I was thinking about some of the last comments in our class discussion, the one's emphasizing letting the groups (privacy, politics, business) do their own thing or pursue their own course of learning (I think it was Jeff's point). What about the following as a way to implement this idea:
Groups could skim through a bunch of the readings, focus on some of them, find other things that are relevant, and lead a class discussion of them. So, the group members would be the new experts; they would have focused, say, on a large portion of the readings related to their concerns (deciding which ones are relevant), decided which ones the class should read, and done some outside looking around. So, for example, the group interested in campaigns and mobilization could look through the e-book Rebooting Democracy, as well as other resources. They could also find out what else is out there (perhaps by looking at campaign websites, partisan blogs, other articles). Then they would lead class for a day or two.
One question I would have: when is it reasonable to expect that they could do this? Next week? That could be too early. In two weeks? Three?
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would the topic that we pick to be the experts on change ever? or would it be that one for the whole semester? Are these the topics that we would also do for our final project?
This is not a direct response to your question about organizational ideas but to the class discussion today. I agree with, I believe it was Yanina's point that she always gets stuck with the work when in groups and usually I am in the same position. However, if we go with the idea that groups had individual topics within that group, therefore everyone would be responsible for their own interest (business, the campaign, etc).
A note about the "expert presentations" I think it would be interesting to have the same topic and slowly build on it, report to the class the information we have gathered so far and then a cumulative project as a final.
would both approaches work? do we need to choose?
i like the idea of building on one topic throughout the semester. This seems not only interesting but practical because you are choosing what you learn. I also like the presentation idea because again it is a very practical skill that I think everyone needs to graduate with, and repetition would be great in completing that.
we could try something like the following: as many people as possible bring laptops to class; we break into group on a particular topic, say, personal information on the internet. During the class the groups look for what they can find on that topic from the perspective of their interests. They post a summary of and links to what they are able to find and digest over an hour. The last 20 minutes, we come back together and share what the different approaches came up with.
I like the ideas presented by Jcolburn and Prof. Dean. I agree that the idea of choosing a topic is helpful. Some people may not want to specifically learn about something, so if you can choose, you will be able to learn what you want!
The group presentation idea is also a good one. When the seniors graduate, one of the aspects of a liberal arts education they can bring with them into the real world is being able to communicate one's ideas and and educating others on them.
Prof Dean brings up an interesting proposition. Research for an hour, post, discuss. That could work and be pretty informative. The only thing that may be tough with that is the time period at the end of the class. I wonder if multiple groups will need more time to explain their research? Maybe not though. I am interested to see how this plays out.
Sam
What I find challenging is figuring out how to combine the 'learn what you want' approach with structuring our class time. The more folks can come up with ideas about how to do this, the better.
I really like the idea of everyone bringing their computers to class for a little bit of research. I think that would be an effective way of the initial structuring of what we are going to talk about.
does everyone have wireless?
i agree..laptops would be helpful..that is, if everyone's wireless is working.
i actually really like the ideas generated so far, but logistically speaking how feasible is it for multiple groups to not only research but then present their findings all within a class period? How formal will these presentations of our findings be?...what is the expectation for them?
-adrienne
if we organized a single class meeting this way, folks would just report on what they could come up with, like a brainstorming session.
So, the group brainstorms about its questions for 5 minutes. they would identify what questions they had, and where the questions were leading them. I would suggest that the groups start with the resources I've made available, look at them, then start tracing the links available on them. Group members would locate, link, and read. Then after 20 minutes, they would share them with the rest of the group. The group would then summarize what it learned and identify further questions and avenues for research. Since they would have only worked for about 20 minutes (although with 5 member that would be equal to 100 minutes of research) they would necessarily have more questions than answers; but they would also have begun shaping their inquiry.
what do you think? what are potential drawbacks to this approach? maybe people can google things like peer to peer learning, group research projects, networked research and that sort of thing and see if others have designed really good procedures. Clay Shirky has written some about this.
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