Author: Karan Pol

Final Project Reflection | Karan Pol

Final Project Reflection

Karan Pol

BIOL 2103H

  1. In conjunction with many other students in the class, we went to Clarke Central High to work with the students the AP Environmental Sciences class on an extension of one of our own projects regarding bacterial growth in water and its resistance to various antibiotics, known as the PARE Project. In this project, we were testing for the number of colony forming units per gram of water.
  2. At the high school, along with a partner, I guided the AP students in looking at petri dishes that were showing incubated bacterial colonies and counting each that was present, so as to determine the number of colony forming units. This data was then transcribed online via an excel spreadsheet and the PARE website, much like our own data.
  3. The topic was regarding bacterial growth in waters and how the resistant the bacteria is to antibiotic. Using various dilutions and strengths of tetracycline, we tested the presence of colonies to determine bacterial resistance. This information was gathered directly through visual observation, knowledge of the antibiotic used in each petri dish, along with calculations that were both presented in the excel spreadsheet and in class. In presenting, I was able to more concretely understand the process as I was forced to communicate it.
  4. Three characteristics of effective information delivery.
    1. Intellectually stimulating: We made sure to explain the nature of the work we were doing and why it mattered in regards to viruses and the nature of antibiotic resistance
    2. Relevant to the audience: we discussed various diseases and in the spread of flu season and school beings hubs of disease, the project was highly relevant.
    3. Creative: It was difficult to incorporate this into the activity as the guidelines were rather strict -only a certain set of actions could be followed to complete the activity.
  5. Discoveries
    1. Two Discoveries Made:
      1. High schoolers are much less fun to be around in retrospect.
      2. High schoolers are louder and have shorter attention spans than I remember.
    2. I learned that I was not that great at leading a group of students that were only a few years younger than me. It shows the difficulty of the jobs TAs have.
  6. The audience, high schoolers, was extremely inattentive -at least my specific group was. They were more interested in talking to each other with little investment in the activity at hand. As such, in the future, it’s necessary to consider each audience’s preferences and interests and tailor a presentation to fit these. This can be seen in people using more videos in educating high schoolers where this may not be necessary in a past generation.
  7. I would spend more time establishing the importance of the project and going through the meaning of what was being done, also explaining in advance to us (the college students) what the instructions were for a smoother process.
  8. We had the benefit of basically redoing the assignment to cement the understanding of the process that goes behind determining bacterial resistance through this specific form of testing.
  9. While I will not be working in a related field, this presentation solidified the idea that practice makes perfect, as doing it with the high schoolers clarified any misunderstandings that I had.
  10. I don’t know that I came off as knowledgeable about the subject as I would have liked, considering I am by no means an expert. I would hope that we would go through some sort of briefing in class before going to the high school to ensure that everybody is on the same page.
  11. I feel that there wasn’t really a call to action or emotional argument made in the project that would force one to truly consider the dire situation of water quality globally. This is due to the scientific, unfeeling nature of data to the average consumer of information. Editorial is necessary.

Composting in Your Apartment

What:

  1. The infographic provides intellectually stimulating content through ingenious ways to compost with an urban lifestyle. Nowadays, with the rise of so many life-hack channels on youtube, the idea of easy ways to compost would surely appeal to a consumer.
  2. As composting, and waste management at large, is an issue in urban communities, said communities would find information that lightens the load of waste directly beneficial to their everyday, while potentially finding a sense of fulfillment in contributing toward lessening the impact of climate change and pollution.
  3. The infographic uses a consistent colour palette with icons for ease of understanding, making an easily digestible graphic. This is accompanied by many different ways of composting that are not commonly thought of.

Gut:

  1. I was interested to learn the ease of starting a vermicomposting system within the home, along with the various methods of composting materials that are traditionally discouraged in large-scale composting (paper that may fly around in compost piles, etc).

So what:

  1. The infographic is sourced by lesecologycenter.org, an organization based in New York that has been working on sustainability issues since 1987. Looking at organizations with history of sustainable use activities helps researcher draw on years of data and practice, just as farmers do with centuries of agricultural development.

Now what:

  1. The infographic does not consider the following
    1. The dislike of worms and dealing with them
    2. Potential smell of compost
    3. Laziness
  2. Clearly, the infographic is meant to target individuals who are readily invested in the sustainability of their actions, not those who are only mildly invested. As such, tactics need to target larger operations such as businesses, offices, apartment complexes, etc. This will make sure that there is communal accountability, leading to more investment and contribution in composting.

UGArden: Promoting Growth by Limiting Moisture

  1. In this picture there is a cloudy sky over dead trees and grass that is green in some spots and dead in others. Power lines stand to the left while some unknown equipment stands underneath the tunnels.
  2. I was surprised first at the lack of visible plant-life. That is to say, the fantasized notion of a garden promises fruits and vegetables that are always visible. Of course that isn’t true and logically I must’ve known that, but the subconscious expectations were subverted.
  3. Initially, looking at this picture, one may see the tunnel as an arch meant to give support to vine-based plants or others that cannot support themselves. I personally thought so on first look, thinking back to a similar arch that leads to my front door at home.
  4. Looking at this picture, I’m surprised at the amount of knowledge that is in the world that I may never know. Within the world of gardening, there is so much scientific knowledge that ranges across many disciplines. Presumably, every field requires such in depth knowledge, which seem daunting.
  5. This picture, I think, shows the disconnect between expectation and reality that many people have when it comes to farming and things they don’t know about in general. The tunnel in the picture is actually used to keep moisture of plants, allowing moisture regulation to prevent the growth of mold and other diseases. To an extent, this is a counterproductive method of gardening, as rain should theoretically promote the most amount of growth!

Self Portrait: Karan Pol

Majors: Economics (AB/MA); Political Science

    1. In high school, I took a two-year intensive physics course that went through the topics covered within the initial courses that one would take in a physics major along with an additional focus on climate change science, understanding the greenhouse effect and factors that exacerbate it along with concepts of fuel efficiency.
      Furthermore, last semester, I took a class titled Forestry and Natural Resource Conservation, which went through summarily various concepts in conservation science, ranging from soil, to wildlife preservation, and more.
    2. I particularly enjoyed my high school physics class, as it took concepts that I was already interested in from a political perspective and provided background knowledge that solidified my viewpoints and made me a more critical thinker, specifically in regards to climate change science.
  2. In taking this course I would like to diversify my courses of study, seeing as my major (Economics) lends to a more mathematical and political degree, discounting many concepts that would be integral to any occupation going forward with my degree, particularly as I hope to work within the realm of public policy.
  3. Questions on antibiotics in soil or composting:
    1. What methods are used to identify antibiotics in soil? What tools are necessary for doing so?
    2. Is there a standardized list that outlines what goods are to be composted, and why are these instructions not provided either in a classroom setting already or by compost bins?
    3. How prevalent is the discussion of soil and composting in the political realm of policy and legislation?
  4. Composting is an issue that seems to be the most relatable to my generation of students, seeing as many elementary schools (depending on location), would focus deeply on teaching responsible recycling methods to young children. Composting serves as an extension of these teachings and as such, should be easily adoptable as a field of study.
  5. This course highly values outreach in the community which, while discussed in high school, is not something that is often valued for students, as education and income are the primary goals. Through this class, hopefully, I can find ease in civic engagement as well as enjoyment, so as to bypass the priorities that I currently have for myself and give back to the community as much as I can.