Response #1
This one was written by a student, Antoinette, that I think is particularly bright and knowledgeable. She is a strong thinker and good student. However, I feel as if she is sometimes bored in class and does not want to complete all of the assignments because she feels that she is above the rest of the class. When we spoke about working in groups, she was adamantly opposed to it because she said that she often ends up completing most of the work on her own. To combat this, we decided that at the end of each day, students would write a reflection on how their group worked that day and report about any problems that they had. Based on her response to the 95 Theses assignment, it seems that her opinion towards group work did not really change, even though we tried to find ways to make it more amenable. I think that the fact that she was working in a group actually took away from her autonomy because she was so focused on what each person would be contributing to the project. Instead of worrying about the content, she struggled with working with her teammates. As noted in her response, Antoinette said that she “learned that it is better to work alone [because] everyone can’t be trusted and don’t depend on your partners.” It’s upsetting that she had such a bad experience with group work and I wonder if there is a way to change her attitude towards it in the future. Although this student did not mention autonomy, it seems as if she did not really appreciate the way that she was given autonomy in this assignment.
After watching Antoinette for the rest of the semester, I still think that she does not enjoy group work. I have seen her work with a variety of people and she is often the one completing most of the work. When I tell the students to break up into groups, she is one of the first people that students shout for because they know that she is precise and diligent. Although she still may not enjoy it, I think that Antoinette has definitely improved her ability to work with other students, an important skill that she will use in the future. This was evident during Galileo Galilei’s Mock Trial and other project assignments. I’ve noticed that she is able to smile when she works with other students and explain to them the important terms and concepts. I wondered if she has changed her opinion on group work or if she is simply completing the work because she wants to get a good grade on the assignment. In the final section on students' thoughts on autonomy, Antoinette writes that she still does not like working in groups and does not think that it gives her autonomy over her work.
After watching Antoinette for the rest of the semester, I still think that she does not enjoy group work. I have seen her work with a variety of people and she is often the one completing most of the work. When I tell the students to break up into groups, she is one of the first people that students shout for because they know that she is precise and diligent. Although she still may not enjoy it, I think that Antoinette has definitely improved her ability to work with other students, an important skill that she will use in the future. This was evident during Galileo Galilei’s Mock Trial and other project assignments. I’ve noticed that she is able to smile when she works with other students and explain to them the important terms and concepts. I wondered if she has changed her opinion on group work or if she is simply completing the work because she wants to get a good grade on the assignment. In the final section on students' thoughts on autonomy, Antoinette writes that she still does not like working in groups and does not think that it gives her autonomy over her work.