COMM 302: Class Reflection

Going into COMM 302, I wasn't sure what to expect from the course besides the brief overview when I registered. However, the course proved beneficial in many ways as it was different from most courses I have taken previously for my major. Rather than just exploring concepts, giving examples, and more, I got the chance to apply what I was learning to an engaging semester-long project that allowed me to retain the information I was learning better. It effectively developed my understanding of course materials while creating a project I could display in my portfolio. I did not have experience creating a research proposal before taking this class, and getting to do that was more enjoyable than I expected. 

The course touched on topics that I have learned previously. Still, it took it a step further by going over the research methods process and applying it to assignments and participation activities. Most of the other times I had learned about research methods, it wasn't as in-depth, and I usually had to explain the concepts or memorize them rather than actively apply them to an assignment. Having this understanding I previously lacked will be beneficial as I can now effectively create a research proposal for a real-world project now that I have some experience and knowledge I didn't have. It also got me to work on something I am not particularly strong with: presenting. Now, I've gotten a lot better since being in college about presentations, but they still make my anxiety get bad in the days leading up to it. However, this project I didn't have as much anxiety about. I feel that doing poster presentations rather than one large presentation in front of the class is less daunting. Also, being able to focus on a topic in my wheelhouse helped a lot, as most of the information I had to research and memorize was familiar to me in a way. Not all projects allowed me to explore a topic I was interested in, so being able to do so here was a highlight of the course.

I've discovered that being in a course that made me actively think rather than just listen to a lecture for a little over an hour is hard to find at times at ODU. While yes, you can learn from lectures, having engagement is also important to learning, at least for me. The formatting of the course was easily digestible, even the more difficult parts of the course. I enjoyed reviewing statistics as it has always made sense despite not being the best at higher-level math. Being able to put information into statistics for analysis is interesting to me as it can directly show others the correlation/relationship between data without having to provide a long explanation that some may not understand. The way that statistics was taught in this course was great, as I had no difficulty going through the assignments and coursework due to proper teaching. 

What I have learned in the course will help me with the rest of my college career as well as when I transition into my career hopefully after my graduation in December. The fields that I want to go into correlate with data analysis, so having experience and practice with that will be beneficial. Also, being able to look at previously conducted research and summarize it effectively will be important as well to look at where further research is needed. Having practice with presenting is something that I hope for in a class, as I know that I will have to do it in my career, so having time to get used to it now is better than struggling in the future. Overall, I learned a lot from COMM 302, and it provided a lot of insight into how researching works in the real world, which I am grateful for.