Saturday, November 15, 2008
11/14 Discussion
Discussion was very interesting on Friday. Normally our entire class sits in a big circle. Everyone’s participation is expected, but very rarely does this happen. Walking into discussion this Friday class was held in a “fishbowl” type environment. Isabel changed the environment we are used to learning in and the class reacted as a whole and as individuals. As individuals people were given more of a chance to talk. Being split up into smaller groups made discussing easier for some people, maybe because there were less people to talk in front of, or maybe it was the pressure of only a few people in the groups that made these individuals speak. Either way more discussion was initiated. The class as a whole was also more interactive even though only certain people were allowed to talk at a specific time. I believe this for some this created for some, a stronger desire to speak based on the fact they weren’t allowed to. Observing the groups discussing also incorporated the other “silent” class mates into discussion. In this learning environment every student was assigned a role and given more of a purpose in discussion. This was an interesting week to do this type experiment because it reminded me of Prof. Moje’s research. The class was place in a controlled environment, and the class as a whole and each individual reacted respectively.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I agree with this post. I also think that it was easy for people to talk, at least it was for myself, because the group was much smaller than normal sections. Sitting in the outside of the 'fishbowl' did make you want to talk more and answer the questions also because you were not able to.
I felt that it felt very different than normal. Personally, when I was sitting within the group I felt a little more cautious then normal. I think this was because I knew people were observing what I was saying and doing. It made me a little uncomfortable at first, but then I began to ease up a little bit. As an observer it was very interesting to watch what exactly was going on. How people were participating and how often they were voicing their opinions. Overall it was an interesting discussion that had us discuss the information in a not so normal way.
I really enjoyed reading your post regarding Friday's discussion! I agree that it did significantly change the classroom atmosphere and the ways different individuals participated in the discussion. I noticed that you noted that people, often who remained silent during discussion, took a more active role speaking when they found themselves inside the "fish bowl". I noticed this as well. I think that this exercise and this particular observation in light of the exercise fits nicely with issues high lighted for me in the Moje article. Were they partly more motivated to speak because they knew they were being observed and studied by the surrounding members of the class? Particularly fundamental issues regarding Prof. Moje's research and how being observed or knowing that as a subject of a research study your comments and actions are being observed and recorded. I felt as though the young people Prof. Moje was working with were, in a way, placed in a fishbowl of their own and we must remain aware of this as we think about the results of studies such as the one conducted for this week's reading. That being said I really enjoyed Friday's class and Prof. Moje's article. I found both to be very informative and both made me think in different ways.
I think am with Joe Levine here. For some reason the smaller group felt like it was more uncomfortable to talk. And in all actuality it felt like, since the group outside was watching you (making judgements), it was awkward.
The one thing that I think is bad about the fishbowl is this: if you have a serious question and you are not involved with the immediate circle you can not clarify that question. This is a big concern for me since what if their is a major issue discussed in class I don't understand, and I'm not allowed to ask about it in discussion -- this seems like it could be a problem.
Post a Comment