Monday, December 11, 2006

This Isn't Your Ordinary Act Four Question

Instead of having the act 4 group create another blog question, I thought we could continue the conversation started by Mrs. Howell regarding how your education is different. What changes have you seen? How does the fishbowl or constructivist methodologies work for you? What benefits have ou experienced.

Additionally, since Mrs. Howell is a school board member, part of her job is to show the community that what we are doing (constructivist, fishbowl, technology) is beneficial to you as well as show how it has helped and changed your learning. How could you explain this to the community of Centennial?

11 Comments:

Blogger melissa b said...

Fishbowl helped me by being able to comprehend the book we are reading and any book. Now when I read a book I have discussions with my family about or even discussions with myself. I talk about it so I can understand it better and form questions. I have seen that I am a better reader and I have been always outgoing but being challenged to step out of our "comfort zone" was difficult at first. I did not want to say things that would sound dumb and I didn't want to say my opionion. But after experiencing fishbowl took the challenge and stepped out of my comfort zone, I enjoy talking in calss more.

The lap tops I think are a great addition because in our fixshbowl disscussions being able to live blog, makes the outer circle participate if they do not get a chance to step in the inner circle. It also ables the outer circle to have their own discussion between themselves. The laptops also inable us to take notes, write papers, edit each other's papers, and do inclass research.

December 11, 2006 9:54 PM  
Blogger levik said...

As I have gone through school there has been a gradual increase with technology and education. As it relates to understanding literature, I think that using an interactive fishbowl like we have used for Hamlet really helps. Not only do we get to listen to an in depth conversation, but can also have an outer discussion with the computers that hasn't been available before. If we want to jump into the inner conversation, we are able to that as well. By providing alternate and numerous ways to communicate ideas, education has come to another level. Usually teachers voice their opinion on a piece of literature or a subject and that is all the student gets. With a fishbowl and live blogging, thoughts, ideas, symbolism, and active communication are not just said, but captured in writing and can be looked at and analyzed further.
Also, the information and understanding that a student usually gets out of a class is the ideas of the teacher or ideas that the teacher has learned and is simply passing these ideas on. The way we have learned Hamlet is only the fresh, new ideas thought up by the students. This way teaching a subject is never repetitive and new ideas are and interpretations come about each year.
Overall I think that the increase in the use of technology and fishbowls has enhanced my learning. These methods are not the traditional ones used in the classroom and provide some variety and excitement to the high school experience.

December 12, 2006 1:28 PM  
Blogger David L said...

Throughout this semester, especially with Hamlet, I feel my education and understanding have been enhanced tremendously by the fishbowl experience. The first time we did the fishbowl (I think for our Oedipus test?) I really didn't like how it worked. With the entire class trying to get enough comments in one hour to get all our points, I thought it was really frustrating and often difficult to get your point across. Even so, the live blogging with this fishbowl helped solve this problem because it gave another way for us to get our statements across. I think the way we are doing fishbowl now on Hamlet is one of the best ways I have ever encountered to learn literature. I have been in several classes where a teacher asks questions and has to answer them herself because no one in the class is willing to put themselves out there and make a guess, or the teacher simply gives the class the notes they need to know for the test. With the fishbowl, each of us has to contribute to the conversation either verbally or online in orer to get our points. It has taught me to think more deeply about literature, to weigh the opinions and ideas of others, and to articulate my own point of view to those around me. In a way, I think what we are learning is not only applicable to our literary education, but education as a whole and even our careers later on. Being able to communicate your point of view, understand others' points of view, and discuss ideas with peers and colleagues is an essential part of anything we do in life. Also, the live blogging is great because it gives us an introduction to a relatively new forum for discussion and information. I think this is important because our higher education and work lives will most likely be moving more into technology, and being able to work with technology will be important in this way as well. Overall, I think the way information is presented and learned through the fishbowl experience is not only great in learning better the literature we are studying, but I think it will prepare us better for our futures as well.

December 12, 2006 1:42 PM  
Blogger ashleyg said...

I love having laptops in the classroom. When we use them for fishbowl it is so much easier to communicate. When you have 30 plus students trying to jump into a conversation all at once it gets a little unorganized. With the laptops available every student is able to participate. Many students do not like doing fishbowl for the simple fact of they do not like speaking infront of their peers. ALso some just do not have the selfconfidence to jump into a conversation and comment. If we would have had this opportunity as freshmen I can only imagine where we would be in terms of using technology now. I am very excited to see what outcome this has on the students that are freshmen now.
Also when we are able to use laptops in the outer circle during fishbowl it allows more than one conversation to go on. People are able to comment on what the inner circle is saying without having to run to the middle of the classroom praying that they can find an open desk. Also it allows for clarification of questions asked by the inner circle and questions about the book in general. Overall things are more organized and EVERYONE is able to participate.

December 12, 2006 6:15 PM  
Blogger jeffg said...

Since freshmen year, there has been a steady increase in the use and dependance on technology. We have gradually seen the heavy influence technology has had on us lately, especially in school. I think that the technology we use, especially the laptops, is very beneficial. It is always very nice to sit down during class and be able to respond to everyone's comments on a blog. Also, these laptops are very helpful because they give everyone the chance to be proactive and interact in a discussion. For some people, speaking out to a class is very intimidating, so laptops are a great educational and efficient escape that is safe for everyone. These computers present everyone with an equal oppurtunity. I think that the freshmen should feel very fortunate for their oppurtunity to interact with laptops. They should really take advantage of this great oppurtunity that they have. I can't even imagine where they will be at during their senior year. Overall, I think that the technology at our school, and especially in our class rooms, is very beneficial, and it is very helpful in forcing us to learn, grow, and develop our thoughts in a much improved way.

December 13, 2006 7:39 AM  
Blogger chrisg said...

Since I have been apart of Mrs. Smith's class since freshman year, I have seen the idea of fishbowl develop. It started out, for me, in her class as a way to get the kids to teach, and through that teaching, to learn more. Also, it allowed for a large amount of class participation. I started having fishbowls in my other classes, especially honors history. As we grew older we became more developed with our learning, and fishbowl got better and better. Now with the the deep thinking, high level questions, and the live blogging the class participation and amount of learning have increased. Every student has a chance to say how he/she feels, and ask questions to anyone, not just a teacher. This new use of technology and constructivist learning methods, shcool, for me, has become more applicable, and interactive.

December 13, 2006 8:12 AM  
Blogger LeAnneC said...

I love being able to give insight to what we read in class. I did learn a lot before the fishbowl but I don't think that it would have ever benefitted my common sense knowledge for the real world. Before doing the fishbowl I never really applied what I read to what was going to happen in my life or what happened in the past. Now that we have the fishbowl, I think that I can connect with the book in a more personal level. I love how in fishbowl there is not wrong or right answer, yet you are still able to uncover the common motifs in the book. Instead of dazing off in class I am more engaged, I think that having your peers help you fight through your learning is more beneficial than having a teacher shed their views on what you should take away. Fishbowl has greatly impacted my decision to go to Colorado College. The classes there are extremly small, and they do the same kind of thing as the fishbowl as their teaching style. Part of school is being able to form your own ideologies and finding your own path through your knowledge and I think that fishbowl enables one to do it.

December 13, 2006 8:45 AM  
Blogger Amy K said...

My education in English this year has been an incredible improvement from the past couple of years. I've always done well in the subject, but I have gotten distracted easily and sometimes it has been hard for me to stay on task. Using laptops and discussing the material through fishbowl is an interative way for me to participate in my own learning. It makes me more responsible for paying attention, taking notes, and listening to the ideas of my peers. I'm also a very visual learner and I like using computers so participating on the outer circle is one of my favorite ways to learn. I can get all of my points across and discuss with my classmates in an enviornment where everyone is heard. Teaching EACH OTHER Hamlet has been so beneficial for me and I have advanced in my learning/teaching skills because of the different way English class has been run this year.

December 13, 2006 9:47 AM  
Blogger Scott M said...

The thing that I like most and that I find most beneficial about fishbowl as opposed to normal methods is that I get to hear the ideas of more people. With fishbowl since you get a grade people are forced to say their ideas as opposed to normal discussion where the same five people seem to give their opinions and the rest of the people just sit and listen. Since I like to think that I participate a lot and usually put out my ideas I like fishbowl and it helps me understand and get even more involved. I think that the whole technology thing helps a lot mainly for those people who aren’t good at putting their ideas into words and participating in group discussions. Although I think kids should still have to participate sometimes because those are skills that everyone needs in the real world so I can see how some teachers think that it is better for students to have to actually get into the fishbowl and voice their opinions.

December 13, 2006 10:21 AM  
Blogger DaveV said...

Not gonna lie, I've done fishbowls since freshman year at my old school in KY, and to be honest i hated them. I never really saw the point in fishbowls because i had always done them in history/social studies classes. So when Smith said that we were gonna be doing some fish-bowling in this class i was not too pleased. Things changed in this class tho, they way the fishbowl is conducted with the leaders, discussers, and the outer circle with the laptops, I have actually benefited from these fishbowls. Having your own classmates teach you the material is extremly helpful in my mind. The students in the class are all reading the material from the same perspective as you, they're not a teacher who has read it 40 times and just thinks that underlying themes should be common knowledge. HAving the computers is good too, because it allows you to get in your comments even if you cant interject in the actual discussion. This class has actually changed my mind sufficiently on fishbowls. To explain this to the community, it's as simple as students teaching students. It is a way to convey our own ideas and interact rather than taking notes and listening to a teacher ramble for an hour.

December 13, 2006 10:26 AM  
Blogger Mark C said...

I am going to start out by agreeing with what mostly has been said: students teaching student helps more than a teacher revealing themes, the ability to get your viewpoints recognized through a student-led discussion, learning better from other students, and technology expanding the boundries of learning. Overall, however, I have found that this fishbowl learning style does something better than all of the previous points. Fishbowling causes students to think critically. As we delve into the twenty-first century, we are finding that the most important aspect of our life that education can give us is the ability to adapt. Fishbowling creates an atmosphere that is not comfortable, because it is difficult. The learning style requires students to think and work at a higher level. Because there is not a teacher at the front of the classroom teaching us facts and concrete themes, the students have to learn and think about the novel on their own. This requires critical thinking skills.

December 13, 2006 8:55 PM  

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