Category Archives: Praxis Independent Study Courses

Hemlata Sharma, Mathematics, BMC ’22

Introduction to Predictive Analytics 

Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Spohrer 

Field site: KnowClick 

Field Supervisors Derek Burton and Ben Yurchak

Course Description:  

This course will help in gaining a fundamental understanding of the science of predictive analytics in the context of improving online businesses. In this course the hands-on experience with KnowClick will cover up the necessary key concepts of synthesizing an explanatory hypothesis while navigating through raw data. 

Praxis Presentation:

PIS(Spring 2021)

Please click here to access a PDF version of the presentation.

Hazel Iashmolkina, Psychology, BMC ’22

Sexuality Education and Health Advocacy in Social Service

Faculty Advisor: Nell Anderson

Field Site: YES! (Your Empowered Sexuality)

Field Supervisor: Isy Abraham-Raveson

My course has shifted a lot throughout the semester in terms of its direction and content, but it mostly focused on sexuality and health education in social context. I have contributed to YES’s efforts in educating communities on sex- and health-related topics, studied sex-ed by reading the Theory and Practice textbook, reflected on both my academic readings and fieldwork experiences in a journal, and developed an overall understanding of sexuality and health education in social context.

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here or on the image below to watch Hazel’s presentation.

Menna Khaliel, Computer Science, BMC ’22

Inclusive Teaching in Computer Science

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Chris Murphy

Field Site: CodePath

Field Supervisors: Tejen Petal and Denize Ignacio

Course Description:

Inclusive Teaching is a course designed to investigate inclusivity in the computer science classroom. I have worked with Codepath.org as classroom instructor and TA assistant for students enrolled in their Android Development class. My responsibilities were holding class sessions and working with students on their class project as well as occasionally deliver and explain concepts. I also served as an active online TA for students who needed help working on their class project. Through my experience, I was able to see how students engage and preform in a computer science classroom in response to different pedagogies. Throughout the course, I wrote reflections on the classroom environment and learning resources after reading and learning about inclusivity in teaching from various articles and research papers.

Praxis Poster and Audio Narrative:

Please click here or on the image below to hear Menna present and expand upon her Praxis poster (below).

How to make your course more inclusive FINAL

Please click here to access a PDF version of the poster.

Sophie Greer, Neuroscience, BMC ’23

Coding a Neuroscience Database

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Rebecca Compton (Haverford)

Field site: Van Hooser Lab, Brandeis University;

Field Supervisor: Dr. Steve Van Hooser

Course Description:

This Praxis Independent Study course would explore the basics of computational neuroscience. Through this course, the student will learn about how to facilitate the replication of research studies, collaboration between labs, and storage and analysis of data by helping code the Neuroscience Data Interface, a new database that will help labs store, analyze, and exchange neuroscientific data. The student will learn how to model neurological and neuropsychological concepts with math and computer science, and will learn more about programming languages commonly used in computational neuroscience. The course will involve programming languages such as MATLAB and Python and will hopefully culminate with the student getting their name on a research paper.

Praxis Presentation:

Coding a Neuroscience Database ppt for final blog post

Please click here to access a PDF version of the presentation.

Maria Bohan (she/her), Literatures in English, BMC ’21

Libraries and Antiracism

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Alison Cook-Sather

Field Site: Swarthmore College Libraries

Field Supervisor: Lorin Jackson

Description of the Course:

In this course, I explored the challenges and opportunities of moving antiracist work forward in the field of library and information science (LIS). Through readings and field site experiences (including making executive summaries of important resources, participating in staff committee meetings, zine making, and social media management), I worked to identify strategies for antiracist work in LIS and conceive of the role I want to carve out for myself as a future school library media specialist.

Praxis Reflection:

Praxis Project:

IDEA Moodle Redesign Proposal

Please click here to access a PDF version of the document.

Jingsia Hathorne, BMC ’23

Equitability: The Power of Story

Faculty Advisor: Emma C. Eisenberg

Field Site: Complete Picture (in Fremont, California)

Field Supervisor: Rebecca Grace

Course Description:

Science tells us that when listening to a personal story, the audience experiences the action at brain level and grows synchronized with the storyteller’s emotions. The neural networks that decipher stories overlap with the networks that interpret live social and emotional interactions. Much as computer simulations can help us to grasp complex logic problems, narratives offer unique opportunities to cultivate empathy. This course explores how empowering a defendant to tell an authentic accounting of their life-story to the judge deciding their sentence can inspire a deeper and more balanced understanding of the totality of the individual facing judgement. It is the key to a more equitable justice system.

Praxis Presentation:

Please click here to access a PDF version of the presentation.

Anna Thompson, Linguistics and Math, BMC ’21

Music, Business and Language

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Amanda Weidman

Field Site: The Hood Elle Woods Management

Field Supervisor: Tyler Garber

Course Description:

It is easier than ever before to become a creator or an entertainer, but it is not without its own challenges, from social media marketing to metadata tracking, and more. Everyone should have this opportunity to put their creative work into the world, but especially with business and legal matters, it can often appear inaccessible, stopping people from pursuing their passions. Taking on a linguistic and ethnomusicology perspective, this course will explore music, business, and language at its interface in practical experience in working with artists, podcasting, and an online music business e-course.

Praxis Project (Short Story):

My praxis course covered a wide variety of topics, one of which was the relationship between the work and research academics due in regards to popular music and the day-to-day issues facing the artists themselves. Rather than provide an academic essay or something otherwise formal, I have written a short story from the perspective of an artist, covering many of the themes discussed in the course and connected to the fieldwork- some of which include the concept of authenticity in relation to social media and music, metadata, and pay for artists. I hope this short story encourages you to consider this created perspective of an artist and reflect on the themes discussed.

Praxis Blog Post_Anna Thompson_red

Please click here to access a PDF version of the document.

Computer Science Major, BMC’ 24

NASA L’SPACE Academy

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chris Murphy

Field Site: NASA

Field supervisor: Dagmawi Sirak

Course Description: 

This course aims to bridge school with the workforce and explores the process of transitioning an aerospace mission from conceptualization to implementation through NASA fieldwork. There is an emphasis on communication and interdisciplinary collaboration. Students will work in a team with others from a variety of backgrounds (including mathematics, computer science, and engineering) to learn NASA best practices and produce a technical Preliminary Design Review. Students are sorted into teams and assigned projects based on their respective backgrounds and locations, and are paired with a mentor for the duration of the Academy. The fieldwork is designed to be a student-driven project, where students are trained in critical areas each week during whole cohort sessions with Subject Matter Experts.

Reflection: 

For my Praxis Independent Course, I was a part of the NASA L’SPACE Academy, where I worked with a team of engineers and scientists to design a secondary payload mission into the Venusian atmosphere. Our team was comprised of three divisions – business, science, and engineering – and I worked on the engineering team as a software engineer. This experience was very interesting because although my role focused on software and computing, it didn’t involve any programming. This was different than any experience I’d had up until this point because in classes, the focus was on learning and applying new programming concepts. However for this project, there was a heavy focus on balancing the design and software requirements with the mass, volume, and budget constraints- as well as ensuring we met the scientific objectives.  Another difference I noticed was the interdisciplinary work and communication between members of the team. Because I worked with engineers from diverse backgrounds – including aerospace, mechanical, and electrical, asking about and explaining technical concepts to other members of the team was crucial to ensure we all had a thorough conceptual understanding so we could create a cohesive final product. Working across departments with the Business and Science teams meant that similar communication was needed, which was both new and enjoyable to me. Overall, I had a very positive experience working with my team in the NASA L’SPACE Academy, and I think it was extremely helpful for gaining practical experience and exposure to the aerospace industry.

Zoe Shinefield, Environmental Studies, BMC’ 22

Writing Science and Beyond: An Exploration of Written Science, Policy Analysis, and Other Scholarly Works

Faculty Adviser: Dr. Michelle Francl

Field Site: Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania

Field Supervisor: Dr. Jim McGann

Course Description:

Good writing can engage scientists, policy makers, and the general public alike in environmental issues and problem solving. This course examines writing as a tool to translate complex scientific research and other scholarly works for a variety of audiences. Building on the learning done in the Writing Science course (CHEM B125), student and advisor will explore how science is translated and expand on the question of “how does scientific research make its way out of the lab?” by asking, “how do the most powerful scholarly works inspire and move people?”

Reflection:

Praxis Blog Final