Group Four Project Finally Settled!
Posit that you have three weeks to research and design a experiment on an entirely alien topic such as how to find the calories of an apple; or that you gather your group members to brainstorm on a set of plans, which turned out to be a futile discussion as you all have loads of competing ideas; or that when your group members mess up with their own labs, you’re still unsure about how to set up your apparatus; or that you desperately find, processing your data, that one set of your results totally violates the basic science law your learned. You, then, exclaim, “Alright, I’m doomed!” Wait, it’s the Group Four Project. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of strange situations arose during our Group Four Project. Now that it was finished, finally, after the Project Display on last Thursday, it was definitely a relief for most of us. Yet, the aftershock was still more of mixed feelings.
Group Four Project, as an integral part of internal assessment in all Group Four subjects, is accounted for the personal skills with a total of six marks. A small portion it may seem to constitute, it is never meant to be easy and amiable. Instead, most IB students find it as thought-provoking as their TOK (Theory of Knowledge) lessons and as challenging as their Extended Essays. This interdisciplinary project demands us to combine our Physics and Chemistry knowledge and to perform a coherent set of experiments on a broad theme, ours being “the environment around us”. Many of you might not consider this topic as inspiring since you frequently confront with headlines of environmental issues such as global warming, climate change. To your surprise, however, the abundant approaches to this topic were the first problem that we faced. Heated, yet fruitless, discussions were held within groups with a great many of ideas popped up by fits and starts, most of which were proven, later in research, not feasible. Our limited knowledge of science forced us to think and design simplistically rather than to perform as if we were already of massive intellect.
After the winnowing effect of constant discussions, the competition of thoughts found its winners, those with originality, simplicity and feasibility. But it was by no means success or what we should be pleased with. Having settled with potential areas for investigation, the follow-up research was to be carried out on both their connections with environment and the most productive method to get experimental results. As the pressing deadline for handing in the expected apparatus list arrived, many of us were still not 100% certain about what to or not to use. Tightened timetable at the end of the semester was compelling. Not only were scheduled discussions delayed, but the collection of extra materials such as experiment samples and other apparatus was almost impossible, given all the revisions rolling in. Some of the students asked their parents to help extract the oil samples needed, having noticed that it was illegal to buy gasoline during EXPO time. Other students managed to visit some factories and plants to get samples directly, and in the mean time, lay down a solid foundation for their further experiments via talks with experts. Nevertheless, this was still the preparatory stage.
You might well assume that our fully prepared plans and materials would guarantee us a happy ending in this project. Unfortunately, in our experiments, the worst case scenarios sprung up like mushrooms in every group. In Rubber Group, the presumed sulfur dioxide could not be detected after the combustion products were added with water; in Water Group, the boiling point of water vanished after ages of heating of water samples; in Oil Group, the oil sample, after distributed to other groups for their newly designed experiments, was in serious shortage; in Paint Group, the experiment for texting lead content was declined due to highly-rated danger and toxicity; in Plastic Group, the phenomenon observed during the specific heat capacity experiment violated the basic energy conservation law. To all of us, to go through the three-day experiment was to experience all kinds of miracles that no one would encounter. Teamwork, then, became the key factor that came into play. We tried to sort out alternative materials, designs and areas of investigation that seemed viable in the next two days. We shared our ideas and opinions in emergency group discussions. We lent help to each other when two hands were not enough to perform a single step. Chemists went for Physicists to help build up new apparatus; Physicists, in turn, offered Chemists advices on data processing. Some of the group members worked collaboratively to finish one extremely dangerous experiment. There is never too much words and praise on the great sense of teamwork sparked from all the difficulties we met. And, yes! We’ve completed our practical steps in the short 10 hours.
Now, it’s Group Four Project Display. You might be confused what to display, whether it was the disappointing data and conclusion we’d reached in our hasty experiments or the strong ties we’d built among teammates that enabled us to muddle through the unexpected conditions. I would say: both and something more than both. I perhaps have to inform you about what personal skills exactly refer to-self-motivation, collaboration, self-awareness of weaknesses and strength, and perseverance. Many of us found these terms vague and hard to display at first. Later, after all the reflections we made about the project, we realised that what the six marks require is precisely the whole process of changes and adapting to changes, problems and solutions, individual research and group discussions, and so forth. If we hadn’t met so many outrageous problems within the three days, we wouldn’t have had such exuberance of experiences and personal skills to share and demonstrate during the display. Surprisingly, the hardships we’d gone through proved to be the greatest treasure we bore. All the fruitless discussions we’d had became part of our weaknesses as well as the evidence of collaboration; all the troubles we’d been trapped in, which finally we’d managed to get rid of, turned out to be great demonstration of our self-motivation and perseverance; all the imperfect solutions we’ve come up with, though with only limited results, ended up being part of our strength when the judges and audiences-our Group Four teachers-praised us unexpectedly. As IB students, we finally understand that it is not what we have in our conclusion that counts; what really is gauged in this project is how we perform as an IB learner. To be exact, are we inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers? Are we knowledgeable, principled, open-minded, caring, balanced, and reflective? If you think it’s impossible to integrate all the elements together in one project, I’ll tell you that this is what some of us managed to show in their displays.
Though the final marks won’t be available to us until the meeting of all Group Four teachers reaches a consensus, most of the feedbacks from individuals are positive. The mostly satisfactory, and sometimes outstanding, presentation skills are noted as one great surprise to many teachers. Varied, creative and distinct approaches to show personal skills are also highly valued. Overall, in no way does even the greatest failure in experiments make a total disaster in the final display. Try to regard these failures, instead, as invaluable experiences and show your awareness of how they, however badly they tortured you, become a source of your strength and impetus. For all those who will, sooner or later, begin your own Group Four Project, wish you good luck and enjoy every minute of it!
By DP12 Wendy
