Reflection: The Colloseum Project

1.) WHAT I'VE LEARNED

While working on this project, I would say that I learned about four times as much as I had anticipated to while researching my specific topics about the Roman society.  I attribute this the wealth of information available on Roman history as well as the connections between culture and technology of all of the systems used during that time period.  I found many interesting documentaries about the division between the classes and common cultural practices.  I also discovered a few interview articles about the many different theories on how they achieved marvelous feats such as the velarium.

2.) PROCESS

To solve the problem given in this assignment, our group started by using post it notes to draft a relationship map between the key ideas of the Colloseum.  Using a C-map, our group was able to plot several topics related to the Colloseum and its development.  We mainly wanted to focus on the significance that the project had on the Roman society.  We then thought it would be a good idea to draw parallels between Roman society and modern society in America today. Surprisingly there are many relationships between the two.  

There are so many interesting aspects about the Colosseum that we could have made a presentation that lasted well over an hour, but we knew that we had to make the presentation concise and emphasizing key points.  The points that we came up with were: the arch, the construction of the colosseum, the political and social aspects of the project, and the entertainment it provided.

I personally researched the construction aspects of the projects because it directly pertains to my major.  I enjoyed learning about how the structure was assembled using the bare materials that they had to work with.  I also looked at the velarium system that was used to shade the Colosseum from the suns harsh rays during the day.

3.) BENEFIT OF GROUP

Working in interdisciplinary group benefitted my experience because I was able to get different viewpoints on ideas rather than someone from my major who may have similar ideas.  I also learned a great deal of information from the other group members from the areas of the Colosseum that they were studying.

4.) OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF PROBLEM

I thought that the all of the research that we came up with and presented was interesting and beneficial for all ages, but I think our approach could have been better after watching the other groups' presentations.  We focused on using diagrams, pictures, and interesting facts in powerpoint and drawing relationships to modern society.  This may work for older kids, but would probably lose younger kids' attention.  If I were to do this again, I would suggest a more hands-on approach where the kids would use typical arts and crafts to model the construction techniques of the Colosseum.