Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Teaching on Film
Our last "Tips for Teachers" meeting of the semester will be Monday, December 3rd from 12-1 in MU-305 (Plangere Conference Room). As at our last meeting in the Spring, we will watch two clips from films depicting teachers as a jumping off point for our discussion of good teaching practices. Tisha suggests The Paper Chase and Dead Poets' Society. For those interested, you can actually view all of The Paper Chase online via Google Video, or (especially for those with slower internet connections) check out a three-minute YouTube clip that shows the main character's first encounter with the scary teacher played by John Houseman. A search of Google Videos turns up multiple entries for "Dead Poets' Society," including the great "Carpe Diem" scene. Enjoy.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Documentary Film discussion on Tuesday, November 13
We had a good discussion of the potential uses of documentary film in Expository Writing on Tuesday, November 13 over the lunch hour in the Plangere Conference Room. There were seven of us in attendance. I had asked people to view Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's "Style Wars" (circa 1983) available online:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5065949310221269915
During our discussion, the film played in the background on the Conference Room's computer projector, with the sound low (raised only to hear Ed Koch speak).
Everyone in attendance agreed that there is a place for documentary film in 101, and a film like "Style Wars" should already be linked to in the 101 link-o-mat entry for Malcolm Galdwell (also available from the New Hum website). The film would also make a good connection with Gladwell, Virginia Postrel's "Surface and Substance" and James C. Scott's "Behind the Official Story" -- or as a secondary text (or "case") in a discussion among any or all of these.
We especially thought that students reading Gladwell's piece, which is about New York City in the 80s and after, would benefit greatly from seeing the film since they really have no idea about the situation in New York in the Bernie Goetz era. Remember, our first-years were generally born in 1989 or even 1990! They just have no idea about New York in the 80s, so a film like "Style Wars" can give them more palpable experience to draw upon so that they can appreciate what Gladwell is talking about. By engaging with the graffiti "writers" of the period, the film also gives another voice (absent from Gladwell) that could even provide evidence to help students reframe the issues.
The main question seemed to be whether documentary films like "Style Wars" could ever take the place of a reading in the course. That is, should documentaries supplement readings (such as as Gladwell's) or occasionally supplant them? -- so that students might write on Gladwell for paper 1; then Gladwell and Postrel for paper 2; and then Gladwell, Postrel, and "Style Wars" for paper 3.
The consensus seemed to be that film should only serve a supplementary role in the course, but that we should begin incorporating links to available films (and other interesting media) into the link-o-mat. This may even become a necessity, as in the case of Henry Jernkins's "Convergence Culture" chapter on Harry Potter fan fiction, which we intend to use as the main selection for next year's training sequence for new instructors. Shouldn't we at least link to Harry Potter fan fiction directly referenced by the essay so that students can judge it for themselves? Wouldn't that material make a good supplementary text, especially for paper 1, where students write about only one reading?
It would also be interesting to create a video and mutli-media supplement to the text along these lines, which is one idea that Kurt and Richard have for next year. I think we would welcome suggestions for films to include.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5065949310221269915
During our discussion, the film played in the background on the Conference Room's computer projector, with the sound low (raised only to hear Ed Koch speak).
Everyone in attendance agreed that there is a place for documentary film in 101, and a film like "Style Wars" should already be linked to in the 101 link-o-mat entry for Malcolm Galdwell (also available from the New Hum website). The film would also make a good connection with Gladwell, Virginia Postrel's "Surface and Substance" and James C. Scott's "Behind the Official Story" -- or as a secondary text (or "case") in a discussion among any or all of these.
We especially thought that students reading Gladwell's piece, which is about New York City in the 80s and after, would benefit greatly from seeing the film since they really have no idea about the situation in New York in the Bernie Goetz era. Remember, our first-years were generally born in 1989 or even 1990! They just have no idea about New York in the 80s, so a film like "Style Wars" can give them more palpable experience to draw upon so that they can appreciate what Gladwell is talking about. By engaging with the graffiti "writers" of the period, the film also gives another voice (absent from Gladwell) that could even provide evidence to help students reframe the issues.
The main question seemed to be whether documentary films like "Style Wars" could ever take the place of a reading in the course. That is, should documentaries supplement readings (such as as Gladwell's) or occasionally supplant them? -- so that students might write on Gladwell for paper 1; then Gladwell and Postrel for paper 2; and then Gladwell, Postrel, and "Style Wars" for paper 3.
The consensus seemed to be that film should only serve a supplementary role in the course, but that we should begin incorporating links to available films (and other interesting media) into the link-o-mat. This may even become a necessity, as in the case of Henry Jernkins's "Convergence Culture" chapter on Harry Potter fan fiction, which we intend to use as the main selection for next year's training sequence for new instructors. Shouldn't we at least link to Harry Potter fan fiction directly referenced by the essay so that students can judge it for themselves? Wouldn't that material make a good supplementary text, especially for paper 1, where students write about only one reading?
It would also be interesting to create a video and mutli-media supplement to the text along these lines, which is one idea that Kurt and Richard have for next year. I think we would welcome suggestions for films to include.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Fall '07: 2nd "Tips for Teachers" meeting
After having read “Pedagogy” in the Teaching and Learning Support section of the University of Queensland’s Teaching and Educational Development Institute (TEDI), which is found at http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/teaching/toolbox/pedagogy.html, we began our discussion with the question of student responsibility. One instructor who teaches 100 felt that students were often scared to discuss topics, and a 201 instructor commented that students feel fine when the class is working together, but they become scared when they have to start their individual research topics.
This then turned into a discussion as to the optimal way to encourage students to take responsibility for their work. One teacher said that she models what she would be doing if she were conducting research, as she is specifically trying to model the thought processes behind the research. Then the discussion turned to how we would like students to find a frame and counter frame, or, put differently, how they should try to discover different perspectives so as to add more depth and complexity to their work. One person present said this was akin to a thesis and an antithesis, and another said it was like a thesis and hypothesis, with the effort being to try to prove or disprove that hypothesis based on the evidence uncovered.
When discussing uncovering or citing textual evidence, we referred to the article which warned against preconceived ideas. One teacher commented that once evidence was starting to be gathered in a 201 class, it might be necessary for the student to go back and revise his or her proposal. And another teacher talked about what she drew in the air as a “diamond of knowledge”, which, starting from the base, is the accumulation and expansion of information, and then a shift back inwards to the peak of the diamond, as the knowledge is synthesized and organized to reach its point or conclusion.
Many students, we thought, are however, afraid of challenge, and prefer to remain in the safe or comfortable zone. It was also suggested that some students take the path of least resistance, and they ‘minimax’, meaning that they want maximum returns for minimum effort. The question then arose as to whether it would be beneficial to make students nervous, and it was thought that there is a fine balance between challenge and comfort.
It was also suggested that perhaps it would be an idea to let students do some free writing without being graded, and that they should then search for “seeds” in what they have written, and try to elaborate upon these. In general, it is thought wise to set students a reachable bar, which involves just the right amount, however defined, of stretching.
The idea was raised that it can be fascinating to ask students to write a self-assessment on how they did on their essay. This is good as it involves metacognition, but it also yielded the interesting result that those students who confessed to the assignment being very hard and challenging were actually those who did better than those who did not comment on it being particularly hard, and therefore possibly, by implication, did not stretch themselves that much.
We also asked whether we as teachers should change if students do not like something we do in class. However, it was thought that a more valid reason for change might be to try to be sensitive to the variety of learning styles amongst the students in our class, or to change because to a certain extent teaching involves thinking on our feet, and we might need to adjust our plan based on what is happening that moment in the class. We also talked about the benefit of the Mid-Semester Reflection, as a way to hear from our students about how the class is going, because, as one instructor said, if we teach a class multiple times, we might relax into it, and get into a habit of doing certain things, rather than being sensitive to the particular needs of that class.
We agreed that education should be fun, not as a diversion, but as a component of engagement. Of course this leads to the question as to whether we, as teachers, are meant to entertain. And one teacher said she had a very grumpy looking student with whom she felt she had to be careful not to dislike, but then he surprised her at the end of the semester by telling her that he had learned to write thanks to her. And another teacher concluded the meeting by saying that he had heard that in an angry, seemingly troubled class, a teacher received high evaluations as the class was very engaged, and in a happy, flippant class taught by the same teacher, her evaluations were lower as the class was less engaged.
This then turned into a discussion as to the optimal way to encourage students to take responsibility for their work. One teacher said that she models what she would be doing if she were conducting research, as she is specifically trying to model the thought processes behind the research. Then the discussion turned to how we would like students to find a frame and counter frame, or, put differently, how they should try to discover different perspectives so as to add more depth and complexity to their work. One person present said this was akin to a thesis and an antithesis, and another said it was like a thesis and hypothesis, with the effort being to try to prove or disprove that hypothesis based on the evidence uncovered.
When discussing uncovering or citing textual evidence, we referred to the article which warned against preconceived ideas. One teacher commented that once evidence was starting to be gathered in a 201 class, it might be necessary for the student to go back and revise his or her proposal. And another teacher talked about what she drew in the air as a “diamond of knowledge”, which, starting from the base, is the accumulation and expansion of information, and then a shift back inwards to the peak of the diamond, as the knowledge is synthesized and organized to reach its point or conclusion.
Many students, we thought, are however, afraid of challenge, and prefer to remain in the safe or comfortable zone. It was also suggested that some students take the path of least resistance, and they ‘minimax’, meaning that they want maximum returns for minimum effort. The question then arose as to whether it would be beneficial to make students nervous, and it was thought that there is a fine balance between challenge and comfort.
It was also suggested that perhaps it would be an idea to let students do some free writing without being graded, and that they should then search for “seeds” in what they have written, and try to elaborate upon these. In general, it is thought wise to set students a reachable bar, which involves just the right amount, however defined, of stretching.
The idea was raised that it can be fascinating to ask students to write a self-assessment on how they did on their essay. This is good as it involves metacognition, but it also yielded the interesting result that those students who confessed to the assignment being very hard and challenging were actually those who did better than those who did not comment on it being particularly hard, and therefore possibly, by implication, did not stretch themselves that much.
We also asked whether we as teachers should change if students do not like something we do in class. However, it was thought that a more valid reason for change might be to try to be sensitive to the variety of learning styles amongst the students in our class, or to change because to a certain extent teaching involves thinking on our feet, and we might need to adjust our plan based on what is happening that moment in the class. We also talked about the benefit of the Mid-Semester Reflection, as a way to hear from our students about how the class is going, because, as one instructor said, if we teach a class multiple times, we might relax into it, and get into a habit of doing certain things, rather than being sensitive to the particular needs of that class.
We agreed that education should be fun, not as a diversion, but as a component of engagement. Of course this leads to the question as to whether we, as teachers, are meant to entertain. And one teacher said she had a very grumpy looking student with whom she felt she had to be careful not to dislike, but then he surprised her at the end of the semester by telling her that he had learned to write thanks to her. And another teacher concluded the meeting by saying that he had heard that in an angry, seemingly troubled class, a teacher received high evaluations as the class was very engaged, and in a happy, flippant class taught by the same teacher, her evaluations were lower as the class was less engaged.
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