WRT120 F2019 Prof Randall Cream
Where and when: Tables outside of the Tyson Hall at 11 am on Nov 21, 2019
Topic: Throughout this semester, we have been asked to participate in various discussion group activities, whether it be leading a discussion or following one. There are both positive qualities and negative qualities of participating in discussion groups. In this discussion, we will be tearing apart the negative and positive aspects of the discussion group and how it relates back to the individual.
Johnson, Nolan, Desario
Praise: Good well developed ideas.
Constructive: Few grammatical errors, a quote thrown in to the second to last paragraph is not cited nor makes sense there. Restate your thesis in your conclusion not word for word.
Percy: Good use of Percy throughout.
Praise: All ideas are well developed and described followed up with supporting quotes.
Constructive: Minor gramatic errors and spacing errors. Read through and clean them up.
Percy: All good quotes just make sure to bring the quote back to the topic and not plop it in.
Praise: You have good ideas on how students can learn without being taught
Constructive: Some of your wording and sentencing is grammatically incorrect. Also is it in the hand of the teacher or the student to be learned.
Percy: Good quotes used throughout. Try to add more detail and use Percy more
Praise: Your intro is really good and I like how your quotes flow smoothly.
Constructive: Some grammatic errors
Percy: Some quotes do not say who they are from. Just add Percy’s name at the end of it. I like the quotes you chose.
Haley Myers
Praise: You have good ideas and I like how you incorporated that students learn differently.
Constructive: Your thesis is more as an intro than a thesis. A thesis should be short and concise. Your last example of how it can be recovered does not have a lot of information. So try and get more reasons to support it.
Percy: Good use of Percy, just integrate the quotes into how one is able to learn outside the classroom.
Megan Kidd and Sam Pawluczyk
Praise: I like the quotes you choose to support your ideas and thesis.
Constructive: Your thesis needs to be stronger and include general education instead of listing arts, ethics, etc. It also is negative, try to include how it is beneficial.
Percy: I feel like your quotes from Percy go well with the ideas.
Group members:
Kyle Owens, Bella B, Jake D, Kenzie Neiderer, Jason Gabby, Shawn, Jenna, Sabrina, Cristian Galilea, David Heffron, Joshua Rogers, Muhammad Rabi, Jake Heikkinen, Sean Redding, Tyler E, Nick,Timothy Domanowski, Sam Livorno
Our discussion group had a huge outcome. In our discussion, we talked about taking short cuts or the most beaten path and why they might not be useful. We talked about by sometimes taking short cuts we actually add more work for ourselves in the end. When people take shorts cuts, they lack the full experience and understanding of learning. They want it over fast and easy, completely ignoring the longer path. We also talked about how memorization is a short cut. By memorizing topics it may make it easier for yourself at the time, but you really make it harder in the long run. Shorts cuts such as memorization may be beneficial at the time but if you’re asked to recall the subject later in life, you probably will not remember it. In the end, memorization eats up time and requires no real thinking. Forcing the student to not experience the full learning experinece.
Group members: Emily and Ethan
In our discussion group, we discussed how views and experiences get altered by media and preconception. We delved into the question of if we are really getting a new experience or one that has already been planted in our minds. We all agreed on the notion that the media has a huge influence on an individual. The media can change and make a person perceive an object in the way they want you to perceive. Therefore, when a person goes to a place they saw on tv such as New York, they have preconceived opinions and miss out on their initial views. This then causes a person to not be able to create his or her own opinions. Places also named such as the “Grand” canyon also creates altered views into an individual. The name of a place or object makes the place seem “grand” or amazing. Causing preconceived notions about this place where you can either be let down or be amazed. The way media and businesses present themselves or various objects then create preconceived opinions in individuals.
Group members: Luke, Dana, Lauren, Nick, MacKenzie, Bella, Noah, Kira
In our discussion we talked about the quote, “Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self taught. People teach each other, mediated by the world”. We talked about in a conversation the person who does the learning is the person talking not the person listening. Most of us discussed when studying we try to teach others and speak it out loud. Whether in front of a classroom working through a problem or a study buddy. Talking it out subconsciously helps students learn and understand the subject at hand better. Our school system doesn’t really make us get in front of a classroom and work through a problem. They focus on memorization instead of having students learn for themselves. We talked about the concept of the world and how the world isn’t everything exists, it’s what matters to you. You will not learn anything you do not have an interest in because its not in your world. Making connections to your world from the material at hand helps students learn better.
Group names:
Sam, Lauren, Gabe, Adam, Michael, Bella, Luke, Tj, Emily , Brandon
In our discussion, we talked about how spacing mentally and physically affects our learning ability within our education at West Chester University. In the physical aspect we discussed the size of classrooms, most agreed with the notion that small traditional classrooms like the ones we were in at highschool are easier to learn. The bigger the classroom the harder it is to create a connection with your professor and ask questions. Most classes here at West Chester follow the traditional classroom which allows us to make more connections. Large lecture halls, on the other hand, allow students to zone out and feel helpless if they need help. Next, we talked about the layout of West Chester and how the classes and the dorms are far apart. We thought this was separating leisure from learning. You should study in a place similar to where you would take the test. Separating the dorms and classrooms allows students to study in a classroom setting. We also talked about the space between the age ratio of student to professor. The younger the professor, the easier it is to connect and learn from. Freire says that the banking system of education treats students as objects and that is what older professors treat us as. Older professors have been teaching the same way without changing it year to year. Students can relate more to younger professors due to similar habits.
Group members: Isabella Bedore, Mackenzie Neiderer, Adam Griffin, Jenna Schreiber, Josh Rogers, Luke Jarvis, Emily Foley
In our discussion, we talked about the concept of memorization. In today’s society teachers want students to be able to regurgitate everything that comes out of their mouths. It follows the notion that Freire mentioned that teachers know everything and students know nothing. In today’s education system students are so constrained due to the classes they are forced to take. Students have little to no freedom to take courses that will help aid them in their future. We are thrown into college, forced to pick a major, and forced to learn how to actually learn. The misguided system called education only cares about two things: money and grades. We are taught that standardized testing is so important to your education career. When in reality, teachers want you to reciprocate the information on the tests to get good scores to be able to gain money for the school. Students are so worried about their grades but never remember anything they learned to get these good grades. We are so focused on our grades rather than actually learning. The students with the highest grades are better at memorization than other students. Education is a competition and sadly this is why the education system fails students.
