The article that we were assigned to read was entitled "Collaborative Learning and the Conversation of Mankind" by Kenneth Bruffee. This article started out looking at the idea of whether or not we should have collaborative learning in the classroom yet it seemed to drift more into the philosophical and psychological views on the subject matter. The main idea of this article is to provide thoughts on whether knowledge for us as human beings is an innate gift which is born and bred in us or is it something that we attain from interacting with others? Kenneth's begins his argument with the idea of our thoughts in general and then from there he is able to develop and decide how we are able to attain knowledge.
Brufee's ideas on thought is that it is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. It sets us aside from the lower animals in the world because we have the gift of reason. This in fact is the only thing which provides us with the capacity for thought. If it was not for this then we would merely be animals with instincts and desires, but no reason to fuel those wants that we have. Reason is how we are able to think about what we do and how we are able to make the right decisions in our life. Our minds are able to evaluate what is right and wrong for us to do because we are able to perceive and interpret the world around us in a way that is different from other such animals. Brufee tells us that thought is inbred in us because of this capacity for reason. This is how we are able to come up with our own thoughts, this is not however how we are able to attain knowledge.
In his article Kenneth refers to knowledge as the product of a social interaction between humans. This is because we have the thoughts in our mind that we have come up with, about anything at all, but how are we supposed to be certain that these thoughts are correct unless we are able to collaborate and work with other people as well? He uses the example in the beginning of a doctor with a team of medical students who are attempting to diagnose a patient. Instead of having each student try to determine what is wrong with the patient one by one, the doctor tells them to work as a team and to pool their thoughts and diagnoses' together in order to attain a more proper and certainly faster diagnosis. This example i perfect for the topic of thought collaboration because that is precisely what the students have done. They put all of their thoughts together to form one idea which is more likely to be correct than if they each had their own thoughts. This is so because it is possible that each student has a different diagnosis but each student might also know more than the next, by therefore comparing their ideas together we are able to get a better picture of what is truly happening with the patient. This is the same in any common day example, all of us do not know everything and it is always possible to learn things from other people as well. Because of this it is necessary for us to work together and collaborate with one another in order to have a better understanding of the world around us.
Having a taken philosophy last semester and ethics this semester at Hofstra, this topic has been covered many times in my courses and everything that Kenneth Brufee says in this article is founded from a philosophical standpoint. I did not like the article because I personally hate philosophy classes, but I was able to understand it more having taken both of those classes already.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Class Work, quotes.
Viola: "I am the man" (II.ii.25)
This line taken from Act II is one which expresses much surprise from Viola. She said this right after Malvolio had brought her the ring from Olivia and said that he was welome to return to Olivia's house as long as it was to express Orsino's love. Viola then begins to realize that Olivia has fallen in love for "Cesario". In the book the word man here means the one who she loves, so when translated this makes it incredibly easier to understand. She says it with such shock though when you watch the movie, meaning "I am the one she loves?!". This is where we see that things are starting to come tgether and might cause a prblem down the road for Viola and the Duke. This is all where the "love triangle" starts to develop.
Malvolio: "...and yet to crush it a little, it would bow to me..." (II.v.143-145)
This line was taken from the scene where Malvolio read aloud Olivia's letter in the garden. He comes across the letters "M.O.A.I." and begins to wonder what these letters could possibly mean to him in this letter. Realizing that "M" is the first letter and that "M" is also the first leter of his name, he thinks that the letters are meant to represent his name, since all of those letters are in his name. All he wants to do is "crush", figure out the letters to make him feel better and know that the letter is indeed about him. All he truly wants to do here is figure out the letter and "bow" to it and be greatful and happy that the letter written is truly about him.
Viola: "Then think you right. I am not what I am."
Olivia: "I would you were as I would have you be." (III.i.148-9)
These lines taken from when Olivia and Viola are together in the garden represent the constant confusion that is taking place with Viola. She cannot tell Olivia that she is a woman and cannot keep having Olivia tell her how much does in fact love her. She is trying to say nicely to her that I am not what I am, in the hopes that Viola will move on and stop telling her love fro Viola. It's kind of odd how the Duke and Olivia both have the same ideas toward love, in the sense that they cannot let person that thy do love go, and Olivia still cannot manage to love the Duke. This is how the love triangle begins to get so complicated, it involves the two most overbearing people who cannot let their loves go and one person who is just caught in the middle and does not know what to do. Olivia in this exceprt is also not picking up on what Viola is trying to tell her because she is telling him that she will accept him no matter what, that is how in love she is with him. When she tell her that he is not what she think she is, Olivia replies with the fact that she still loves him anyway. This all, I feel, is not going to end up working out well in the end.
This line taken from Act II is one which expresses much surprise from Viola. She said this right after Malvolio had brought her the ring from Olivia and said that he was welome to return to Olivia's house as long as it was to express Orsino's love. Viola then begins to realize that Olivia has fallen in love for "Cesario". In the book the word man here means the one who she loves, so when translated this makes it incredibly easier to understand. She says it with such shock though when you watch the movie, meaning "I am the one she loves?!". This is where we see that things are starting to come tgether and might cause a prblem down the road for Viola and the Duke. This is all where the "love triangle" starts to develop.
Malvolio: "...and yet to crush it a little, it would bow to me..." (II.v.143-145)
This line was taken from the scene where Malvolio read aloud Olivia's letter in the garden. He comes across the letters "M.O.A.I." and begins to wonder what these letters could possibly mean to him in this letter. Realizing that "M" is the first letter and that "M" is also the first leter of his name, he thinks that the letters are meant to represent his name, since all of those letters are in his name. All he wants to do is "crush", figure out the letters to make him feel better and know that the letter is indeed about him. All he truly wants to do here is figure out the letter and "bow" to it and be greatful and happy that the letter written is truly about him.
Viola: "Then think you right. I am not what I am."
Olivia: "I would you were as I would have you be." (III.i.148-9)
These lines taken from when Olivia and Viola are together in the garden represent the constant confusion that is taking place with Viola. She cannot tell Olivia that she is a woman and cannot keep having Olivia tell her how much does in fact love her. She is trying to say nicely to her that I am not what I am, in the hopes that Viola will move on and stop telling her love fro Viola. It's kind of odd how the Duke and Olivia both have the same ideas toward love, in the sense that they cannot let person that thy do love go, and Olivia still cannot manage to love the Duke. This is how the love triangle begins to get so complicated, it involves the two most overbearing people who cannot let their loves go and one person who is just caught in the middle and does not know what to do. Olivia in this exceprt is also not picking up on what Viola is trying to tell her because she is telling him that she will accept him no matter what, that is how in love she is with him. When she tell her that he is not what she think she is, Olivia replies with the fact that she still loves him anyway. This all, I feel, is not going to end up working out well in the end.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Inkshedding
"She returns this ring to you, sir. You might have saved me my pains to have taken it away yourself." - Malvolio, pg. 52, Act 2, Scene 2, Line 5.
This quote taken from Shakespeare's play entitled "Twelfth Night", I feel has more behind it than is conveyed to us. This quote was spoken to Cesario (Viola) right after he had left the Olivia's house. It seems to be just a simple quote in which Malvolio is not thrilled over having to chase after Cesario and return his ring to him, but I feel that there is much more behind it. This quote is also spoken which much anger embedded in it. I would expect that since Malvolio works for Olivia, he would not be snipping at everything that she asks him to do. Even in the scene where she hands him the ring, I forgot what Malvolio's line was, but it would seem that he was upset that she actually made him go out of his way to return the ring to Cesario. If Malvolio does learn of the fact that Olivia is lying to him, then he will most likely be furious with her. Even when he took the ring from her to go and return it, he seemed quite ticked off that he had to return it. Finally when he found Cesario he was angry and rude to him, and actually threw the ring, when Cesario did not take it from him. One last note which I realized is when Cesario first arrived at Olivia's house, he was angry that he had showed up in the first place. My guess is that Malvolio is tired of always having to answer to the people who come and try and impress or share their love for Olivia and now Cesario seems just like a pest he cant get rid of. This might explain his constant anger and resentment towards anything that has to do with Cesario, and that riding a bike to catch up with him was the last straw. This is not all conveyed in the quote but it seems that all of this fuels his anger in the actual quote once he did catch up with Cesario.
This quote taken from Shakespeare's play entitled "Twelfth Night", I feel has more behind it than is conveyed to us. This quote was spoken to Cesario (Viola) right after he had left the Olivia's house. It seems to be just a simple quote in which Malvolio is not thrilled over having to chase after Cesario and return his ring to him, but I feel that there is much more behind it. This quote is also spoken which much anger embedded in it. I would expect that since Malvolio works for Olivia, he would not be snipping at everything that she asks him to do. Even in the scene where she hands him the ring, I forgot what Malvolio's line was, but it would seem that he was upset that she actually made him go out of his way to return the ring to Cesario. If Malvolio does learn of the fact that Olivia is lying to him, then he will most likely be furious with her. Even when he took the ring from her to go and return it, he seemed quite ticked off that he had to return it. Finally when he found Cesario he was angry and rude to him, and actually threw the ring, when Cesario did not take it from him. One last note which I realized is when Cesario first arrived at Olivia's house, he was angry that he had showed up in the first place. My guess is that Malvolio is tired of always having to answer to the people who come and try and impress or share their love for Olivia and now Cesario seems just like a pest he cant get rid of. This might explain his constant anger and resentment towards anything that has to do with Cesario, and that riding a bike to catch up with him was the last straw. This is not all conveyed in the quote but it seems that all of this fuels his anger in the actual quote once he did catch up with Cesario.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Paper One Reflection: Do you mean what you write?
For me, writing the small object/large subject essay was...a lot of fun and kind of easy. I enjoyed writing it because it was from the heart and it was everything that I truly felt. most times when I write papers I do not agree with what I am writing, I merely write about a subject because it is what will sound best and what I can write the most about. In my experience teachers don't care about how you feel about a subject when you write a paper, its just how much you can write and how good you can make it sound. Thats why for me I liked this essay because I actually agreed with what I was writing. It all sort of seemed natural for me. It sure does beat writing for the "university", having to change my opinions to fit the format of the essay. Having to appear as though I have authority about something which I truly might not know too much about is common for me. I often will not express my true opinion in sacrifice for the better grade. So tell me, is writing papers all that special for students, or does it just teach us that what we feel doesn't truly matter, its just what you can write more about. Reading this some people might feel that his is a generalization I have made about my self and that I am assuming this of all. I'm confident however that if asked, It would not be to hard to find people with this very same outlook as me. This first paper was for me was from the heart. I wrote what I meant and I meant what I wrote.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Twelfth Night Act 1 Questions.....
1. Who is Olivia?
2. What happened that Viola's brother drowned?
3. Why does Viola's dad know Orsino?
4. What is a kinsman?
5. Where did the fool come from?
6. Why is the fool going to be hung?
2. What happened that Viola's brother drowned?
3. Why does Viola's dad know Orsino?
4. What is a kinsman?
5. Where did the fool come from?
6. Why is the fool going to be hung?
Friday, February 5, 2010
How We Revise.....
I do not revise in the way that we are using it in class today. When I sit down to write my paper, I do not move long in my wriitng until I am completely satisfied with what I have already written down. I guess you could call this my revision process. I revise as I write and do not wait until the end. When I sit down to write I will generally finish the entire paper at once so I can just let all of my ideas flow from me to my computer screen. I hate having to go back over my paper and revise it because it is a waster for me since I revise as I write. The only time that I might have to go back over my paper a second time is when I really mess up and confuse facts or write something that is totally wrong in a research paper. Other than that I do not go back to revise because what I have down are my true thoughts and I don't like being told to go back and change my thoughts.
Revision for me is like building a house, you cannot move on to the next part until you have solid foundations in everything that you have already done. It is critical that you go from start to finish so that everything flows together. It is stupid in my mind to go back and change the beginning or middle of an essay without having to change the entire essay. Once a house is built, it's nearly impossible to go back and change things in the foundation and structure of the house. If the roof is on, are you going to tell a contractor to go back and fix the foundation??
Revision for me is like building a house, you cannot move on to the next part until you have solid foundations in everything that you have already done. It is critical that you go from start to finish so that everything flows together. It is stupid in my mind to go back and change the beginning or middle of an essay without having to change the entire essay. Once a house is built, it's nearly impossible to go back and change things in the foundation and structure of the house. If the roof is on, are you going to tell a contractor to go back and fix the foundation??
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