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| Nancy with Professor Chamberlain |
The capstone experience at first wasn’t entirely what I expected it to be. I was convinced for a while it had to be an intense research project and didn’t know what research topics would be acceptable. While I was interning at the Staten Island Zoo, it randomly occurred to me that I could conduct a study regarding zoos. It was never in my interest to pursue a career in research; however, it has always been a dream of mine to work at a zoo. Coming up with a research question in addition to meeting my collaborating professor’s standards was challenging. There were differences in lab report formatting between my courses in comparison to my mentor’s way of writing reports. Despite the occasional confusion and stress, I developed better research and writing skills through this experience.
My capstone topic was analyzing the benefits of placed-based education, which is hands-on learning primarily with live animals and or real-world examples. It took about two years to complete my research project; one semester focusing on data collection at the zoo through surveys, the rest an arduous span of reading long scholarly papers in search of relatable information to my study.
My professor challenged me to exceed any past paper writing experience, and helped me better understand what a strongly supported scientific paper should entail. It was emotionally challenging to rewrite large sections and meet timed page quotas, but I became better at writing scientific papers because of this. I wouldn’t have learned these essential professional skills from any class, and thus I am very grateful for the mentor-ship.
My capstone research paper turned out to be the longest paper I ever wrote, totaling about 30 pages not including the bibliography pages. This may be a small feat for some, but I am very proud of myself, and being praised by my professor for my hard work also filled me with such happiness. While we searched for scholarly papers, it was to our surprise that my topic was very popular, but I had mixed feelings about that. To me, that meant my topic was too popular and therefore my paper wasn't very special. But to my professor, the glass was half full; it was a significant revolutionary topic, especially since the first paper exploring the topic was conducted in 2007. There was a science education seminar that addressed placed-based education that semester, where my professor brought up my research study to the associate provost. When she told me the associate provost was impressed with my paper at first glance, I felt like my heart grew wings and fluttered out of me with joy and pride. Even though it was a coincidental conversation, my self-esteem was boosted ten-fold knowing that my paper had value.
If I planned on pursuing my masters in science pedagogy, it was recommended that my capstone paper could be refined to become by master’s thesis. If I were to collect more data at the zoo pertaining to pre and post-teaching classes at the zoo with live animals, and or the use of live animals in my own classroom when I begin teaching as a New York State certified educator, I could expand and enrich my preexisting paper by personally applying my findings and theories in the classes I teach. The point in my paper is that increased exposure to applied sciences and the natural world, whether it is in or out of a placed-based educational facility like a zoo, would be just as academically beneficial. Therefore, if I collected data that displayed heightened interest and academic success in science, it would add value to my research findings.
Aside from the completion of the paper itself, partaking in the undergraduate research conference was an amazing feeling. I loved learning about other student’s studies and being surrounded by such talented individuals. It was truly an eye-opening, astounding day where I got to share my research with other students and conference attenders, as well as see their hard work. It was at the conference where I learned the existence of faculty research that I would have been interested in too. So my only regret is not taking part in other ecology related research in addition to my own independent research study at the zoo.
The capstone experience is not a fast or simple one, but it is without doubt an experience where you grow and develop essential reading, writing, and technical research skills that you may not find from any other class. To me, participating at the research conference and being able to take pride in my own work was a key undergraduate studies milestone. I implore you to research topics that you find interesting if you have the time, and openly accept the challenge of investigating deeper into our world’s infinite secrets.
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