English 1550 (Tuesday, Oct. 25)

Instead of holding class this week, Karen required students to attend 20-minute conferences with myself, her, or Lindsey. Although I had met with Section 41 students before, I was initially nervous to conference with a few students who weren't in my section. However, my fears were unfounded, as these students seemed just as receptive to my help. It was an experience that reminded me of working at the Writing Center, where I was required to work with students I'd never met or interacted with prior to that moment. Ultimately, today's conferences strengthened my decision to conference twice with my English 1550 students (once in the beginning of the semester, once in the middle of the semester). I think that students are much more willing to ask questions or share their concerns in a one-on-one environment (rather than in front of the entire class), and conferences are also helpful for instructors to make sure their students are all on the same page with coursework and the course schedule.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: I am not a big conferencer myself (kind of a weakness with my pedagogy, I think), but I certainly see the value of having conferences a couple times in a semester. As long as you have a good structure for the conference – and ask the student to come to the conference prepared in some way (preferably with a written document of some sort) – things will work out well. Having the early conference might also help in generating a good rapport between you and the students, something that can go a long way toward getting/keeping the students engaged in class sessions (and in the overall work for the course).

English 1539 (Monday, Oct. 24)

Because I will be attending the National College Media convention from Wednesday through Sunday, I will only have two journal entries (one for 1539, one for 1550) this week.

1. Class:

* Read key points and reviewed good example of individual essay component (for Literary Analysis and Critical Thinking Assignment).

* Gave presentation tips to students (primarily less reading of slides and more presenting).

* Allowed students the rest of class time to work with their group members on presentations (which begin Wednesday).

2. Class analysis:

I particularly like the way that Nikki emphasizes her advice/guidelines with examples of actual student work. For instance, as noted above, she used a former student's individual essay (with the name blacked out, of course) to illustrate what she wanted to see in her current students' essays. Additionally, instead of reading through the entire essay with her class, she noted and explained several key points, like the great title and the strong thesis statement. This way, I think, makes it easier for students to understand exactly what was good about the essay. It also gives them the opportunity to take these techniques and model their own essays after them. She also used this approach to explain the difference between a good PowerPoint presentation and a bad PowerPoint presentation. Her other 1539 class began their presentations today (and she required students to submit full-page printouts of the slides), so she showed students one page/slide that was covered with paragraphs and paragraphs of text. In this instance, too, the student presenters had actually read the slides word for word. Nikki also noted that these students hadn't acted like professionals during the presentation, and she emphasized that knowing how to effectively present will benefit them in future classes. However, she also mentioned some positives of student presentations in the previous class. For example, one group incorporated video clips into its presentation.

3. Class implementation:

Again, several students were noticeably absent from class today. Subsequently, this made group work difficult for some students, and students who were absent on Friday were confused about upcoming assignments. Nikki emphasized that college--particularly a college-level writing course--is the ideal time for students to learn about responsibility ... including their responsibility to attend class (or understand and deal with the consequences). As noted before, I'm thinking about somehow reworking my attendance policy and perhaps also incorporating a presentation/group work component into my course.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: Sample papers are a good idea – but you want to be careful about not giving the students too much of a script or model to follow. In the past I have sometime created a ‘dummy’ sample paper/draft of my own, one that is less than stellar, and used it as a way to get the students to think critically about a draft for a particular assignment. But it takes more time to write up one’s own dummy draft than to pull one in from a previous course (I wouldn’t let the students keep the sample, though). Group work is a good idea, but, given the weather early in the Spring semester, your best bet will be to hold off on group work until after Break – when a) you have good weather and b) you have pretty much a ‘working roster’ of regularly participating students.

English 1539 (Friday, Oct. 21)

1. Class:

* Reviewed upcoming assignments and deadlines (particularly group presentations on Wednesday and Thursday).

* Split into groups and worked on Literary Analysis and Critical Thinking Assignment.

2. Class analysis:

It's obviously at that point in the semester where not many students are showing up for class, particularly on Fridays (as was the case in 1539 this week and last week). Subsequently, even though Nikki offered students the majority of class time to work on their upcoming major assignment (which includes a presentation and an individual analysis paper), not many were present to take advantage of it. I worked with each of the three groups that were in class, although most students seemed like they had a good chunk of their work already done or at least knew what they had to do/how they were planning to do it.

3. Class implementation:

I'm not sure how I'll treat the attendance policy in my Monday/Wednesday/Friday class in the spring. My syllabus draft states that students will lose a letter grade off their final grade after the sixth absence, but I might revise this policy. I do like how Nikki gives students a bonus point or two if fewer than 11 students (or half the class) show up.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: The six allowed absences policy gives you plenty of leeway, I think – and the students as well. That’s 6 out of 44 meetings they can miss, or roughly 13% of class sessions. Incentivizing attendance can be a good idea, but you don’t want a situation where someone is dragging their very sick and contagious self into class to save a ‘bonus,’ with the result that you, perhaps, and/or several students end up ‘infected.’ On the other hand, you could try something like this: miss no classes, +6; miss 1 +4; miss only 2, +3; miss only 3, +2. I don’t know – maybe it ends up being a headache for you – like “what counts as attending?” “can I be 10 minutes late and still be counted as attending?” [You see what I mean, no?]

English 1550 (Thursday, Oct. 20)

1. Class:

* Distributed conference sign-up sheets.

* Briefly reviewed argumentative essay and worker portrait assignments.

* Read additional worker portraits on the Center for Working-Class Studies website.

* Discussed some formatting elements of the worker portrait assignment (like point of view, quote presentation, intended audience).

* Split into small groups and talked about/informally presented important dates in Youngstown's history (based on "Steeltown USA" readings).

2. Class analysis:

Karen began class by making sure students knew exactly what was coming up (and when) in the course. Students signed up for next week's conferences, and Karen reviewed the final two major assignments. I liked the way that Karen compared and contrasted the assignments, making her guidelines and requirements absolutely clear. I think this was helpful, especially because many students initially seemed confused and overwhelmed. Reading more worker portraits in class also appeared to be beneficial, although students still struggled to understand what exactly was expected of them for the assignment. I think that a few students left class today not knowing how to approach the worker portrait. Perhaps it's just so different from anything that they've ever written before ... or could it be that, for the most part, they don't read the newspaper, a place that they'd find examples of portraits or profiles? Regardless of the reason, students seemed unsure of the assignment, so it'll be interesting to see what their rough drafts look like.

3. Class implementation:

I particularly like Karen's use of group work in the classroom (and especially in the computer lab). During today's conference with Dr. Ball for Teaching of Writing, we discussed a situation I might come across in my spring 2012 English 1550 classroom: having an "Emmalee" as a student. I've pretty much always been the type of student who prefers to listen to others rather than volunteer my thoughts (although I occasionally will, especially if prompted). Dr. Ball made a good point, though: Other students miss out on what those quiet students have to say. He also noted that group work is a good solution, so I'll definitely work on incorporating it into my course.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: I think you can safely assume that students don’t, generally, read newspapers these days. Maybe, then, you want to build doing so into one of your assignments? There are loads of Jambars around every day. You could easily pick up 50 of them and distribute them for class. Just a thought. Yes – respecting the ‘quiet, diligent’ Emmalees in your class is important – not everyone has to be vocal to be participating (and/or benefitting) from a writing course.

English 1550 (Tuesday, Oct. 18)

1. Class:

* Distributed and reviewed assignment sheet for Project 2 (argumentative essay). Briefly discussed topics.

* Explained techniques for conducting an effective interview. Briefly discussed topics.

* Analyzed examples of worker portraits on the Center for Working-Class Studies website.

2. Class analysis:

Karen couldn't make it to class right at 11, so I had to start and lead today's class. Fortunately, I had prepared an "interview prep" presentation (for the students' worker portrait assignment, or Project 3) and the assignment sheet for Project 2 (which I created using Karen's guidelines). Subsequently, I began class by discussing Project 2 -- and emphasizing the assignment deadlines. I briefly talked about some of the basics of the assignment and noted that students should send their topic ideas and essay drafts to me, not Karen (per her instructions). I'll be responsible for helping students with this assignment and eventually assessing it (with Karen's input, of course). Some students also threw out ideas for their argumentative essay, and I had to remind them that the assignment required a work-related topic.

I used this argumentative essay topic discussion to segue (YAY!) into sources for the worker portrait assignment. Students seemed a bit confused on who to interview for the portrait, so we spent some time discussing appropriate sources. I emphasized that the success of their portrait depends almost entirely on the success of their interviews ... but let them know that tried and true interviewing techniques exist. I used several sources in my presentation: a news reporting textbook, bits of advice from student-journalists (and Jambar employees) and my own journalism experience. I was pleasantly surprised to see students writing down some key points of my presentation ... and just hope that I didn't overwhelm them. I tried to target the lesson to someone who had never done an interview before (and probably wouldn't after this assignment), so my advice was (at least to me) fairly basic. There was a lot more information that I could have included in my presentation, but I think that what I presented gave them a good foundation. The Jambar's assistant news editor told me that she wished someone would have told her what I discussed in my presentation before her first interview. I'm taking that as a good sign.

Karen's discussion of the aforementioned worker portraits available online elaborated on and nicely complemented some of the points I brought up in my presentation.

3. Class implementation:

Bringing your own experience into the classroom, I think, can be extremely valuable (such as my interviewing experiences to add a new, real-life perspective to the news reporting textbook's guidelines). I think it gave my presentation more credibility, since I had actually used the techniques I was explaining.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: I like that you weren’t ‘thrown’ when you had to pick up the start of class when Karen was late – and I like, too, that way you drew upon your Jambar/Journalism experience to help the students with their upcoming interviews. I think it’s a great idea to try to take one’s own particular ‘passions’ and ‘skills’ and exploit them in the creation of one’s assignments and syllabi (within reason of course!). From what I am hearing in your journal of late, you are going to be more than ready to run two effective (and, to some degree, enjoyable) sections of 1550 next semester.

English 1539 (Friday, Oct. 14)

1. Class:

* Reviewed three reading responses.

* Discussed tasks/job delegation in groups.

2. Class analysis:

Although several students tried to turn in their reading responses at the start of class, Nikki asked that they hold onto them until the end. Subsequently, she spent most of class discussing the three readings and students' responses to them. For the most part, students said they identified with the readings (and one student even said that a particular selection should be "required reading"). After this discussion (mostly concerning ambition/desire, the difference between good procrastination and bad procrastination, and organization), Nikki asked students to do a "literary analysis" of the readings, breaking the meaning down into one word or one sentence. This really forced students to step out of "summary" mode and into "analysis" mode. I liked Nikki's policy that if fewer than 11 students show up to class, all students in attendance receive one bonus point. It's a good incentive for those who do what they're supposed to do anyway: come to class.

3. Class implementation:

During the discussion of assigned readings, students expressed surprise over the connection among all three. One student even remarked that she thought Nikki had randomly picked the readings ... but now realized that planning the class required far more work than she had imagined. As I've mentioned before, although an instructor's careful planning of a class may not be immediately obvious, students will eventually pick up on it--and perhaps respect the instructor even more.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: As you know, I like incentives, and Nikki’s certainly works. I would be a bit worried, though, about the ‘incentive’ some regularly attending students might have to try to keep the numbers at or below 11 for a session. I’m not suggesting that anyone would revert to foul play to keep a student out of class – but I do feel a little concern for that 12th student who walks in and ‘blows’ the bonus points for everyone.

English 1550 (Thursday, Oct. 13)

Thursday's English 1550 class was canceled, due to instructor illness.

English 1539 (Wednesday, Oct. 12)

1. Class:

* Students printed assignment sheets and assignment rubrics.

* Students got into groups and began their group work (analyzing stories, paragraph by paragraph).

2. Class analysis:

On Wednesday, students spent class time working on their Literary Analysis and Critical Thinking Assignment. The assignment requires students to work in groups to analyze, think about, and eventually present their assigned section of reading. During class, I spent most of the time working with these groups of students to analyze their readings. I found it interesting that Nikki wanted her students to analyze stories paragraph by paragraph, but this really forced students to pay attention to what they were reading and attempt to make sense of it. I helped students along somewhat--but used techniques from my Writing Center training to draw the answers out from them, rather than just give them the answers (or what I thought were the answers).

3. Class implementation:

Nikki made effective use of lab time, as she had her students print the assignment/assignment rubric in class. This made me think more about how I'll structure my class schedule to better use lab time and class time, especially if I don't have a mediated classroom next semester.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat: It’s a skill to use lab time effectively, but it’s important to attempt to do so. As you noted in your previous entry, the students appreciate the coherence of Karen’s overall 1550 course; likewise, they will appreciate effective the effort you put in to make lab time instructive and meaningful.

English 1550 (Tuesday, Oct. 11)

1. Class:

* Discussed students' impressions of the steel museum.

* Talked about minor writing 4 (one-page description of object at the steel museum).

* Assigned minor writing 5 (analyze "Working at McDonald's" argument and weigh in with your opinion).

* Reviewed "Working at McDonald's."

* Reviewed "Serving in Florida."

* Watched documentary-musical clip, "Nickel and Dimed from the American Ruling Class."

* Presented PowerPoint (the argumentative essay and how to come up with a good topic).

2. Class analysis:

I think it's approaching the point in the semester where students begin to slack off on their reading assignments. Karen assigned two short essays for students to read for today ... but it was obvious that many of them hadn't even glanced over the essays before being told to open their books in class. For instance, at the beginning of the "Working at McDonald's" discussion, Karen asked students to identify some of the author's credentials for writing the piece. One student responded that the author was knowledgeable about the topic because--obviously--he had worked at McDonald's (like the title implied). This was far from reality, however, as the author was a sociologist synthesizing and analyzing studies on the topic. Karen handled the situation well, though. She commended the student for making an educated guess ... but followed up with a reminder that it's absolutely imperative for students to do the assigned reading.

Additionally, I presented my lesson on understanding/writing an argumentative essay and coming up with a good argument topic. I began by asking students about their experiences in both discussing and writing arguments. This seemed to be an effective way to start off since students actually volunteered their thoughts (!). I was pleasantly surprised, as most students had been quiet and reluctant to participate in discussion. It also helped to ask them for their thoughts (particularly by using specific, pointed questions) throughout the presentation. They seemed engaged and receptive. Especially helpful was a section of the lesson on topic examples. I put five examples on the screen; the first two were focused and specific, while the remaining three needed some work. Again, the students seemed eager to share their thoughts and possible approaches to refining the examples.

SIDE NOTE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: I also just discovered the serious awesomeness of PowerPoint's "Notes" feature. AMAZING.

3. Class implementation:

As the semester goes on, it becomes more and more evident to me (and perhaps to students as well) how much thinking has gone into the design and structure of Karen's course. All assignments and in-class activities/discussions seem to all have a purpose in the class, and they don't seem like "busy work." Students respect this, I think.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat:

Emmalee - maybe you can take a few minutes to show us the notes feature in Ppt. Some might know it -- but some might not. And use your observation of Karen's students and their mid-semester reading as a help in shaping your own schedule for next Spring. Less can be more in those busy middle weeks.

English 1539 Change

Because of scheduling issues, I was not able to attend a session of English 1539 this week. However, I plan to go on Wednesday and Friday of next week.

English 1550 (Thursday, Oct. 6)

1. Class:

* Visited and toured the Youngstown Center of Industry and Labor.

* Students were required to choose one object in the museum's collection and write about it using descriptive language.

2. Class analysis:

Karen held Thursday's class at the Youngstown Center of Industry and Labor, which is more widely known as the steel museum. The first 45 minutes of class were spent on a guided tour, while students used the remainder of class time to walk around and find objects for their assignments. Karen did an effective job of maintaining the course's theme of work and making the theme relevant to students.

3. Class implementation:

As I continue to develop my course, I may incorporate a "field trip" into the semester. I think that getting out of the classroom and into the community could be a nice change for students.

English 1550 (Tuesday, Oct. 4)

1. Class:

* Viewed "Fast Food Women" documentary.

* Discussed documentary (using prepared list of questions).

* Reminded students that Thursday's class would be held at the Youngstown Historical Center for Industry and Labor, and provided directions to steel museum.

2. Class analysis:

Tuesday's class centered on viewing and discussing the early-1990s documentary "Fast Food Women." The film, which used a small coal-mining town in Kentucky to illustrate the changing face of America's service industry workforce, was around 30 minutes long ... but technology issues prevented the class from seeing the whole documentary. Despite this (and some bad sound/video quality), "Fast Food Women" raised a lot of interesting ideas pertaining to work/argument and also encouraged students to share some of their own experiences with minimum-wage, part-time jobs. It's scary how many work issues haven't changed in 20 years (even though hairstyles have DEFINITELY changed). Some of the day's themes pertained to argument (since the students' next assignment is to write an argumentative essay), such as avoiding a one-sided argument. Karen said students could avoid this by acknowledging the other side ... but refuting one or two key points to strengthen the argument.

3. Class implementation:

As I've noted before, I really like Karen's use of multimedia in the classroom, and I will definitely try to do so in my classes as much as possible (or as much as it is relevant). However, the issues with technology are frequent and kind of problematic.