Abstract
My experience in this 16 week oceanography class has been unique to say the least. The ungraded situation was scary for me but eventually I appreciated it. I met almost all of my goals and I learned some great information along the way. This ePortfolio has really allowed me to showcase that progress. I not only learned more about the ocean properties, plate tectonics, circulation systems, and tides and waves, but I gained real life experience. The group activities allowed me to expand socially and gain confidence when presenting in front of the class. I will use the tools I have learned in this class for my future.
Introduction/Background
The ocean is a mysterious and beautiful part of our planet. Without the ocean we would not exist. Every single animal and plant inside it is just as important as every animal and plant on land. I know that warm water rises while cold waters sink. I feel a little comfortable about explaining the theory of plate tectonics and how it relates to the formation of undersea floor structures, but I only know how the shifting and cracking caused by the moving plates will form new undersea and above ground structures. I can somewhat reconstruct and analyze the major circulation patterns of the dominant ocean and atmospheric circulation systems, but I would not be entirely confident.. I am almost sure the formation of tides is caused because of the gravitational pull of the moon, but I still need to find out what their effects are upon oceanic coastal processes. In class so far I have been able to learn more about the major physical properties of the oceans and evaluate how they affect the marine life communities.
Goals and Objectives
My SMART goal is to obtain useful knowledge and experience from this course. I will know that I have reached my goal if I can comfortably talk about the student learning outcomes and topics from this class. In order to reach it, I will take the following actions: spend several hours studying a week, complete all assignments on time and with the best effort, use techniques I have learned throughout the class to help me as I go, and have fun learning. I plan to accomplish my goal by the end of the semester. If this class were graded, my realistic goal overall would be a high B to a low A. I know I am capable of achieving good grades and I must work hard and push forward to do so.
As I look back on these goals I set for myself 16 weeks ago, I can confidently say I have reached most of them, and need to work harder on a few of them for future classes and endeavors. I can talk comfortably about most of the student learning outcomes that I have learned and studied, but there is still much more information I could have studied. I did in fact study several hours in a week, but I tended to procrastinate on my assignments and often rushed to get them done. This led to me not having enough time to actually comprehend everything like the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. I think those were the hardest for me. If this class were graded, as for my work I have completed, I believe I should receive a B. I know I have done almost all of my assignments correctly after receiving feedback, but I struggled on some of the quizzes and the labs. My personal strengths were the research I had done for my student learning outcomes, and my note taking. I tended to be weaker for quiz taking and last minute assignments.
Methods
My goals are in no way impossible. However, this will not just be accomplished if I take it easy this semester. I will need to work hard with lots of effort on all the assignments and discussions. It will be very important for me to come to class everyday and participate with groups and communicate with the professor. Some ways to assess my own growth in this class are to see how much of the student learning outcomes I understand. Another way is to determine how much I am enjoying the learning process and the class as a whole. The whole ungrading aspect of the course is going to be strange for me. I have never even heard of anything like it before. I am used to relying on seeing a grade for my assignments, but I think receiving feedback may be more beneficial and less stressful then a percentage. Even though it will take some getting used to, I am always open to try new things.
These methods I had created for myself at the beginning of the semester have pushed me to try new things such as being in this ungraded class. I have mostly followed all of these goals and worked hard on all of my assignments. I had been present in class every time, except for one day, and I stayed focused on processing the information we were covering. For this class it truly depends on the amount of hours I spent a week. If we had work to do on canvas, or if I was working on my portfolio, it could be longer, but typically I would spend a good 4-8 hours a week on work. As for things I had been practicing to help me with the real world I have had a lot of practice working with a group, whether this is when we were doing our group quizzes and collaborating on answers, meeting with our ePortfolio groups to give each other feedback, or sharing notes and information with other classmates. This aspect really helped me personally become more comfortable socially and get along with others. To be honest I also really kept myself up with due dates for the student learning objectives. In the last 3 weeks I only had to work on SLO 2 and SLO 3 as they were due. I never got behind for those assignments, and I am proud on how I did on them. I hope to keep up these skills and methods and also work to not procrastinate as much and make sure that I study harder so I can learn more in my future endeavors.
Conclusion
Oceanography is not just about fish and corals. It is so much more than that. Throughout this class I have learned just what that is. I completed every single assignment, usually always on time. I was present almost every single day in class and eager to learn about the subject we were learning. I not only gained knowledge about the ocean, but I also gained experience in a brand new ungraded environment. The ungraded aspect is much like a real job where one does not get a grade for completing a task, but instead will receive positive or negative feedback. I also gained group experience and can use that to prepare myself for future group settings.
If I look back on the work I have completed and the subjects I have learned I can comfortably say I am confident with SLO 4 and SLO 1. I feel that we spent the most time on those subjects. As for SLO 2 and SLO 3 I am not as confident but I do understand some aspects of the topics. As the end of the semester approached, time sped up and I felt that I did not have enough study time with those concepts. However, I can look back on the beginning of the semester and say that I know more than I did 16 weeks ago. I am mostly proud of my ePortfolio. I think it is very impressive and I am really happy with the progress I have completed. In January I was actually unsure of how it would look in the end, but I could not love it more. If I had to give myself an actual letter grade for this class I think I deserve a B. I think overall I did very well in this class, however, I could have done better in some aspects and I think Dr. Cooper would agree with me. This made me realize that I can always push and try harder.
This class has impacted my life a the way that will make me never look at the ocean the same again. I did not realize that it did as much as it does for our planet and for humankind. I appreciate the beautiful blue oceans and the Earth more now than ever. This class has also made me not eat seafood anymore, and cut down on my plastic waste production. I hope that we can slow down global warming and stop microplastics from entering the waters and marine animals. We only have one planet, there is no planet B, and so I have learned just how important it is to save our planet, and save ourselves.