This June, the Creativity Lab Team has introduced two new undergraduate members to the lab, Alex and Sam. They are both working with the BioSim Project and are eager to get started.
--A post by Sam Lorentz
I’m Sam and I am studying Biology, with minors in Psychology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, at Indiana University. In the fall I will begin my Junior year. I’m an Evans Scholar as well as a member of the Indiana University Swim Team.
The Creativity Labs initially interested me because of my strong desire to get involved in research. As I’ve progressed through my science major, my interest in the entire process of research, from formulating questions and hypotheses to publication, has grown. After hearing about the CL and all it’s innovative work I was certain it was something I wanted to be involved in.
I have spent several summers working as a swimming instructor. I have worked with large groups and individuals ranging from 4 to 12 years old. I really enjoyed getting to work with kids of various age groups on a day to day basis. My most effective lessons were when I made the learning and swimming fun for the kids. After learning this I’m very excited to start working in the field with the BioSim play to learn model. Additionally, I have experience working as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant in the Biology Department at IU. The Biology students I worked with gave me the opportunity to further my teaching abilities while enhancing my speaking skills. The CL gives me the opportunity to combine research and my experience with children and as a teaching assistant to a single place that’s changing the way we think about education and cognitive development.
With this excellent opportunity to work with such a qualified team, I am hoping to further my own abilities as a researcher, find out if research is something I want to pursue long term, and to make a contribution to science and education. If I were to pursue research after graduation I could see myself working in some sort of cognitive development lab or a biology lab. I’m particularly interested with the human brain as well as the molecular side of biology. Working on the BioSim project is some of the best experience I can get, especially if i pursue cognitive development.
As I’m getting started I’m most excited to start working with kids. I really think that the research here is making a huge difference for kids, both immediately and in the future of education. The complex systems that we work with have incredibly broad applications. By helping young students to master them now, we are creating more thoughtful adults and future scientists that could eventually make revolutionary discoveries.
Teaching children to swim is a great deal of fun for both children and teachers. When I was teaching my younger sister we turned it into game with funny accessories like these http://www.proswimwear.co.uk/learn-to-swim.html . She was happy and the total learning process went on rather easy.
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