Blog 4: Project Reflection and Working EQ

(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing has happened as a result of what you have completed so far?

•  As a result of what I have completed so far, I got a better understanding of what it is that my senior project will be on. With the help of a few books, and my interviewee, I realized that I can't study Marine Biology as a whole, but need to focus on a subset of it. I've decided that I'm going to focus more on Marine Conservation Biology which focuses more on ecology and protecting the ocean ecosystems.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

• My interview with a professor of Biological Sciences at Cal State Long Beach helped me understand my topic better. I told him that I wanted to study pollution and different ways to help bodies of water affected by it, and Dr. Lowe, my interviewee, told me that pollution is too broad and vague of a topic to study and he said that I should focus more on the conservation aspect of marine life. So, therefore, I have decided to focus on marine conservation biology, which is the study of conserving physical and biological marine resources and ecosystem functions.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

• Contacting different professors and teachers at iPoly is what has helped me the best. Seeking the help that I need and finding out new contacts has worked best for me so far. For instance, I talked to Elijah Armendariz and he said that a freshman teacher at iPoly, Ms. Cancino, would be a really good contact regarding ecology. So, he took me to her classroom and she told me to contact some juniors that had contacts at Long Beach Aquarium that could help me with research.

  (4) What hasn't worked so far?

•  Well, there haven't really been any problems with my senior project, but the biggest thing that has been trouble is the research checks. The work isn't hard, but I can never find articles that are suitable for the checks. Most of the articles that I find are blurbs and blurbs aren't accepted after the first research check. The only thing I can do is go to more reliable sites and specific topic pages.

(5) Finding Value:  Based on your experience so far:

- What possible question or questions come to mind regarding what you would like to study this year (don't list questions about the instructions relating to the senior project)? 

-What is your end goal this year with your senior project (don't say get a good grade or gain knowledge, put specific things you want to accomplish in your senior project this year)?

-Who would you like to talk to you next? Why?

• Some possible questions I have thought about regarding marine conservation biology are what are the reactions different animals have to different solutions? Does pollution have the same effect on all marine life? Or do some animals have protective skin or chemicals in their bodies that render the effect's useless?
• My goal by the end of this year with my senior project is to have done a lot of in the field type of service learning. I've been researching different institutes and organizations that offer marine biology training courses and have contacted the facilities on whether I would be able to do so. I would also like to be a semi-experienced diver and have a better understanding of the ocean's effect on the atmosphere and climate.
• The next person I would like to talk to would be the junior that Ms. Cancino told me about. The reason is because Ms. Cancino said that the junior has contacts at Long Beach Aquarium that would be useful to me regarding finding a mentor and furthering my research.