Introduction
During the first half of the semester, I feel that I’ve learned a lot about how I work alone, how I work with other people, and the general way that CODES is run. All of these things are good for me to realize and will help me in the future when it comes to making decisions on projects and other assignments. I really enjoyed being able to have some sort of freedom when it came to deciding the format of our assignment and how “informal” we wanted to be when writing them. Something that I feel that I struggled with, however, was that I was making a lot of the assignments more complicated than they actually were. This caused me to become more stressed than I needed to be. I want to continue developing and learning more about myself through the skills listed below.
Coming in on the end of the semester has caused me to look back on everything that has happened. It’s been a rollercoaster of events and emotions but now that I’ve made it to the other side, I can confidently say that everything has helped me to develop as a person and come to terms with many different things. I’m looking forward to the future semesters as I continue my journey at SIUE through CODES.
Goal 1 (20%)
Based on 11a: I will evaluate texts’ scholarly significance to apply reading to other contexts or issues.
In each of these Source Analyses (#1 and #2), I focused on how the text related to how current events and common issues in government effect people and cities. I was able to do this because each of these assignments gave me the ability to input my own views while still analyzing the text. In the future, I might go more in depth on specific events to further strengthen my arguement.
These are both excerpts from my seventh Source Analysis, in which I analyze one of my sources from MC2. I was able to take a study done on the effects of invasive species on native species and use the research and data to support my argument on a lack of biodiversity and the causes and effects of it. In the future, I would want to be more direct on what specifically could be done in the future to prevent a lack of biodiversity in the first place but that will also come with me being out in the field and talking to experts.
Goal 2 (20%)
Based on 13b: I will use appropriate, relevant, and compelling content to illustrate mastery of the subject, conveying my understanding, and shaping the whole work.
In my MC1 (Infrastructure Injures), I used a variety of different sources to shape my work. By doing this, I was able to pull the readers in and convey the overall message of the text. The reason I was able to do this was because I understood both the assignment and what I was writing about. In the future, one thing I may do differently is use more direct in-text citations. A lot of my citations were either at the end or in the form of a photo.
In MC2 (Lack of Biodiversity in the Lower Mississippi River) I was able to more effectively use citiations and outside resources to support my argument. I used the article’s scientific research as a way to both help others understand what I am talking about as well as prove that other scholars and researchers agree with my argument. In the future, I would like to go more in depth and maybe talk to researchers and scholars directly to get a first hand interview rather than reading an article.
Goal 3 (20%)
Based on 1b: I will connect and extend knowledge from academic study to civic engagement.
In this Miro Board, I was able to share both direct and indirect stakeholders in relation to poor water quality. This helped me to relate the water quality issues the class had seen in the Flint movie to the ones listed by my peers on the Miro Board. In the future, I would want to be more specific on times/places where some of these stakeholders may have taken place/started from.
Goal 4 (20%)
Based on 2c: I will transform ideas through synthesizing knowledge from multiple domains.
In both my MC1 (Infrastructure Injures) and in my DP1 (Lost in the Verses), I used a variety of forms of media. With graphs, pictures, and music, I was able to portray the central idea of each project in a unique and creative way. This was something that I hadn’t done before in a project so I was excited to try it and I’m glad it turned out as well as it did.
In addition, in MC2 (Lack of Biodiversity in the Lower Mississippi River), when coming up with the idea on what to focus on, the group eventually decided on how a lack of biodiversity is created by both human and animal activities and in turn negatively effects both humans and animals. Through all of the sources we found, we were then able to identify both the problem at hand as well has how we can go on to solve the problem, or at the very least, move it further away from being a wicked problem.
Goal 5 (20%)
Based on 5a: I will define the scope of research questions effectively and select information cogently to address them.
This is an excerpt from my second Source Analysis. In this assignment, I came up with a clear solution on how to solve the problems I found related to direct and indirect drivers of human issues. This helped me to see the causes of many wicked problems because a lot of them start as small problems that direct and indirect drivers push into becoming a wicked problems. For the future, I think this assignment will help me notices wicked problems before they become “wicked” and figure out a way to solve them before it’s too late.
This is an excerpt from my sixth Source Analysis. In this assignment, I acknowledged multiple of the issues that the city of Centreville, IL was facing, as well as the issues with the government that are supposed to be helping them. It’s because of this that I was also able to acknowledge the deep rooted problem with the government’s dismissal of Centreville. Again, this helped me to see how events like this lead to wicked problems. While the Centreville crisis is not yet a wicked problem, it has the ability to become one in the future. The government and the people both in and around Centreville will have to work together to ensure that it doesn’t become one.