My most interesting moment in my internship was observing the way in which the scientists and research associates respect each other’s expertise and just generally seemed to enjoy being around one another. This really had me feeling resolved to contribute to such a positive morale in my own school environment. Instead of hoping that others would do it, I have started the year resolved to “be the solution”.
One of my biggest challenges was to balance project ideas with complex data. I was not certain where I could apply what I was learning to an elementary student population.
Hard to say what the biggest takeaway was but I know that seeing the amount of data used on a daily basis in every facet of the production line made an impression on me. I found myself wishing that my fifth graders could see this for themselves. It has certainly impacted the direction I have taken with my project; in it students are able to be the scientist, but also be the HR, finance employee, the maintenance worker, etc, but in each and every scenario, they are immersed in data as part of their exploration.