Please forgive my lateness...
Once again Bean has sparked my (re)thinking about group work. Personally I disliked group work in undergrad (probably because I was the one always doing the work), however, Bean does make a good case for it, and the benefits just seem to outweigh the negatives. For my course, I believe group work will most likely work better in the actual class room setting, such as an exploratory writing assignment, as opposed to a group project to be completed over time.
In response to Barnett and the goal of wanting to “produce humane, informed citizens” (182), specifically the Shen piece enlightened me the most this week. As fortunate as we are (we being those able to study in the higher echelons of academia in America), we often take too much for granted. I never considered that one of my main goals in Eng 1000 (to get students to feel comfortable expressing their own opinions regardless if they’re apart of the general consensus or not) could be interpreted as/ or representing something more than eccentricity and individuality solely. I appreciate this piece because it speaks to the space of misinterpretation that I as an American would have (most likely) never considered simply because of the privilege I’ve been given. Particularly after reading Shen, I now need to figure out an effective way in which we as a class can define what we want to deem as “I,” the “individual,” “my opinion/perspective,” etc. Any ideas?
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Have 'em read Hegel, Levinas, Derrida, Foucualt and Said and radically pedagonk them over the head with the realization that their "selves" are mutually constructed through the encounter with "L'Autre."
Just kidding.
I'm thinking about the same, Jen, and while I myself am really resistant to group work, the literature that Bean cites and his discussion of sythesizing group theses (and possibly minority opinions) to both engage the criticial thinking process and synthesize opinions is productive. Bean also claims that group work doesn't suppress eccentric or non-traditional opinions but rather gives them a chance to be voiced. I really want to read the sources he cites in this chapter, as I too feel that he's made a strong case for incorporating group work but my own proclivities against it worry me in terms of my being able to competently facilitate it.
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