At the beginning of this year I was confused; while at ramp camp our topics we would be studying all year were presented and we, the students were told that we would be working these topics Into all 3 of our classes. This mystified me because 10 years of traditional teaching had led me to believe that interweaving a topic into different areas of study simultaneously was something impossible. Through this year my views on this have slowly changed. Now, while studying social media and the environment, I have been able to develop english, science and science skills through my campaign on waste disposal.
By creating content for my website on waste management I demonstrated my English prowess. By mastering complex analysis of evidence, as seen in this essay on racism To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, I was able to create effective analysis of evidence when approaching my lab background.
These two pieces of writing show mastery of evidence analysis across two different types of analysis. Additionally both the background and procedures are written with considering the prospective audience in mind. I keep the language scientific but simple in a way that encourages young visitors to ask questions about unknown concepts so that they can learn. I also keep the procedures simple enough so that anyone without scientific background could complete this lab. This is important because I want as many people as possible to complete the lab.This skill of writing with an audience in mind translated well to the completion of my ted talk. By mastering this skill while writing my background and procedures I was able to effectively write my Ted Talk. I did this by considering that the ted talk audience would be there to learn something, to be told something, or to be entertained. I tried to use the first two purposes in my Ted Talk by utilizing rhetoric that enforced these purposes. I used informative rhetoric in the meat of my talk in order to teach the audience and switched to a rhetoric that called for action at the end of my talk in order to raise awareness and passion about the issue, and therefore, my solution. Even now, It surprises me how much English skills were necessary to be invoked in such a scientific study and project.
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| The procedures I wrote for my lab and displayed on my website |
By studying the environmental
problems caused by improper waste disposal, I was able to design a lab to show the human aspects in causing it. I thoroughly studied the effects and proposed and designed a solution to this problem in my essay on my A Better Waste Bin. Writing this essay allowed me to define the cause and effect of the problems caused when you throw out recycle or compost incorrectly. This was fueled by strong and reputable research as can seen in the works cited. This essay began my deep dive into the topic of recycling and reflected my ability to find and logically analyze scientific evidence. This led me to create my lab.
This lab showcased my ability and expertise in the scientific method. I linked our study of aerobic vs anaerobic at the beginning of the year to the decomposition of organic matter in landfill which demonstrates my retention of information from previous units and my ability to connect scientific topics across studies. This skill was helpful when writing the background for my lab and while creating my video on the problem. My entire campaign was fueled by my scientific research and the creation of a lab that was designed specifically to help people understand a complex scientific problem that I had become an expert in.
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| The data collected when I completed my lab that is to be used as an example for people that would like to also complete it |
This lab showcased my ability and expertise in the scientific method. I linked our study of aerobic vs anaerobic at the beginning of the year to the decomposition of organic matter in landfill which demonstrates my retention of information from previous units and my ability to connect scientific topics across studies. This skill was helpful when writing the background for my lab and while creating my video on the problem. My entire campaign was fueled by my scientific research and the creation of a lab that was designed specifically to help people understand a complex scientific problem that I had become an expert in.
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| The twitter account I designed to spread the word about my lab and the environmental problem of waste disposal |
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| The playlist that contains my 3 videos and other related ones |
Completing this project has not only helped me develop skills in all three of the subjects of Science, English, and Technology/Social Media, but also begin to see that there is always a possibility for us to make change or raise awareness. This process has also let me see how vital social media is to this process. Whether it be YouTube, Twitter, or just a website it is incredibly important to use a media to reach as many people as possible. I recently saw my dad accidentally drop a piece of paper in a parking lot and then leave it to fly away. I told him “I can't preach recycling if you do stuff like that”. But, as I realized later, this is just one person, to make a difference i am going to need to get everyone's attention. To do this I need social media. And as I have found out through my personal experience in this core: You can not have one without the others, the subjects of Science, English, and Technology/Social Media are forever intertwined. You can not master one without mastering the others.
