Wednesday, May 12, 2010
What I learned this semester
This semester in COMM41 I learned a lot through the reading of Epstein's book, the red Group Communication book, and the exercises offered on blackboard. What I will probably take away most is the useful skill of thinking out of the box when breaking down arguments. I learned what makes a good argument and a bad argument and why they are good or bad. The group essays helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses working in a group. One of the weaknesses I learned from the group essay as well as the online posting weekly was that I tend to put things off until the final hours. It creates an unnecessary stress that could be avoided and will definitely try to improve on that. One interesting concept that I learned from the reading is the cause and effect logic of things. Even though something occurs after an event it doesn’t necessarily mean that the previous event caused it. The event that occurred after the first could have been influenced by many other things. Overall I learned how to communicate with my peers in words better than I did before this semester.
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Yes, the books for this Comm 41 class were very helfull at times. The small book was helpfull when working in our groups. Also you were correct when you said that this class really helped one to think outside the box when thinking of arguments, but really whenever we think. This class helped me to examine conversations more and pay attention to strong arguments, fallacies, vauge statements, and so on. This class was extremley helpful in encouraging me to work with group members and not be afraid to be herd. Overall this class was the class that I always looked forward to the most....and it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your finals:)
I agree that the books were helpful in this class. I feel the Group Communication book was and easier read than Epstein's book. I felt like the Epstein book was a little unorganized and hard to get around. However, I also agree the group projects helped me to learn my own strengths or weaknesses. I also think this class helped a lot in learning how to break down arguments and knowing what makes them valid or strong as compared to invalid and weak. I also agree that this course taught us a better way to communicate with peers, whether in school, work, or leisure settings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely in learning that I tend to put thing off at the last minuet as well! Especially with an on-line class you have to be very aware of your time line and not let it slip your mind because we do not actually have to go to a class at a certain time. I do tend to stress myself out when I leave thing until the due date and that is unnecessary stress that I can avoid I just have to work on it. I also agree with you in saying that this class definitely helped me learn to communicate with my peers a lot better and I know this is something I will be able to use and apply in my future. Best on luck on the final and hope you have a great summer!
ReplyDeleteI think that we all can agree with you that both books helped us in dealing with all the tough concepts. It was nice being able to think outside the box in breaking down the argument. I would have to also agree with you that it was hard to make sure to post blogs on time. Every week I would say that I would be good and try to do them during the beginning of the week. But by the time I got around to doing them, the week was half over. Overall, I have to agree with that I also learned a lot this semester.
ReplyDeleteI think it is pretty clear that the books in this class definitely did help. I agree with you and apparently all the previous people who left comments in that aspect. I think they had to be helpful since we had to use them all the time. I was very cool to get to think outside the box on the argument. I also agree that at times, it was a little difficult to get blog posts in on time. I always waited until the last minute to get them done so at times, that twelve hour rule really hurt me. I agree with you that i learned a lot from this semester.
ReplyDeleteI also like the "out of the box" thinking that you mentioned. Before this class, I had a general understanding of analyzing arguments and what made them good or bad, but those were only if the arguments had blatant errors or absurd conclusions. After this class, it made it easier to recognize the subtle mistakes and errors in arguments. And as for holding things off to the last minute in groups, I usually do that when I'm working on my own, and maybe you're the same way. Usually, if I'm working on a project with a group, I understand that other people are relying on me to get my section done on time and completely. Just a helpful tip, in case you're looking for ways to avoid procrastination.
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