In 3-4 paragraphs, explain the psychology behind the proposals (with the blindfold on, 15 minutes should do):
- What was your thought process in joining a group?
- What was the biggest factor that influenced you to choose your favorite proposal?
- If you were to do your proposal again, what might you do differently?
I have to say, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in class for the proposal presentations or the voting on Monday. I have enjoyed your edgy teaching methods, though, and I am being pushed in ways I never would have thought of, especially not in a class room. It has been a great experience for me so far. So what did I look for when I was trying to pick a project? I looked for someone who had a clear focus and new their stuff. I felt like Tanner’s proposal on the link between lower-back pain and a small lumbar malfidus muscle was very interesting and it didn’t hurt that he had already been working on this research since the beginning of the year. I also really wanted to visit the lab he works in and check out the ultrasound machines to look at the images first-hand.
ReplyDeleteIf I’m being honest, the biggest factor for me in choosing which group to join was simple. I wanted to take on a project that could make a great paper, but wouldn’t be too difficult. Because it’s summer time, tomorrow is a holiday, and this term is already rushed as it is, it was very important to pick a realistic and easy topic.
I wouldn’t want to re-do my proposal because that would mean I would have to stand up in-front of the class again and speak for four minutes. Getting up there makes me nervous, but I know it’s good for me. Practice makes perfect, right? Hmmm… if I were to do my proposal over again I would be more specific. Instead of having “meaningful communication with our patients” as my topic, I would narrow it down to something like “how to combat depression in nursing homes”. I would also add more details about the research method and resources. I think that would be helpful in persuading people to join my group.
-Nicole Krantz
Logan Williams
ReplyDeleteProposal Reflections
I just wanted to make sure that I got into a group that had a research subject that I was actually interested in. I really didn't want to get stuck doing something I could care less about. I'm already worried about the writing part of the research paper., so I don't want to have to try and find motivation to do it on top of that. I was also weary of who I would be working with. I wanted to make sure I was in a group that had people that would take the project seriously and pull their own weight as well. I've been a part of group projects where it ended up basically just being me doing all the work, and I hate it when that happens. I also thought about which subject would have enough information to even write about. I really don't like when you've run out of things to say, and you still have to fill more space so you just repeat things, or try to fill it with fluff. I'm not good at filling papers with fluff. I get straight to the point, and I wanted to make sure I could do that with the research subject I was going to choose.
The biggest factor that influenced me in picking my favorite proposal was the fact that it seemed like a fun, less touched on subject of research. I wouldn't be able to write it on my own without doing any research on the subject and I liked that fact about it. It also seemed to have a psychological side or research to it, and I've always been fairly interested in psychology. So I guess the subject matter was really what attracted me to join the group I ended up joining. Yes, I did think about who I'd be working with and all that, but in the end I wasn't going to choose a subject of research I wasn't interested in, so I picked the most interesting one to me.
If I could do my proposal again I would definitely be a lot more persuasive. First of all, I would have tried to find out what most of the class was interested in so people would actually want to join my project. I picked a topic that I was rather passionate about, but I guess no one else really was. Of course it would have been difficult to figure out what everyone was into most, but I just would've like to know a little bit more of what peaked most people's interests. I would have tried to find some really good visuals to catch the audience's attention and help get my idea stuck in there mind so they wouldn't just forget about it. Yes, I used some pictures I thought were pretty clever, but again, I guess no one else really did. Lastly, I would have picked a topic that was most relevant to everyone. I wouldn't have made it so specific and closed off to suggestions and other ideas people from class might have had. I really wish I was just a naturally persuasive public speaker. I've always been nervous speaking in front of people I don't really know, and I wish I wasn't.
Dallin Rowley
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I enjoyed this assignment more than I anticipated. I suppose that comes from choosing a topic I really care about.
When I listened to the other proposals last Friday, I noticed that there seemed to be certain repeating themes: food, apple vs. PC, patient care. While I found all of these topics interesting, I knew that I would be most passionate about researching a topic in my area of personal and academic expertise: nutrition. So when I chose my favorite proposals, I narrowed them down to the two most interesting to me (and, coincidentally, most similar to my own): the health effects of milk, and obesity in America.
Not only did I chose these topics because I was interested in them, but also because I thought they were well presented. Maybe it’s just that I naturally tend to listen more when the topic is something I care about, but I was fascinated by the proposals. If I hadn’t chosen one of the topics like my own, it would have been one that was well-presented and thought-through.
If I were to redo my proposal, I would have practiced it more beforehand. You could tell who had done so and who hadn’t, and those who had had more interesting proposals. I think I would also change my presentation slightly to focus more on my survey idea, because those who chose my proposal seemed to have liked this the best.
Stephen Kitto
ReplyDeleteThis was a very unique start to a very important and hard project. I felt that it helped us work harder to find the thing that we would want to write about. Part of the reason that I liked it so much was that it created a work type environment. It helped us realize that other people often have great ideas as well, and we should be open to following their ideas as much as we should be willing to pursue our own ideas.
The biggest thing that influenced me to pick the group that I chose was the ease of doing the research. Many of the proposals sounded like they would be very cool things to research and to learn about, but quite frankly would have required a lot of time to learn enough to write a good paper. Looking for a group that would allow easy research helped me significantly narrow the list of groups that I might want to join. After that I chose the one that sounded most interesting to me.
A big reason I chose the group that I did was that I am taking another
class right now that require a lot of time. I knew that mid week I might not have all that much time to work on the paper. When Andy first started talking about his idea I thought it sounded very interesting and got really excited. I got even more excited when I realized that it wouldn’t be too incredibly time intensive, I could do something that sounded really fun and I wouldn’t have to stress and or sacrifice my other class.
If I were to do my proposal again I would have practiced my presentation. I practiced it many times in my head and thought it sounded great. Well, it wasn’t all that great. This would have helped me so that I could have done it a lot more confidently. I also would have picked a topic that would have been easier to research. Overall I thought this was really cool assignment that helped us get into groups that will really help us succeed.
Dan Nielson
ReplyDeleteThe proposal assignment was fun, but also was challenging. It was hard to come up with a topic that would appeal to not only me, but many people in the class. I think my idea was good, but I could have presented it with a little different angle because no one chose my proposal. The process I used to join a group was first I jotted down some notes about the proposals I thought sounded interesting during the presentations. Then I considered the person who was presenting and thought if I would want to work with them in his or her group. Then I looked over my notes and reviewed the slides of the proposals I already picked. By doing this, I was able to narrow it down to three or four.
Ultimately my decision solely came from what topic I found to be the most fascinating. I thought about all the other options, but my final choice was just the topic I liked the most. I chose the Vibram Five Fingers because I am a runner and have questioned their validity myself. I thought it was be interesting to see what these shoes were really all about. Also I already know some of the professors in the Exercise Science Department who have done some research on these shoes. I thought it would be easy to work with these professors and would be a very rewarding topic to research.
If I could do my proposal again I would really work at targeting my audience. I tried to think of a good idea that would relate to everyone in the class, which I think I did. Where I could have done better was to help my fellow classmates see how easy my idea would have been. I would have listed exactly why they wanted to research how to become a millionaire and then showed them how to do the research. This way I would have perked their interest with my idea and then kept it as they later reviewed my slides. Also I would have practiced my presentation a few more times to make sure I knew exactly what I was going to say. More preparation is always better.
Alexis Nielson
ReplyDeleteAs I was considering which group to join, I wanted to do a research project that would have value to me beyond the actual paper. I wanted to learn something from the research and then use it in my life. For me the medical research of some of the groups did not interest me, since I am not in a medical field. The comparison of different technologies didn’t interest me either because I am far from being technologically savvy.
The biggest factor for choosing my favorite proposal was, once again, something that would have value to me. My top choice was the food storage for less than one hundred dollars proposal, because that is something that I could definitely use in my life. The prophet has told us multiple times that we need to build our food storage. I have worked at a food storage cannery, so I know just how expensive some things can be. However, I am in the Vibram FiveFingers barefoot running group, and that will also have lasting value to me as I am (or pretend to be) a runner. I have only run one marathon, but the pain was so great that I have struggled with wanting to do another one. I have also had some bad knee and hip pain since running it, and I would find it interesting to see if maybe the Vibram FiveFingers shoes would help some of the pains go away.
If I could do my proposal over again, I would try to appeal more to the people in our class. I would try to show them that bad self-esteem can affect not just the person with bad self-esteem, but those around him as well. I would also make my proposal a little more concrete and focused so they knew exactly what they were getting into. In doing that I would be more specific about how it could help them in different aspects of their life. Being more direct and simple would help the class to easily see what it was I was proposing.
My thought process of choosing was group was simple. I wanted to research something that I thought would be valuable to me. This meant I wanted to research something that is applicable to the field of engineering. Secondary to this first motive was my desire to be with a team of individuals who I felt are competent and effective students. Thus, as I listened (tried to listen) to the presentations I noted topics that interested me, as well as individuals that wanted to do a good job.
ReplyDeleteBy Monday I forgot some of what I had felt and thought during the presentations, but I remembered that Valerie’s presentation was interesting. I’m in another math class right now and I agreed with her opinion that a great math teacher can change someone’s perception and experience with math. So, the greatest influence on my choosing a group was the topic at hand. I signed up for her project; unfortunately no one else thought it was too interesting.
Sometimes when one completes an assignment, one has the choice whether or not to stick with something they are comfortable with, or to branch out and try new things. I chose to present my proposal because I had written a paper on the topic of air pollution. I had chosen this topic for that paper and I felt very comfortable discussing the idea. It many ways, my main concern with presenting was to feel that I was the expert on the topic. In hindsight, I should have chosen a topic that I wasn’t familiar with, but was something of curiosity to me. By choosing a “safe” topic, I discouraged people from going such a boring group, regardless of how easy/hard the project would be. The audience of these presentations was a group of highly motivated, excellent student. They mostly know they will do a good job, but seek after topics which are interesting, yet simple. So the main thing I would change with my proposal would be to research something that would be interesting to everyone, and present it in a way that has them relating to my curiosity.
Andrew Black
ReplyDeleteAs I think about the different proposals that were presented, there were a few that grabbed my attention, and a few that didn’t, but the ones that did stand out, stood out for a reason. The greatest factor that attracted me to wanting to join their groups was the subject matter, or ideas, they were presenting. There were some subjects that were very applicable to the field that I am studying, and there were others that were simply intriguing. If they were neither of those, I found it hard to really pay attention. The second factor, though not quite as persuasive as the subject matter, was the overall presentation. When the presenter was speaking, it was hard for me to care if they did not show that they cared themselves. However, if they did, and if they tried to connect with me and with the rest of the audience, then I felt included, and everyone likes to feel like they are a part of something. Perhaps the most detracting part of a presentation was if they were nervous, but it’s hard to be too critical because I was nervous myself. However, if they were nervous, then it made me nervous and as a result, uncomfortable. It made me hope that the presentation would end soon, for both my sake and theirs.
When it came time to choose the groups, a series of thoughts rushed through my head. I was subconsciously following Adam Smith’s ideas of self-interest, asking myself one question; how could I strategically pick a project to better the chances of having my own be the one that was ready for launch? My initial thoughts were to pick a project that I felt would be the least likely to succeed and wait to see if enough people were joining my group so I could have time to switch. Then I assumed everyone would have the same thought process, and we would either be stuck doing projects that have no interest to us, or the numbers would be evenly distributed and we would come to a stalemate. For this reason I decided to simply vote for the one I liked most, so that way if I did happen to lose, I would at least be able to be in a group that I liked.
If I were to do my project again, I would find a way to improve my presentation. I feel like I picked a subject that was very interesting, but I let my nerves get the best of me as I spoke. I don’t know if it was just me, or if it was the fact that I had just pulled an all-nighter and was running off a couple of Rockstars that were giving me the jitters. Either way, as I look back on my presentation I could have changed a couple of things around and tried to add a little more humor to keep the audience’s attention. I feel humor can be a key component when speaking publicly. I could have also tried to make it more personable, trying to relate it more to the audience rather than just expressing it as being one of MY interests or curiosities. I don’t think my mannerisms were very appealing either and they lacked animation and eye contact with everyone, but again, I don’t know if it was my fault or those energy drinks affecting me, because I do not normally struggle with that part of public speaking.
Upon listening to the proposals, I was first trying to figure out which topic I seemed most interested in. There isn’t anything worse than trying to do research on something that you have very little interest in, or don’t see much benefit in even doing. Second, I was thinking about how simple the project would be to complete. There were a lot of cool ideas that seemed fairly interesting; however, as I thought about how we would go about doing the research some of the proposals seemed a lot more difficult than others. We don’t have a lot of time in the summer semester, so being able to complete this project in a short amount of time without taking up every waking moment was an important aspect to my thought process. Lastly, I thought about the type of person giving the proposal; whether he or she seemed easy going, knowledgeable, high strung, or anal retentive. It already sucks to have to do a research paper, let alone doing it with difficult personalities. In the end, I thought to myself, “once you make a choice, just be as excited as possible about it and keep a positive attitude about writing.”
ReplyDeleteFor me, the biggest factor for this proposal was whether or not it was an idea that I felt would be simple, so that we would have enough time to do a good job and still be able to complete the project. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of unique and interesting ideas for research, but if I had a hard time trying to think of how we were going to be able to accomplish the project, or if I thought it would be difficult to find enough information in a short amount of time, I did not go with that idea. Along with the thought of whether it would be simple or not, I thought that the most simple research topics would be those that already have research going on. The foundation is already laid and there are plenty of materials to use and incorporate into our own paper, reducing the amount of time needed to put together a good paper.
I don’t think I would do anything differently. I chose a topic that I felt had a plethora of information that could be used to easily put together a paper. I thought giving a little background about myself and who I am helped the class more easily determine if I was someone that they would want to do research with. My proposal was very simple and did not require a lot of time to put together. Could I have been more enticing and convincing with my proposal? Probably, but the benefits of putting in that much more time for ten points was not worth it to me. Sleep was far more valuable to me than ten points.
What was your thought process in joining a group?
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought I would try to join a group that didn’t have anyone signed up, so that the popular ones wouldn’t get filled as quickly and mine would have more of a chance. However, I saw that most people were filling up the groups anyway, so I decided that I’d better look at the ones that were getting filled and pick my favorite one from there. Bryce’s poster had a picture of Neal Caffrey on it (Neal happened to be the main character in one of my favorite tv shows). Nice job, Bryce. You convinced me by creating a poster that I couldn’t turn down. I also thought his proposal was interesting, and could have some fun research, but it was not originally my first choice.
What was the biggest factor that influenced me to choose that proposal?
As I mentioned above, the picture on the poster was a big factor for me. His presentation was interesting, and it was one of the ones that I marked as a possibility (because I thought the research could actually be interesting and fun, unlike many other research papers), but I don’t think it’s the one that originally stuck out as the number one choice for me. But it turned out that, when it came down to the groups that were being chosen as the popular ones, his poster stuck out the most, and I went for it.
If I was to do my proposal again, what would I do differently?
I think I would have explained a little bit more what my goals were in the research and how exactly we would come to our conclusions. I don’t think I would change the topic, because I actually think that my topic could be very interesting (even to people who are math geeks like me). But perhaps I could have made it more relate-able, particularly to those who are studying things that have nothing to do with math.
Why is it always three, never more, never less? Three questions; it’s as if the balance of the universe depended on it. Two questions leaves one feeling empty and shallow. Four questions suggests there is something more to come, and when it doesn’t come, what reason is there to go on in life? We’re safe, there are only three. The first could be intriguing were my reasoning more profound. That morning I hadn’t eaten breakfast. Unfortunately our recent move had left the cereal in some mysterious moving box alongside the toothpaste and deodorant. Why is my wife so determined to find that box? I can survive without it, but the lack of cereal in the morning does leave waffles, bagels, and toast looking rather bland.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the hunger caught up to me and a 100% red-meat hamburger looked all too tempting to question the implications of the Word of Wisdom. That research project was out of the question, and out of bounds in one’s right to question. Not really, I was just hungry, remember? Next, the thought of each of my toes wearing its own shoe gave them a sudden life-like quality that was nothing less than creepy. Then there was the middleofthebackus muscle; I’ve never even seen my lower back. Con men are interesting though. I’ll go with the con men, could come in handy later in life. I hear a lot of college grads aren’t getting a second look on the job market these days. So there’s the bulk of my reasoning. Other classes funnel me into medical research; I thought a change would be fun for a change. Is that too repetitive? Yes or no, that was the main reason I’ve joined in confidence with the con men of the class.
In regards to the proposal itself, the third time is the only one that promises any excess of charm, but if I had a second chance I guess I’d take it. I remain fascinated by the topic I proposed, so there would be no change on that front. My presentation could have gone more smoothly. I would probably use more serious examples in my next attempt simply because I feel that my fellow classmates may have disregarded the tremendous potential of the project due to the silly side notes. I try to be kind, sympathetic, cheerful, but all I get is a courtesy laugh and the fully-automatic applause. I don’t blame them though; sometimes I don’t even notice I’m clapping until my hands start to tingle. Anyway, I would do as I have explained and then provide more convincing evidence about the wealth of research available on the topic. Students want it to be interesting as well as simple, so that is exactly what I would attempt to portray.
My thought process while joining my group was twofold: at least I’m getting my second choice, and WHAT THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THIS CLASS. Nobody is interesting in current technology? Really?! Not one vote. Silly nillies. Okay, besides the hurt pride from no one voting for my idea (bionics), I thought, well, although I was psyched to learn about something science-related, this will be a good leap into something a little different. I enjoy a bit of psychology and researching con artists isn’t half bad. (I’m just a sore loser, still.) Anyway this should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite proposal was “man-made versus machine”. I have a few ideas which is better, but it would have been great to really put them to the test. Although he may not have had the most stellar performance, it was clear-cut and an extremely interesting topic. It’s right up the alley of what (well, kind of) of what I want to specialize in—namely, improving the human body to be better than “nature’s best” and expand the limitations of human ability. Ah… I just really think it’s cool. Anyway that’s the main reason I picked my first choice proposal: it was the most interesting research topic.
As the winners were selected, I tried thinking back to how they presented and what key phrases they said that might have made their proposals stand out among the rest. But really, I’m not sure. The con artist one I think got his votes because it’s a unique topic out of the hard sciences. The red meat one, maybe it was his punch at the end: “if you agree with me join my group… if you disagree, join my group….” The lower back pain one I can see people valuing the research opportunities like going into the lab to see various back muscle diameters. That one seems to have some lasting value. And the toe shoes, I admit, are also a cool subject. However I… never mind… I don’t want to rant anymore. Anyway what would I have done differently? Practiced my speech more, and throw in a compelling argument at the end why it was a good idea to join my group.
I decided which group to join based on my interests. To me, some of the proposals didn't sound like something fun to research. Also, I wanted to pick something that didn't seem like it would be too hard to research. Since we only have less than two weeks to do everything, time was a pretty important consideration.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest factor that made me choose the proposal I did was my interests. I picked what I thought was interesting. Another thing that helped me make my decision was the sales pitch of each person. Some people had a very convincing argument as to why theirs would be best. That definitely made me gravitate towards certain proposals.
If I could do this assignment over again, I would take more time to design my slides. I think a lot of the time the visual aspect really counts. It seemed like a lot of the class was looking up at the screen and reading what was there. I didn't realize how much the visual aspect could affect the overall success of the proposal.
-Tanner Miles
This past month I have been involved in a facebook competition. I rarely use facebook, however this competition lofted a prize above my head...$500 in Mountain Hardware gear, which is well worth a breach of my moral code. As a result, I have spent the past week or two methodically planning out my purchases so as to optimize my purchasing power and my buying pleasure. First, I looked over all the products and narrowed things down by the cool factor. Then I reviewed each item checking for the ratings, specs and other information. Finally, I considered their utility.
ReplyDeleteThis proposal was awfully similar to how I went about plotting out my shopping mentality. First, I noted which proposals sounded cool to me. In other words, if the proposal sounded interesting, I took notes and said, "this looks interesting", or, "this could be really cool!" On Monday, when we were about to decide on a proposal to join, I looked over my notes and only focused on the "cool" ones. After identifying the "fun ones", I considered each of those specifically. I really liked the bionics idea and I have invested interest in the "five fingers" study. The math research proposal caught my attention because my wife teaches math. However, the one that I chose came down to one main argument in my head. When it came down to making the decision, I considered utility over anything. "Will this research be useful for having a good study that we can write about?" I asked myself. The red meat proposal had the potential for conducting original research and using surveys (what I thought was a fun idea).
My wife is vegetarian and we have interesting conversations regarding people's reactions to her so I was somewhat drawn to the Word of Wisdom proposal. Even though the others sounded really cool, they didn't have much of a defined idea for carrying out the research in my head. However, I imagined to myself my group asking random people questions about their view on the Word of Wisdom and getting really controversial responses. That sounded like soething that I could write about!
If I could plan out my proposal again, I would have defined my research project to myself before presenting it to the class. I know that my idea was something I was interested in but I wasn't sure that I could actually carry out interesting new research. That seemed to be the deciding factor for me. If I could plan it out again I would have suggested a question that we could use surveys to answer because I think that I was very drawn to the prospect of new research.
-Kenneth Barlow