Author: David Heffron

Sean R

David H

Jake D

Jake H

Jason R

Rabi

Timothy

              In our discussion group we talked about our experiences with our past discussion groups, the good and also the bad ones; and also what made them good and bad. Some things that made them good discussion groups are when everyone joins in on the conversation, so it makes it easier to write about, also when the topic is interesting to everyone, this makes for a more comfortable setting and also makes it easier to write about. Some things that make it bad is when people show up and no one really talks and it is just awkward; this makes it hard to write and it just turns into my own thoughts rather then the thoughts that went around in our discussion group. Some people talked about bad experiences they had where the location of the group was a bit un clear and so it was hard for them to find the group so maybe students can be a little more clear on where the group will be held.

Positive: I think that tutoring is a great way for a student to be able to reteach themselves something and even get a better understanding of what they are teaching. Strong example.

Use of Percy: I think that all of your quotes from Percy are very strong and well organized, they all do a good job of supporting the ideas you are conveying.

Negative: Where will the topics be coming from? Will the teacher provide topics or will students be able to pick their own? I think you should be more clear on this.

Positive: I think this is a great way for people to learn outside of the classroom, this is a way that can be much more interesting then hearing a prof lecture so it will create for better learning.

Use of Percy: This quote from Percy fits great in this example of learning, great choice.

Negative: explain more, why does this give students a better idea of what it takes to study in a certain feild.

Positive: I think that this is a strong thesis with good examples to support your message.

Negative: I think that you have strong paragraphs with strong points but they just need to be backed by Percy.

Use of Percy: Need more from Percy that will back what you are trying to get across.

Positive: I think the idea of joining clubs is a great way to gain experience from outside the classroom and will induce indirect learning which is how Percy says learning should be.

Negative: In your third example, add how that relates to the ideas of Percy

Use of Percy: Great choices, all of your quotes from Percy fit right into your essay and support what you are conveying.

Positive: I think this is a strong idea and is something that is important, people need to learn to interact with different.

Negative: Add why the classes that aren’t specific to your major are helpful.

Use of Percy: I think that this is a great quote that you can use, you just will have to explain its meaning.

Use of Percy: Your quotes from Percy clearly reinforce the ideas that you are presenting and how learning wont occur from direct presentation of information.

Positive: The last statement in the thesis goes right along with both Percy and Friere’s ideas, I believe this is the right way for learning to happen.

Negative: I feel as if the second example is a bit broad, how could this help across all classes.

Group members: David H, Kyle O, Bella B, Jake D, Kenzie N, Jason R, Gabby, Shawn, Jenna, Sabrina, Cristian G, Joshua R, Muhammad R, Jake H, Sean R, Tyler E, Nick, Timothy D, Sam L

In our discussion group we talked about “The loss of the Creature” by Percy and how people take the “beaten track” and what is both good and bad about doing so. Taking shortcuts can sometimes seem like the easy way out of things but much bad can come from this like when people just copy homework and notes from others and then do bad on tests it is because they tried taking the easy way putting in less work but this leads to poor results in the end. Or on the other hand sometimes professors will just lecture off of the same PowerPoints because that is the easy way out for them but the outcome of that is students doing poor in the class and not gaining anything from the class. By taken the beaten path, less is gained from the experience and less creativity is allowed which is essential to be more open minded and learn more.

David H, Dana R, Bella D, Haley L, Sam L

In our discussion group we talked about how there really is no present time that people live in, people are too focused on other things. One example is history repeats itself because back then people would smoke and now it has begun to come back through people using nicotine devices and it just seems that the same things happen over and over. People want to look like an image that they aren’t and do not need to be at the moment. Another example is the styles of clothing that people wear such as neon is something that is coming back to style. People don’t live in the now, they just tend to dwell on the past rather than focus on their present day life. Lastly people want to focus on capturing moments on their phones and other devices rather then just witnessing and enjoying the moments that they are taking part in.

Jason Riberio & David Heffron

Interaction with Students in Class

Students and Professors all are in common agreement that class should have more interaction. It should not just have to be a lab in order for the professors to interact with their students. Some students learn with just lecture but also some students learn by the interaction. For example, the name game is a good way to be interactive without classwork being involved. It allows for students to get to know each other just by going around the room saying your name and what you like or dislike. Not only West Chester, but Universities in general should take a look at how they are teaching their paying students and the education that we are truly receiving. Freire states that students are like containers which is also considered the “banking concept” which just fills us with information from PowerPoint lectures and trains us to just memorize until we are tested on it. After the exam is over the information that we “learned” is quickly forgotten. The class that is being brought into light is Management 200. 

In Management 200, we learn how to be better managers, the importance of public speech, as well as better overall leaders. But the purpose of management is to test how it works. You can talk about how to be a leader and how to do this and that but without practice it would never work. How are we supposed to practice if we are sitting through 3-hour lectures with just straight PowerPoint slides?  The answer is, you don’t. We need to have interactive groups. The idea that the Professor is the “leader” is cliché. We are all adults and equals. We should have interactive circles where we each talk about different topics but on an equal level. The PowerPoint slides do not teach as much. They are more of an easy way to teach. Also, actual practice in class like debates or leading a discussion group each week could work in ways where one person is the manager and gives specific tasks in order to reach a common goal. That is what management is and that is how it should be taught. We believe that by doing different events like these it could stimulate the students and have a more interactive and fun time in class. It makes students want to learn. The purpose of management is to allow us to become better leaders and what better way to be a leader than to lead a group each week. We also believe that by doing this it allows for On-the-Job practice if you will. By doing this at West Chester we could get a head start on other Universities by already having experience in the management fields. You aren’t just thrown into the fire once you are employed. You would already have that experience which could be a major asset. 

With Management being a required course for any Business major the class should offer more. Most classes are just staring at the board while the professor speaks, and no one talks. That achieves nothing but pure memorization just like the banking concept. This course should have students engaged and excited for their futures. This class just feels as though it’s a GenEd course. We believe that all classes should engage more and be more interactive for sake of the students. 

Members: David Heffron and Jason Riberio

Topic 1

Thesis: In Paulo Freire’s essay, “The ‘banking’ concept of education”, Freire makes it clear that the education system needs to be reshaped. The structure and methods in which people learn need to be different from what they are now for learning to occur.

Quotes

1. “The student records, memorizes, and repeats these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means, or realizing the true significance of “capital” in the affirmation “the capital of Pará is Belém,” that is, what Belém means for Para and what Pará means for Brazil.”
2. “To that end, it enables teachers and students to become Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism; it also enables people to overcome their false perception of reality.”

David H

Bella d

Amanda r

Maura k

Ethan s

Ava h

Gwen j

Mia c

John a

Emily f

In our discussion group we talked about the way that Freire says is best for people learn and engage with topics. You can take your knowledge and teach it to someone, and it must relate to them for you to be able to learn personally. When people give information to you, you will not be able to just learn off that, and you will not be able to learn by teaching to people who don’t want to hear what you are saying and aren’t engaging. No one can learn from people lecturing or even being taught one on one, nor can anyone teach themselves anything on their own. There has to be two things for learning to occur, both another person for you to engage with and a about, a topic that is engaging both to you and the person whom you are engaging with.

              In our discussion group we talked about Friere’s quote “The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not “marginals,” are not people living “outside” society. They have always been “inside”—inside the structure which made them “beings for others.” From this we got that oppression plays a big role in our society and that their needs to be a change to stop this. Their needs to be more for the oppressed to do so that they can become more a part of society. Jake connected to Friere’s quote by talking about the foundation that he is apart of, this foundation helps children in Chester through back to school giveaways and other things to help out. We hear all the time how kids in areas such as Chester to make it out of their poor situation, it is hard for them to make something out of their lives when they come for nothing. Their needs to be something  that our society can do to make it easier for them to make something out of their lives.

David H

Gabby L

Jason R

Maddy b

Jake D

Timothy D