Final Thoughts: Marisa

This project was a lot of stress. Maybe the biggest problem was communication, because each member has his/her own life, we are each busy trying to meet the needs of our own life. I do feel accomplished from this project because we were able to research something at school, and we also had the chance to make a difference. The symposium allowed each group to boast its learnings and demonstrate its accomplishments and hard work. This was a fulfilling project.

Implementing our PA announcements and posters was tedious at worst but relatively easy. Our ideas went out without a large hitch. I wish we had more data from the teachers from our online survey, as going door to door, we did not catch a large audience, but we were able to get a lot of information from Mr. Ramsey anyway. I also wish there was a way to measure our effect on the electricity bill for this month, but we can't help that.

I learned that group projects are difficult when a large portion of the project must be completed outside of class. In class is fine because all the members are there, but outside of class, each person has his/her own life to attend; meeting up outside isn't easy. (This project actually allowed me to witness deindividuation firsthand, as the blogposts showed. Each person either forgot it was his/her day or thought someone else would do it, which results in a large pile of work. However once heat is on a single person for a task, he/she is more likely to do it.)

I wish the information was easier to access. It's good that there is a website, but I had a slightly difficult time trying to get to certain documents or criteria. If they were labeled more clearly, that might help. But then again, it might just be me, who sucks with technology. Mr. Blake was trying to utilize the foot-in-the-door phenomenon maybe in hopes that we'll continue (or start) altruistic projects or develop empathy for those around us, but I'm not sure it'll work. Kona explained to me the goal of this project, but even though the goal is good and does evoke interest and care about the problem, the most important thing is about the grade. In the end, when people are stressed, they'll probably go for the grade over the good deed.

It didn't feel like we were doing science. When we had to come up with how this project was physics related, I felt like we were half-assing it. The focus of the project is not on physics, it seems to be trying to make the world a better place.