Taking this class this semester was a very interesting and informative experience that made me look at science in a more detailed and specific way. I am a Biological Sciences major, so I have expose to the sciences every day in my other classes, but this class taught me more about the science of science, in a way. I think one of the most important part of science that this class taught me about was the scientific process, and all of its intricate details. In basic science classes, I had teachers and professors outline it in 5 basic steps, and that was the end of the discussion. What this class did was teach me about the different ways the scientific method could be applied and used.

For example, completing the 3D printed healthcare innovation was very helpful for me in learning more about the scientific process. I feel like in the past, I have always been taught that the scientific method is applied to experimental projects in the lab. The scientific method would always be used to strictly outline an experiment with a clear hypothesis, measurable data, procedure and results. However, the process in designing a healthcare innovation also has underlying aspects of the scientific method that aren’t as overt as they are in experiments. There is research in finding out and justifying the need for the healthcare innovation, and there is a procedure and plan, as well as a final product. Though there isn’t any measurable data, there is a final design, and you can hypothesize about the way the healthcare innovation can help the public. Going through the process of creating a healthcare innovation with my group members helped me see that the scientific method can be applied in other scientific processes, not just experiments exclusively.

I also learned that a huge part of the scientific method is revision and repetition, and I saw this through having to do many versions of the self-regulating pill bottle. In order to get it right, there were many rounds of revisions which ultimately led to the best possible version of our healthcare innovation. I think that having to redo and work on our posters multiple times after getting feedback was one of the most important processes we went through in this class, because it just emphasized the idea that science is based on revisions and building on previous work. Just as Dr. Greer explained, the processes of doing experiments and forming new theories rely heavily on reproducibility, as well as going back and revising old hypotheses and testing them in new experiences. It is in this way that we were able to get the best possible version of our posters, thanks to Jake and Dr. Greer’s feedback, as well as the comments from our peers. Having to do a poster was one of the most memorable experiences for me, because it was the first time I had exposure to research posters and presenting research. Since I am a Biological Sciences major and a Pre-Med student, I hope to do research in the future, and this was a nice way for me to get preliminary experience with poster making. Overall, this class was very enjoyable, as it was structured well and we had amazing instructors who cared deeply about our being able to learn about science. I am very grateful to have had these experiences.