It's been a while since my blog entry has included a personal reflection, so here I go...
The Classroom
I really enjoy the hands-on way the class is conducted. I find it extremely educational because, for me at least, the best way to learn is through personal effort and investigation. Probably, one of the main reasons this has worked for me is because I like to learn in an unconventional non-learning type of way. The articles we read in groups and then present do just that: they expose us to a 'real life' knowledge. Also, I find it educational listening to the other groups and asking them questions. This method has exposed me to grim future of "clean coal," significant role of small farms, and various new technologies such as converting coal into gasoline.
The Blog
To be honest, at first I was a bit skeptical on the blog thing. Probably because apart from this being my 1st blog, I really didn't understand what we would be posting. But as the school year progressed, and my blogging methods evolved, I found myself learning more and more. I attribute most of this learning to the investigations I've reported. My motto has been if there's an itch or a doubt then find to get rid of it. I'm actually quite glad we have a blog because it gives me an incentive to find an answer to my environmental doubts. My investigations on factory farming and "clean coal," just to name two, have been...fun. There, I said it. I like to learn and get a hands on experience in the cyber net.
The Lab
I know you've gotten a lot of feedback on the lab, so I won't pour my heart out. To summarize my critique, I can say that for an unconventional science course we have a conventional laboratory. The main problem with this is that we're not really learning anything and what we're actually graded is on the "completeness" of the Abstract. They're labs that barely relate to what we're actually learning in class. It would be more educational to do the labs backward. In other words, instead of seeing things at the micro level and then forming conclusions and so on, starting at the marco level and applying them to the real world.
The Plenary
The speakers have been good. Each brings his or her own biases for the topic presented. And although at the surface this might seem well, biased, the truth is the world is biased. Everything depends on who someone works for, what they represent, personal opinions... etc. We need to learn to accept and be able to discern what people stand for and their points of view. I really enjoyed Brenda Pierce from the USGS. I learned a lot from her and new possibilities for fossil fuels. Although at times I found her presentation hard to follow because I lacked sufficient back-ground knowledge on the subject, I learned things I had no idea they even existed. I learned things I should learn more about.
In essence, the plenary experience takes learning out of the classroom and puts it in the real world. It gives us a macro view of the relevnce of our course.
I do have one critique: more people are either asleep or on the computer than actually listening. It's extremely rude to speakers who have taken time to speak to us.
1 comment:
Thanks for the thoughtful summary of the different aspects of the course. I like to get the feedback. I'm already trying to apply it to the spring semester.
The in-class hands-on (we call it active learning) is a key element of the current research and approach in science education. So, you are perceptive. I'm glad it works for you.
I just thought of the individual blogs at the beginning of the semester, and the class helped me evolve it into something the seems to be working for most of the class. As you mention, it's a way to investigate or question things as they come up so you don't postpone or delay.
Yes, the lab is a real problem. In part, because there is quite a divergent view of what seems to be helpful. But, I've got quite a number of things to fix and ideas to do it.
We decided it would be good to have fewer speakers and higher quality. And, yes, part of the learning process is how to conduct yourself in professional settings and not be rude. I thought I would start the spring semester with some guidelines for etiquette in class as well as plenary.
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