Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Socratic Circles
I believe I learned a lot from the socratic circle activity we did last week. I really enjoyed the topic where it was being questioned if history books should be changed to show more right wing type ideas. I like how many people expressed different opinions on the matter, and really kept the entire discussion civilized and respectful. I learned that people will tend to stand up for what they believe in no matter how many people go against them. If they support what they believe strongly enough, there Is no changing of their minds. I also enjoyed the topic I had a chance of discussing in the inner circle. I do believe that the article made some good points on how teaching methodology these days is pretty flawed. I like how the author claimed that simply giving students a list of dates and names to remember is useless, because at the end of the day, the student will only remember what they were able to make a connection with. By encouraging critical thinking, students become more immersed in the knowledge and even history can be made interesting. The discussion we had in the circle over this topic was very calm and professional, and everyone who wanted to chime in had a chance to. Everyone seemed to be on the same page about how critical thinking and influence students to work harder and really enjoy learning the material. I believe many of us supported the ideas in the article due to the fact that many of the classes we have taken at Clovis High School have been based on the very same principles. Not merely memorizing random facts, but actually piecing information together and creating connections and networks of knowledge in our brains. Challenging ourselves, always asking questions, and digging deeper than the surface are what learning is all about.
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I really enjoyed reading this because I was unfortunately absent on the day of the discussion, so now I can confidently say I know what the hoopla was all about. So thank you for that. I really wish I would have been there because I find this topic very intriguing and something I would very much like to get into. Oh well. I thought it was interesting what you said about the student's response to certain questions and how some held fast to their beliefs despite the fact that nobody agreed with them. I also have to say I agree with your opinion on teaching methods, as did many. It really cooks my goose when teachers just try to shove things down your throat. Hey, I've never gotten to use that expression before...cool. Anyways, I thought your response was very pretty annnnnd Whopper Wednesdays are awesome. Okay. Great.
ReplyDeleteI agree with with most of the statements you made. Learning by analyzing the material rather than memorizing endless facts is much more effective when it comes to learning history and other subjects. You also said that people stand by their beliefs no matter how many people contradict them. This is most likely true, but I believe we should take into consideration that there are other points of view out there and we should be open minded to new ideas. I think this is one of the main problems with the world is that people are not willing to expand their beliefs and explore all the other ideas out there. I also liked how our socratic circles addressed many ideas regarding the Texas history books. I agree that if teachers could include more critical thinking in their curriculum the education would be much improved, and students would take more interest in school and therefore have more success with learning.Anyways, I enjoyed reading your response. Great job! :)
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of the things that you liked about the conversation, and wrote a pretty similar response in my blog. Your description of our circle's conversation is well said, especially the part about how "everyone who wanted to chime in had a chance to." I liked how we were able to hear everyone's ideas, and that almost everyone ended up talking and sharing their ideas. While most of us focused on the same concept, everyone's opinions were interesting, since they were different from mine. It was cool to hear so many different perspectives on one topic.
I liked your relation of how the circle was basically "on the same page" with the importance of critical thinking because of the classes that we've taken at school. I hadn't thought about that before, but now that I think about it, it's true. There are a few classes that I've taken that have made me appreciate the lessons that my teachers taught, because of how they taught it. Those said teachers who I got to know and were passionate about what they were teaching are definitely my favorite ones, because they taught me more than how to just memorizing facts and passing tests. To them, it was more than that. They genuinely care about students, so it makes me more motivated to pay attention in class, because things are always interesting. I think that there are teachers on our campus that have impacted so many students in a positive way, so thanks for helping me make that connection. :)
Your last sentence, "Challenging ourselves, always asking questions, and digging deeper than the surface are what learning is all about." was a great ending to the blog, and summarized your point well. You had some good thoughts that made me think! Good job! :)