20 Time Individual Reflection

   For my 20 Time project, I decided to design an experiment to test the benefits of taking a nap.  I took on this challenge as my project because I am interested in how much sleep impacts everybody's lives and how productive naps can be.  Initially, I set a goal to run an design an experiment and gather data so I could analyze the impact of naps.  By the end of the project, I wanted to gather enough data to safely conclude how beneficial naps are.  Through the course of this project, I focused mainly on collecting evidence to make a conclusion, but along the way, there are many situations in which I grow and improve as a student.  After collecting my evidence, I could potentially tell others about my experiment and they could benefit from what I told them.

     At the start of this project, my plan consisted of designing an experiment that follows the scientific method.  I would collect data, form a hypothesis, design and run an experiment, gather data, and form a conclusion.  Knowing that I wanted to do this and the timeline of this project, I started researching as my first step.  After researching enough and forming my hypothesis, I can now design an experiment.  Next, I needed to find people that are willing to participate in my experiment.  After a while, I needed to check on the people that ran my experiment and collect the data.  This took the longest time because I needed to get a good number sample size to make a conclusion.

     That was all my initial understanding.  As always, nothing ever goes perfect so I needed to improvise.  The first setback I had was designing the experiment.  This, in my opinion, is the hardest step.  Normally in labs, I am given instructions, but in this 20 Time project, I needed to design my own experiment.  This took a while because I really needed to assess what I wanted to find out.  Another setback I had during the course of this project was to get a good number of people to participate in my experiment.  I needed to reach out to my friends and even my family and get as many people I can get to participate in my experiment.  This took a long time because I needed to tell them about my experiment and ask if they were available to do it.  Many of them said yes initially, but when I followed up, many of them said that they either did not have enough time or they forgot.

     I did not only have setbacks and failures during the course of my project.  Once I was assigned the project, I knew what I wanted to do.  I wanted to do something related to sleeping and brain-related topics.  I just needed to narrow my vision and compose an experiment that is plausible to complete on time.  I also found analyzing the data a success.  I like to very neat and organized so I created a Google Sheets and composed a table with all my data.  Since I am a visual person, I made a graph to further analyze my data.  After I collected my data and made charts, I could make a reasonable conclusion about what I think the data is trying to say.

     Along the way of this project, I learned a lot about my topic I researched and also the various soft and process skills.  I did gather enough data to make a conclusion, but as I went about my experiment, I learned a lot about designing an experiment, problem solving, and time management.  I learned a lot about myself as I am finishing up such a non restricted project.  The fact that 20 Time allows students to explore their interests lets them wander into their own interests and designing their own experiment, base on what they desire.  Throughout this project, I learned more about myself and how I operate.  I learned about making a strict timeline so I can get things done in a timely fashion.

     If I were to start over, I would change the way I asked people to run my experiment.  This took a long time, and I should have wrote it once and then copy and paste my messages to my peers.  Instead, what I did was respond to each person with the same message, but I typed it up every time.  This long process impeded how fast I got different people to participate in my experiment.  After all I have done to learn about my topic, it is safe to say that I have gathered enough information to spread my knowledge on what I have discovered.  I can share to my peers and they will take my advice for future references.