Daniel et al., 2014

1. What are two things that you learned in the first few weeks of the course? Please give a brief description of them (~one sentence).
   • I Learned how to interpret and communicate the data that is presented. I wasn’t clearly aware of the difference between explaining what the data shows, direct conclusions from the data, and interpretations. I think I still need to work more on making the clear distinctions as well as presenting my thoughts more clearly.
   • I learned that enhancers do not necessarily have to be on the same chromosome of the gene that it acts on. I learned about enhancers this summer as a cis- regulatory element. It’s interesting how as we go into upper years, we learn that what we have learned in lower year classes are sometimes not entirely correct.

2. Do any of the two things described under Q1 fit in with/relate to what you said you wanted to learn in your DocuLearn 1? If so, how do they fit in?

• My two goals from DocuLearn 1 were: (1)  learning based on literature reviews and articles (2) developing scientific questions.
• I think learning how to interpret data relates to my second goal in being able to develop scientific questions. The process of data interpretation entails asking questions to myself: what do the data show, what direct conclusions can I make, how can I explain this result etc. Then, I might shift from just focusing the data presented to looking at the bigger picture and the mechanisms involved. With practice, I should be able to come up with scientific questions at the bigger picture level.

3.  So far, what has been the most challenging aspect of the course, if any? What about the most surprising/unexpected, if any?

• It’s really cool how students bring in ideas and information about experimental techniques. However, I found it hard to follow through all the ideas discussed in class – especially when some of them are not the preferable answers to the discussion questions but also not entirely wrong. I’m not sure if I was able to make clear notes on what part is applicable/ correct and what part isn’t.

1. What are two “things” that you would like to learn in this course? Please try to be specific, so that you can then track your progress towards this learning goal.

• I am excited and also a little worried about learning based on journals and review articles than textbook only since I am used to using the textbook as my main reference. I would like to learn how to efficiently find the relevant information I need and how to recognize that I am spending too much time on information that is not important in the big picture.
• I would like to learn and practice how to come up with effective questions. This includes questions that would help me learn the course material in gene regulation and scientific research questions. In order to come up with scientific research questions, I think I would have to develop having an inquisitive mindset and understand the course material.
• (I would also have to develop myself in effectively communicating my ideas and thoughts)

2. In class you were briefly introduced to the concept of self-regulated learning and its relevance in learning (broadly) and in research. We also stated that it involves four elements:

• attending to key features of the environment
• resisting distractions
• persisting when tasks are difficult
• responding strategically, flexibly adaptively.

Select one of the two “things” that you listed in Question 1, explain which of the four elements above you anticipate being the most challenging for you in this context, and describe what you will do to respond to the challenge

• Responding strategically, flexibly, and adaptively would be the most challenging element in the context of my first learning goal. I struggled in my bioinformatics project in BIOL 341 because I couldn’t find information related to the direction I was interested in going into. Instead of responding strategically, I spent more time trying to find information that did not exist or was not available. This resulted in an unsatisfactory level of time management for the project. In order to respond to this challenge, I would reflect on myself as I work on an assignment or project whether or not I am spending too much time on something without a positive result. Then, I would reflect on whether or not I am on the right track with my work and think if there is another way to approach the task. I should also ask for help when I am struggling rather than continue on working on the same thing hoping that I will get a positive result after I spend more time on it.

3. Do you think that what you just did (answering Q1 and Q2) is part of self-regulated learning, or is it something else?

• I think it is part of self-regulated learning. The questions required me to reflect on myself and identify times when I  had challenges and how those challenges relate to the elements of self-regulated learning. Also, all of these processes required resisting to distractions in order to complete.