Spring 2021
GEOLOGY 4110
section 008
Creative Inquiry Research e-Portfolio
Graycen Hall
Clemson University Senior
Environmental & Natural Resources Major +
Natural Resources & Economic Policy Concentration
(803)-429-4105
About
Hands-On Science Education: Carolina Natural History Project
Geology 4110 is a creative inquiry service-learning project focusing on research and field investigations for developing virtual activities for elementary level students in Pendleton, SC. The Pendleton Elementary Nature Trail is at the central focus of our research which is intended to reflect our personal interests in Environmental Policy.
My partner for this project is Jordan Moran who is also a senior Environmental and Natural Resources major in the same concentration.
Journal
Hour Log & Brief Summary of Weekly Activities
Week 1
1 hour 45 min
1/11 - On-campus introductory meeting with Dr. Wagner [45 min]
1/12 - Virtually located the school & viewed video tours of nature trail [45 min]
1/13 - Corresponded by phone with Jordan about research ideas [15 min]
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Week 2
3 hours 15 min
1/18 - Created my e-Portfolio & began formatting the website [1 hr]
1/21 - Began drafting & brainstorming a research plan [30 min]
1/22 - Had FaceTime meeting with Jordan to complete our plan [1 hr 45 min]
Week 8
2 hours 25 min
3/3 - Revised research/lesson plan based on meetings [1 hr 10 min]
3/4 - Started working on lesson presentation outline on GoogleSlides [30 min]
3/5 - Had FaceTime meeting with Jordan to discuss the presentation [45 min]
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Week 9
3 hours
3/8 - Phone call meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan to discuss progress [15 min]
3/10 - Made final trip to trail to check that map is accurate [2 hrs]
3/11 - FaceTime meeting with Jordan to continue working on plan [45 min]
Week 10 - Spring Break
Week 3
1 hour 50 min
1/25 - Meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan to discuss portfolio & plan [30 min]
1/30 - First visit to nature trail to explore and make initial observations [1 hr 20 min]
Week 4
2 hours 45 min
2/2 - Wrote up preliminary notes with photos from Jordan from first visit [45 min]
2/5 - Made brief notes on environmental issues discussed in plan [1 hour 30 min]
2/7 - Had FaceTime meeting with Jordan to discuss upcoming week [30 min]
Week 5
1 hour 20 min
2/8 - Phone call meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan to discuss progress [20 min]
2/12 - Had FaceTime meeting with Jordan to compare portfolios & plan [1 hour]
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Week 6
1 hour 50 min
2/19 - Downloaded marked trail map from Jordans portfolio & marked photos [30 min]
2/21 - Uploaded trail photos into a gallery on portfolio & updated Journal [20 min]
2/21 - Made visit to trail to identify points of pollution and take photos [1 hour]
Week 7
2 hours 20 min
2/22 - Added dates & descriptions to initial trail photos and new drain photos [30 min]
2/22 - Phone call meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan to discuss progress [20 min]
2/26 - FaceTime meeting with Jordan to discuss ideas for the lesson plan [1 hr 30 min]
Week 11
2 hours 30 min
3/24 - FaceTime meeting with Jordan to work on our final plan [1 hour 30 min]
3/25 - Worked on adding information to the plan and presentation [1 hour]
Week 12
2 hours 40 min
3/29 - Phone call meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan to review plan [25 min]
4/1 - FaceTime meeting with Jordan to begin planning out audio [45 min]
4/2 - Started teacher "cheat sheet" and worked on presentation [1 hour 30 min]
Week 13
2 hours 20 min
4/8 - Worked on editing Jordan's script for the presentation audio [30 min]
4/10 - Recorded and uploaded audio to my half of the slides [1 hour 50 min]
Week 14
1 hour
4/12 - Phone call meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan to review presentation [15 min]
4/13 - Completed CI student survey and sent in travel documentation [15 min]
4/16 - FaceTime call with Jordan to discuss important topics for our reflections [30 min]
Week 15
1 hour 15 min
4/20 - Worked on typing up my end of semester reflection [45 min]
4/21 - Finished typing up my reflection and added it to my e-portfolio [30 min]
Travel Log
1/11 - Drove to and from campus for meeting with Dr. Wagner [20 min]
1/25 - Drove to and from campus for meeting with Dr. Wagner & Jordan [20 min]
1/30 - Drove to and from Pendleton Elementary School to visit trail [20 min]
2/21 - Drove to and from Pendleton Elementary School to visit trail [20 min]
3/10 - Drove to and from Pendleton Elementary School to visit trail [20 min]
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Reflection
End of Course Self-Evaluation
While this Creative Inquiry research project was conducted with Jordan Moran who needed significantly more hours than me in taking 3 credits versus 1, I still did many things throughout the semester to contribute to the project. I took a series of trips to explore the nature trail and identify findings and sources of pollution in order to document items of litter and possible water pollution within the trail and stream. We explored off trail to discover pipes and drains to label as point sources of pollution to the stream, and I researched types of environmental issues to attempt to relate to our research findings including land, water, air, and species protection. We both worked to connect the information of land and water pollution to our research at the trail and create an informational and interactive presentation for potential 5th grade classes.
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One major thing that I think went well for the project was how we naturally and quickly picked out a topic that interested both of us (environmental policy) while having it likely not been taught to the students before. I think we successfully identified all sources of pollution to the stream and conducted successful documentation in quality photos. Jordan and I collaborated well and never had any issues with dividing up the work in appropriate manner in relation to our credit hour difference. While I believe the presentation and lesson ended up having a good bit of information involved, we did not end up being able to connect air pollution and species protection to the nature trail in order to localize the topics. In addition, some of the activities we brainstormed at the beginning of the semester did not end up being relevant to the lesson, and we struggled slightly with determining if certain information was too complex for a 5th grade education level. Our only technical difficulties revolved around inserting our audio files into the presentation slides because the audio files were recorded in a file format not compatible with both google slides and microsoft powerpoint, so we had to find out a way to convert the file types.
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Overall, the main thing I would have liked to have completed this semester was being able to incorporate the environmental concepts of air pollution and species/wildlife protection in the lesson, but we unfortunately could not figure out how to localize those topics to the trail. While I would have liked to create more potential activities for the students to complete, I think the potential activity of creating signs for the nature trail provides the students with an opportunity to think deeper about the statements that would prevent themselves and others from creating pollution. It can engage the students in taking action to prevent pollution and hopefully make them more conscious of their own actions. If I were to continue with this specific project, I think the presentation could have been localized even further by providing more examples of local point source pollution areas in Pendleton. Despite this, I think the presentation covers the information that we wanted to teach the students well and in a simple way and that the semester's CI project was successful as a whole.