week 8

Crazy week with Parent Day - the energy changes for both better and worse. I don't know I didn't anticipate this but it was very interesting how the two classes handled the role-play so differently. One group has relatively strong language skills (needed more work on excutive functioning) had a good deal of trouble really pulling these off. They did it but, as a group, were slapdash and seemed to emphasize performance and creativity than examining the dimensions of conflict (the point of the assignment). The group with more language based problems really took the assignment into some really meaning places. Of course, as I should have realized, that this was hands-on, experiential learning, of which this group thrives.

The semester really turns a corner here as we move from decrease of input, only two reading chapters left for the final 5 weeks but much more output: two speeches and two tests. Will be a challenge. Let's see how we do.

Week 7

Returning from break. About half the students seemed unaware of the second part of the midterm and it is lingering on. Not so happy about this, or how I handled it. This is related to my current feelings of trying to rush and force some things which inevitably causes compromises and, occasionally, substandard decisions on my part. One problem is that I have not reviewed the big picture for the course. I needed to do that, and will do that by the end of this week. I won't feel as rush if I can preview how the different pieces of the course will fit together, if not now, then in the future. This is important for me.
Another factor is the student energy is more sporatic now and I am trying to not this define how the course will operate. This is stressful, though - a little like herding cats to pull us altogether and moving in the same general direction. This takes ongoing focus on my part (a drain on my energy). I need to be careful that this, the class, is not about me but about what the students want because if I lose sight of this and fail to continue to negotiate with them about this then their motivation becomes about serving me - or not - rather than meeting their own needs.

week six

Did the Seinfeld thing this week, which went fairly well. This moves us toward more analysis and application and away from the memorization and repeating of information through the quizzes. I hope the second part of the midterm keeps this going. The Seinfeld paper demonstrates the breakdown point for some students because of the writing output expectation. Although Communications is seen as an emphasis upon oral interactions, there needs to be some academic exercise like one would find in any class. The range of writing skills between the combined group of students in my CO101 students is amazing. I will need to use office hours to assist some students in getting some of this type of work done (this feels a little awkward, because teaching english composition is not really within my knowledge set and experiences).

Week 5

It is now October with 5 weeks under our belt, 1/3 of the way there. Sprung the Seinfeld test on them today and the reaction was alot of glazed, lost-in-space looks. I think that we should use class time to work on it. It's an unorthodox assignment and if you are not a confident writer it becomes even more complicated. I am pleased with how things are going overall and feel as this type of assignment is appropriate. We need to move to higher thinking skills and this takes some stretching. I hope to make this project successful for the students. Just meet me halfway.