Wow. The semester is over (well sort of – still have the final essay). But class meeting are over. As exhausting as teaching this class is, I’m really going to miss it. I just love the content. And this group of students truly was exceptional. I gave them the first hour of class to discuss the readings and they really dug into them. They had great insights and strong connections. The questions they asked really showed they were thinking – they weren’t just procedural questions. I can’t express how pleased I am with the growth I’ve seen this semester. I think a few weeks ago was the nadir, but they came through it and really pulled it together. I’m really looking forward to reading the essays.
I spent some time lecturing on Lankshear & Knobel. I didn’t really want to lecture, but it seemed appropriate and I tried to keep it short. I catch myself repeating myself on occasion during those lectures. I know it’s because I’m not used to it. Some of my undergrads said I’m a boring lecturer. Yeah, maybe, but I take that as a compliment. It means I haven’t done it enough to get good at it.
We spent the last hour of class workshopping the essays. I did my colored pencil routine of underlining thesis, evidence, stance (interpretation), transitions, and vocabulary. A few of the students use the method. I hope it helped them.
I’m really going to miss this group. I’m glad to hear that some of them will be in my diversity class. It’s my first time teaching it, and it’s a demanding course, so it’ll be nice to have familar faces and existing relationships to build on.
Conferences next week. I love those too.
December 2, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I too will miss this class. It was an exhausting class to take, but one that I feel was really worth all of the effort. I liked the workshop time we had; and the “editing” technique is one that I like to use with my students. Different colored pencils for different editing areas. I am still nervous about the final essay; mostly because I feel that the last half of the semester went so fast and we didn’t devote as much time in class to the readings as we did in the first half, and because I thought I really nailed the midterm essay, but did not. So this writing to learn is something I have not done in quite a while. I think that is one area where Fisher’s Undergrad program isn’t on par with other institutions in the area. But, that is not my decision to make, and I’m sure if I had to write to learn in undergrad, I would have complained about it then too. Anyways, looking forward to my conference next week and getting valuable feedback on my essay.
December 5, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I also enjoyed this class. It was difficult but I had fun along the way. I thought that the lecture was useful. I am definitely someone who benefits from lectures. I need to hear things to really understand them. It helps me to have someone who really knows the content confirming what I have read rather than always discussing it with classmates who might also be unsure of the readings. I am still nervous about how my essay will turn out. I am fairly happy with what I have so far but I do believe it still needs some tweaking because of the comments I received on my midterm. I’m looking forward to my conference.
December 7, 2008 at 2:55 pm
It was definitely an interesting semester! There were many times I felt as though I could not write one more annotation, but in the end I not only was able to better understand the readings through the annotations but I also have something to take away with me to remember all the readings by. I know this will be helpful in other classes. In addition, I also find the little bit of lecture to be extremely helpful. Some of these readings can be so in depth and when we come to class having a difficult time understanding what we read, the group discussion helps to a point, but the lecture really solidifies the understanding. It helps those of us who are not sure if we are understanding correctly to know that we are on the right track. I definitely felt much more confident with the final essay than I did with the mid-term but am greatly looking forward to the interviewing time to be able to look it over and discuss possible changes.