In the planning portion of this project, I split up every portion of this research project into different tasks and designated their completion to a specific time frame. I have already completed the first three sections: background research, the introduction post, planning & methodology posts. I will follow the rest of the guidelines within my self-imposed timelines in order to stay on task and bring this project to fruition.
The next part goal I have is to create a survey using Google Form that helps assess the impact that language learning and the fine arts have on STEM students at Ohio State. The demographic of this survey will be limited to the undergraduate experience, as the large realm of STEM majors at Ohio State will provide sufficient variability to obtain the data I am seeking. Additionally, this Google Form will be tailored to students who are bilingual/non-native English speakers, and how that portion of their identity has influenced their studies in a STEM field. As it is highly important to be respectful of peoples’ identities, and I myself am not bilingual nor a non-native English speaker, I will be having these questions proofread and adjusted by people who do hold these identities. This will help ensure that my questions are both respectful as well as relevant to this research project. After the survey has been screened, I will ensure its clarity and ease of use in order to gain the most responses. Students are much more likely to fill it out if I designate how long the survey will take (ideally around 5-10 minutes) and streamline the questions so only relevant questions will be asked based on previous responses (such as a monolingual person not being asked about bilingual experiences).
Using the data collected from the survey, I will compile the responses given and draw conclusions based on these findings. Reporting will then originally occur in this ePortfolio, and will be transferred eventually to the final paper and poster. Additionally, I will compare the findings to other research that has been previously completed, allowing for a more holistic understanding of this topic, and how the fine arts interact with the STEM field’s success from multiple perspectives. These will be incorporated into my paper and poster in order to back up my own finding, and iterate that the positive correlation between the fine arts and STEM fields is not solely within the confines of a limited sample of undergraduate students from Ohio State.
Finally, I will combine the findings from my own survey with the outsourced research, incorporating them into a cohesive paper that articulates the ways in which studying and practicing the fine arts can be beneficial to the success of students in STEM.