Weekly Writing & Blogs

Group members: Jenna and I

Today I went to Jenna’s discussion group and was the only one who attended her discussion. The topic of our discussion was the discussion group themselves. We talked about how beneficial discussion groups were to us during the semester to better understand the writings that we used when writing our papers. It allowed us to discuss with our peers about our opinions and thoughts on multiple topics.  We talked about how beneficial it was to hear our peer’s ideas and be able to talk about ideas without the usual structure of a classroom. We also discussed how it was nice that we could talk about anything we wanted to. We could use discussion groups to ask questions and get a better understanding of the topic through our peers. We both liked that we could bounce ideas off each other in order for the topic to make sense to us. We both liked discussion groups and wished that more of our professors implemented them into their curriculum.

Group Members: Nick Gamba, and TJ Fitzpatrick

Nick Gamba was the leader of our group and the topic of our discussion group was “Are discussion groups helpful in sharing ideas and knowledge between students?” We all agreed that the answer was yes, they do help. As a class we all read the same thing, but everyone perceives what we read in different ways., everyone has different perspectives and viewpoints on what the author is trying to get across in their writing. Discussion groups allow students to share what they feel the reading is trying to say, and share what they are taking away from the reading. Discussing this with fellow classmates allows us to see how other people portray the writing and how it compares to our own personal opinions. As long as the discussion groups are run correctly and each student gets their chance to express their ideas or opinions, then discussion groups are a very helpful way to relate to your classmates, meet your classmates, and collaborate with your classmates.

Maura Kelly

Makayla

Julia

Hayley Myers

Mimi

John Camperson

Discussion groups are a great alternative for class time. However, there are some things. That could be improved to make this more helpful for the students. One problem with discussion groups is that there is not enough effort put in by the students. Students will show up unprepared and not willing or ready to talk about the topic or even too shy to be willing to talk. Multiple times when I have gone to a discussion, people haven’t read the assigned reading and they don’t know what were talking about in the discussion. This is frustrating for those who actually want to talk about the topic. When we get to talking, often the same things are being repeated in just a different way.  All topics are usually the same just at different times and places. I think that the discussion groups are too open ended. There needs to be more structure. Often people’s locations aren’t clear and there are too many people leading which leads to confusion of where they are held and at what times. Discussion groups are a great idea and they have good potential. Some things just need to be fixed first before moving forward with the idea.

Leader: Maura Kelly

People: Makayla M, Emily F, Julia d, Mimi, john

As a group we feel the discussion groups have more negatives than positives. Constantly, discussion groups I have attended the other students rush to get them done. In addition, people who lead for discussions make the meeting time before the weekend. Students are limited in this case since the weekend’s students do not have class and by making the discussion meeting during the week, the times may conflict with one’s classes. The topics students talk about during these discussions are usually based on what we learned in class. Due to this, it just feels like our weekly discussions are very repetitive and students aren’t learning or gaining little to nothing. There have been multiple scenarios where leaders chose certain locations for discussion and fail to meet there or make the location unclear to others. Since students have more freedom to attend these sessions, we feel students come less prepared and do not put enough effort in them. During the discussion, people tend to repeat the same idea’s and no one builds off one another to formulate new idea. Overall, discussion groups help students interact with other students; however, there needs to be more structure to conduct efficient discussion groups. Without more structure, they are a waste of time.

Leader: Maura Kelly

Members: Makayla M, Julia D, Emily F, Mimi, Haley, John

                                    Are discussion groups a waste of time

            I think that discussion groups are a waste of time. I think this because not many people put a lot of effort into them. Our group discussed how people come to the groups unprepared and not ready to talk about the topic of the week. Also, we noticed that throughout the semester some people were scared to talk and say their opinion, and if they do talk, they repeat what others have said. Also, most people make the group meet on Thursday and Fridays and they rush the discussion to get it done. We talked about how we think the idea of discussion group is good, but they need more structure and student’s effort.  An example could be making set locations that the students should meet at because there is a lot of mix up with the location. Overall, we think that the discussion groups were a waste of time and could use some more structure. 

Went to Adam Griffins discussion at 1pm in Einstein’s with Sabrina Lindley and there was no one else here.

1:00pm went to Adam Griffins discussion with Ava Hill, leader did not show up.

arrived at 12:35 but nobody there

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.

November 21,2019 at 12:30 in the lobby of Sykes

Are the discussion groups a waste time?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZYG_ASnWk5mroZLF0g-CxElBHpVr6K-uUVIq5gsM5s/edit

Mia Positive- I think its good that you have an example of an actual class here at WCU and how it does not reflect the author’s ideas. In the sentence before I would change “That” to “Where” teachers teach.

Mia Constructive- Sometimes less is more in terms of sentence structure. I feel like there are a couple run-on sentences and repetitive sentences that when corrected can make your writing flow more. 

Mia Percy- I think you have strong quotes from the text for all of your points that back them up very well.  

Emily Positive- I can really connect to your writing being a student here at WCU. I feel like all of your points are valid and make sense coming from a student.  

Emily Constructive- In your third paragraph I think it would be a good idea to end with a sentence that sums up the overall idea/ point of that paragraph to sum things up.  

Emily Percy- All of your quotes strongly support your points and they are all cited properly and placed within a sentence. In your second paragraph I would try to expand on the quote after it is cited.

Mia Positive- I think you have a strong thesis and intro paragraph that clearly highlights your points and gives good insight on the rest of your paper. 
Mia Constructive- Sometimes less is more in terms of sentence structure. I feel like there are a couple run-on sentences and repetitive sentences that when corrected can make your writing flow more. 

Mia Percy- I think you have strong quotes from the text for all of your points that back them up very well.  

Emily Positive- I can really connect to your writing being a student here at WCU. I feel like all of your points are valid and make sense coming from a student.  
Emily Constructive- In your third paragraph I think it would be a good idea to end with a sentence that sums up the overall idea/ point of that paragraph to sum things up.  

Emily Percy- All of your quotes strongly support your points and they are all cited properly and placed within a sentence. In your second paragraph I would try to expand on the quote after it is cited.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U15GK23mIWm7CNnf-F-zaiHiwAs2175hIwJK3WhLbM4/edit#gid=0

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hj6OQyyw0T0aWlwofSyx-lIzOWT8_9Il8OpwrOuWmc0/edit