All posts by Michelle DePrizio

Introduction and (wait for it…) BIOBLITZ!

BioBlitz, Citizen Science

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Name: Michelle DePrizio

Major: Film Production & French

Life Goals: Polyglot, Director (film, television, documentary), Women’s Rights Activist, Writer, Education Reformer, Traveller, Mother

 

What are your expectations for the class?  How may this help you to accomplish your future career goals?

I expect to learn a lot about learning, with a focus on science.  Learning about learning will hopefully spark my interest to reform the American education system.  As a high schooler, I was very passionate about the ineffectiveness of many aspects of America’s educational practices. Reading the first chapter of the textbook has reignited my interest, and I hope the rest of the class will do the same.  In addition, discovering how humans learn and process information in informal settings aids my work for women’s rights and documentaries, especially since I intend to use documentary work to educate people and change their perspectives.

I expect to do a lot of research, possibly with statistics or about the workings of human cognition.  This will be helpful for my work as a women’s activist, an education reformer, and a filmmaker.  Activists have to know a lot about the areas in which they work; well-informed arguments can help people better understand issues at hand, and gain support for ending sexism and improving public education.  As for filmmaking and television production, research is needed to produce a good movie.  One must consider historical accuracy, costs, location, and other factors that need background information.  For example, when making Mad Men, crew members had to look at historical details to construct accurate costumes, set designs, and even societal attitudes.  By practicing my research skills, I prepare for my future as an activist and filmmaker.

I also expect to be going out and exploring the “informal science” settings in New York City.   As a resident of New York, this means I get to know my city better.

What did you do during the BioBlitz? What was the importance of what you were doing?

I participated during the 8:45 pm – 12:00 am shift with the frog (herpetology) group.  We visited several of the ponds in Central Park, including Turtle Pond, looking for bullfrogs and spring peepers, the two most common frogs in the park.  Frogs are important indicators of an ecosystem’s health; the more frogs, the healthier an ecosystem is.  If we had found any frogs, we could have gauged the health of Central Park.  However, August is not a popular season for spotting frogs, and since their predators (for example, turtles) come out at night, we were unable to find any frogs.

 

If you got the opportunity to talk to scientists and other volunteers, what did you learn from and/or about them?  Why were they doing the BioBlitz?

Our guide studies herpetology, the study of things that crawl (reptiles and amphibians).  He became interested in the subject because he used to collect frogs as a kid.  He went into the professional field because he likes exploration; he told us science is about finding things out, and it is very applicable in our lives.  He warned us that we should not let science classes in school deter  us from exploring science, since classes focus more on memorization and less on fun (exploration).  I did not ask him why he participated in BioBlitz specifically, but I assume it was due to his passion and the opportunity to share it with others… while having an adventure in Central Park in the dark.

How do you think this activity benefits us, as citizens of New York City?

The BioBlitz introduced nature into our perspectives.  Living in an urban setting, one may forget that the park is a natural setting and not just a place to hang out with out worrying about loitering.  By questing for the animals or plants of the park, we remove the human aspects – the films that are shot there, the picnics, bike trails – and focus on the natural aspects, on the biology.  It serves as a good link for those of us who live in an urban setting, in which frogs and owls are forgotten about in the presence of squirrels and household pests.  By participating in the BioBlitz, we are reminded of nature, not just in the city and its parks, but in the broader world as well.  For example, our guide contextualized facts he gave us, such as the low amount of frogs in New York City in comparison with more tropical areas.

 

What was your overall reflection of the experience?  (What did you like the most?  What surprised you?  What did you not like?  Would you like to do more activities like this in the future?)

Starting with the negative, I disliked that frogs were offered as an option for observation in a month and at a time of day that are known to be unfavorable for frog spotting.  It would have been better to look for species that were more likely to be found than for frogs.  That being said, I really enjoyed our tour guide, and I learned interesting information on herpetology.  For example, herpetology is an odd branch of study, for it combines reptiles and amphibians, which are not closely evolutionarily related.  This mis-combination is probably due to the fact that both groups “creep”, for herpetology comes from the ancient Greek work “herpein” (to creep).  Also, biochemicals from a certain type of frog were used to develop the first pregnancy tests!

While I did enjoy the evening overall, I am not sure I would choose to participate in another such event in the city.  I’d rather travel to a foreign area and explore.  However, maybe my reluctance to further investigate the city’s creatures is more of a reason to do so, as I tend to explore “new” places over my own.

 

Fun fact: Our group was the Herpetology group, which was shortened to “Herp” by the registration team.  This led to some initial perplexion, as it sounds similar to herpes.  Well, Herp group, according to the Oxford Dictionary, both “herpetology” and “herpes” come from the same root (“herpein”, Greek, “to creep”).

Reflection: “The 95% Solution” by John H. Falk & Lynn D. Dierking (9.9.13)

Assignments, Reflection

In their article, “The 95% Solution”, Falk and Dierking explain informal science, and argue its importance for science literacy in the general population.  Once such example of informal learning is hobbyists.  “…many [hobbyists] with little formal training, [exhibit] high levels of knowledge and depth of understanding.  Such hobbyists often have collegial relationships with experts in the field and some… have contributed scientific discoveries” (p. 489).  Here, the authors present hobbyists’ accomplishments as a finding, which surprised me.  Weren’t the original scientists hobbyists, educated men who morphed philosophy and common observations into the principles – or predecessors of such – that we have today?  Why is it surprising that people who are passionate and curious should approach a professional level of activity?

 

Related, they say that, “much of what is learned in school actually related more to learning for school, as opposed to learning for life” (p. 489); students learn to succeed in school rather than to retain or understand the information in their lives.  This finding related to that of the hobbyists.  If people are interested, they are likely to integrate their interests into their life.  However, if they are uninterested, as students might be by in-school science, the information does not remain with or inspire them.  This concept of interest supports informal science; public learning settings should grab its targets’ interests and relate to their lives.  For instance, if there were a science based drama, people might become more involved in the show for its plot while absorbing science at the same time, or at least spurring them to look into the science surrounding the show. For example, my friend researched the science behind dreaming and consciousness after watching Nolan’s Inception (2010).

 

From the article, I gather the most important part of “free choice learning” (p. 486) is the freedom.  It is the liberty to choose what one learns, and the positive experience in having that liberty, that allows a person to learn outside the classroom.  As a student a year out of high school, I can say I am more interested in linguistics than I ever was in chemistry because I am not being forced to memorize information that is not applicable to my life.  (If it was the chemistry of baking, and we did in-class baking, would I have been more interested?  Certainly.)  I learned the chemistry for school, as mentioned above, and cannot remember much aside Pb and Fe being lead and iron respectively… and that’s because I took Latin.

 

On A Side Note: Halfway through the article, it bothered me that science was never defined.  What do the authors consider science?  I could talk about linguistics or music, which are sciences in their own respects.  In fact, according to the Oxford Dictionary, the archaic definition of science is knowledge.  This definition adds an interesting perspective to the article’s argument: Can a wide array of knowledge be learned informally?