May Extra Blog Post

The school year is coming to a close, but senior project is finally over. Presenting to a room of over thirty people for about an hour was an unforgettable experience. I was not sure how well I would do speaking for so long but surprisingly I managed to get comfortable enough to speak clearly and with confidence. I'm actually proud of how I did, despite not making time (that's what happened, sadly).
Reflecting on the senior project, I am glad I was able to do mentorship at an orthodontist's office and learn more about the field. It allowed me to see all sorts of cases and really piqued my interest in orthodontics so perhaps I might be able to use what I know in the future in my career.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of my research content. I managed to talk for forty minutes and was able to get all of my points across to the audience. The information I gave also brought out many good questions so I feel that the audience really learned from what I had to say.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

My PowerPoint seemed to have flowed smoothly, and my activity -- although short -- went better than expected. From past experience with activities like mine, the audience tends to give simple answers but they showed understanding and that they really grasped what I taught.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

If I could go back, I would make my activity longer. My activity ran too short so I would make sure there was something more, like meeting with each group instead of waiting for their hands to raise, or having the groups find a group with the same case and confer on their diagnoses and treatment decisions.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Senior project has helped me learn how to conduct my research and be resourceful. With so few print sources available, I have had to get most of my data and research from databases and my mentor. Additionally, this project has placed my foot in the door for a career in orthodontics. If I choose to pursue this topic for study, I will have a place to do internship and someone to recommend me for a graduate program. Senior project has opened doors that will help me in the future.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal

A log of my mentorship hours is located here.

My mentor's name is Dr. Banh and can be reached through his clinic/office at (626) 339-5111.

Interpretive

The most important thing I gained from my mentorship experience is an idea of what it is like to work in an orthodontics office. This is important because it helped me realize that I would like to work as an orthodontist in the future, but am still exploring my options.

Applied

Mentorship has helped me answer my EQ because I was able to see techniques applied on real people, rather than simply reading about it or looking at models. In order to learn about what is important to a patient's treatment, I needed to see treatment in action.

Exit Interview

What is your essential question, and what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?

EQ: What is the most important factor an orthodontist must consider when treating a patient?

Answer 1: Orthodontists must understand their patients' needs in order to treat them.

Answer 2: Patient compliance should be taken into account when treating a patient.

Answer 3: Timing is key to treating a patient.

My best answer is Answer 1 because it is my most fundamental answer, and orthodontists have to look beyond what they see with the naked eye and check every facet of the cases they take on when treating patients.

 What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

My mentorship, independent components, and research brought me to this answer. I would have to credit my mentorship with my best answer because I got to see the treatment plans in action and learn through my interviews about what orthodontics is all about.

What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

My biggest problem was my research because of the My access to databases and research portals was very restricted due to the fact that I am not a college student or a member of a research institution. There were also few books available about orthodontics, and even fewer that helped answer my essential question. Luckily, I gained some access to research through my time in Young Scholars, and my mentor was able to answer every question I had in relation to orthodontics and my project.

 What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

1. The interview I had with my mentor. Dr. Banh was able to provide a well-thought-out response to all of my questions and helped me polish my answers and evidence.

2. "The Rationale of Orthodontic Treatment" from An Introduction to Orthodontics by Laura Mitchell. This book was my starting point and the foundation for my research and answers.

April Extra Blog: Final Project Presentations

The end of the school year is quickly approaching. Both independent components are completed, research is coming to a close, and there is one presentation left.

The upcoming weeks will consist of preparation of content based on my independent components, research, interviews, and mentorship. All of these sources will help me put together my hour-long presentation. Even more pressing is my activity, which is supposed to reflect and teach about the answers to my essential question.

I find that it's difficult to come up with an activity for orthodontics. Putting braces on a model would be expensive, and it isn't like my audience can simply make retainers. So far the best I have come up with is an activity with clay. One blob of clay would be fresh, having been kept in a plastic bag. The other blob of clay would be dried and hardened after being left out and exposed to air. The clay would represent dental age, and the students participating would learn about it by trying to change the form of both blobs. My activity would represent my third answer (treatment timing).

Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a) I, Marisa Ruiz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours of work.
(b) My mentor, Dr. Banh, and his assistants all helped me complete my second independent component.
(c) Here is a log of the 33 hours of work I completed for this component.
(d) My independent component consisted of shadowing and observing my mentor, along with his assistants.
INTERPRETIVE
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work. 

This component helped me confirm that the answers to my essential question make sense and provided more evidence to show they are true.

My observations have shown me doctor-patient interaction, the variety of orthodontic appliances used in many cases, and the regular dynamic of an orthodontic office. All of these things and more helped give me more evidence to back up my answers to my EQ.

[Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures of the patients and the observations I made because of privacy reasons, especially since most of the patients under my mentor's care are under eighteen years of age. I do, however, have plenty of pictures of the loads of files I have had to organize before I observe.]

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.
This component helped me answer my essential question because I was able to see an orthodontist in action, treating a patient.
This component gave me extra perspective on the key components in satisfactory treatment by observing a professional in the field of orthodontics.

March Post: Finding the Sources I Need From the Internet

So far, researching my topic has been surprisingly difficult. The only books I could find on my topic only really covered basics and contributed little to answering my essential question. Even with all of the information available to me about orthodontics online, it is always a challenge to narrow the results to fit my answers. At some point my searches became more fruitful once I got more creative with the keywords for the databases I use. Better keywords meant finding fewer advertisements and newspaper articles. Finding a new angle is definitely helpful for getting out of a research rut.