Problem Solving Reflection

The title of the first interdisciplinary project (IDP) is Depression.The interdisciplinary

project was assigned in my 10th grade English class during the Spring semester and was
completed in my 10th grade core classes. We were asked to research depression, how it affects
one’s life, and how it impacts our community. We also had to come up with a solution to reduce
the number of people who have depression. The interdisciplinary project fits the problem solving
category because my group had to come up with a solution to help our community and we
suggested that group therapy be available for teens and we chose to help teens out because
they are the ones who are the most emotional and are too young to understand the problems
that they are going through. We thought that holding group therapy would allow teens to talk
about their problems and possibly have someone who has gone through similar situations give
advice about what they did that helped them overcome the issue.

The title of the second IDP is called Toxins.The interdisciplinary project was assigned in
my 11th grade U.S. History in the Fall semester and completed in my 11th grade core. In this
assignment we conducted an experiment by growing plants using soil from our home for one
plant and organic soil for the other plant, while watering both plants with spring water. We had to
record the heights of both plants every day for a certain amount of days. Throughout the days
the plant was growing we saw pictures that the plant from the soil we got at home grew faster
than the plant that was growing from the organic soil. However both plants died, but the plant
from the organic soil lived longer. I got the soil from my community tested and the results were
that the lead concentration was 47 parts per million (ppm). The results of our experiment told us
that lead can affect the health of living organisms. We then researched how lead affects our
body when we are kids, adults, and for some women when they are pregnant. We came up with
a call to action that would help bring awareness to the community about the dangers of lead.
This IDP fits problem solving category because when we presented about lead and the dangers
to a middle school class we gave suggestions to reduce exposure to lead such as cleaning their
hands after coming into contact with soil from the community. Not many students knew what
lead was and why it was dangerous if it is in your system because when we told them. We also
share with them that if their body is lacking calcium the lead in their body will be used as a
substitute. We also had the class do the same experiment we did with the permission from the
teacher to grow a plant with organic soil and one with the soil from their homes and water it with
spring water. We asked them to examine the plants and take pictures over the days and see
how lead is affecting the plants growth.

The student learning outcomes I met during both IDPs were active citizen, critical
thinker, and willing collaborator. During the second IDP the SLOs I met were active citizen,
critical thinker, effective communicator, and willing collaborator. For the first IDP the way I met
the active citizen SLO is by designing a website containing information about depression to
distribute information to the public and advocated for group therapy to be available for teens
who deal with depression. I was a critical thinkers by using reliable resources and coming up
with a viable solution. I was a willing collaborator by holding myself and my teammates
accountable for not getting their part done by deadline they needed to meet and provided
assistance to group members when they struggled with their parts. During the second IDP I met
the SLO active citizen by going to another school and raising awareness to my community by
doing a presentation and assisted students in conducting their own experiments on soil from the
community. I was a critical thinker because I analyzed the data we got when we measured the
heights of the plants, using reliable resources, and coming up with a viable solution to the
community problem. I was a willing colaborator by helping out my group equally divide the work
when a teammate transferred out of the school and provided assistance to another student
when she didn’t understand the assignment.

When comparing the two interdisciplinary projects, I saw growth in three areas. First, I
took on more responsibilities over time because, unlike my past presentations where I had only
done the simple tasks and I would procrastinate, during my 11th grade IDP, I was able to take
on a bigger role and more responsibilities and began leading my group. I also improved my
presentation skills. As an 11th grader, I put less information on my slides and spoke more so
that the panel could focus more on listening to what I had to say rather than focusing on what
my slides showed. My problem solving skills have also improved. As I was a young boy I
always looked at a problem in one viewpoint and now I am able to look at a problem in multiple
ways and find better solutions. I need to improve my presentation skills by learning to memorize
my presentations and learning to pause during presentations. Another way I can improve is my
willingness to ask for help. I can use these problem solving skills when I take college courses
and need to address major or complicated problems that require creative solutions.