AmyHakanson ProfessorDavidova LifeUnlimited? June13th,2013 FinalReflectiveEssay ThefinalprojectforthisFreshmanInquiryclassisanupdatedeportfoliocontainingseveral worksampleswhichshowanunderstandingofthefourUniversityStudiesgoals.Ichosetwowork samplesforeachofthegoals,andwillexpandonmychoicesbelow. InquiryandCriticalThinking: Studentswilllearnvariousmodesofinquirythroughinterdisciplinary curriculaproblemposing,investigating,conceptualizinginordertobecomeactive,selfmotivated, andempoweredlearners. ToillustratethatIlearneddifferentmethodsofinquiry,Ichosetouploadmyfinalresearch paper,pertainingtomethadonemaintenanceprograms.Therequirementsforthepaperitselfwere deliberatelyopen,allowingustoeachchooseatopicthatinterestedus.

Thisfulfilledtheselfmotivation pieceofthisgoalchoosingatopicofourownallowedustopursueatopicthatwasmeaningfultous.I chosemethadonemaintenancebecauseIaminterestedinaddictionrecovery.Ididnotknowverymuch aboutdrugreplacementprogramsbeforemyresearch,whichwasveryilluminating.Iusedseveral scholarlyresearcharticles,abookwithscientificinformationaboutopioidaddiction,andabookwritten byaclinicaltechnicianinamethadoneclinic,withfirsthandknowledgeofmethadoneclients.

TheotherworksampleIusedwasananalysisofapassageinacoursereading,aboutthe evolutionaryhistoryofEarth.IusedmyownpriorknowledgeofEarthshistoryaswellasmy understandingofscholarlywritingtoanalyzeMichaelBentonswriting,usingseveralpassagestofurther illustratemyopinions. Communication: Studentswillenhancetheircapacitytocommunicateinvariouswayswriting,graphics, numeracy,andothervisualandoralmeanstocollaborateeffectivelywithothersingroupwork,andto becompetentinappropriatecommunicationtechnologies. Toshowmycomprehensionandknowledgeofthecommunicationgoal,Iusedmysecond semestergrouppresentationasthefirstworksample,andatimemanagementassignmentasmysecond sample.TheprojectwasaboutPortlandfoodcarts,andeachmemberinmygroupfocusedona differentaspectofthetopic.Wethencreatedapresentationusingimagesrepresentingthosedifferent aspects,usingGoogleDrivetoworkcollaborativelyonthepresentation.Thisallowedusalltoworkon theprojectatourleisurefromourowncomputers,andtoseeimmediatelywheneveragroupmember hadeditedthepresentation.Whenwegaveourpresentationtotheclass,weeachspokeaboutour differentsubtopics,creatinganallencompassing,detaileddescriptionofthenuancesoffoodcartsin Portland,OR. Inthesecondworksample,thetimemanagementassignment,IusedMicrosoftOfficetocreate andfilloutaspreadsheetdetailingthetimeIspentonactivitiesthroughoutoneweek.Afterrecording mydatafortheweek,Icomparedthedatawithmyidealtimeusefortheweek,andthenillustratedthe

resultsusingseveraldifferentmethods,includingpiechartsandbargraphs.Thisprovidedadirectand obviousvisualwaytocomparethedata. TheDiversityofHumanExperience: Studentswillenhancetheirappreciationforandunderstandingoftherichcomplexityofthe humanexperiencethroughthestudyofdifferencesinethnicandculturalperspectives,class,race, gender,sexualorientation,andability. Toexplorethediversityofhumanexperience,Ichosetwoverydifferentworksamples.The firstisajournalentryfromsecondsemester,inwhichIwroteabouttwodifferentartgalleriesIvisited.I feelthatartiswhatdefineshumanitytheoutletforourcreativitythatisuniquetohumanity.Inmy journalentry,Italkedabouttwoartgalleries,thefirstbeingagalleryatalocaluniversity,thesecond beingalocalartshowingatacoffeeshop.Theartworkdisplayedwasdrasticallydifferent,highlighting thedifferencesbetweendifferentartistsexperiencesandhowthosedifferencescomethroughintheir artwork. ThesecondworksampleisanessayIwroteaboutacoursereading,BrokenAprilbyIsmail Kadare.Thebookisafictionalnovelwhichfollowsseveralcharactersontheirphysicaland metaphoricaljourneysthroughAlbania.Mypaperfocusesonthecontrastbetweenrealityand imaginationanotheruniquefacetofhumanity.Imaginationisthesourceofcreativity.Kadaresnovel blursthelinebetweenthemindandreality,exploringhowtheindividualhumanexperienceisuniqueand yetsimilar.Everyhumanhasanimagination,yeteachhumansmindisentirelyprivateandseparate.

EthicsandSocialResponsibility: Studentswillexpandtheirunderstandingoftheimpactandvalueofindividualsandtheirchoiceson society,bothintellectuallyandsocially,throughgroupprojectsandcollaborationinlearning communities. Forthelastuniversitystudiesgoal,IchoseajournalentryinwhichIchoseseveralproductsthat Iregularlyconsumeandinvestigatedtheingredients.Thismadeitobviouswhatproductsusedsynthetic ingredients,andwhichdidnthighlightingtheimportanceofourindividualchoicesoffood.Wehavea socialresponsibilitytobeknowledgeableaboutourfoodchoicesandhowtheypromotethecurrent foodproductionindustry. ThesecondworksampleIchosewasanessayIwroteaboutacoursereading,TheImmortal LifeofHenriettaLacks,byRebeccaSkloot.Myessayexploresmyowninterpretationofthe informationcontainedinSklootsnovel,primarilytheprevalenceofclassandracialprejudiceand discrimination.Thebookalsoillustratestheproblemswithmedicalpracticeandregulations,thenotion ofconsentandinformedpatients.Itgavemeabetterunderstandingofhowmedicalpracticesfrequently dehumanizepatientsinordertofurtherscientificadvancement,andhowasasocietyweshouldremain informedandempoweredregardingthesemedicalpractices. Alloftheseworksamples,alongwiththepresentationoftheminawebsitetieintheimportance ofthefourUniversityStudiesgoals.Thegoalsworktogethertoprovideacomprehensivelearning experience.InquiryandCriticalThinking,whenfullyexplored,canbeexpressedthrough CommunicationthisoftenleadstoabetterunderstandingoftheDiversityofHumanexperience,and

afterreflection,makeobviousourindividualandcollectiveconnectiontooursocietysEthicsandSocial Responsibility.Theassignmentsandcoursereadingsthroughouttheyearleddirectlyintoeachofthese fourgoals,andtheorganizationoftheyearsworkintotheeportfoliohelpedmakeitclearhowthe courseworkrelatedtotheUniversityStudiesgoals.