rider.
Deliberately, Carney placed the second bill carefully in Andrea's hand, and said '"Ten."' Then the next, '"Fifteen."' And, as she laid the last piece of paper in Andrea's palm, Carney smiled and said, '"Twenty."'
It was over 90 degrees in the shade of those trees, but every person had goose bumps as well as tears in their eyes. Fred broke the spell with another whinny, waiting.
'"Walk on!"' Carney commanded unprompted.
'"Walk on!"' Hannah shouted.
The group moved forward. Quiet and thoughtful during the short walk back to the barn, all of us knew we had just shared an important day in the lives of two little girls. One who trotted her horse for the first time, not once, but twice, and the other who broke through a veil of silence to verbally communicate with confidence and assurance. There was no doubt that I had just witnessed magic. I couldn't wait for next week's adventure." [4]


[1] Passage from "The Ultimate Horse Lover" Page: 29. Marty and Mikkel Becker, Audrey Pavia and Gina Spadafori. 2008
[2] Passage from "The Ultimate Horse Lover" Page: 30. Marty and Mikkel Becker, Audrey Pavia and Gina Spadafori. 2008
[3] Passage from "The Ultimate Horse Lover" Page: 31. Marty and Mikkel Becker, Audrey Pavia and Gina Spadafori. 2008
[4] Passage from "The Ultimate Horse Lover" Page: 34. Marty and Mikkel Becker, Audrey Pavia and Gina Spadafori. 2008

Volunteering.

I have just finished getting off the phone with Sonja, the lady who runs Hippotherapie Zentrum. I have arranged to meet her Wednesday after school at 5:00. I will be asking her some questions about the centre and Hippotherapy We will then find a day/days that I will be able to volunteer. Hopefully I will also be able to get some information on the therapists, as the secratary has yet to e-mail and call me back.

photo taken from:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Grey_Icelandic_horse.jpg