The first time I was presented the opportunity to design and implement an experiment was in Bio 120. I worked in a team to test the growth of plants under different colored lights. After monitoring and taking measurements for several weeks, I analyzed the findings to assess what color caused plants to grow more. This gave me a solid basis so I was more comfortable with it moving into Bio 250 and 251.
In Bio 250, I worked in a team again to design an experiment where we studied the tunneling behavior of ants in different soils. After studying the ants’ behavior for weeks, we concluded that they preferred the actual soil terrain as opposed to sand from the beach or tunneling sand. I feel more comfortable with working in a group to create an experimental design. I know how to apply experimental design individually as well, but I would like to work more on designing an experiment on my own.