Group 4 Project

By Vikramaditya Arora

The group 4 project is an interactive project, where students from departments of science and other subjects such as Business Management/Economics and Computer Science work together. The objective of the project is that students from the different groups 4 subjects analyse a common topic or problem. The process is a collaborative experience, where the goal is to work on a scientific or technological topic, so concepts and ideas from the different subjects can be explored by combining them together, in order to develop a greater understanding between sciences and their influence on other areas of knowledge. The project allows students to explore the environmental, social and ethical problems related to science and technology.

For our project, the goal was to create a sustainable greenhouse, which can support the growth of plants and flowers which cannot grow and bloom in the environmental conditions of Delhi NCR. In the project, I was a part of the Environmental Science group. The role of our group was to find a plant, which is ecologically beneficial and economically sufficient for growing in the greenhouse, supporting these conditions is mandatory, as we are making the  idea of a greenhouse for our school, and need to make sure the conditions can be supported. In our rigorous process of research we found 3 plants, which we would want to grow in our greenhouse- the following plants are: Tropical Water Lily, Hydrilla, and Water Cabbage. We chose these plants, as they support the conditions of a greenhouse, where we can have the adequate Ph value for the plants with the water and soil. Therefore we can get the environmental advantage of these plants, clearing the Earth’s soil and the purity of the water, to enable cleansing of the environment and growth of further plants. In the beginning, we were thinking of creating a self-sustaining ecosystem in the greenhouse, however the idea was dropped, as it would be too costly and very unpredictable, to let organisms live and plants grow in the same ecosystem. Researching about the plants, and finding the perfect plants to grow in the ecosystem was a difficulty faced by our group, as it was challenging to match the various factors associated with the growth of different plants in the same ecosystem.

I felt that the task was very beneficial for my growth and development as an IB learner, as the project taught me, how knowledge and concepts from other subjects can be combined together. As a result, I learnt about strategies and thought process, which should be inhabited by a student in order to combine concepts and theory from other subjects, leading to developing a deeper and better understanding of real life situations outside the classroom and the school curriculum. I developed various skills through the process of the project, where I improved my individual research skills, and collaborative skills with my peers and subject teacher. The research process was tough and required a lot of patience, as finding the right plants was difficult, where all the groups needed our input and information, as the project is solely based on plants.  Nevertheless our group came through and were able to demonstrate our work effectiveness as a team. I improved my creativity and board making skills, where I learnt how to make a visually aesthetic board, which the parents would like, in order to read and understand the text in more detail, while the presentation is taking place. I improved my creativity and board making skills, where I learnt how to make a visually aesthetic board, which the parents would like, in order to read and understand the text in more detail, while the presentation is taking place. I look forward to doing a similar project, based on the same guidelines, In order to become a more passionate learner and develop my skills further.