community through a
non-US perspective.
[We made this discovery] b
ecause we did research both
individually and in
[our class]
groups and
during
interaction
s
with other groups in the simulation.
2. Discovery is not easy, especially if the latitude for making mistakes is large. What activity or
expectation in your learning environment for this course made you the least comfortable…or the
most "discomfortable"? Intellectually, how did you cope with it? What did you learn from it?
•
[Our least comfortable circumstance was the presence of ] b
rains and knowledge
by
other groups
in the simulation
world wide. They knew so much
…
more
than we did. They had huge proposals
and we felt overwhelmed. We
confronted the discomfort by
just diving
in
headfirst, blindly.
•
[We worried about] having
to rely on other
groups
[in our class]
to represent
us and
talk for us
[in
the simulation]
. We
coped with it by
ha
ving
faith in the other groups
to do their jobs
.
•
F
or us it was f
ear of the unknown. We coped with it by sticking out and giving it our
all. We
learned to have trust in our own abilities and in each other.
•
We weren't sure exactly what preparation was necessary for us to succeed
in the simulation. We
coped by mostly by waiting for the simulation to
begin and
then we
realized we were fully
prepared. We learned that we had to have
faith in ourselves. Some things you just have to wait for.
•
We were m
ost wor
ri
ed about during the negotiations
, like
if things were brought up that
pertained
to
o
ther groups
and
we had to represent
them [without preparation]
.
W
e
worried that we
might
agree to
something we shouldn't have or might make a mistake. We
worked this out by
talk
ing
out
problems
[among all of our groups]
after each negotiation.
•
For us it was n
ot knowing the specific mechanics of the simulation...not knowing how
the medium
we are communication
was going to work
.
That meant w
e didn't specifically know what to
prepare
for. We
found that we could
adapt our research to the medium and
we also
found that we could
learn qu
ickly
.
3. What is your metaphor for your educational experience in this course?
•
This isn't really a metaphor, but y
ou get out of it what you put into it.
•
This simulation
was
like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
•
It's like going from being on top of a mountain to being in a
valley.
When we got to the bottom
we
had to dig our way out.
•
"
There is no I in teamwork.
"
•
It's like
being in
a waterpark.
From outside the gate you don't know what it's like but o
nce you're
inside
the waterpark
it's tons of fun.
•
It was l
ike the
being on the
Titanic
: You can
sink or swim...or freeze to death.
•
This course made me w
alk in another person's shoes
and s
ee a different perspective.
•
It was like playing
Russian roulette
: Y
ou d
id
n't know if you
were
going to get shot
[by other teams
in the simulation]
.
•
This class was like s
tanding on the edge of a cliff because we kept wondering if we were
going to
fall off or be ok.
•
This course is kind of
like riding a bike. At first you're afraid and
you
don't want to fall
off.
A
nd
then you get the hang of it and
find out
you're ok.
Professor Eder provided me with the following analyses
As you witnessed, your students responded to these three questions with good-natured
gusto as well as through serious reflection. In all my numerous experiences of interviewing
students in courses, I have never come across such a strong combination of good humor
and unassuming deep thought. This quality of reflective thinking without guile and
pretension confirms my initial, positive impressions that arose when I observed the
students in action during the international simulation itself. Unusually "deep learning"
happened in your course. I am interested in what environmental factors have contributed
to this happening.
A couple of trends are evident to me in your students' responses to the questions above.
First, a theme of cooperative discovery runs through the responses to the first question.
Students in this course found themselves mentally transported into unfamiliar, somewhat
45
See Appendix 7.
19
Convention