Author: Julia DiGiorgio

Group: Gwen, bella, liv

On December 5th I went to the tables next to Einstein at 3:30 but Mia did not show up.

Emily, Makayla, Mimi, Hayley, John

• In our discussion group we discussed how discussion groups are beneficial but at the same time they do waste a lot of time. Sometimes the times don’t work for some students causing them to have to miss out on the possible discussion group. Also the topics of the discussion groups are all over the place causing students to not actually engage and just write to complete the assignment. We discussed how meeting new people outside of the classroom was very beneficial as a first year student to create new relationships and familiar faces around campus. During the winter it did get a little hard trying to find a place to go to meet as a big group. Overall, discussion groups are very beneficial in many different ways. The discussion groups should be modified a little bit just to be more beneficial. I also found that a big group was less beneficial than a tiny group.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yeDOwRHwGE05GZBh2szwJNWNkDxG6XeiMV56Kwe14Dg/edit?usp=sharing

constructive: I think some sentences need to be worked on to work well better.
positive: I think that this is a very good essay and very well put together. I think it blended together really well.
Percy: I think your quotes were used very well and worked with the essay

positive: I really like your ideas and how you incorperated Percy. Your paragraphs blend very well.
constructive: you should introduce Percy in your opening paragraph
Percy: I like your use of quotes they go very well with your ideas.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GA7BTPtWZQ2D8KUrHBHIqiKtBtudBadfRA_0cFB0u-M/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hMoE8yjG2Cbzqj-C31sWQtDfZStoF3DrvvhfWOsvQ3U/edit?usp=sharing

praise: I like the sub.-points because they are very true. Your sub-points will go well with your quotes and you will have a lot to write about

constructive: I think you should expand on your thesis. it is very broad and very long.

Percy: I think your quotes have will go well with your thesis. over all everything sounds like it. will blend together

praise: I think you picked Really good quotes. your thoughts go along with your quotes. 

constructive: I think that you should do topic 2 over topic 4. it sounds like you are more confident with topic two than writing topic for sounds a bit hesitant. 

Percy: These quotes can be used really well in your essay. Just make sure to get the page number from when it was from.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1al03PpOsk9yF250dQaqQP7BBtyMMGYytwZdRH9xyO6U/edit?usp=sharing

In this discussion group we are going to be talking about in paragraph six when Percy wrote, “Educator can not save learning” and the meaning of this. We are also going to relate this back to Friere and how they connect.

Where? tables OUTSIDE of Starbucks/ Library

When? 12:30 10/24

Group members : Maura, Nick, Liv, Seamus

Today in our discussion group we talked about Percy’s question “Is looking like sucking: the more lookers, the less there is to see?” We thought about it and discussed the meaning of the point that Percy is trying to get across. We discussed how the more people there are the less opportunity you have. As in if there as a lot of people trying to get a job the less opportunity there is to get that job. We also discussed how the more you look the less you have to value something and the less it will be apriciated. The more you look at something the less you are looking at something else, you can be missing out on something so incredible or a opportunity that you are not even looking at. The little things mean a lot and if your wasting your time looking at one thing you can be missing out on something even better. 

Julia DiGiorgio

29 September, 2019

WRT120

                                                Topic #4 Course Based Learning 

The course-based learning atmosphere at West Chester University is “learning” by the student’s choice, initiative, and action. In Freire’s essay, “The Banking Concept of Education”, he addresses the issue of student learning and the freedom within it. Bio100 taught at West Chester is a course-based class that needs to be changed in order to educate the students at WCU. This course contains 150 people per class and strictly note taking the whole time. On the other hand, the syllabus is lying to the school and the students taking the class. 

Freire’s essay he states that “Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity.” (page one paragraph 2). The PowerPoint presentations become exactly what Freire wrote, words become so meaningless and boring it loses the attention and ability to learn and process the information. Bio100 is a grade of an exam and the lab grade. There is no attendance grade not showing that people are even going to these long lectures which seem pointless to students when they cannot even process and learn the information in class.  In the class syllabus the very first learning outcome states that “General Education Goal #1: Communicate effectively. “When in reality the information is not being addressed in an effective way to students. Freire wrote “Teachers limit creativity of students” (paragraph 5 page 1) I completely agree with Freire because there is actually no creativity being produced. 

The syllabus has several points that the class should contain in which it is not completing. There are several student learning objectives in which so far, the class has failed to accomplish. This course claims to “SLO: Employ quantitative methods to examine a problem in the natural or physical world.”In this course we have not done anything that we can apply to a problem in the real world. The labs we finish are completed on a computer and there is no hands-on completion to completely know what is going on and learn effectively from it. Another goal is that “General Education Goal #2: Think critically and analytically” In this course there is no time or things to do that involve thinking critically and analytically. The whole 50 minutes is copying the PowerPoint and not doing anything to actually challenge ourselves. The only way to study is by memorization and little challenging and actually process the information.

West Chester University needs to address the reality that course-based learning is not an effective way to learn considering it is memorization that is used for the course and never used again. There are several ideas I have to change Bio100 for the better. The interaction with groups or group projects will not only help process the information to students but it also encourages social interaction and relationships. The labs should be modified to understand the concept of what we are learning and apply it to real life situations and not a multiple choice lab. The class needs to be modified in an effective way for the students and not so much of a convient way for the teacher. 

Topic #2 Student Power
Team: Myself
Working Thesis: In Freire’s “The Banking Concept of Education” he explains the reality that teachers cannot produce student learning or freedom. The role of student power at West Chester University happens within the students and their choices. The new society changes a student to adapt to the rest of their life, Students learn on their own within their own time and choose when to listen in class and participate.

Quote #1: “Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression. “ ( pg 3 par 9)

Quote #2: “The teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students” (page 1 par 8)

Group Members:Emily Foley, Bella Diasquale, Gwen Jordan, Maura Kelly, Makayla Medycki, Mia. Cieteroni, Ava Hill, Amanda Reagan, John Comperson, David Heffron, Ethan Stein, Liv.

Discussion: In my discussion group we discussed mostly on the topic that no one teaches except for teaching themselves. They are based on learning from experience, and the activities and experiences they go through. When teaching other people you gain a personal advantage to new ideas and learning but the other person is not obtaining the same knowledge. Everyone has a different way of learning and viewing things differently so teaching one way to a group of people will not teach anyone anything. Everyone understands things differently so they will not understand the way you do. We also talked about how engaging in a conversation will teach yourselves. In our discussion group we all seemed to agree on our ideas and applied them to our real lives and how we all actually do have different learning ways and how weird it is in classrooms. The difference in everyones interpretations and views is very interesting and cool to think about

Group: Michael Lindholn, Emily Foley, Makayla Medycki, Mia Citerane, Jake Heikkinen, Gwen Jordan, Julianna Benstein, Maura Kelly

• In my discussion group we talked about how the difference between a good teacher and a bad teacher and referring that to Paulo Freire’s “The Banking Concept of Education“. We came up with the ideas that the connections students have with their teachers helps them want to learn in the class. Teachers who engage their students and focus on learning rather than lecturing help the student succeed. A bad teacher is one who ignores a students personal problems and requests. Some teachers dont treat students like humans and seem to not care because to them its just their job. We related this to Freire when he states that teachers are only there to do their job and how they focus on memorization more than the actual learning ability of a student. Freire also states that the teacher talks and the students listen which is an example of a bad teacher based on our discussion. In the end we agreed that we think teachers should enjoy teaching and want to see students succeed rather than it just being their job title.