South Piedmont Community College Associate in Science Capstone ePortfolio
Written Communication
The learner will exchange ideas and information with others using written text in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience.
For my Written Communication artifact, I have chosen a research paper from one of my favorite courses, English 112. The assignment asked for an informational report that importantly focused on a specific discipline. It demanded the writer to account for the standard conventions of writing that exist in the chosen discipline. When I took this course in the spring of 2018, I was still undecided about what discipline I desired to become a part of in the future. While writing this I am still uncertain, but narrowed to the scientific domains of chemistry and physics. For the assignment, I at least made sure to write on a topic in a scientific discipline, so I chose to write about factors that influence vaccine effectiveness in my five-page report: “Vaccine Efficacy.”
This was a new assignment for me in my learning experience. I had written college papers before, but none were composed for a discipline-specific audience. I knew that I would have to alter my natural writing style and speak to a more educated audience. When I read this paper today, I do question whether I fully accomplished this. I look back and identify a number of aspects where I could have done better. Now that I have a clearer idea of where I want to be in the future, perhaps the topic would be the first thing I would like to improve. While I no longer hold an interest in the medical field today, I believe this paper is still strong. I believe it demonstrates my proficiency for this outcome, served as a stepping-stone toward higher-level composition and can provide insight to where I still need to improve my writing.
In order to serve as a step in my writing journey, I had set two specific goals for this assignment. I wanted to set these goals to improve on the basic college-level skills I had developed in English 111 and work toward a mold of where my writing needed to be in the future. The first of these goals was to “develop strong supporting details using scholarly and researched sources.” This breaks down to a simpler idea of effectively incorporating and using sources throughout a paper. At a high-school level, the citation requirements could be met by using a source for something small, such as one quote or statistic. I wanted to fully utilize my sources and build around them in an effective, educated paper. While there are still examples of narrow uses of sources in this paper, there are also demonstrations of effective uses. I like the example of a paragraph discussing the making of vaccines. Although I referenced an article from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I developed a strong supporting paragraph that connected the information to mutating strains and how that may influence a seasonal vaccine. From the artifact: “Even if a more suitable vaccine develops in the middle of vaccine production, it will take time to refine the vaccine and have it available in larger amounts.” Reflecting on the actual goal I set, I say that this paper stands as a testament to the beginning of my progress. In my more recent Information and Media Literacy artifact under my Program Outcomes, I view this goal as accomplished. I see this artifact as the first step in the journey of effective source utilization.
The second goal I set was to “develop an understanding of the different academic disciplines and adapt to the appropriate conventions and writing style that fit a given genre.” To prepare for this assignment, I read extensively about the differences in writing between disciplines, such as language usage or documentation style. Proper use of tense, headings and APA citations throughout the paper reflect my understanding and attest to the fulfillment of the first part of my goal. When I evaluate the progress of meeting these conventions with respect to this paper, I can’t help but feel dissatisfied. In trying to understand this feeling, I can identify areas for future improvement. One such area is the use of educated vocabulary. When writing to an educated audience, a general understanding of the specialized language is assumed. In this paper, I do include some of this language, such as “randomized controlled trials,” “immunogenicity,” and “placebo,” to name a few. In this sense, I am addressing the educated audience. I also decided to include the definition of these terms, perhaps clinging to the ways of my lower writings. I believe this hurt the paper and would be seen as redundant to an expert in the field. With this in mind, I believe my second goal is still in progress, but with the help of this paper, I can work to accomplish it in the near future.
Besides these goals, I learned an important lesson about writing: topic selection is crucial. Although at the time of this paper I held an interest in the medical field, the topic selection process proved difficult. I feel as though I may have settled for a convenient topic rather than search for one that would impassion my writing. Now that I am further along in my educational journey, I believe I would be better equipped to find a topic that truly interests me. I can look back on this assignment and continue to identify areas to improve and help compose greater writings in the future.
With a mind on the future, I am more aware of the importance of communication than ever. In any field, communication is a top priority. In the future, my desire to perform STEM-based research will be led by communication. I must be able to clearly communicate my ideas to others, both orally and in writing. The development of these skills will be essential to develop an esteemed reputation in the scientific community and life.
Oral Communication
The learner will exchange ideas and information with others using the spoken word in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience.
For my Oral Communication artifact, I have chosen my informative speech from Public Speaking (COM-231) during the spring of 2019. The assignment asked for a six- to eight-minute speech on a topic of choice, with the overall intent being to inform the audience. We were to complete a full-sentence outline of the speech, an annotated bibliography, and a slideshow presentation to serve as a visual aid for both the speaker and the audience. Some course-specific requirements included a personal credibility statement, outline of main points, attention-grabber, and oral citations. My speech, entitled “The Electoral College and Reforms” became one of my favorite college assignments.
I remember when I heard the speech could contain up to five main points, I quickly thought of the Electoral College and reform proposals as a topic. Since taking a high school civics class, I possessed a strong interest in the government. I was very interested in the Electoral College because it functioned much differently than I had previously thought. The system had also become a topic of national interest due to the recent 2016 presidential election, where the winner of the popular vote lost the vote in the Electoral College. I decided, in fact, to use this as my attention-grabber, thinking it was news most people had heard about.
Before giving my speech, I set two goals to develop my oral communication skills. The first of these goals was to “develop an understanding of a complex subject and effectively communicate it to a general audience.” In my process of coming to understand the Electoral College, I found I encountered some difficulties. Given my previous experience in these studies, I assumed the audience would likely encounter similar difficulties. I, therefore, worked to simplify the information and decided to dedicate two full minutes explaining how the Electoral College functioned, before discussing any reform proposals. I incorporated this time into my full-sentence outline, which helped me to visualize the complexity. During this time, I did my best to speak at a comfortable rate, with an adequate number of pauses to allow the audience to keep up.
An underlying aspect of this first goal is the idea to speak ethically and give proper attribution to the sources of the information in my speech. This is an important component of any educated communication, one that should always be followed. As such, I made sure to adhere to my instructor’s request to orally cite a minimum of five citations during my speech. I rehearsed this numerous times and properly completed them during my delivery. I also put a large amount of effort into my annotated bibliography, going above the rubric guidelines to communicate my commitment to proper citation. With this work completed, I can say my first goal was completed.
The second goal I had set for this assignment was to “apply techniques to minimize my public speaking anxiety.” When it comes to public speaking, nearly everyone experiences some form of anxiety. Before this class, my anxiety largely came during the actual delivery. I addressed this through extensive preparation and what I will call speech-time actions. The extensive preparation involved me rehearsing the delivery of my speech multiple times in the days before, to familiarize myself with the information further. The speech-time actions were several steps I took to create a less stressful environment for presentation. In the class meetings before the delivery day, I made sure to greet every person in my class, to feel more comfortable around them. I also made sure to practice utilizing facial expressions and variations in voice dynamics to assert a sense of confidence to the audience and, in turn, back to myself. Among this and other actions, such as staying hydrated and taking deep breaths, I was able to accomplish my second goal and feel comfortable delivering my speech.
As to the skills developed through this assignment, I think one of the more important is time-management as it relates to content in a speech. As I mentioned earlier, I rehearsed this speech many times. One of the reasons I did is because I originally had an ambitious amount of content for a time of eight minutes. I initially planned to discuss the Electoral College, its benefits and downsides, the four reform proposals, and their benefits and downsides. When my first rehearsal came in at a time of 20 minutes, I knew I had to make some adjustments. After removing the benefits and downsides sections and about 15 total practices, I met the time. The process helped to teach me the importance of preparation for a speech.
In the future, I know public speaking will be an essential part of both my academic and professional careers. There is an uncountable number of situations for which public speaking will be necessary. In the sciences, presenting research findings and delivering a proposal for a research grant are two examples I can think of. Many others will demand competence in public speaking situations. From the work on this assignment and in this class, I feel I have largely overcome my public speaking anxiety and would be able to comfortably present in a variety of situations and to a variety of audiences. I have been lucky to have a number of other opportunities to present in academic and professional settings. I have reflected on these experiences in my additional educational experiences and my communication competence outcome sections. The skills I used in these environments were developed with the help of this course and assignment.
Technology
The learner will select and use technology to access, process, and exchange information in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience.
For my Technology artifact, I have chosen my ePortfolio from Critical Thinking (HUM-115) taken during the spring of 2020. The ePortfolio was created using Wix’s website-building software. I first created it in spring 2017 for another course, College Transfer Success (ACA-122). It has come a long way since then, reflecting personal development and academic and professional growth.
The first two pages of the ePortfolio are the welcome and personal introduction pages, which contain my background and convey an idea of who I am as a person. The goals page contains several personal, academic, and professional goals for the short- and long-term. Over the three years since making the ePortfolio, a great deal of personal learning and growth has taken place. In those years, my goals page was the only page I chose to update regularly. It is my favorite page and ties in well with my first goal for this assignment, to “consider the audience of my technological platform and effectively communicate the appropriate information.” In this case, I consider the audience to be a professional group, such as a potential employee. Thinking about what a professional would like to see from me, I made sure to use professional language and include my best work to demonstrate proficiency in valuable skills. I have always set goals in my life and having a strong goals page communicates my driven mindset to viewers of the site. There is more to be desired in the sense of a field-specific body of work. This is more of a reflection on my overall experience. Completing high school and college at the same time seemed to make it more urgent to choose a preferred major or field. In my case, I was still unsure of even a general direction until last year. By the time I had decided on chemistry, I had few opportunities left to complete assignments in that area. I do have multiple strong science and math artifacts that provide a look into the window of what I have to offer. In the future, I will continue building a science-based portfolio and complete my first goal.
Other pages of the ePortfolio include the core skill and program artifacts that are a representation of my best works from my time at SPCC. When I was in the process of first choosing my artifacts, I knew I had a collection of college work, but didn’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t until I completed the next section, the reflections (such as this one), that I realized the value each had added to my life. They each represented a learning opportunity and helped me grow to where I am today. The last two pages are additional educational experiences and résumé. These pages provided more opportunity to reflect on my experiences beyond the basic curricula.
The second goal I set for this assignment was to “relate my previous technological experience to overcome problems and create a high-functioning platform.” When I first began using Wix technology, it was definitely a challenge. I had never used anything like it and there were many different features of a website that had to be taken into account. It was a good learning experience. The Wix platform is easy to navigate and creates an environment where one can work through problems as they arise. It is complicated at points, but reassuring in others. This combination allowed me to become deeply familiar with the interface and reach a strong level of comfort when editing my website today. In the current state, all of the links and download prompts work properly and all of the imagery (while I am not a designer) has been placed to meet my desires. My improvement from this point forward will continue to meet my second goal as I build my technological knowledge one experience at a time.
In the future, I would like to be a member of a STEM field, most likely chemistry. In such a field, technology is a large part of the work. Continually evolving technology will require me to adapt and constantly learn with it. I will need technology to conduct research, collect and analyze data, and communicate with others in my field. It would be wrong to assume that the technological apparatus that allow me to do so will not be improved and modified over the coming years. In order to maintain my efficacy as a scholar and scientist, I will need to bring other skills such as audience analysis, problem-solving, and mathematical and scientific literacy to grow alongside technology.
Critical Thinking
The learner will identify, interpret, analyze, or synthesize problems before developing and implementing solutions in a manner effective and appropriate for the intended audience.
For my Critical Thinking artifact, I have chosen an assignment from Calculus I (MAT 271) taken during the spring of 2019. It was my “Derivative Assignment,” where we were tasked with coding an online calculation software (Sage) to differentiate four functions and plot the tangent lines to the functions at various points. The “differentiation” process is one of the fundamental blocks of calculus, building off the difference quotient and serving as the base to many other calculations such as relative and extreme maxima or minima, inflection points, optimization, related rates, and the subject of this project, tangent lines.
This assignment came during my third math course at South Piedmont, following Precalculus Algebra (MAT-171) and Trigonometry (MAT-172). I had used the Sage program before in these courses, but only for small and infrequent assignments. As a result, when it came to a more substantial assignment as the “Derivative Assignment,” I was unsure of my skills in coding the software to operate properly. It was a challenge getting started, as I remember receiving many error messages telling me my code was an incorrect format. While I was discouraged at first, I dedicated time to actually “learn” the program and truly develop the skill.
I set two goals for this assignment, the first being to “identify multiple potential solutions to a given problem and evaluate the relevance and accuracy of each to ensure the most correct answer.” In mathematics, a small variation in the problem-solving process for a specific problem can result in a vastly different, possibly incorrect, answer. It is for this reason that it is important to attempt to solve the problem multiple times and if possible, do so using multiple different methods. Finding the same answer multiple times increases the likelihood that it is correct. If different answers result, it could be a flaw in calculation or it could be the question itself. In this assignment, I was able to verify my answers in Sage by graphing the results. If they appeared incorrect, I would complete the calculation by hand, or evaluate the accuracy of my code. The “multiple potential solutions” aspect of this goal relates to more advanced topics in calculus such as inflection points. In this regard, I would say this goal has only been partially met, but still regard this assignment as a step toward a more complete critical thinking process that may be further tested as I move toward higher levels of mathematics.
The second goal I had set for this assignment was to “develop a strong understanding of my thoughts and be able to appropriately communicate them to an audience.” There is a helpful feature on Sage that involves the pound (#) symbol. Doing so allows you to omit lines of code from the calculation and repurpose them. In terms of this assignment, I used these lines as annotations for my work, titling important sections to guide my audience and myself. For this specific assignment, I can clearly see there are not enough annotations to offer a clear understanding of my thought process. An immediate example is my definition of the difference quotient equation for later use, an action that would have benefitted from such an annotation. In this assignment, I would say the goal was not completed, but well on the way to completion. I can use this and other exercises to improve the communication of my critical thoughts to others.
In STEM fields, the effective communication of one’s thinking process to others is essential. In most research situations, one research project will build off the results and processes of another. If these results are not clearly communicated, further research may be inhibited. In addition, results must be verifiable in order to be valuable. This is where the communication of a specific process and thought process is so important. If, for example, my colleagues of the scientific community could not reproduce my work, I would lose credibility. It is for this reason that I believe critical thinking is one of the most valuable skills to me and my future.
Cultural Literacy
The learner will demonstrate a “set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.”
For my Cultural Literacy artifact, I have chosen my Colonial Foods Report from History 131 (American History I). The assignment was to compose a three-page paper discussing a cultural influence on food during the American Colonial Era. We were also asked to choose a specific recipe and elaborate upon it. There were very few guidelines overall, which helped to make it an opportunity to really dive into another culture in a light environment.
I remember being excited to work on this assignment, as I have always had a profound interest in early American history, but had never looked much into food or culture of the time. I decided that African culture would be the best fit for my work, as I knew that the years of slavery had brought thousands of Africans to the Colonies and induced a grand fusion of cultures, the influence of which is still seen today. I again set two goals to keep me on track for this assignment.
The first of these goals was to “develop a sense of cultural awareness to include in my academic writing in an unbiased manner.” In order to be “culturally aware,” I believe you must be able to analyze and understand multiple cultural contexts beyond their own. An important component of this is to be able to compare the beliefs, values, and traditions of other cultures without exhibiting bias. Looking back on this paper, I believe I did well to exclude any bias from my discussions. I do believe I, as an author, sounded at times a bit disconnected from my topic, perhaps almost passive. For example, I read the line “Although at the time many settlers were reluctant to even regard Africans as more than just property, some of their signature creations including sweet potato pie would become a major African classic in American culinary history.” This line contains two features that I believe need improvement. First, like other sentences in this work, the transition between topics is extremely weak. The other syntax and grammatical errors in the work lower its quality significantly. Despite this, the work came from fall 2017 and I can confidently say my writing has improved dramatically since then. The second issue I have with this line is the ambivalence it displays to the unacceptable ideology held by whites during the period. I believe there is a region of thought where emotion can fuel educated commentary on cultural issues and I can improve my ability to do that. With this in mind, I can’t say I fully completed this goal; instead, I would leave it as a work in progress and an area to improve.
My second goal was to “interpret historical, social, and geographical impacts on various cultures.” I set this goal to make sure I took into account all relevant factors for my analysis of culture. With respect to this assignment specifically, I think there are many areas where I could have done better. I do believe I took into account a majority of the relevant history, such as the history of the slave trade and the Great Migration. I think I could have integrated the information about the Great Migration better, rather than just saying African culture would affect “other areas” of the nation as well. In this discussion, I believe I could have fulfilled an analysis of social and geographical factors. I could have discussed the increased social and economic liberties experienced by African Americans in northern regions, connecting it to perhaps freedom of culinary experimentation and increased cultural fusion. I could have also discussed the differences in soil quality, crop selection, and even livestock between regions of the Colonies. I reflect on these desires and reconcile with the fact that this in-depth discussion might not have fit well within the frame of the assignment. Instead, I can use this assignment to say that I am in a better cultural mindset to meet this goal in the future and truly evaluate culture in multiple relevant contexts.
The ability to analyze and account for culture will be of great value to me in the future. In familiarizing myself with the values and attitudes of other cultures, I can develop a space for more effective communication. In both the academic and professional realms, this will lead to enhanced productivity and better well-being through respectful relationships with peers of all cultures. These relationships will allow me to meet my potential and emerge as a leader of the scientific community of the future.