English Composition Reflection
In the fall semester of 2012 I was enrolled in English Composition 2989H. This was a service learning course through which my class partnered with Granny’s Garden School in Loveland, Ohio. This organization is located on the grounds of the Loveland elementary school, and works to promote hands-on learning through incorporating class work in the gardens. Granny’s Garden provides an alternative means of education through which the students are able to learn things that they wouldn’t be able to inside a classroom.
For this course, I was instructed to complete three projects- one relating to Granny’s Garden, a literature review, and a 3rd genre project. For my Granny’s Garden project, I partnered with a few other classmates to conduct interviews about the Garden School. I personally chose to interview the teachers and students regarding their experiences with Granny’s Garden. I then created an audio podcast from these interviews as my project. Through conducting these interviews, I was able to see firsthand how enthusiastic the students and teachers were about Granny’s Garden. The kids truly loved working in the gardens and gained a lot of knowledge from it. The teachers also saw a lot of benefit in this program for the kids, and were even able to learn more about gardening themselves.
As for my literature review and 3rd genre project, I chose to focus my research on the healing power of nature, and more specifically on hospital rooftop gardens. As a nursing student, this information was rather interesting to me. I learned how powerful the environment is on our health, and the ways in which we can use this to our advantage. For example, spending just a few minutes outside in a green area can reduce stress levels and promote healing. This can be applied to a hospital setting when regarding the view that patients have from their window. It had been found that patients with views of trees rather than a brick wall have on average shorter hospital stays and ask for pain medication less frequently. I also learned that in order to design an effective rooftop garden that it is essential for medical professionals, psychologists, and landscape architects to collaborate and bring all of their knowledge and ideas together. With all of the knowledge that I learned through my research, I designed my own rooftop hospital garden that would benefit all medical staff members and hospital patients for my 3rd genre project.
Through this class and these projects, I have learned to better open my eyes to all of the things surrounding me; more particularly the power of the environment. I have always been fascinated by nature and loved spending time outdoors, but I never really understood the effects that it had on me or the science behind what was happening. All I knew was that when I was outside, I was happier and less stressed. Now I better understand what happens psychologically in our brain when we are in various settings such as hospitals, and rural and urban environments. It is important to be aware of the effects that nature can have on us mentally and physically, and to use this to our advantage to remain healthier and less stressed.
As a nursing major, I was very interested to learn more about this topic. The knowledge that I have gained is something that I will be able to carry with me and use to my advantage when I become a nurse. If I am aware how various environments can impact a person’s recovery, I will be able to better serve my patients and help them to heal more quickly. Overall, I learned a lot of valuable information that I can relate to my major by completing these projects.
I have chosen to attach my 3rd Genre Project to best express my work in this class. This project was my favorite and something that I really enjoyed doing. I was able to think creatively and incorporate all that I had learned though my research.
For this course, I was instructed to complete three projects- one relating to Granny’s Garden, a literature review, and a 3rd genre project. For my Granny’s Garden project, I partnered with a few other classmates to conduct interviews about the Garden School. I personally chose to interview the teachers and students regarding their experiences with Granny’s Garden. I then created an audio podcast from these interviews as my project. Through conducting these interviews, I was able to see firsthand how enthusiastic the students and teachers were about Granny’s Garden. The kids truly loved working in the gardens and gained a lot of knowledge from it. The teachers also saw a lot of benefit in this program for the kids, and were even able to learn more about gardening themselves.
As for my literature review and 3rd genre project, I chose to focus my research on the healing power of nature, and more specifically on hospital rooftop gardens. As a nursing student, this information was rather interesting to me. I learned how powerful the environment is on our health, and the ways in which we can use this to our advantage. For example, spending just a few minutes outside in a green area can reduce stress levels and promote healing. This can be applied to a hospital setting when regarding the view that patients have from their window. It had been found that patients with views of trees rather than a brick wall have on average shorter hospital stays and ask for pain medication less frequently. I also learned that in order to design an effective rooftop garden that it is essential for medical professionals, psychologists, and landscape architects to collaborate and bring all of their knowledge and ideas together. With all of the knowledge that I learned through my research, I designed my own rooftop hospital garden that would benefit all medical staff members and hospital patients for my 3rd genre project.
Through this class and these projects, I have learned to better open my eyes to all of the things surrounding me; more particularly the power of the environment. I have always been fascinated by nature and loved spending time outdoors, but I never really understood the effects that it had on me or the science behind what was happening. All I knew was that when I was outside, I was happier and less stressed. Now I better understand what happens psychologically in our brain when we are in various settings such as hospitals, and rural and urban environments. It is important to be aware of the effects that nature can have on us mentally and physically, and to use this to our advantage to remain healthier and less stressed.
As a nursing major, I was very interested to learn more about this topic. The knowledge that I have gained is something that I will be able to carry with me and use to my advantage when I become a nurse. If I am aware how various environments can impact a person’s recovery, I will be able to better serve my patients and help them to heal more quickly. Overall, I learned a lot of valuable information that I can relate to my major by completing these projects.
I have chosen to attach my 3rd Genre Project to best express my work in this class. This project was my favorite and something that I really enjoyed doing. I was able to think creatively and incorporate all that I had learned though my research.