Initial Reflection

Initial Reflection

My knowledge of our oceans is pretty limited. I love documentaries about the ocean and how what we do affects it -- it helps that my nephew loves animals so I’ve watched things about different species of whales and fish. Most of my actual knowledge consists of how we’ve harmed the ocean, though. I’ve done a few research projects on how both the physical and chemical pollution that we’ve put in the ocean has caused an inconceivable amount of harm that seems to be irreversible. I’ve also been invested in how we exploit the ocean’s natural resources and its animals. People collecting polymetallic nodules for technology, disturbing ecosystems within the ocean, and the worst in my opinion, taking animals out of their homes and putting them in constrictive tanks to profit off of them.

The subjects mentioned in the learning objectives for this class seem relatively foreign to me. I know that plate tectonics are what cause earthquakes and I assume they may play a role in how shallow/deep the ocean may be in different areas, like the mariana trench or the continental shelf. The major/atmospheric circulation patterns mentioned in SLO 2 are completely out of my depth. I know nothing about them and honestly, haven’t even heard of those terms until this class. From what I can gather, atmospheric circulation has to do with things around the ocean affecting how it moves, like the wind. Major circulation patterns are probably things the ocean does on it’s own, like how things wash up on the beach eventually or how tide pools are created.

The formation of tides is something I also am super unfamiliar with. In my culture, we’ve always believed that the moon, the ocean, and people are intertwined. Like the moon may cause the tides by lifting up the ocean when it’s a full moon, and pulling it back down when it’s a crescent. When I read the last SLO, the physical properties of the ocean itself, I immediately thought of saltwater animals vs. freshwater animals and how they couldn’t survive in each other's habitats. This made me question how salt water is so drastically different from freshwater--I think it could change the density of the water and how that water reacts to chemicals, change of temperature, etc. But, like the other objectives, I haven’t learned much about it.

My personal goal for this class is to exceed in it. I don’t usually do well in any STEM class and I hope to change that before I transfer. Realistic goals that I believe I could achieve is getting an A and creating work I’m proud of. Those would take a lot of effort, but I’m willing to put work into it. I plan on creating a new schedule for myself to allow myself to put time into the work I submit this semester while also allowing some breaks in between. To assess my actual growth in both this class and all future science classes, I think I need to work on my specific behaviors and attitudes towards difficult classes. With classes I struggle in, it’s easy for me to get discouraged and focus on doing the bare minimum to pass. I don’t want to do that anymore.

I think that correcting that behavior may be easier in a class like this -- an “ungraded” class that’s more focused on putting in the effort to consume information rather than memorize it for a quiz. I like the idea of an ungraded class, but since I’ve never gone through one before it’s hard to form an opinion on it. I am excited about this class and look forward to the experience!