(to be completed after you attend the first session and at least three days before you attend the second session)
In the comments below, post a 2 – 3 paragraph description of the first draft of your open pedagogy assignment. If you want to share additional details, you can link to a document on Google Docs, Dropbox, or other document sharing platform. Please share your draft at least three days before the second session you will be attending and provide feedback to a few of your colleagues.
100 thoughts on “Draft an Open Pedagogy Assignment”
The course’s Midterm and Final Papers will consist of two written assignments based on the same project.
Regardless of topic (see below), your paper must be typewritten, double-spaced (12pt Times New Roman font), and with your References in APA format (at least 3, not including the textbook).
Midterm
1-2 pp. draft of your Final Paper that includes a statement of the problem, a short introduction, and references.
NO LATE MIDTERMS WILL BE ACCEPTED
Final Paper
One of the main objectives of Social Psychology is to understand, but also solve, real world social problems. Throughout this semester, we will be discussing various and several topics related to the ways people interact with each other, both in positive and negative ways. For the Final Paper, you will be a “problem-solver” in more ways than one: You will address (a) solution(s) to a real world social problem of your choosing, that you then make a charitable donation to.
In class, we will work together to answer the following questions:
– What constitutes a social problem?
– What are a few ways one can solve this social problem?
– In terms of scholarship, what have others done to study this social problem?
– How can we find this scholarship?
– How can we find what’s missing in this scholarship, in order to address the problem?
– What does a reputable charity organization consist of?
The Final Paper must consist of the following elements:
Statement of the Problem
Introduction
Goal Statement
Solution(s)
References
The charitable donation should match the number of pages for the Final Paper (e.g. 5 pages= $5).
David – this assignment sounds very interesting. I love that students have a chance to identify ways to address a social problem that is of interest to them. What types of references are students allowed to use in their paper?
I really like this assignment and how it gets learners thinking about activism tangentially. Is there a way you will make it “open” as in beyond the classroom? Will they share their research with the organizations? I don’t think it is necessary, but I have done some work like this in public speaking in the past and the organizations were really thrilled to get learner feedback and hear the presentations the learners made.
Honestly, I am excited to collaborate with my students (learners) to create a number of assignments using zines, videos, wiki entries, audio/podcasts, and incorporate Brianne’s Scholarly Material Report. For now, I will work to further develop the Position Paper assignment. This is an assignment usually tasked to those enrolled in my Corrections Writing Intensive course. Students are to complete a position paper tackling a corrections-centered issue. The current format is standard and uninspiring. The goal of the assignment is that by the end of the semester, learners will have a greater understanding of a contemporary policy and practical issue as it relates to the operation and function of corrections.
Updated assignment:
Over the course the assignment, I will continue to scaffold this assignment and ask students to submit sections of the “paper” prior to the final. However, opposed to submitting a final paper, learners will create a short 2-minute video with their voice over to illustrate the importance of the selected topic area. To supplement the video, learners will submit a short 1-page executive summary or highlights or fast facts document to highlight the major points. Essentially, with this assignment, learners are developing a marketing kit while becoming more knowledgeable about corrections. These assignments will serve as their final project.
Some envisioned components of the assignment:
Select the topic area (usually, I provide students with some guidance, as the topic should be specific to corrections, not the criminal justice system as a whole). Maybe here, the class can create guidelines on topic areas? It would be great if each student selected a unique topic. Also, opposed to submitting only a written statement indicating their topic area, students also submit an image, meme, headline, or similar item, that for them, symbolizes or embodies their selected topic. Or, should I have them work as teams on this assignment?
Engage in research on the topic area (scholarly articles and those in the public media). Again, maybe students can bring in headlines of articles, or create a pinterest board or something to highlight articles in the media of interest and start to build their arsenal for the video component.
Further develop their argument/position on the selected topic
Continue to identify supporting material and evidence to support their argument
Peer feedback
Training on video and audio voice over
Gather material for their video
Of course this assignment requires further tweaking, but these are some ideas on the direction and scope.
Shenique I love the concept of a marketing kit, and that you’re thinking of having them create a Pinterest board from the articles they would read, it’s a great incentive to actually read, and provides another way to activate other parts of their brains as they analyze and make sense of the literature. I’m actually giving mine the choice as to whether or not they want to do to work and present as a group, pair, or single – would that work for your class? Or maybe it’s seeing how they vibe, we all know every semester and every section can provide very different types of student, and group dynamics. I’m excited for your ideas!
Karl, that’s a great idea – giving them a choice to decide how they want to complete/present the project. I will integrate the choice option into the assignment. I guess that’s what open pedagogy is about, working to involve learners in components of an assignment that we would normally simply “impose” on them. Thanks so much for your feedback!
I like this, too! If you REALLY want to give them lots of choice, you might also allow them to decide on the format of their “product” – the one-pager is great (I’m glad my scholarly material assignment was useful), but this assignment is so exciting perhaps they could create a webpage or a video if they are creative types who are interested in that.
I love the idea of scaffolding the assignment and I particularly love the idea to have them each make a video to explain the importance and/or significance of their project.
I also love the Pinterest board idea. I’ve been trying to get students to use social media (mostly twitter) in my public speaking class, but the results have been inconsistent. Maybe there’s a way for them to use a more visual social media network, which they seem to be using already. Thanks for the idea!
After taking this workshop, I realized that I already incorporate open pedagogy assignments, but now I have so many more ideas. In the beginning of the semester I will be using the annotation program so that students can read the syllabus and write comments. Also I will ask them to state what learning outcomes they hope to gain as a result of taking my course.
I really loved the zene idea and plan on doing one where students can pick a criminological theory and create a zene based on it. The zene can have a few points of history about the theory, it’s application, policy implications and pros and cons on it and they can discuss each other’s zenes in groups.
I also plan on having them read more reports like the Ferguson report and the Riker’s island report and post annotations so we can discuss what they read and their comments in class. This way, I know they read the reports, we can examine as a class how these issues are impacting our criminal justice in real life and they can learn how to read government reports.
Another idea is that I want them to apply theory to create a policy. I am going to have them look at Request for Proposals for criminal justice solutions and create a short proposal using research and theory to apply for a criminal justice grant. This can help them learn how to apply all they are learning to create solutions in the real world.
I will also be incorporating free pbs frontline documentaries, field trips and social media as a way for them to engage in ongoing discussions about the criminal justice system.
Same here Liza. There’s so much we can create!
I love the field trip idea + involving social media.
Hi Liza! These sound like wonderfully engaging assignments! I was curious as to whether you had considered bringing in guest speakers or having your students’ interview professionals involved in the field.
Yes I currently have guest speakers and will continue to have them.
Liza, yes, the annotation is such a great idea to ensure students read the material and work to actually understand and digest it. I think using it for the syllabus and other important readings is excellent. I’m going to copy that! Lol. In regard to the proposal idea, I’ve had students apply for a mock grant with the NYC Mayor’s Office. It would be interesting to actually have students or even people in the field serve as a the “review” panel for the grants…maybe here, students can provide annotations on each other’s grants, similar to the “peer review” process that we know each grant is supposed to undergo. Great ideas!
This is cool! I have lots of info on zines I would be happy to share with you if you want to message me 🙂
Brianne – Please feel free to add the info on zines to the Resources section on this site. We’ll be talking about how that’s organized at Thursday’s workshop.
Responding to the syllabus! Great idea! The students get to make up one assignment in my course and this would be a great place for them to post ideas or ask questions.
I am structuring this design for all BUS 200 (Organization and Management) sections
Learning Goal:
BUS 200 covers the total structure and character of modern business from initial organization through grouping of essential functions into operating departments. Management and the decision-making process, financing, operations, and marketing considerations are studied, with actual cases used to illustrate problems in small and big businesses.
Knowledge (SLO outcomes as now in-place) and Skills:
Identify management theory concepts – Apply a strategic planning process – Define types of organizational structures – Explain how companies apply (or not) human resources management strategies – Prepare and present an analysis of an organization in distress – Participate in a corporate social responsibility experience and consider how this impacts your network and career potential.
Research – Written and Oral Communication – Teamwork – Career Planning – Networking – Critical Thinking – Critical Reading
Assignments:
#1 Management Theory: Identify- catalogue – present (PPT in class) significant historical and contemporary theories
#2 Strategic Plan: Create your career strategic plan map (what types of strategic planning processes exist today? – which one will you use and why?) and produce a self video answering three interview questions you have experienced or expect to experience on your first job interview for your dream job
#3 Volunteer – Volunteer with New York Cares – write a reflection on how this experience might impact your network and career – present at BUS 200 Career workshop
#4 Organization Analysis: Identify an organization in distress ; triage it based on management theories – organization structure – leadership principles identified in class – create a turn around plan – produce a PPT voice over – present in class – post to website (example: consider NYCHA, the White House, Facebook, Tesla, SEARS, JC Penny, GE, GM)
Excellent idea Peter. I love the proposed idea for your Bus 200 assignment especially the volunteer aspect of it. I may be contacting you in the future to collaborate if I get to the business dept. etc 🙂
Love the volunteer idea and organization analysis assignments.
Great ideas Peter! I know we discussed the interview questions in our session, I wonder if students can develop questions as to what they think should be asked of them based on the specific job? Sometimes employers ask questions unrelated to the expectations or responsibilities of the job. Also, maybe you can put a comedic spin on this – students video themselves responding “appropriately” and “inappropriately” to interview questions (2 different short videos). With this spin, students will have to truly demonstrate that they understand the expectations associated with the interview process.
One of the challenges that I have found with teaching an asynchronous online course is how to get the students engaged (with the materials, with me, with each other). This seminar has given me several assignment ideas to help facilitate creating a “community” of learners. Among other things, I plan to create several assignments around the use of the Hypothes.is web annotation tool. One such assignment is to have the students annotate some of the cases for the course. There are a number of cases that are integrated into the course text (some more interesting than others, of course). The goal of this assignment is to improve student understanding of legal discourse and the ability to think critically about the material. For example, one of the cases we cover in the course, and one of my favorites, is the Hamer v. Sidway case (and I am not just saying that it’s my favorite because it involves writing contracts while drinking whiskey!).
For this assignment, students are required to first, open Hypothes.is account. Students will are requested to make five annotations and comment on the annotations of 2-3 of their classmates. Their annotations would reflect on some of the following points:
(a) Who are the parties to the case (including any fun facts about the parties)
(b) Identify the main law, legal principles, and doctrines
(c) Draw connections between knowledge of the law from course work/discussion and the case reading
(d) place the case information in real-world situations
(e) pay attention to the writers writing style
(f) determine word meanings (try to gain an understanding of legal terminology and jargon)
(g) relate the case to your life (Ask: Have I ever been in a similar dispute or do I know of someone who has been?)
(h) Consider the significance of the case in terms of other coursework and how it promotes better awareness in future professional and personal lives
(i) Ask questions!
I like your “critical thinking assignment” idea Shawn. I currently have something similar i’m developing for another course in building a community of learners and how students can apply real world scenarios to class discussion or reading.
This is great! It’s simple, but not simplistic and engages lots of different types of skills. It also seems meaningful in that it will allow learners to engage more deeply with a text and with their peers.
As my SPE 100 “Introduction to Public Speaking” course already contains two community-based assignments for an Informative and Persuasive Speech, for the Final Project, I will work with the students to expand one of these assignments into a OER-inspired “Storycorps-styled” interview for public archiving via Storycorps or similar podcast or audio archive.
The existing assignments are:
INFORMATIVE SPEECH
Inform us of a Unique Aspect–– Person, Place, Event or Event/Ritual ––of your Community
INFORMATIVE SPEECH
Persuade Us Why A Cliché Or Stereotype About Your Community, Culture Or Country Is Not True
(Of course to prepare for the aforementioned assignments we discuss and explore the many ways to define community.)
STORYCORPS is essentially an audio archive of personal stories that are generally recorded in tandem between people who shared a poignant experience. On their website, they instruct participants to start preparation as follows: “A StoryCorps interview is 40 minutes of uninterrupted time for meaningful conversation with a friend or loved one. What are the questions you want to ask and the memories you want to preserve? No matter how well you know your storyteller, a little preparation will improve the quality of your interview enormously.”
OER-inspired SPE 100 Final Project…
I would suggest the following framework:
• Read/Speak your Community-themed Informative or Persuasive Speech to a family member, friend or neighbor
• Reflect on why this Person, Place, Event or Event/Ritual means so much to you and the community
• Reflect on what you hope future generations can take from this archival audio.
This assignment will also reinforce the value of researching and prioritizing 1st hand sources, and applying that knowledge and information to reinforce your Speech’s thesis and purpose.
I look forward to refining this assignment during Monday’s workshop. Happy weekend, all!
Alvin – this is so clear and organized already. The tweaks and additions are great, and I would love to brainstorm with you on this, which really means I’ll be asking for your permission to use it myself in future :).
Lolol.
Thank you, Karl! ! As so much of this stems from our conversations and brainstorming from last Monday’s workshop, we are already collaborators. So of course, please use our assignment. Looking forward to further brainstorming during this Monday’s session. Until then, have a wonderful weekend, Alvin
Alvin, I second Karl’s comment!!!
I third it!
Alvin, great ideas! I love StoryCorps and have been thinking about ways to integrate aspects of oral history into my courses. I wonder if you can also add a social media component to this, so students’ work continues to live on. Maybe have a short segment of the interview with an image posted on a specific course or even department social media webpage like IG?
Thank you, Shenique, for the kind words and thought-provoking suggestions…Perhaps our course websites can host a few examples…then a department of even college-wide “storycorps of our own.” See you on Monday, Alvin
This is so well thought out. I have been inspired by many of you from the last session last Monday. I love the openness of the group and how we are all evolving as educators and as learners together in this type of environment.
For open pedagogy work, I definitely plan to integrate collaborative annotations and some form of collaborative syllabus development at the beginning of the course.
I am also interested in having students interview different people in their lives and the world around (family, friends, coworkers) to create some type of video that establishes how people think about what it means to think critically
The project I am focused on developing right now has the ultimate vision of creating a repository of varied media categorized by critical issues.
Learning outcome(s) addressed:
*Students will be able to interpret readings from a text and/or story, novel and/or newspaper/magazine article using literal and critical reading comprehension skills.
*Demonstrate ability to think clearly, logically, thoroughly, critically, and effectively.
*Use analytical skills in reading, writing, oral presentations, researching, and listening.
In lieu of a research paper as is typically completed in CRT 100, students will engage in the following work:
– Identify an issue on which you would like to focus
– Select, read, and annotate (number to be determined) short texts/articles that establish the background of the issue and put forth the perspectives surrounding the issue
– Next, select from one of the following options below to examine how your issue is portrayed in the media of your choosing (all numbers are approximate)
*One longer fictional text
*Two short fictional texts
*Two to three films
*Three to five songs
*Three to five poems
*Three to five pieces of art
Students will be responsible for analyzing how their issue is portrayed in the media selected, as well as how the creator seeks to make changes within the issue. This will be done using (Voicethread or video or something that the create to publish and share) They also could work in small groups to identify how their issue is portrayed in more than one of the above areas.
This is where I am at this moment in time; it may be very different on Monday.
Thank you!
I have many ideas for open pedagogy assignments after our Thursday workshop, so thanks for all the great ideas, everyone! Here is one idea for an assignment.
One of the CRT Course learning outcomes is to “Recognize the credibility, appropriateness, and reliability of sources and biases, e.g., stereotypes and fallacies in thinking.” Students will read articles from different news sources about the same news event. Next, they will analyze their perspective/ possible bias and use hypothesis to annotate. This will lead us to a discussion on source credibility and reliability. The final product will require students to create a podcast (on Anchor or using the library’s podcast equipment) or a YouTube video which will serve as a tutorial to evaluate news sources and detect bias. I’ll ask students to share links to videos or podcasts (or attach the files) on Blackboard’s Discussion Board so that everyone in the class can hear/ see them.
Possible challenges for students: evaluating facts versus opinion and bias, and, on the technical side, creating podcasts or YouTube videos. I can support them by providing several class examples, and by supporting students throughout the process. I love that once the Fall 2019 class posts their work, I can then use it as authentic examples for future classes!
Backwards Lesson:
This is a lesson for a fully online Introduction to Literature course, which would take place during the course of a week with part of the assignment carrying over through the semester.
Learning Outcome
Students will explore and identify thematic interconnections in stories of immigration
Ideas for the Assignment
Pre-reading: (assigned the previous week)
Students will be asked to research one fact each about the Sikh religion and customs. In a “listicle” blog students will share their facts.
Reading
Students will read the short story “Montreal, 1962” by Shauna Singh Baldwin, which offers the intimate reflections of a Sikh immigrant as she washes her husband’s turbans.
Discussion Board
Questions will be twofold:
• How does the turban in the story function as a representation of the cultural/religious identity?
• What object/artifact carries similar cultural meaning for their family members and why?
Interviews
Students will prepare to conduct interviews with intergenerational family members outside the virtual classroom about an object or artifact that carries similar cultural meaning for their family members (similar to Db questions). These can be presented in video or audio format.
Preparation for this activity will include creation of open-ended interview questions based on references from the story.
Interviews will be posted so the class can view them and also share with participating family members.
Responses will be invited from others who were not part of the project, expanding the participation level yet further.
Ongoing Study
As semester continues, students will be asked to find other works of literature on the theme of immigration and contribute titles to a group collection, along with a one or two sentence description of the work.
Eva, I can’t think of a more relevant and important topic than this at a time when facts and truth are so blurred, often with deliberate intent to do so. With the Presidential debates a week away and a year of information bombardment soon to come, you are doing your students (and all us!) a great service by focusing on the importance of reliable sources and vigilant reading.
Love it! As a result of the workshop, I was moving to allow students to select their own articles (after a lesson on selecting appropriate resources) but I felt like a piece was missing from the assignment. After reading your assignment, I realized that the missing piece is the comparison aspect. I love that you’re having students compare how multiple sources address a specific topic. This seems like a really rich assignment that students will gain a lot from. I agree with you that the results will also be a great resource for your future classes.
This sounds like a great assignment. This is such a crucial skill for students to have so I think that we all should think about how to incorporate similar assignments.
Other than using the using the annotation program with the learners—so that they can read and make comments on, I would like to do peer evaluations + self-evaluations after a speech (either informative or persuasive)
LEARNING GOAL OR OUTCOME:
Evaluate evidence and arguments critically or analytically.
KNOWLEDGE:
Learners will be able to identify different types of “flaws” in a speech.
SKILLS:
Improvement of writing and analysis skills—knowing what research is sound.
ASSIGNMENT:
Learners will do a peer evaluation of another student. The learner will take notes on the presentation in class OR review the video of the speech if online.
Example questions to be included on the peer evaluation:
Why was the opening line attention-getting?
What were the speaker’s main points?
What word choices made the speech more effective?
Why was the visual aide effective (or not)?
Did the speaker use a conversational tone?
The speaker (learner) will complete a self-evaluation after reviewing a video of his/her presentation
Example questions to be included on the self-evaluation:
What feedback cues did you notice and how did you respond?
How comfortable and confident did you feel during the speech?
What was the most effective aspect of your speech? Why?
If you could do the speech over, what would you change? Why and how?
FIRST EXPOSURE:
Learners will create a a full sentence outline in class before creating one for their speech.
Instructor will provide example full sentence outline.
Lesson/PPT on how to give feedback during and after a speech (verbal/nonverbal)
CONTENT:
PowerPoint lessons, TED Talks, Outline examples provided on Blackboard or WordPress site.
ACTIVITIES:
Each student will be required to submit an outline to the learner who is evaluating his/her speech.
The outline should include an introduction, the body of the speech and the conclusion (written in full sentences) A reference list must also be included with the outline. Students will provide feedback on outline (enough details? full sentences? what’s missing?)
Hello Bethany! I love the idea of peer and self-evaluations. I was curious as to whether you considered having the students upload their recorded presentations to Voice Thread and allowing students to comment and provide feedback using that platform.
Bethany- I was thinking the same thing for my Speech class!! It is so important that they learn to peer review each other’s work.
I like identifying the flaws of the speech. I get that this is more for peer-review, but I have also always found teaching logical fallacies to be super fun (though it is also the first thing to get cut out when there are time constraints). You might consider doing something like this during persuasive speeches, too, where the focus is on identifying problems with the argument.
Assignment
This course is designed to promote citizenship and engagement in political issues, activities and events as well as improve students critical thinking and informed decision making in everyday life on issues that affect them and their communities. Students will become familiar with a framework of the various fields and topic areas in Political Science including American politics, comparative politics, international politics and political philosophy. The uninformed citizen is the easiest one for political leaders and government to take advantage of.
Assignments:
1) Class Survey on Civic Engagement: Have students design a survey on the select topic and respond to the survey to gather info on how many of the students share the same perspectives. For example, students will complete a survey on Democracy and Civic Engagement and we will share the results in class.
2) Short response essays / Observation Reports to be posted on WordPress
These series of 1 – 2 page assignments offers an opportunity for you to observe political life in around New York City through the city’s public spaces, government institutions, and citizen organizations such as the Mayor’s Office, City Hall, Borough presidents office, Community Board meetings, Courts, United Nations etc (other places of interest will be discussed). We will visit several places together (or individually) as a class to observe “real life” politics in action.
3) Individual Assignment: Have students write a paper sharing thoughts and ideas on the select topic. Others will be able to share in knowledge by contributing to the content.
4) Final Paper / Presentation: Students will be required to write a short response / reflection paper or a summary of their experiences which will include a photo presentation of their interactions with community and political leaders at the Community Board 1.
Photo presentation (or PPT) of monthly class sessions held at Community Board 1 with city officials and community board members. Students will attend a specific committee meeting of their choice to learn about their work and how they function and then report back to the class.
Other Civic Engagement assignment ideas can be as follows: reflection, critical thinking, scenario / situation analysis,
Students will become familiar with the agenda of Community Board 1 and may elect to work in a specific committee of the Board. For example, students may be placed to work on the Transportation, Youth and Education, Land use, Zoning and Economic Development, Quality of Life and Service Delivery Committees or the partner organization may select specific students to work in these various committees on a regular basis to broaden their knowledge of Community Development in the office in general. Students will gain experience on topics of interest that affect the surrounding areas of the Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Analysis: analyse the work of the office or specific committee for the month
Critical thinking: reflect on a specific meeting agenda and provide input on: the parties involved, who is responsible for implementing, following up etc
Reflection: provide a response paper insight
Presentation: create a PPT presentation on the topic
Oluremi, I’m very impressed by the real-life application of this assignment. I also love the element of choice here, which allows students to identify with issues of personal importance to them. This assignment is definitely “open,” taking students out of the classroom into the larger community as they learn about public issues and ask the question, “How can I be of help?”
Thank you Celeste for the feedback. What department are you in and how may you be of help? Thank you in advance for offering 🙂
Remi, I’m very impressed by the real-life application of this assignment. I also love the element of choice here, which allows students to identify with issues of personal importance to them. This assignment is definitely “open,” taking students out of the classroom into the larger community as they learn about public issues and ask the question, “How can I be of help?”
Hello Remi,
I love the idea of “make your own assignment”. I would love to hear what your students came up with. Hopefully, they challenged themselves and didn’t take the easy way out…LOL
I love the idea of Class Survey on Civic Engagement. Maybe they can share the survey’s also on their social medias?
I love that you include opportunities for students to observe political action ‘up close and in person’.
This past semester I incorporated a “make your own assignment” into the course structure in which students selected the weekly assignments of their choice based on guidance of select topics and reading by the instructor.
Hello Remi,
I love the idea of “make your own assignment”. I would love to hear what your students came up with. Hopefully, they challenged themselves and didn’t take the easy way out…LOL
Mostly bringing in current affairs from the news media etc and then leading discussions in class (American Government) and I am sure you know our students have a lot to talk about the current administration. I also let them choose either an individual or group paper. Some opted for the individual assignment while others opted for the group paper. Since im new at CUNY, im also trying different ways of engaging students to retain their brain span 🙂
I will update an old assignment in SPE 100 and make it into an Open Pedagogy Assignment. I would have students see a show or attend an event, and then write a review about it, record themselves presenting the review, and post it to Blackboard. In the update I would rename the assignment, maybe ‘Review Videos & Vlogs?’
In class we can have discussions centered around two topics: our favorite things to do in New York City, and our favorite people to follow on social media. We can compare and contrast ideas identifying delivery techniques and analyzing the reasons for the appeal or not. This class would get them thinking and hopeful excited about the idea of discovering areas around the five boroughs they never thought to explore.
I will then introduce the assignment idea – creating vlogs and videos. We can explore and analyze work that is already out there whether in written, video or streaming formats beginning with student suggestions. And just in case I get one of those super quiet groups, I’ll have some examples like, Time Out Magazine, or tour guide vlogs on YouTube ready to share.
We can then brainstorm: (1) ideas about their own reviews via videos, or vlogs. (2) See whether they prefer to work in groups, pairs, or by themselves. (3) Identifying key content areas that each presentation should have, (4) best practices in preparing the material, ethics in researching, and conducting interviews, (5) and overall, formulate a list of guidelines and instructions for how to proceed, execute and share for the benefit of all.
We could even stage a special screening of all the videos and vlogs, and invite key persons from the places they visited or City Hall, or NYC Parks and Recreation as guests to come and view and organize a meet and mingle reception where they could give students feedback in a relaxed/network setting.
Although most of the assignments in my classes are oral presentations, I also have students submit a written journal at the end of the semester which comprises their own assessment of their learning and experiences – I’m sure this video/vlog review assignment would factor heavily here.
The vlog is such an exciting idea! And learners can compare and contrast what makes a vlog interesting and intriguing vs. boring and drawn out. I imagine that even the meet and mingle reception will require students to use skills acquired in SPE 100, so I wonder if that somehow can be made into an aspect of an assignment? I wonder if you can institutionalize this assignment, making it like a “video yelp” for NYC-based activities, events, businesses housed at BMCC? Unsure, just throwing it out there. 🙂
Yes!!! This is great, plus it has the possibility of giving the assignment multiple components that can be done throughout the semester as the students experience a wide variety of communicative formats. Thank you!
I use discussion boards for a place to post the videos in my class.
Great idea, I was thinking of doing that too, that way everyone can see them.
I have been using open pedagogy without realizing it. In my Research in Psychology course, I let the students select topics for their papers, provide feedback on their work and the work of their peers (grade each-other assignments), provide course feedback, decide on exam dates and sometimes formats, etc.
One open pedagogy assignment that I’d like to try is having my students create multiple-choice questions for their exams. I have learned it from one of my professors. In her class we reviewed the material by creating multiple choice exam questions, and then she chose the questions that she liked and used them in the exams. She did not use all of our questions. I like this approach because it’s a fun way to review the material (this would roughly be the learning outcome), and it encourages group work. At the same time, I would still have control over the quality and the content of the questions that would appear on the exam.
I am still considering whether to come up with detailed instructions on how to write multiple choice questions or just to share a link to one of the websites providing resources for educators, e.g.: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/writing-good-multiple-choice-test-questions/. In addition, I am still searching for a resource on the types of multiple-choice questions, in terms of what types of knowledge they assess, such as definition, application etc.
I enjoyed thinking about this assignment, having realized that I never formally learned how to write multiple choice questions, even though I’ve been creating them and using them in my exams, as well as testing them for reliability and validity. I do have some background knowledge on creating psychological measures, which helps.
Hi Yana,
Having students create multiple-choice questions as a review for a test is a great idea–and then using at least some of the questions on the actual test is excellent. I’ve done something similar in my Critical Reading class–in groups students create multiple-choice questions about an assigned reading, and then other classmates answer their questions, and vice versa. It takes time for students to create good questions, but it’s worth it as it empowers them to know that they are the creators here.
And once you do it this coming semester, you can share examples with your students in future semesters–and the examples might replace instructions? Good luck!
Open Pedagogy Assignment
Kirsten Cole (Teacher Education Dept.)
I would like to adapt one of my current assignments to make it more fully reflective of my commitment to open pedagogy. I teach a course called ECE 210: Social Foundations of Early Care and Education. The final assignment for that class is called the Advocacy Project. The assignment asks the students to identify an issue in the field of ECE that needs action or change to address issues of equity or justice. (As a side note, I have observed that the students often choose a topic that they have had direct, life experience with – e.g. bullying, support for immigrant families, life in foster care – and that this tends to heighten their investment in the assignment.) We have two goals in assigning this project.
• It gives students practice at researching a topic of their choosing.
• It develops the students’ capacity to engage in activism and advocacy on an issue in order to seek the change they identify as necessary.
The assignment itself has two parts; The Advocacy Project research paper and the Advocacy Project message (AP message). The paper has several parts and including using the library to research the topic they have chosen. The AP message is the focus of my open pedagogy assignment. In the assignment guidelines for the AP message, we ask the students to craft a two minute message to raise awareness about the topic, to identify changes to policy or practice to address that issue, and to serve as a call to action for the listener. Currently students can offer the presentation as an in-class speech, an audio recording, or a video. To make this assignment more reflective of the goals of open pedagogy, I am imagining moving toward having all of my students create an audio or video piece for their AP message that would be uploaded to a class website.
I still have questions about how public to make this component of the course. On one hand, it could be powerful to have the students’ AP messages accessible to listeners outside the class. This seems more in the spirit of Open Pedagogy. Sharing their AP message with the class already makes the work more meaningful for the students when they know it will reach beyond an audience of one (the professor.) Having this assignment uploaded to a public site, also seems like a great opportunity for students in future semesters to be able to review the work of students in the past. This would allow us to review previous students’ assignments and reflect on what makes an AP message most effective. On the other hand, I feel very protective of my students, who are often sharing their perspective on an issue with which they have a personal experience. It would love help from my Open Pedagogy Seminar colleagues to think through these tensions.
Open Pedagogy Assignment -Theatre Podcast
Students will attend a live production and with a set of criteria of critical assessment tools for dramatic productions w/n the first month of classes.
Students will write a draft for a podcast of a critical review based on specific elements of theatrical production including but not limited to the production’s text, direction, design, tech aspects, acting, and so on depending on the type of production being critiqued.
Once students have written the draft, they will proof-read it, review it, and then record themselves for a class podcast on Theatre Reviews.
Students must answer the following essential questions in the pod cast:
1) Understanding: What are the artists trying to do? What was being attempted? -By the production team, the director, the design team/design of play (costumes, lights, set, sound), the playwright, & the acting. You must mention each of one of these theatrical roles when describing the attempt.
2) Effectiveness: How well did they do it? How well did the attempt succeed -By the production team, the director, the design team/design of the play (costumes, lights, set, sound), the playwright, & the acting. You must mention each of one of these theatrical roles when describing if the attempt was a success.
3) Ultimate Worth: How valuable was the experience? Was the attempt worth making? Why or why not? (This will serve as your conclusion. Should we go see the play or not?)
They must also include:
• The title of the play
• The names of the director, playwright, designers, actors, etc. (anyone you are critiquing)
• Date of when they saw the play
• Dates of the run of the play
• Short summary of the play
• Strongest performances—How, Why? (One paragraph maximum)
The Learning Objective:
To interpret critically specific aspects of a live production as an audience member.
This is usually done with a written Theatre Review but I want to take it a step further, so that class can listen to each other’s pod casts & share them with others.
I do anticipate having to create time in the course to do the following:
• Learn the technology
• Work through the draft of the podcast
• Rehearse the podcast
• Timing to schedule the recording of the podcast
• Space to share & upload all the podcasts
Examples of Podcasts to listen too:
https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/top-theatre-podcasts-2019_48757.html
https://player.fm/featured/theater
https://player.fm/podcasts/Theatre
http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-has-your-ear-8-theatre-podcasts-you-should-be-listening-to-com-345400
https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2016/10-best-theatre-podcasts-to-listen-to-in-2017/?login_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestage.co.uk%2Faccounts%2Fusers%2Fsign_up.popup
https://www.americantheatre.org/category/audio/offscript-podcast/
This is awesome! Do you think you’ll have time in the class to have students engage with each others’ podcasts somehow? That might be a fun thing for them to do.
Backwards Lesson:
This is a lesson for a fully online Introduction to Literature course, which would take place during the course of a week with part of the assignment carrying over through the semester.
Learning Outcome
Students will explore and identify thematic interconnections in stories of immigration
Ideas for the Assignment
Pre-reading: (assigned the previous week)
Students will be asked to research one fact each about the Sikh religion and customs. In a “listicle” blog students will share their facts.
Reading
Students will read the short story “Montreal, 1962” by Shauna Singh Baldwin, which offers the intimate reflections of a Sikh immigrant as she washes her husband’s turbans.
Discussion Board
Questions will be twofold:
• How does the turban in the story function as a representation of the cultural/religious identity?
• What object/artifact carries similar cultural meaning for their family members and why?
Interviews
Students will prepare to conduct interviews with intergenerational family members outside the virtual classroom about an object or artifact that carries similar cultural meaning for their family members (similar to Db questions). These can be presented in video or audio format.
Preparation for this activity will include creation of open-ended interview questions based on references from the story.
Interviews will be posted so the class can view them and also share with participating family members.
Responses will be invited from others who were not part of the project, expanding the participation level yet further.
Ongoing Study
As semester continues, students will be asked to find other works of literature on the theme of immigration and contribute titles to a group collection, along with a one or two sentence description of the work.
I love the idea of interviewing a family member. I am hoping to do a similar thing with my students. I think creating questions together, or at least discussing how to make good open-ended questions is so important. Students do often tend to create more closed yes-no type questions.
This sounds like a wonderful assignment, Celeste. It’s great that it involves interviews with family members. And the ongoing study sounds interesting too as it encourages students to find other works of literature on the assigned topic–and immigration is such a relevant theme for our students. Plus, this project could continue on and on in future semesters, and one day you’ll end up with a complete list of literature about immigration! This, in turn, could lead to an online anthology created by your students?
The learning outcome I am planning on addressing with my main assignment for the semester is: Students will explain and summarize 1) the concept of health and wellness; 2) various dimensions of health and how they interrelate with one another; 3) the dynamic process of making changes in health behaviors. In particular, I always have a public health focus and like to think about not only individual influences on health but also the social determinants of health like income, socioeconomic status, neighborhood where one lives, etc.
I will have students engage with their families/communities/neighborhoods and create a visual essay about the health of the community. I am thinking of leaving some of the aspects of the assignment up to the students – some choice and freedom may help them to own this assignment more.
I want them first to engage with a person: family member, someone in their community they know or want to know, a religious leader, etc. They will create a short questionnaire to ask this person about what they think are the most important determinants of their own health and whether they have observed any changes in the neighborhood as it relates to health in the last 5-10 years, as well as what beneficial changes they would want to see.
I will also have students take videos or photos of health-related things in the neighborhood – whichever aspect of health they want to focus on. These will be included in the final visual essay, and should also be presented to the class – it may be that I’ll run out of time to do this in class, so they will hopefully be able to upload these to the class site for their classmates to see.
Finally, they will read the Community Health Profiles that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene compiles every few years and write a short essay about this. This is the part of the assignment that I already do. “Write a 3-4 page paper describing the health of your neighborhood’s conditions and health issues, using data from the report to back up your statements. Select the most important issues facing the people living in your area. Include any actions that people or organizations can take to help combat the negative health facing your neighbors, and community resources that are already available that can help. Things to include in your paper:
1. Describe your neighborhood and social/economic conditions.
2. What are the health issues in your neighborhood? Which problem areas do you think are the most important?
3. Is your neighborhood more or less healthy than the average NYC neighborhood? Use the Community Health Profiles Atlas to answer this question.
4. What are some solutions that might address some of these negative health issues specifically in your neighborhood? Think specifically about community-level solutions, not personal health solutions.
5. What community or neighborhood resources might be useful in making your neighborhood healthier? You can find this by looking online, finding a community health center or program and talking to them, or walking around the neighborhood to see what is available (examples include STI clinics, parks, gyms, farmer’s markets and other resources). “
Yuliya, I really like the idea of students creating visual essays with the people and places in their neighborhoods. I also use the Health Profiles in my Criminal Justice and the Urban Community course, and one thing I ask students to do is consider what the report says are the most important issues, and then report whether they themselves, or others in the area, already knew about this, or whether people in the neighborhood have other ideas about health concerns. I use this to ask them to consider the contrast and/or overlap between data gathered systematically and data gathered more informally and locally; that may not be useful to you, but I think it could be interesting to link the visual essay to the written essay. Also, do they ever have the same neighborhood? Do they work together or independently? In any case, sounds like a great series of engaging assignments!
Yuliya, as I said before I love this idea! It gets the students engaged in their community and in NYC as a whole. I know that I am going to try to look into the health of my neighborhood!
Yuliya, as I said before I love this idea! It gets the students engaged in their community. I know that I am going to look into my neighborhood.
These are all terrific ideas Quentin. I would be interested to see how it goes having them create their own reading exercises. I think this is a fabulous idea! Your assignment to have groups go through the syllabus with a series of questions to answer is inspiring me to do the same in my classes. I think this would be very helpful for many of us to do.
The course I am designing this assignment for is MUS102 Principles of Music. I already teach an OER/ZTC course and am familiar with using OER in the classroom. The new idea for me is having the students/learners collaborate with me on the creation of materials. i find this intriguing and I have been inspired to create an assignment for them so that their materials can be added to a collection of similar materials and research. This assignment will be an updated, more thorough version of a class presentation that I used to include as part of my course.
LEARNING GOALS
– Identify the basic elements of music (Western music) as they exist in the music of your heritage.
– Identify structural similarities between the Western music of the past(which we study in class) and the modern music of your choosing
– Develop heightened awareness of the mechanics of music and therefore become a more aware, critical listener
OPEN PEDAGOGY ASSIGNMENT:
Students will present their research on the music of their background – the music of their ancestors. In the case that the student does not know their background the student may also choose to research the music of a culture or group that they identify with. Students will present research focussing on how the basic elements of music – beat, rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, and key – are used in a unique way by their culture. Research should include no less that 5 distinct and (hopefully) contrasting examples. I am hoping to GeoMap the different regions where they are from to keep a may on the website for students to refer to and explore. The research will be presented as a Google Slideshow with accompanying musical examples.
FIRST EXPOSURE:
-Read and study the unit on Elements of Music during the first two weeks of class. The readings and accompanying examples demonstrate what the final project should and will eventually look like. The students will create their own presentation modeled after what they are already reading and listening to.
– Pick a country or region that will be the subject of your research
ACTIVITIES:
-listen in class to a variety of musical examples and discuss how the creator/composer/performer uses the basic elements of music in their work.
-Assignment: Start collecting videos and/or sound examples on YouTube or other OER platforms. Make sure you have permission to use the sound examples (usually if you do not have to pay a fee to download they are legally shareable). Make sure that the examples clearly demonstrate the musical style(s) of your chosen country or region. Start compiling information on each example – elements, historical background, and/or cultural significance of each example.
CONTENT:
You can usually use YouTube videos. I tend to use ones with an extreme amount of hits/views as those are usually public and are shareable. For mp3 sound clips you can usually use them if you do not have to pay a fee to download. If you have to pay then they usually are not free to share and someone owns the rights to those works.
Another idea I had was to have the students do a podcast interviewing people about attending classical music concerts. I always find the papers interesting and entertaining although they are generally not well-written and often done in haste at the last minute. I would be interested to hear the students speak candidly about their concert-going experiences. I’m sure students across the campus would be able to relate as most of them have taken one section of these music courses and there is often a certain level of anxiety and/or discomfort surrounding the whole “going to a concert thing”
I’m still working through this. I see that David provides guiding questions in his assignment. I like this and may include something like that in my final version of this assignment. This is a 2-part assignment. The first part will be completed at the beginning of the semester before any content has been covered. The second part will be completed at the end of the semester and will involve a revision of the first part using a combination of resources I provide and those that students gather on their own.
Pre-work – On the first day of class, we will do introductions where students share what they know/want to know about child development. As a group, we will narrow this down to a list of 5 (?) topics/questions that student think are important to explore at this moment.
Part I – Select one of the topics/questions identified by the group. Write a 1-2 page journal entry explaining: why you think this is an important topic in child development, what you currently know about this topic (and where your information comes from), and what you want to learn about this topic.
Interim activities- As we read throughout the semester, annotate your original journal entry with information from our readings. The annotations can include information that supports or contradicts your initial comments as well as new questions that emerge.
Students will also gather open sources related to their topic and discuss in their topic groups.
Part II – Revise your initial reflection. Using the information you gathered and the assigned readings, write a brief report (in the style of APA) on this topic explaining why this topic is relevant, how it relates to child development, and what research and theory tell us about this topic.
I really like this idea, Monica, wherein you have students annotating their own work! And then also revising their work in light of insights gained over the course of the semester. I spend a lot of time annotating their writing, in WRIC courses, so I fin d it truly appealing to make use of a tool much more friendly than “track changes,” which I find somewhat cumbersome until mastered, versus the more direct commenting with (I assume here you mean to use) Hypothesis, yes?
I think yes to the Hypothesis. Initially, I was reluctant to have them initiate a new account (someone else in our session also raised that point), but I think it could be a cool tool to use here.
Thanks!
I really like this idea Monica! I think that having students annotate themselves (their own ideas/writing) is a great way to increase reflexivity and critical thinking. I also like the idea of having them do a part at the beginning of class and a part at the end, so they can look back and see how their own knowledge has developed over the semester. I do this with an article in class— we read it at the beginning and the end and they’re kind of amazed.
So for my Feature Writing class, I’ll likely apply 3 open pedagogical assignments. Here are my top two:
For one assignment, I’d like the class to create a code of ethics and journalistic standards that will govern their writing/reporting/storytelling for the semester. I’d like it be a living document that they’ll revise, correct as their learning and understanding about journalism unfolds over the semester.
For another assignment, that I imagine will be more collaborative in nature and could work semester long project, I’d like for students to select a topic/theme and generate a variety of stories related to the topic/theme. In journalism, we call this a “package”. I’d like for them to work in small teams or pairs. It should be multimedia in nature utilizing a variety of storytelling forms – podcasting, video, photography, interactive if possible (using maybe this tool – http://timeline.knightlab.com/#make) with written pieces. The end result should be a public facing document on either the class website or a newsletter. It would involve mapping and brainstorming, then collection information for backgrounding (reporting research), to simplifying into potential pieces that will apply storytelling forms (as noted earlier). I’d like for student teams, pairs, individuals, to write regular blog posts for the class website as they collect material to develop their stories.
In this way, students will engage with the following learning outcomes*:
– learn fundamental journalistic values and principles, including distinguishing fact from fiction, verifying assertions, identifying sources, and understanding journalism’s role in a democratic society
– demonstrate competence in deep listening and community engagement
– gain experience with research, observation, and interviewing
– craft leads and headlines, collect quotations, and learn that a story is more than an idea
– explore the contemporary news ecosystem: how news gets made, shared, and consumed
– cultivate an awareness of the reader experience
*via Journalism + Design initiative at The New School, which I like very much and will adapt into my syllabus. This is another Open Pedagogy Resource too – https://journalismdesign.com
I think the living document of journalism ethics is a really interesting idea. First- I love the idea of a living document and what that artifact will teach students in and of itself. That knowledge isn’t static. Second- it seems like a great way to be able to regularly return to an idea and reinforce over time it’s importance. And I wonder if it also helps address the fact that ethics have to be negotiated in that field, an ongoing relationship. Cool!
I already shared some of the assignments I use in our first session. I want to add using hypothesis to co-create the syllabus but am not yet sure how to do that – I look forward to learning. This is the scaffolded set of assignments. Students will also keep a journal throughout the course and write the final exam with me.
Steps for the Theory Presentation 10%
1.) Read the encyclopedia article on blackboard about the theory you were assigned.
Outline the theory as you understand it from this reading. Be sure to note any questions or confusion you have. Try to think of a few “real world” examples of your theory in action. Write this out in your journal and bring it to class on the designated day.
2.) Search Wikipedia for your theory (it may have a different name)
What does it say? Do you have to search for similar or related terms instead?
Click on citations hyperlinked in the references. Skim them and in your journal make note of anything you think is especially important. Keep these notes in your journal or a digital location to print and put in your journal later.
Review the talk page and the edits. Do you think we could edit this page to make it stronger? Are there related terms we might consider editing?
3.) Research your theory in the BMCC library and databases:
Search for textbooks that use your theory. Read these sections and compare them. Take notes in your journal.
Search for scholarly articles that use the theory. Make note of anything particularly useful. Note all citations in your journal or keep them in a digital location to print and put in your journal later.
4.) Put together your handout. It should print on one page of paper. That means it can be a single side or a double side. You can format it however you like, but try to use some images in addition to text. Your handout should:
Explain the theory you were assigned and its development by referencing the encyclopedia article.
Note at least one scholar associated with the theory and their contributions.
Provide a list of citations one might use to learn more about the theory — you may describe these sources in a sentence or two.
Include at least two “real world” applications of your theory. These can be hypothetical scenarios, examples from media texts, or historical examples.
5.) Prepare a 5-minute presentation – You are welcome to use media in your presentation, though it is not required and can’t take more than 2 minutes of your presentation. If you do not do a multimedia presentation, bring copies of your handout for the class.
6.) Upload your handout to blackboard.
7.) Come to class prepared to deliver your presentation.
Wikipedia Project – 35% of the final grade
This semester we will be lucky to work with representatives of Wikimedia NYC to edit and/or articles about gender and communication for Wikipedia. We will have workshops with them throughout the course and a day to share our work with them toward the end of the semester. I will ask you to keep track of your work in the course journal. You will be primarily graded on the work you do toward the final product.
THE PROCESS: Based on the work you do on your theory presentations, several theories that offer potential for Wikipedia edits will be chosen. You will be put into theory groups, which may differ from the theory presentations you did, to identify edits you would like to make and find sources to support those edits. EACH person in the group should identify a MINIMUM of one source and one edit and then make that edit in their Wikipedia account. You are encouraged to make more than one edit. You will need to paraphrase the source you are using to make your edit — you cannot just quote it directly. You will also need to keep the five pillars of Wikipedia in mind in order to make your edits successful. As always, track all of your work in your course journal.
ASSESSMENT: Because Wikipedia is a community and we can’t guarantee what edits will stick, you will be graded on your work during and reflection on the process. This reflection will take the form of a TWO MINUTE video. We will have a week in class for you to learn basic video editing in the free, cloud-based program WeVideo. Your video must include:
One minute
*A title image that includes the Wikipedia user name you used to make your edits
*A series of screenshots OR a screen capture of the edit(s) you made.
*Audio or video recording explaining your edit(s) and the process you used to identify and make them.
One minute
*A video reflection of you speaking about what you learned doing this project. Be sure you address:
How your ideas about Wikipedia have changed.
How you came to understand your assigned theory/theories through the project.
What you learned about gender and communication through the project
For my open pedagogy assignment in my online SOC 100 courses next fall I will be adjusting the assignment they already do, to incorporate images, and to publish it on our course site, so that it is zine-ish.
The current assignment is to write a final reflection essay that analyzes how they use the sociological imagination in three previously written blog posts. (They might be able to do something more visual – almost annotative with their analysis – in the final version)
At the beginning of the semester we read chapter 1 of The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills (1959) and respond to reading questions and share one of those answers (an application question) to the blog or discussion board. They read it again at the end of the semester and redo the questions on the same document so they and I can see their improved understanding of it.
During the semester they have blogged mini-essays making connections between sociological concepts of culture, interaction, class, race/ethnicity, gender and sexuality. For the final essay I give the following instructions:
• It should include an introduction explaining what it means to have a sociological imagination. (200 words)
• It should include the original 3 blog posts, corrected for spelling/grammar, revised and expanded for improvement.
• It should end with a long conclusion in which you discuss how your blogs give evidence of you having a sociological imagination, and explain how your sociological imagination has improved over the semester. (450 words)
I need to decide if I want them to incorporate images when they first do the blog posts, or later at the end. I’d like to show them examples of zines. Does the BMCC Library have online links? I found some zines in the database but not online. Is a zine by definition pre-internet? I think so, but it seems people are keeping the ‘self-published’/cut and paste ethos and bringing that online too…
https://simmons.libguides.com/zines/findzines
https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-make-a-zine/
Reflection: I’m thinking about the relationship between the product and the process, and the product and the learning outcomes … If you decide to have students make a zine, the product becomes more important. And this is something I’m resisting about what we have read on open pedagogy so far – the emphasis on product. As if the process of learning and writing itself isn’t valuable enough. I don’t believe it is a waste to write something that is never presented to the public, or never used in some capacity. And if what students are creating is a new textbook, I question the value of that product in particular.
I agree with your comments/concerns about an emphasis on product.
I like the idea of coming back to work they did at the beginning of the semester. I’m trying something similar. I think this is one way to solve the issue of the disposable assignments. Although end product is not for a broader public audience, there is something valuable in reflecting on and revising your work. It seems they get to do that with your assignment. I also like that the assignment allows students to explore issues of race/ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and social class, and that students will be able to include visual images with their written work. I would love to see what students develop.
You are raising a really interesting point regarding the process vs. product. This is something to chew on, for sure.
What if the zines your students make become readings for your future students? They could be scanned and uploaded to your course web site and if there are enough copies, distributed to future students.
Additionally, you could just place them all around BMCC – various tables and public locations– a wild posting campaign. Depends, of course, on the content of the zines and the intended audience of the zines. If your students are tasked with making zines every semester, what a marvelous repository you’d have within just a few semesters!
I am working on revising an assignment in CRJ 204: Criminal Justice and the Urban Community; the heart of the course for me lies in highlighting “the intersections of deviant behavior and the criminal justice system within the structures of class, race, gender, and power inequalities.” We look to existing qualitative and quantitative portraits of New York City and its neighborhoods to gain understanding about the terrain of, tenacity of, and struggle to alter these inequalities, and then I ask students to develop their own interpretation of a neighborhood of their choosing, comparing it to NYC as a whole. We also problematize “criminal justice,” and critically examine its impact on different neighborhoods.
A neighborhood research assignment is central to the course, and focused on the course learning goal, “to give students an understanding of the special characteristics of urban settings that affect crime and justice.” The scaffolded project requires that students become experts about a New York City neighborhood (usually the one in which they live) over the semester. The process includes developing skill at understanding and analyzing secondary data sources about the area (publicly-available data, including the American Community Survey and the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods report, published annually by the NYU Furman Center), developing skill at original data collection by doing systematic observations of the area, and developing skill at writing the story of their neighborhood, including some history, as well as how the place is understood today.
We already rely on Wikipedia for them to get the first introduction to the public face of the area (“if someone who has never been to your neighborhood Googled it, this might be the first thing they would see”). We have found that the Wikipedia articles vary widely in terms of their resonance with students’ own views of their neighborhoods. I don’t know if I am ready to have them editing the articles, but I am definitely ready to have them annotate the Wikipedia articles about their neighborhoods. It could be interesting to have the annotations available on our course site so anyone searching for the neighborhood could find it (although I don’t know how far down the list such a site would be in search results : ).
I am still working this out, but I think it could be useful to change what I have asked of them in the past: to write a summary and history of the area using at least three sources, to instead ask that each of them annotates the article about their neighborhood. The only challenge is that it does sometimes happen that a neighborhood is not included in Wikipedia. This would be a great opportunity for them to write their own article, but that doesn’t seem fair, and too complicated for me to figure out how to grade. It’s late. I am a little tired. I will work on this some more before Thursday, but also really want some feedback.
If creating a Wikipage seems too daunting now, could you just have them do a draft of what they might put on a page (maybe 2 paragraphs with recommendations of what should appear)? That doesn’t solve the problem of grading criteria but grading 2 paragraphs is lighter than grading a paper so that’s a start?!
A Wikipedia page can be created with very little content to start with, so I don’t necessarily think it would be unfair to have some students start their own article. In fact, I think sometimes it might be easier to start the new article than to find things to edit in an already existing one. I love the idea of annotating the page, but that might be a step that isn’t necessary – they could just make edits and you could track them since you can view the page history. In some ways that annotation is already built into Wikipedia. But it would be a different experience using hypothesis. Great ideas, Michelle!
Michelle:
I love the idea of students revising Wikipedia entries about their own neighborhoods. Yes, I agree that it could get complicated if a student’s neighborhood is not listed–but, of course, an amazing opportunity for students to then create their own entry. Perhaps you give them options: if your neighborhood isn’t listed, you can create your own listing or edit one for a neighborhood that you’re familiar with (work in, visit a lot, used to live in, etc)? Also, you could give them options to work on groups if they want to write about the same neighborhood. Anyway, this sounds great.
Create a guided tour of New York City by choosing various art/architecture found in the city and write a five-minute explanation of its historical significance. Each student will choose a single work found in a public space in New York city for their project. They will research its history and how it came to be located in that specific place. Future students will not be allowed to repeat the monuments that have already been covered (unless it is another distinct and compelling aspect of a monument). There will be an initial sharing assignment in class for students to introduce their topics and then a final presentation where we will go visit that monument and have the student give the guided tour in front of the actual object/building.
Yan, this seems like a really cool activity ! I would love to do this as a student, and it gives them a chance to actually explore the city. I think that our particular student body might not actually have the chance to do this often due to various things like school, work, family life, etc. Very cool!
Have you thought of having your students record their “tours” as short podcasts?
I would like to eventually upload them onto the class website using a map, so students will know which sites/monuments have been covered. Podcasts would be a possibility, as long as I become familiar with the technology to make it happen! Going along with it, I will have students annotate examples of various art historical writings so they know what their own tours should include.
DId you know the NYC parks dept has a list of all the monuments? I have students look at public art in nyc, and they have to make a distinction between monuments and art for my class.
I plan on using at least two open pedagogy assignments in my Composition class.
One assignment: I would like to use open pedagogy to model annotation. First exposure to this could be simply annotating a hard copy of the syllabus. Second exposure to annotation is for students to all annotate the same reading for homework using hypothe.sis.
However, as I wander around online to various sites, I see that hypothe.sis does not appear on some sites, so I need to spend more time teaching myself the platform…. For example, an article on the New Yorker’s web site was not functional with hypothe.sis.
Once this article is annotated, we will look together at the various question, notes, ideas, and comments students have. Based on this in-class discussion and response to the online comments, we will look for the next article that we will read, which we will also annotate using hypothe.sis.
Learning goals: critically analyze readings, extract key terms from ta text, mine for evidence, critical thinking
I really like this Amy! I think I might also use this type of annotation in my class, and I do hope that it will help with in-class discussions!
I hope so too! It should also help students to identify and respond to important passages.
During the first session, I came up with two separate assignments that–now that I think about it–might work well as one assignment. For English 201 I like to pair a piece of classic literature with a current piece of pop culture and have them analyze them. I normally have them read “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka and watch an episode of the show Black Mirror called “Nosedive.” (I won’t go into the contents of the episode, but suffice it to say that it is very much a modern-day Kafkaesque nightmare)
The students get really excited for this assignment, but they find it hard to actually articulate their ideas on paper. When they discuss their ideas out loud they have no problem, however. So, as the second part of this assignment, I would like to have them create a podcast in which they discuss both Kafka and “Nosedive” together and the connections they see. This podcast can act as a precursor to their final draft. They can discuss their ideas out loud and in a sense they are brainstorming as well.
Hi everyone. I’m posting late, I know. Apologies. I’ve been working on OER for a few semesters now and I’ve gotten to the point where I have radically changed the way I grade (the number of assignments completed at an adequate level determines their grade) and have used the blog to explain what I’m doing and why.
I’ve gotten the students to read the blog by allowing their comments (minimum of 4) to make up for absences. But this always happens at the end of the semester when their in panic mode. I want them to read my blog early in the semester so they understand what I’m doing and also start to critically analyze our pedagogical decisions. This reflection on teaching and learning is really important I think.
I also don’t have that much more to say on my blog about what I’m doing (although I do need to talk a little more about particular assignments and final grades). So I’d like to kind of hand over the blog to the students in some way.
I’m trying to figure out how to do this and how it would be attached to their final grade. I also like the idea of using social media more, especially as that is a crucial public communication venue and honestly, very few people are reading my blog, so I’m not sure how much public exposure that would offer.
As you can see, I’m still in the brainstorming phase of figuring out my next move. I really appreciate reading others’ ideas.
This assignment will focus on using backward design to amplifying the learning objectives in an introductory course in criminal justice. I will provide the framework, and the students will search BMCC Library for appropriate content, post in a blog and provide a reflection.
In preparation for the student research, I will teach the students how to annotate the syllabus. Annotation will help students to think critically and more deeply as they search for articles. Student/learners will be assigned different outcomes to research scholarly articles that support the outcome. I would like to put the students to groups to promote collaboration.
Once the articles are assembled, students will post the their activity to a blog, explaining why they chose the articles and reflecting on how the articles related to their own life experiences. Some of those experiences may be related to the criminal justice system.
Sorry for delay/Posted in the wrong place
Learning Goals:
To identify key terms and ideas that are important for learning about literature. The goal in this assignment more specifically is for students to work together to come up with a kind of glossary or dictionary of ideas/words that are fundamental in discussing and interpreting literary texts. Students can also go further and for each text/reading assigned, find examples of particular literary terms.
Students will be able to have a clear understanding of the concepts that they will be asked to discuss, explore, and write about in their study of literature. This is also something that students can do cumulatively—the idea here would be to ask students to add to this “class dictionary” as we move throughout different kinds of texts/literary works. This also would incorporate close reading skills and how to use citation among other things.
Skills gained: skills gained through this would be the capacity to identify essential ideas and terms that help interpretation and understanding of texts/readings. Students would be encouraged to work together so this too is an invaluable skill—the capacity to collaborate. This project involves synthesis as well and could even entail creatively working with these terms—students could be asked to write their own strategies for reading for example or other tips for how to approach certain texts or ideas making use of these words/identified words. Interpretive skills, quotation, summary, close reading, and other writing/rhetorical skills might are all a part of this ongoing collaborative work.
Students will learn about terms that are helpful to know or employ for each text that we read. For example, we could read a short story such as Le Guin’s “The Ones who Walk away from Omelas” and talk about symbolism, metaphor, tone, narration, narrator, plot, setting, genre, etc. Students could be asked to define and explore the importance of these terms in the text and together organize these terms in the class dictionary/glossary. They could then continue to add more terms when we read other texts or types of literature. For example, when we are discussing poetry, students could add the three major categories of poetry—epic, dramatic, and lyric, as well as other terms such as end rhyme, iambic pentameter, alliteration, repetition, etc. This lesson/project might have begun with defining literature itself earlier in the semester and the different types of literature one might encounter. So, as the class progresses, we can continue to build or add on to this class dictionary/glossary. For every text assigned in the class, students could be asked to find at least one concept, term, or word that they might want to add to this class dictionary/glossary. This could even be lists of words/vocabulary that they see in the texts themselves. Students can also be asked to post under or in these categories that they had already defined. For example, in each text we read, students might find examples of metaphor, might describe the kind of narrator (first person, third person, etc.), the tone, etc. So, together as a class, students could be asked to find textual examples of terms/concepts that they had previously listed and explained/posted on the course site. Each student can be assigned a particular term to discuss per text or this might be done through group work.
In terms of materials, this ongoing assignment can make use of all and any texts in the public domain or linked through the library. What also could be added to this to extend it even further, is for students to research articles about particular texts and link these to their comments/definitions—a research component could therefore be incorporated.