Going into the course at the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I had previously taken only introductory science courses, and only in high school. I have to say that starting the year off with BioBlitz was not what I expected. Even though the event was put together well and I enjoyed interacting with students from other CUNY colleges, I thought that the data collected was pretty straightforward and would have preferred to see a more in-depth study of a certain organism or species. Perhaps with that, other groups would have been able to present their findings at a follow-up Macaulay event.

However, the STEAM festival was quite the opposite. I think the chance to be creative within science was well taken by the class and we presented some of the best work at the festival. The event and presentation seems fitting because science has become increasingly innovative, which is driven by creativity. Such an opportunity is therefore valuable, because it can help students realize their potential for careers within science. I also thought the course made great use of the 3D printing available at Baruch, as this made our projects very practical and real, as compared to other classes that may have put together numerical analyses.

Lastly, I thought that the use of ePortfolios was well integrated into the course and made submitting assignments simple and straightforward throughout the semester. Knowing all of the assignment deadlines made it easy for me to plan out my work ahead of time, to prevent from falling behind. This became especially important when we had several parallel projects to work on – I think it really helped ensure that we completed all of the work that was required for the course. Thank you again for a great semester everyone!