1.)Prior learning What methods, theories, ideas and skills that you learned or used in class/current curriculum/other experiences were useful in completing this project? One of the most helpful skills we learned during our class time would be understanding the scientifuc method and how to conduct a scientific question, another skill that showed to be very rescourcful was data analysis. Before we even chose our topic we were working on creating
2.) Present experience What are two of the most significant things you did during the experience?
In this project there were not just two specific things that were the most significant, but rather all the work we did lead us to the final presentation of our work at our public exhibition. To me the most significant parts of this project consisted of our beginning research, lab activities, topic research and data analysis all of these things lead us to create our essays and our infographics we displayed to the public. 3.) Through those actions, how did you contribute to the success of the project?
We went through a long process throughout this project in which each step greatly contributed to our final outcome. Everything we learned benefited us in some way. We started this project out by learning about the scientific method and specifically the process and guidelines of generating a scientific question. Learning how to do this helped us develop strong answerable questions about our chosen topics. We did several lab activities. In theses lab activities we learned how to do data analysis and got a hands on idea of what happens in ecosystems. Then we dove into completing our research essays and creating our infographics. I contributed to the success of our project along the way through each step. I put the most effort possible into each part of the project, and our end result was beautiful.
In what ways did you experience difficulties (e.g., interacting with others, accomplishing tasks) and what personal characteristics contributed to the difficulties (e.g., skills, abilities, perspectives, attitudes, tendencies, knowledge)?
Balancing the overall workload was one of the greatest difficulties we faced. This caused probelms later because we were focused on getting our own work we forgot to communitcate with one another. During the essay part of this proccess ran into a problem where we all wrote similar paragraphs because we divided the different paragraphs and assigned them to a specific person to write. In the end we had to cut out some major portions of our essay so that it was not repeated. However after we sprted this out everything moved very smothly and we were all able to create beautiful infographics and work together to make a well conducted essay.
What assumptions or conceptions (about yourself, others, or how things work) were confirmed or contradicted by the experience?
Overall since we were able to choose our groups I feel my expectations were there however they were meet I knew the group I chose would be great and that proved to be true. We all contributed in differnt ways but equally applied effort and thoughfullness thorughout the entire project, I belive having this experience was very encouraging and I look forward to working together with either new people or the same to produce quality work.
What did you learn about your subject matter/research area that you had not known prior to having completed this project?
Through this project, I learned a lot ecosystems and the abiotic and biotic factors within each ecosystem and the types of relationships of animals and plants in the many ecosystems around the globe. Igot to dive deeper into each of these subjects hroughout this entire project, once we chose our topics we were able to get a btter understanding of the relationships present within our specific ecosystem we also got to learn alot about climate change, The American Pika and The Alpine Tundra, If you could do the project again, what might you do differently to achieve improved results?
If this project is done again next year, I think that all the infographics should be printed and brought to the exhibition. At the exhibition I felt out of place because I had nothing to present. I think it is very important that ALL the work done during the project is presented.
What could be the implications of what you learned from this experience for your future work/research/career?
This project was very eye opening, though I may not come away from the project wanting to pursue a career in Pikas, I definitely will come away from it with more understanding of how hugely the Pika are being impacted and how this affects all the abiotic and biotic factors in the alpine tundra and in other ecosystems.
What skills, knowledge, or experience did you wish you had prior to attempting this project that would have aided you to get more from the experience and/or achieve a better outcome?
One skill that I wish I had before going into this project would be how to work with the program we were using. I understood the basics of the program however when we got into creating the graphs and the charts i got very confused and ended up having to just use screenshots of ones we had already created. The problem with this is that it did not match the theme of my infogrphic. If I knew how to work with tis prior to starting I feel I would have been more productive with my time and could have created a more revised infographic.
How well did the activities focused on in this experience mesh with your learning style?
The activities focused on in this experience meshed well with my learning style because they were all very hands on and fun. I tend to need viduals and activites to reall understand a subject and for me to really understand the subject matter. In the lab where we had to collect beans in a plot of land gave me a good understanding of data analysis and of animal relationships within an ecosystem. This activity helped me get a more realistic and hands on experience of how ecosystems work rather than just sitting in a class listening to a lesson. How will having participated in this experience change how you approach projects/tasks/research in the future?
Having participated in this experience will change the way I approach projects, tasks, and research in the future by making me more group oriented. I had a really good experience with all of my group members throughout the project, and I am coming away from the project with new positive experiences in groups. After this project I am more motivated to work in groups and be part of group activities.