Introduction
This semester started off in the worst way I can imagine, for obvious reasons. It really took me a while to get my footing back after the loss of my mom, I still haven’t recovered from it. But the first half of this semester was honestly just hell, I was two weeks behind in 4 classes, with quite literally no motivation to catch myself up. After several weeks of mindlessly going to class, I did eventually get myself to a place where I felt like I was no longer drowning in homework. However, there is quite a few assignments across all of my classes that just never got done. The second half of the semester was much better for me. I was hitting deadlines and wasn’t miserable a majority of the time. I enjoyed a lot of the work that we did in our research team. But overall I feel like this semester is not an accurate representation of my capability. I am hoping to come back from summer break stronger and a better student overall for the fall semester.
Goal 1 – 13c – 20%
Uses language to skillfully communicate with clarity and fluency.
We have had two different lab write-ups to demonstrate this outcome. The first lab writeup was about our first trip this semester where we were hands on with plant specimens, and I discussed how they categorize different specimens and what was missing in the information they provided. Our second lab writeup, I feel displays this skill well because we had to combine the final two labs into one, discussing our focus groups and how those went. As well as our surveys that did not go to plan, and how that affected our focus group interviews.
Goal 2 – 12c – 20%
Works independently towards goals by contributing and meeting deadlines.
This was a goal that I struggled with early on in the semester for obvious reasons but as the semester went on I got better. I do believe I haven’t missed any deadlines since those first two months. The only deadline I remember missing is Source Analysis 4 where I simply forgot to email it to you and you got it the next day. Below is a few screenshots of assignments being turned in on time.
Goal 3 – 5b – 20%
Accesses information using effective, well-designed search strategies and appropriate sources.
For this source analysis, Kadynce, Kasey, Evitt, and Myself had to find a source related to our group’s topic which was Indigenous Knowledge. The source we found was about the Karuk tribe in California and how when scientists collaborated with them, it created positive change. This was helpful for our research because it showed how effective collaborating with Indigenous communities can be.
This is the source for our analysis:
Goal 4 – 2c – 20%
Transforms ideas through synthesizing knowledge from multiple domains.
There are two ideas that come to mind when I think of this outcome. I think of both of our lab write-ups. Our first lab consisted of us simply just stepping into the shoes of a botanist and looking at how they do things at MOBOT. This lead to us finding Indigenous knowledge to be lacking within the information on the plant specimen folders themselves. Secondly our second lab consisted of both our focus group interviews as well as our surveys. Even though our surveys did not get many responses, we used our questions and responses to help reform some questions for the focus group interviews. We then also used our focus group interview transcripts to help us form our final video project.
Goal 5 – 8a – 20%
Uses clear organizational patterns and is skillful at presenting content cohesively.
I did not have many opportunities to present work this semester, but two things come to mind. When we presented our surveys to the staff at MOBOT and our videos. Even though our videos were not a very formal presentation, we did have to coordinate our video and organize it to actually make sense, and I would say we did a good job at that.
This was us presenting our survey to MOBOT.