Author: Noah Heslop

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fMoWzrNzA0fyyjbWac2evqsqLAtMezatzPQmP5fRC3s/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fMoWzrNzA0fyyjbWac2evqsqLAtMezatzPQmP5fRC3s/edit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fMoWzrNzA0fyyjbWac2evqsqLAtMezatzPQmP5fRC3s/edit?usp=sharing

Bella and Noah

As students in a STEM First Year experience course, we have realized that our class has been more centralized on reprogramming the ways in which we think about our academic decisions instead of it’s “intended” purpose. When discussing liberal arts, we were taught that this tradition intends to open people’s minds to the world around them and in return, create “well rounded, whole people”. However, this liberal arts tradition is making students feel invalidated in their choice to focus their lives around a STEM career. We believe there is a solution to this problem. Removing certain goals from the FYE syllabus will help narrow the focus on the important learning outcomes that will be beneficial to a student’s future in a stem career. As Friere says in The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education, “The solution is not to ‘integrate’ them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become “beings for themselves” (p. 2, par. 8). We believe our system will do just that. Higher education is pushing to homogenize students’ ideologies of their major personal decisions. In Freire’s essay, The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education, he states, “…no one teaches another, nor is anyone self taught. People teach each other.” Both the educators and students are responsible for this growing epidemic. Some would say the teachers are not the primary determinant for student’s success. However, since they are designing the syllabus, they are setting us up for failure. In order to solve this growing problem, the syllabus must be revised to include only the most vital student student learning outcomes. If we remove redundant course content, the FYE will be adjusted to better fit the students’ needs and expectations of what the course should offer. The current syllabus is cluttered with tasks that students are expected to complete/ participate in that deem to be unimportant. However, the course does include essential goals for students. Dedicating an entire unit to the Liberal Arts is a waste of time for STEM students to be engulfed in, even if this tradition can teach beneficial skills. A brief overview of the Liberal Arts tradition does appear to be appropriate for students, but the elimination of the continued lessons/ tasks will create more time for the course to focus on lessons that will lead to professional success. For example,the ideologies of learning strategies and identifying poor learning habits is important for students to know and fully understand in their entire college experience. If this leaning goal is skimmed over or poorly addressed, the majority of students will struggle with this. Students can also take advantage of this FYE by creating connections with the teachers outside of their majors. Freire states, “From the outset, her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them” (p 2, par 7). Networking will open the doors to new, unexpected opportunists. To benefit from this course, there needs to be alterations to the syllabus and the step forward to create relationships with teachers.

Bella and Noah

Constructive: The wording for your thesis is confusing and the solution is not conveyed effectively. In order to fix this, you can shorten your thesis and remove unnecessary details, making it straight to the point.

Substantial Feedback: Good topic selection and the quotes strongly support the problem, not the solution. Work on connecting Freire’s ideas to your solution, and cut quote out of thesis.

Bella: You should find some quotes that support your solution in order to make it applicable within Freire’s “banking system”.

Noah: Something to think about is how you’ll be able to connect the idea of communication with professors regardless of gender, race, or class with Freire’s work.

Team: Bella Bedore and Noah Heslop

Topic Selection: Either 4 or 5

Topic Proposal

    As students in a STEM First Year experience course, we have realized that our class has been more centralized on reprogramming the ways in which we think about our academic decisions instead of it’s “intended” purpose. When discussing liberal arts, we were taught that this tradition intends to open people’s minds to the world around them and in return, create “well rounded, whole people”. However, this liberal arts tradition is making students feel invalidated in their choice to focus their lives around a STEM career. 

Thesis

    We believe there is a solution to this problem. Instead of First Year Experience, the university should remodel this class into a Career Development course where students can focus on the key skills they are going to need in a professional environment. As Friere says in The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education, “The solution is not to ‘integrate’ them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become “beings for themselves” (p. 2, par. 8). We believe our system will do just that.

Quotes

• “From the outset, her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them.” (p 2, par 7)
• “..no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. People teach each other, mediated by the world..” (p 4, par 4)

Present: Dana, Jenna, Lauren, Nick, Kenzie, Bella, Luke, Kira

This group focused on Freire’s idea that nobody is taught by another nor can teach themselves. People learn by trying to teach. Trying to teach something makes you think about whatever it is in different ways and encourages you to find deeper meaning behind it. The ability to relate and connect concepts or things you’re trying to understand to something personal is easy for yourself to remember is an effective learning strategy. Relating things to each other is more effective than memorization because we are forgetful. How many things did we already forget about that we “learned” in High School based on memorization? The answer, for almost everyone, is a lot of information was forgotten. In computer programming, there is an effective problem solving technique called “rubber duck debugging”. When someone has a problem, the point of this strategy is to talk about the issue (to a rubber duck) and hopefully finding the solution to it while talking/ thinking about it. I find this is similar to Freire’s idea in the sense that we need to take charge in our own learning and how actually talking about something will lead to successful learning/ problem solving.