So far so good with the new students in AMS 101 and AMS 301.
The storytelling session in AMS 301 proved to be a loud exchange. Often I forget that I am working with people. I concoct lesson plans in silence and imagine their execution to be in silence also. When the students broke into pairs to workshop each other's shortlist, they made noise.
Um. Sigh. Of course, they would speak to each other. I was generally impressed with their willingness to engage the assignment. That is, they came with lists and they seemed eager and okay about sharing them. Then, there were several who were earnestly seeking to improve their list -- to work with the sound, to make it more playful, to heighten the drama. I look forward to their revised lists due in-class tomorrow.
In 101, the pin-up went well and, rather unexpectedly, students quoted from Dolores Hayden's Redesigning the American Dream to explain their spatial analysis. (The syllabus suggested that they begin the Hayden text, but I did not fully expect students to dive right in). Well done! Interestingly, something like 11 students designated the entire house to private space.; 36 delineated public and private spaces within the home (and a handful marked liminal spaces). In the past, I may have had one or two in the entire lot take the whole house to be private. I need to think harder about what and whether this means anything.
This week in AMS 301: graphic novels. It's a limb that I am climbing out on here to work with this, but armed with web sites and references from Bob Bolin, I am game.
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2 comments:
kq blogging about what works and what doesn't work in the classroom - what a supreme treat.
what is the title of 101?
i like how you make the students in public voices develop their own public voices in the first week.
Thanks David. AMS 101 is Introduction to American Studies. It is organized around the themes food, clothing, and shelter. I begin with a reference to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by enlisting the help of students who have taken psychology courses before. We puzzle through the pyramid and make some general observations about how people in the U.S. use food, clothing and shelter to do much more than to meet their basic needs.
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