Collaborative Learning

In the article "Collaborative Learning and the 'Conversation of Mankind'," Kenneth A. Bruffee writes about collaborative learning style and the effect it has on students. He writes about how composition teachers are using it more often because, " It is viewed as a way of engaging students more deeply with the text and also as an aspect of professors' engagement with the professional community" (Bruffee). If this is the case, then it really is beneficial to work in groups as opposed to individually.

It is easy to relate to this article because of the fact that we have been doing collaborative learning in our composition class. An example of this is when we each picked a passage out of The Twelfth Night that we did not understand and passed the paper around for others to comment on before posting it on our blog. Not only did this help me learn by understanding the passage from the viewpoint of others, but I also enjoyed the exercise because it was interesting to see the posted paragraphs that were a mash-up of so many different thoughts.

I would recommend collaborative learning to all classes because sometimes it really is easier to learn from other students as opposed to the teacher. When we learn from our peers, we know that they just learned the material and will better understand how we view the material.

Concordance Data

1. What thematic strands have you located?

Disguise, veil, conceal, trick, hide, secret, false

2. Where is the data you retrieved found? What is happening in context when Shakespeare employs this particular theme or image?

The data retrieved for my concordance is found all throughout the play. Shakespeare employs this particular theme when the characters have something to hide, or do not want to appear as their true selves.

3. How does the data you retrieved support your first thoughts on Shakespeare’s obsessive use of a particular image? What can you argue about Shakespeare’s figuration?

The data I retrieved actually is not the way I thought the words would be used in the play. Although the theme of disguise is central to the plot, the words actually do not show up as much as I thought they would.