Spring 2020
BIOL 180, ENGL 199
BIOL 180
With the online format of spring quarter, we had a significant amount of busy work for this class, but the plus side was we had 22 hours to take our exams. I was surprised to find that we never really went in-depth into a particular topic, which was the teaching style I was used to in IB Biology. Instead, we looked at bits and pieces of everything, and we were expected to remember all these tiny details. It was also helpful to meet with a study group at first (the Zoom screenshot on the right was from the very beginning of the quarter), but over time, we all realized that we had to study on our own in order to survive in this class.
There was heavy emphasis on including specific key terms in our exam responses, which was frustrating but not as difficult to prepare for. I took detailed notes on the lectures and did all of the suggested practice problems. After every exam, I compared my responses to the key and wrote out why I lost points for certain questions (as seen above). This was how I remained in the top 5% of my class throughout the quarter. For the final, I made flashcards from practice problems on Anki (as seen on the left) and I loved the program so much I'll definitely be using it for future classes. Overall, in spite of the competitive nature of the class, I'm proud of my performance and I'm excited for the rest of the sequence.
ENGL 199
This class is linked to BIOL 180, with an emphasis on scientific literacy through reading and writing. Although I wish we could've experienced it in person, I think we adapted pretty well to the online format. Breakout rooms were incredibly awkward at first, but as the weeks went on, it got easier talking to my peers through a screen. The assignments also got more interesting throughout the quarter. Our first one was to make a resume and cover letter as if we were applying to a research position, which I already had experience with. But for the next one, we conducted our own academic research and wrote a synthesis paper. I expanded on my IB extended essay – where I wrote about the effect of music therapy on Alzheimer's disease – and researched how different nonpharmacological interventions improved the quality of life in Alzheimer's patients. I haven't done an intense academic paper like this since senior year of high school so I actually enjoyed getting to do it again and I received good comments from my professor.
Our final project was a multimodal composition, but amid George Floyd's death and nationwide protests, we had the opportunity to change our topic to be relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement. My friend and I decided to create a resource compilation for students in the form of a website. I had experience with web development as Web Editor-in-Chief of my high school's newspaper and from making this portfolio, but creating a website like this was a totally different experience. It took hours and hours to find relevant resources for students and transfer them into the website. We also included a blog where we invited UW students to share their stories. We definitely weren't done by the time the project was due but our professor was really impressed with the concept and what we had so far.
The final product – which we announced on our Instagram page three weeks after Floyd's death on June 15 – was Educated Allies, a website of over 100 resources with live links and descriptions. What I love most is the fact that it's a long-term project that we will continue to update, and I feel like we are contributing to change by offering a variety of resources to students in this format. We're proud that we were able to create this in such a short amount of time and we learned a lot about the movement ourselves throughout the research process. For me, it was also interesting to see what else, other than web development, goes into a website: writing, research, graphic design, and social media marketing. It was an interesting learning experience and we are excited to continue expanding it.
