More on Assignments
2. Exams (30%). This is where I hit my students hard about reading the textbook and attending lecture. I want my students to learn the material that they are to debate and discuss. The first half of the exam is straightforward multiple choice questions and True-False assessments. These questions often ask for direct answers about who authored which documents from Major Problems or when events occurred. The second half comes directly from Hist. Each chapter of Schultz’s textbook has a section titled “the causes why.” Students are asked directly to address one of those sections and to provide evidence for each “cause”. I find the A students clearly differentiate themselves here from the B, C, and D students (the E students rarely show up). Sure, my exams encourage rote memorization. And sure, that’s boring and probably they’ll forget much it the following weekend at a frat party. But I still think it helps to know for oneself (without having to “google it”) that there were black Congressmen during Reconstruction, that Woodrow Wilson was president during WWI, and that Native Americans, feminists, white college students, and a host of others pursued civil rights during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s too.
3. Participation (10%): This is where my grading has often fallen apart. My students have told me they know if participation is really a surrogate for attendance or just the ultra-subjective feeling of the professor. In the past, I tried to assess it based on attendance, how many times a student spoke in class, what they said, and if they worked in small groups.
To be blunt, this turned out to be all bunk. I hated taking attendance, because then I had to deal with absences. I have too many students to worry about who’s grandmother died this time. Also, I could hardly ever remember who participated well and who did not. Furthermore, shouldn’t active listening be a part of participation? But how could I assess that? Participation usually turned out to be who I felt positively about and who irritated the hell out of me.
Now, I’m going to use this blog to assess participation. I’m having students comment on this blog each week with what documents they liked, didn’t, and why. This will force them to be active, to engage the material, and to present their thoughts in public. Sure, it won’t be dynamic (I’m not going to ask them to respond to others … although I may do that in the future). But at least I and we can get a sense from them what worked for them to understand the material and engage their interests.4. Finally we’ll have website creation (10%). I saw the Social Network movie and thought it was hilarious. All this drama about “friends” and “pokes.” I think Facebook pages are a total waste of time. Unless a friend is posting pictures of her or his baby, I don’t really care who went to see Harry Potter or why no one wants to date you (probably because you are complaining online about no one wanting to date you). But Facebook is awesome for easy website creation, and my assignment asks students to use it to create a page of historical background for a contemporary political figure, film, event, law, or television show (such as Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, “don’t ask, don’t tell,” Inception, Glee, or California’s Proposition 8).
This assignment lets me get students thinking about the present in terms of what we’ve done in class, and that’s how I hope they’ll live their lives after we’re done. More on this later.
On Wednesday, I’ll post the notes for my first day/week of class – how I lecture on the United States then (1860s) and now (2010s … as if you weren’t aware of when ‘now’ was :).
I, too, have struggled with objective exams. What is the point of exams if they are just rote memorization? Doesn’t this make the exam an arbitrary hoop to jump through? Couldn’t we demand that they memorize anything just to pass the test? A number of years ago I came across a phrase by Grant Wiggins who said students should be viewed as “thoughtful workers”. A worker is given a task, told how to do it, and then turned loose to do the work. To that end, I now have detailed study guides to help my students find their way through the maze of “one damn thing after another”. In the past I allowed my students to develop a page of hand written notes to use on the exam. This forced them to work toward an understanding of the material that extends beyond memorization. I have now shifted my objective questions from my exams to my reading quizzes. For each chapter I give the students a study guide. From this study guide I devise a dozen or so questions that are administered on our campus software (Jenzebar) BEFORE class. The student is forced to read before coming to class, class time is not wasted with quizzes, grading is done automatically (if objective questions), and I have a more informed audience for my lectures. What I have to learn now, is how to talk less and discuss more.
The questions before class are great, and we can do those on blackboard here. I used to make study guides, but determined that that is one of the skills students should have developed (or need to develop fast) on their own. I have an entire section in my syllabus (will post later) basically titled ‘learn to figure things out for yourself.’ I’m not trying to be cold or mean – just trying to encourage students to think for themselves (I used to get emails all the time about what certain words meant … and the thought of consulting a dictionary never even crossed my students’ minds).
What do you do for students who have not been taught to think for themselves? I teach at a community college and my classroom is a mix of trade students who have to take one history class to fulfill and elective, nontraditionals who want to succeed but are many years out of high school, and traditionals, some of whom can and will learn to think for themselves and some who don’t want to put in the effort. Many of my students are enrolled in technical programs where they learn by doing. My study guides are a model of textbook analysis and essay writing that they can use as models for doing. Most will take their AAS and go to work, never darkening the doorstep of a university. Those who do move on will know what to do and how, even though I have led them every step of the way. Unfortunately, our high schools do not make every student college ready, and that is where I have to step in. In some ways what I have infused remedial education into my history courses, allowing students to succeed, with effort, regardless of their college readiness. That, I guess, is part of the mission of the community college. Take students where they are and help them get to their educational destiny.
It is a lot of work for them and for me, but most appreciate the help.
Really great points, and I think it speaks to how every institution and classroom situation is different. Here is the list of what I expect from my students in my syllabus:
Some Classroom Rules:
• Reading assignments should be done for the day they are listed on the syllabus. Come to class prepared to engage that material.
• All material presented during class can be used in assignments or be tested on. Professor Blum will discuss superheroes like Spiderman. That is testable material.
• During lectures, save questions for times when Professor Blum asks if there are any questions or note down your questions and email them to him. Professor Blum cares deeply about your questions, but there is not enough time to discuss and address them all in the class. Also, sometimes questions interrupt the flow of a lecture or the main point and thus detract from the overall classroom experience.
• Turn your cell phones off and do not text during class. It doesn’t bother me, but it’s distracting to other people. (Susie can wait to know the guy next to you is really cute)
• If you have a laptop, use it for class, not for checking facebook, sending email, playing games, watching Youtube, or anything else not class related. Again, I don’t care, but those around you may want to concentrate.
• Do not ask Professor Blum to explain assignments or the syllabus until you have thoroughly read the assignment or the syllabus. Professor Blum refuses to address questions that are clearly answered in the material he has prepared for the class.
• Learn to figure things out for yourself. If you do not know the meaning of a word or a phrase, look it up. If you need help at the library, go to the library. If you missed a class, get notes from a colleague. Professor Blum will not share his notes with you. If you need to improve your writing, contact the writing center. Professor Blum is here to teach you United States history and historical analysis, not hold your hand and slow down the class for your particular issue.
• If you are late to class, be quiet and respectful when you enter. Do not make a production of it or draw any more attention to yourself.
• Professor Blum is a fun and happy guy; he’ll tell you if he’s upset with the class; he’ll tell you if you’re doing well. Enjoy him because he will definitely enjoy your presence in the class and what you uniquely offer to it! Keep a tally of how many times he says “Hooray!” and you’ll find that he’s got a good heart inside somewhere.
• If you do not abide by these rules, Professor Blum will get and act pissy and it will be uncomfortable for all of us. (Professor Blum is basically like The Office’s Michael Scott. He makes odd jokes; he’s strangely loyal to the strangest things; and he’s oversensitive)