Jamie Wallace

Knowledge and Understanding of Forensic Anthropology

Submitted to Dr. Fain-Thornton for BIOL-210

Summary:

My signature assignment was about all of the aspects and duties of a forensic anthropologist. I had already learned a lot about the processes of bone remodeling and development in Anatomy and Physiology I, but after diving into more research I was able to expand my knowledge even more. The most interesting part was learning about the nine stages of human decomposition! The duties of a forensic anthropologist are not easy and require a lot of precision and accuracy when it comes to identifying human remains.

General Education Connections

Communicate ideas in written, oral, and other modes as appropriate to a situation and audience
Apply quantitative and scientific reasoning skills relevant to a field of study
Employ various thinking strategies to develop well-reasoned judgments
Evaluate sources of information for accuracy, relevance, and reliability
Use technology tools to manage, integrate, and evaluate digital information
Explore issues through creative, interdisciplinary, and innovative approaches

The signature assignment helped me develop these skills by allowing me to create it in my own imaginative and creative ways. Yes, we have to use scholarly articles for our information, but when I found artwork that displayed the nine stages of human decomposition, my paper became more interesting and so did my research. For my thinking strategies, I sat down and read each article to see how they were related, and how they were different from each other. This allowed me to add bits and pieces of new information to help me understand the roles of a forensic anthropologist in an organized way. I used my scientific reasoning skills by following the steps of the scientific method in my own way. I made observations when it came to discovering the articles and finding valid information, which led me to making predictions and gathering my research.

Challenges

One challenge that I overcame during the process of the signature assignment was creating it for my own understanding, rather than just submitting it for what my professor wants to see. During the last paragraph, we were asked to write about if we would consider a career in forensic anthropology. Normally, I would say yes because that’s what I would think my professor would want to hear. Instead, I said no and ended up backing up my decision with valid reasons. Overall, I felt like this paper was a pure reflection of my knowledge not just based on the scholarly sources and information, but also a reflection of what I learned from Dr.Fain-Thornton in Anatomy and Physiology I.

Application

The process of gathering information from this signature assignment will be very helpful for my future. To begin with, I realized the process of finding scholarly articles and journals is not as hard as I used to think it was. Staying organized and reading each word of an article that is relatable to your paper is the key to success. The more sources you come across and take the time to read, the better the understanding of the topic!

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