As far as Vision and Meaning are concerned, I feel as if we have them in spades; everyone has chosen a topic that they feel very connected to -- I think -- and is pursuing it in kind. The readings certainly attempt to instill a sense of higher purpose to us, and although in my opinion, the first two were highly idealistic and maybe not as easily achievable scenarios as the writer believes, I did get a feeling that we were part of something bigger than just our classroom. So I can't really think of anything large that needs improvement in that Department, but there's always something so I'm eager to see what others have to say.
In terms of Perceived Progress, I also think we do pretty well with this, from the weekly reports etc. However, as the class moves forward it might be nice for maybe one group a week to give a little glimpse of how their research is progressing, sort of like an active feedback system so that we can all help each other out with ideas and suggestions along the way.
This leads also to Connectedness. Maybe it's just me, but I've certainly noticed a distinct pattern in seating arrangement, with the older students at one end, Israeli students in the middle, and International Students on the other side. It kind of creates a physical barrier, and I'm not saying we should force one another to play musical chairs with the seats, but we might get to know one another better if we intermingle a little. Don't get me wrong -- I don't think forcing anything upon students is the right way to achieve anything, and I haven't broken the norm either, but I will make an effort to next class. I don't smell I promise.
Additionally, I liked the idea of a list of companies to invest in, however with my almost complete ignorance of the business world I can only think of one or two and would love suggestions from the Industrial Research and/or Business majors.
In that same vein, I have a phobia of investing because we engineers don't like risk very much, and if any of the business-minded people would be willing to, I think it would be great if one day during class they could give a quick mini-intro to personal, small-scale investing, and maybe even demonstrate online trading or something like that. I do want to get involved and start putting some money to work, but am at sea with getting the process started. This could be some added value for those of us not well versed in personal finance.
This last bit ties into both Connectedness and Perceived Control. I think we can all certainly agree that we have absolute control over our projects. The lecture thus far seems to be an aid with project development, but sometimes it can get a little confusing as to how what we are presented with in class actually ties back to our own specific research, development and planning. I have really enjoyed the discussions with other students about the readings and introductory exercises, although sometimes it seems like the conversation gets a little cut short of what it could become. I think it'd be tremendously beneficial, if directly after the questionnaire, anyone (maybe 1 or 2 people at most) with a burning desire to say something about the article or about a relevant topic be heard. In this way, it might direct the discussion in an unforeseen and possibly advantageous way -- after all I think we can all certainly gain a lot of knowledge through engaged discourse with each other. Further, if any extremely brave soul even wanted to take the time to draft up a short investigative exercise before lecture, it might be a great experience in leadership to let them try to direct the conversation in an applicable direction. That's all I've got so far, looking forward to see some other responses.
תגובה 1:
Teddy,
Your post is both well thought-out and well-written. I would, however, like to elaborate on your last few words. Namely, the bit encouraging an "extremely brave soul."
In my opinion it will be extremely beneficial for our class to occasionally be lead by students. And, that does not mean putting a single "brave soul" out there alone. But instead, to organize groups and dedicate a certain amount of time to student lead discussion. Each group will organize there own opening exercise and then guide the discussion on the previously assigned reading. Additionally, the group could even take the assignment a step further and add into the lesson any other exercises they see relevant.
In following through with this assignment it will give the class a feel of connectedness in allowing students to interact in groups and then lead a class together. It will give the class a feel of perceived control in giving the students the power to guide a discussion. And, it will give the class the feel of a perceived variety in teaching. All of which are important to only delivering us our happiness, but maintaining it.
That is all.
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