I believe the course goal I made the most progress towards was applying the knowledge from our class periods to approach texts critically, to design research projects creatively, and to present their ideas professionally. There was only one example from the semester that is needed to back up this assumption: The Beaver Coat.
Right after I read The Beaver Coat, I said that it was one of the most pointless things I had ever read. However, when we discussed the text in class, some interesting discussions were brought as to why the play ended the way it did, the reactions of the audiences in Berlin when it was first performed, and the feelings my fellow classmates had about the play. The knowledge I gained that night led me to the idea to create a new ending to The Beaver Coat in order to see if the play’s unusual ending makes it special to a particular type of person, those who are right brained or those who are going into fields absent of science such as English and history, and hated by another type of person, left brained or those who are entering science related fields.
Next time this course is taught, I would get rid of the blog comments and make them extra credit opportunities. The blog posts helped me spot aspects of the plays that were interesting to think about. I would also suggest watching two movies because it was fun applying what we had learned over the course of the semester to The Big Lebowski.
Finally, I think that I was a successful student in this class. I think the bulk of it was due to the in-class discussions. I do not feel like the blog comments benefited me in any way. I also feel like the midterm was pointless and the only thing it did was bring students course grades down. How about making students watch a comedy on their own time and have them apply their course knowledge to it by writing a one page paper?
Reading this made me laugh. I am going to make a completely usesless comment. I agree with you about the mid-term. I feel it was exactly what we did in all the classes, and I thought grading something so subjective-that was strictly based on opinion, did nothing but lower our grades. We have all positively contributed in the class, but the mid-term felt like our opinions were being graded. How can you grade someone’s opinion?
ReplyDeleteStevan, it seems _The Beaver Coat_ had a major effect on you. I told you I was curious how you would react to it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comments about the blog and the midterm. From my perspective, the blog helped me determine what we needed to discuss in class while simultaneously demonstrating to me that you all had done some work outside of the class.
In a class like this, it is always easier to move along to the next text without fully considering the texts we have already analyzed. The midterm is a tool that helps me assess how much of the foundational knowledge of the course you have taken in and the extent to which you can apply it meaningfully.
While I understand you might feel much of the exam was subjective, I assure you it was not graded arbitrarily, as the answer rubric on the midterm was designed to prove. So much of our lives is dictated by opinion and much of your future professional lives will be as well--for example, "which is the best course of action for a client/patient"? What I did grade (and what students should be graded on) is how well they support their opinions with facts and reasons. BTW, this aspect was also inherent in our blog assignments, though I see I perhaps should have made that more explicit. Still, great things for me to keep in mind for next time!