Portland Freshman Inquiry
2012-2013 NATALIE LYONS
CREATIVE EVENTS
My Interpretation of this Goal
For me, Inquiry and Critical Thinking is a learned skill through continued practice over a lifetime. This is thinking my own thoughts, looking past initial observations, and questioning the world around me. I feel that this is an important skill to have because it creates self-motivated, intellectual individuals who have their own ideas. As a result, these people come together and better society as a whole because they can combine their diverse, fresh ideas for better or new solutions. Without inquiry and critical thinking, people blindly follow, believe, and say what everyone else does like a mindless army of ants.
One assignment that showed my "Inquiry and Critical Thinking" was the Time Management Project and reading of Jessica Utt's Seeing Through Statistics of Fall term. First, we read Utt's work on seeing through biased data and critically analyzing where information comes from. She explained how easy it can be to fall for the hidden agenda behind statistics if you do not do research on where they came from, who published them, and what their original purpose is in the information. Then, each of us conducted an experiment to create our own data based on how we manage our time on a daily basis. For the time management project, we first predicted where we thought we would spend our time for an entire week (168 hours), and what we would like our ideal time management model to look. Then, we recorded the actual time model by recording our every move for one week to analyze our average habits in college thus far.
Inquiry and Critical Thinking
"Students will learn various modes of inquiry through interdisciplinary curricula—problem-posing, investigating, conceptualizing—in order to become active, self-motivated, and empowered learners" -Definition from the Portland State University Studies Program.
The time management project was one of favorite projects because I discovered a great deal about myself. I found that I spend a large chunk of my time commuting to class, preparing or consuming food, but also a good deal on homework. I was impressed that my schedule was more balanced than I had expected, and was close to my "ideal" time management model. I also learned that I should keep doing what I am currently doing because so far, my habits are very healthy. I liked reading the Utt's article because it made me more aware of how statistics can try to manipulate your opinion, let alone data in general. I have realized how easy it is to fall for biased traps if you forget to inquire and think critically about the material.
​ Another assignment that emphasized my "Inquiry and Critical Thinking" was the Brews to Bikes research paper of Winter term. This paper involved choosing, defining, and analyzing one "artisan" area of focus that is currently present in Portland's culture. Charles Heying explicitly defined the term "artisan" in his book, Brews to Bikes and we​ examined his definition's meaning as well as articulated our own interpretation. I chose to research the popular trend of artisan beer and brewing in Portland. ​
For this assignment, I chose artisan beer because I was fascinated with its popularity, wanted to find what types of beer are most consumed, and why as well as how there are so many successful artisan breweries. I figured that it would also be helpful to know some of the good places to drink beer for when I turn 21. To really understand and see the culture, I interviewed two different brewers, visited several different breweries in the area, researched the brewing process, fermentation elements, and possible health benefits. Through my own critical examinations of artisan beer, I learned a great deal about Portland's drinking scene and got an intimate perspective on brewing. I sorted through many readings online to find ones that were scholarly and applied to the message that I wanted to portray in my final paper. The data that I came up with in my research, and my experiences through meeting actual brewers helped me come to my own conclusions about the artisan brewing culture. I was able to inquire and answer the questions that I had before the assignment began through critically thinking about the subject.