As part of the thesis curriculum, I was asked to participate in a class known as Thesis Preparation, which, just how it sounds, was meant to give an initial structure for creating a thesis. Throughout the semester, we were asked to create various projects that acted as building blocks to a final Thesis Proposal, which was the final outcome of the course. In addition to the Thesis Proposal, we were also asked to complete an honest self assessment of how the time during the semester was spent, and whether we believed that we had successfully set ourselves up to create a Thesis.
Here is the Final Self Assessment:
Gerardo Chapa
HONS 4370.01
Dr. Loewe
7 December 2018
Final Self-Assessment
1. Expectations and Goals
What, specifically, were your goals for the course?
How did your approach to the course help you learn what you expected to learn and achieve your goals?
What, specifically, did you learn in this course?
As mentioned in my expectations for the course in my midterm self-assessment, I came into the class wanting to have a better idea of how a thesis is created, in addition to seeing what tools I could use or what structure would be implemented for myself in order to be able to split my thesis into more manageable chunks. Personally, coming into the thesis class, I had already had the general idea of what it was that I wanted to write my thesis about, but at that point I only had an extremely broad scope, given that at that point I could perceive that the connections could be made between UX and work processes, but I wasn’t able to formulate it at all, only perceive it. With that being said, I feel like my sole goal for this semester and the course was to be able to explain the concept to myself well enough where I could know concretely what would be talked about when I actually created the thesis.
Among the most important things that I felt like I needed to understand before starting a thesis, was the basis behind creating a thesis in the first place, and conceptualizing, what exactly, a thesis project could be. Thinking of what an honors thesis is, I am well aware that often this is seen as a huge hurdle standing in between senior year and graduation, and many times the size and demands for creating such a project is seen as just this, something to be hurdled over. My approach to the honors thesis, my perception of what it is, and what it can become was among the most important things that I learned during the duration of the course. I see my thesis as an opportunity, not only to explore a topic that I am truly passionate about, but also as an essential opportunity to discover more about myself and truly challenge myself and grow as an academic. I think when people think of a capstone project, for many it can be seen as just another (big) assignment that they have to cross out of the imaginary list of things needed to receive a certification that they are now legally a bachelor of something. Like the hundreds of quizzes, tests, and assignments that have been done through rote learning and forgotten forever, this project for many stands as just that, which once submitted will be pushed out of mind and never thought of again. My approach to the course has been to make a true effort to really take the unique opportunity that we, as honors students, have of really diving deep into learning something for which we are genuinely interested in. I see the thesis not in terms of just a big project that was assigned before we graduate, but more of what I believe this project really should be in the context of academia: an undergraduate thesis that is an extension of myself, one that can represent the work that I, as a student and academic, can produce through the synthesis of what I learned in a decade and a half of being a member of learning institutions.
I think part of why projects like this become just another assignment to be done, is unfortunately, only a symptom of a broken education system. Part of the problem, I think, has been from a loss of the essence of what it really means to be a student in the context of Academia and what that represents. The symptoms, therefore, are shown discretely in different places, which is why some people think their degrees are worthless, why many professors write papers than no one reads, and why many students will continue to churn out disinterested, dispassionate, and meaningless work, just to get a degree. I have neither the scope, the means, (or the interest) at the moment to singlehandedly try to find a solution to reform the entire school system, however, I think it is necessary to understand the role that I as a student have in this environment, in order to be able to know what it is that I am trying to accomplish in making a thesis project.
Even as I write this final self-assessment, my initial inclination (telling of the perception that so many other assignments have) was to bullshit my way into managing to write enough sufficiently self-reflective words to satisfy the 900-word requirement from the assignment guidelines and get the assignment over with. Yet, in a moment of self-awareness, I come to realize, yet again, the value of what a true self-reflection of the time preparing my thesis has had on the development of my project. Having said this, and attempting to save this answer from completely digressing into a tirade about the problems of the educational system, I think this relates to my thesis preparation in that in order to make a thesis, I first had to learn what it meant to make a thesis, which is one of the key goals that I set out achieve, and which now allow me to be able to produce a thesis that is worth making.
2. Performance
Did you complete all the assignments and do all the quizzes and activities?
How was your performance? Did you meet the expectations for a B under the basic contract? Exceed them?
How, if at all, did you improve as a writer, thinker, editor, analyst, researcher, or arguer?
What specific strategies did you use to find a way through confusion, hang-ups, procrastination, your workload and life outside of class, lack of experience, or unfamiliarity with the work?
Looking back at the semester, I believe that finding a true motive to create a meaningful thesis allowed me to complete all the assignments, quizzes, and activities that we have had with much less internal resistance than other projects that I have done in the past. Several times during the course, the class and its purpose was framed as an opportunity to create material that would be “a gift to your future (thesis writing) self”. As a result, when I was asked to do something, because I could see the impact that it would have on my thesis, and also because I realized that my work this semester is ultimately for my benefit, I was able to put in the time to make work that would be self-supporting that would ultimately help me out in the long run. In terms of performance, I have been very satisfied with the work that I have been able to produce.
Through the feedback that I received as I worked on my projects, I was able to improve as a writer and researcher by learning how to synthesize and break down information better. Project 1 began as a collection of sources that I could tell had the elements of the topics that I wanted to talk about. From project 1 to project 2, my greatest challenge was being able to describe and talk about the contents that each of the sources had to offer as a unit, given that most of my sources were dense books that each contained sections and subsections which described smaller sections and categories of a multifaceted concept, such as user experience and the many aspects that can be broken down into much more specific (yet still large) pieces, like user interface, perception, aesthetic… to name a few. Taking the advice from project 2 to slow down and unpack my sources, I believe that my first major step into seeing where concepts merged together concretely was by doing a synthesis matrix in order to do project 3. Taking a step back and breaking down the sources in smaller pieces and grouping them together made me think of ways in which I had not before. One of the strategies that helped me be able to synthesize and make new connections by some of the sources was to allow flexibility in the ways in which I absorbed information about my topics. I did this by varying the forms of which I absorbed information depending on how receptive I felt to certain mediums. At times I would feel that reading a book would be the best way to absorb new information, while at others, it felt best to watch videos or documentaries that would talk about the concept in different ways. Ultimately my goal was set myself up with the right stimuli to be able to make new connections, given that at times the best solution to be able to talk about a concept was simply to let the ideas “marinate” in my head. Connections sometimes come from subconsciously having the thesis in the back of my mind while I did other activities, like watching a movie for leisure, which could be additionally primed by choosing to watch something loosely related, such as a documentary on design, a podcast about how a company was developed, or a movie about a famous entrepreneur.
3. Ownership of Learning
Did you come to class prepared (F2F classes) and participate (all classes) regularly? If so, how consistent were you? Did you find ways to improve in this way?
Did you made specific notes about problems and questions and bring them to class to share (F2F classes)/share them electronically (online classes)?
Did you seek guidance outside of the classroom (office visits, Zoom hours, Writing Center, other)? If so, what, and how consistently? How did that help (or not help)? If not, why not?
Which specific areas did you want to improve on in this class?What was your concrete, specific plan to improve in those areas during the second half of the class? How did you do in carrying out that plan? What will you carry forward out of this class into the future?
Throughout the semester, I was able to consistently come to class prepared, which allowed me to participate fully with whatever it was that we would do on that specific day of class. There was never a shortage of questions that I asked and continue to ask myself about the project, which is why I found it useful to keep track of these questions in a journal that is geared specifically for keeping track of my ideas for my thesis. Much of the guidance I received outside the class came from meetings with my thesis mentor, Dr. Kart, and several occasions of feedback that I received electronically from Dr. Loewe. Sometimes the best way of continuing to understand the concepts was to try to teach them to someone else, and simply by having conversations with Dr. Loewe and Dr. Kart on the progress of my thesis I would come away with a better understanding of the topic myself (very much like rubber duck debugging). In my midterm, speaking of specific areas which I wanted to improve, I mentioned that I wanted to increase the time spent immersing myself in material, which I referred to as “pure research”. The change of class structure to accommodate for more time during class for working on the thesis went hand in hand with what I hoped to achieve. I found that this time was perfect for this, and in the few weeks of pure working class time I was able to take this time for discovery and additional research of my topic, which then allowed me to focus on my thesis proposal and the other aspects of my thesis outside of class. Now that the class has come to an end, I carry forward much of the structure and work that I was able to generate throughout the semester. Among the most important, I have had the opportunity to fully be able to conceptualize the shape that my thesis will take. For the most part, I wished to gather much of the instruments, tools, and material needed to make a thesis, which to me is what Thesis Preparation really sets out to achieve. Now that the foundations have been set, I have now placed myself in a position in which I am now able to begin building.
As I conclude the semester, I continually ask myself what the whole point of an entire semester dedicated purely for preparing for a thesis was, while also asking myself whether I was able to get out what I hoped I could get out from the class. Thinking of what the thesis proposal sets out to achieve, I think at its essence it is trying to see whether or not the work that was done in the semester has laid down the foundation for creating the thesis itself. Asking myself this question, I can genuinely say that I absolutely believe that I have set myself up to create my thesis, and believe that at this point, I am now ready to create it, which is something that I was miles away from saying at the beginning of the semester. Taking a look of the structure of the class, it is understood that given the large variety of topics, interests, and fields that a thesis encompasses for each person, a general type of template has to be created that can used for a variety of students that accommodate these factors as best as possible. Traditionally, the format of many theses are large academic papers that take the shape similar to that of a dissertation (but much shorter in length).
Among the most important (if not the most important) thing that had to be done given the subject of my thesis was concretely being able to conceptualize what the final product would be. When I first began conceptualizing my project, and thinking of how I would be able to share what I have gathered, I quickly realized that I would not be able to explain these concepts like I wanted to if I had to be subject to the limitations of text being my only medium of communication. One of the central ideas that drives my thesis is examining the way information is shared and presented, and the different ways that different types of media can be used to present complex concepts in ways that are more effective than from only the use of text. Because of this, writing a traditional paper would have been a fatal redundancy, given that my attempt to show visual and design heavy concepts through just text ineffectively would result in me doing exactly what my thesis is trying to stay away from. Using modern adages, I am effectively trying to show why “a picture is worth a thousand words”. In some ways, talking about visual concepts without showing them is not unlike the problem of trying to describe color to a blind person, describing the taste of a food to someone that has never tried it, or reading about zen intellectually, a description of these things can only get you so far, these have to be experienced. Because of this, I realized that to truly be able to communicate what I wish to get across, my final product is something that my audience has to experience directly, I can only go so far in explaining the concepts I talk about before I have to show them to you, the map is not the territory, the menu is not the meal. For some time I had thought of the concept of having an end product that was self-proving, in that the product itself would be a literal example of what could be done by presenting data with mixed mediums (text, images), in addition to creating the product specifically considering the (user) experience that an end user would have with the product. Which for some time was conceptualized as a physical booklet that would present my research and analysis with a mix of heavy visuals and text, that considered the reader’s experience of reading, and interacting, with the booklet. However, because I was talking to user experience directly, I felt like there were several limitations to using paper to convey this if I truly wished to make my project be its own proof of concept. As I abstracted closer and closer to a project that would allow an audience to truly experience the concepts for themselves, I realized that in order for people to truly have a deliberate user experience with my product, I had no other choice. I have to make a website.
In the challenge of being able to convey to an audience the complex and self-referential nature of my project lies the proof of concept for the effectiveness of being able to present complex information through ways in which people can directly experience concepts. As I abstracted closer and closer to a full user experience, and as I finally realized what my final product was. I not only found a solution of how to conceptualize my project, but I essentially found what the entire basis of my project is:
Experiencing something is non-verbal, and when it comes to describing and explaining non-verbal concepts, these have to be directly experienced in order to be truly perceived and understood.
A verbal description of complex non-verbal concepts and information is inferior to a direct experience with the force at work. I had been able to intuitively understand this for some time, but it is only recently that I am able to describe this concretely. Bringing it all together, if a grade is to represent whether not the work that was done in the semester has laid down the foundation for creating the thesis itself, I would probably have to give myself an “A” for Absolutely. For the same reasons that I have described, I will have to show concepts through experience and a direct interaction itself, presented with the task of writing a thesis proposal, given the nature of my endeavor, the proposal will have the same limitations than can only truly be shown through experience, for this reason, I have chosen to begin to develop my website already, and part of the thesis proposal itself will try to explain the framework for what I wish my thesis will encompass, and will have a link to the website so that I can begin to show what I will do with my thesis. I realize that my self-assessment is much longer than what was asked, and my thesis proposal might be slightly shorter than others but I justify this because unlike other types of projects, self-analysis represents a much larger part of my project since I’m also wishing to describe the ways in which I developed my thesis by providing an extensive look at all the steps to get there in order to have a proof of concept of how processes and documenting can further even deeper understanding of a concept. So, in a way, this is also fundamental material in order to set myself up for writing my thesis, which the thesis proposal seeks to achieve.
This is probably the most meta project I’ve had to work on but for which I am extremely passionate about. I believe that for my type of project, much of the essential goal and necessity behind a thesis prep had to be how I conceptualized the idea and how I would present it, with information from sources and findings not weighed as heavy as other types of theses, since much of the information will be self-generated. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my thesis preparation and the outcome that this course has had on my thesis, for which I think that an “A” truly represents how I believe I did in accomplishing this task.
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