My Reflection
Developing Ideas – I make my ideas work or I change what I am doing. In this project the task at hand was to design and carry out a structured experiment that could be performed in a controlled environment. One thing that I found I did very well during this project was really creating and developing ideas and being able to use them when designing and carrying out the actual experiment. One example of me making ideas work during this project was when myself and my group mates were tasked with taking an idea we had formulated for the whole experiment and transferring that into a structured, proper project. I feel that I was really able to make my ideas work when doing this project, there were many different factors we had to take into consideration when discussing what kind of rules, time limits, and boundaries were needed to make this whole idea of “Do Wood Bugs like Fruit” happen. I also felt that I had to be flexible during this project because there are many different variables when it comes to properly carrying out an experiment, Being able to cooperate with my group mates to be able to change a specific variable without having to alter other variables was a difficult yet achievable task. When we had finished the experiment I felt extremely accomplished and proud of my work because I felt that I was successfully able to make my ideas work and carry out the task. That is why I feel I succeeded in being able to change or make my ideas work during this project.
Building Relationships – I can be part of a group. During this project we were tasked to perform the experiment in small groups of 3-4 people. One thing I feel I did very well was having the ability to cooperate with everyone in my group and being able to include and consider everyones ideas. One major stress factor for me during this project though was that I just moved to the area and did not know anybody in the class. So when we were informed that we had to do this project in groups it startled me a little bit, but I was able to persevere and very comfortably work together with my group mates to produce a project that I am proud of. I feel that my ability to work well in a group during this project and being able to use and include other peoples ideas really made it work well. Working in groups can sometimes be difficult for me because I like to use my ideas and I constantly strive for what I feel is right and will turn out the best, but in this project I pushed that mentality aside and was able to confidently utilize and incorporate my group mates ideas into the project. When I used other peoples ideas and let them take the reigns of the project at points it ended up giving variety and provided creative ideas that I never would have thought of. When my group and I were coming up with ideas for what the actual experiment was going to be, a group member of mine and myself had very similar ideas for what the project was going to be framed around. When we took our ideas of what we wanted the Wood Bugs to be tested on and how we wanted to carry it out, we came up with “Do Wood Bugs like/eat Fruit” and that ended up being an excellent and very interesting concept to test. That is why I feel I greatly demonstrated that I can comfortably work and function in groups.
Self-Regulation – I can persevere with challenging tasks. One thing I feel I could have done better when performing this experiment is persevering when getting faced with challenging tasks. At certain moments during this project it felt like I had hit a mental wall and I felt like I could not carry on. When we were formulating ideas at the beginning of the project for what it was going to be about at some points me and my group members couldn’t come to an agreement no matter what we tried to compromise with. Eventually we came up with a great idea, but it was at that moment when we couldn’t come up with a group idea where I felt like just stopping because things were not working out. One thing I plan on working on is being able to work around challenging tasks or being able to face those tasks head on and using my group to formulate a solution. I feel that if I am able to work towards that skill then I will become a more effective group member. For those reasons, I feel that I could have done better when being faced with challenging tasks during this project.