So, amid all this stuff (cutbacks and much, much worse), are you ready for another year?
I think I am, despite what I'm hearing and seeing.
1. The AI train has truly left the station. From what I see around the news and at r/professors, there's kind of an arms race going on with professors trying to prevent AI use (white text, anyone?) and students keeping one step ahead of them. If you have an in-person class, the blue book solution is staring you in the face, but aside from that, we just have to figure it out, I guess.
2. Speaking of an in-person class, I'm excited to teach a course in the literature of a previous century that I haven't taught for a while. In addition to having them write drafts and exams in class, I am devising hands-on activities so that they can really experience reading & writing back then. Think about these:
(1) library scavenger hunts in regular and closed stacks for copies of the magazines and books that they're reading;
(2) bringing in copies of the original manuscripts so that they can see and decipher what it looked like when it went to the printer;
(3) bringing in some stick (dip) pens, paper, and ink so that they can try their hand at writing sans electronic technology. Maybe they could try their hand at crossed writing? At writing in the style and with the method (pen & ink) of an author? We'll see how it goes.
3. Worried about whether the course will have enough students to run? I'm concerned about this, but admin doesn't seem to be, so as my mother used to say (she said it was from George Washington, though I doubt it): "Worry is the interest you get when you borrow trouble." If they give me a little notice, I'm game to teach (though with varying degrees of aptitude) anything except Chaucer or linguistics, so I won't worry about it.
4. What's concerning you this year besides the obvious?
Edited to add: Anne and Gwinne, your comments are there now; sorry for the delay!
3 comments:
I love the hands-on activities, especially anything that gets students into the library. I've always enjoyed taking students to Special Collections so they can see manuscripts up close and get a taste of the amazing resources available to them. They enjoy trying to decipher unfamiliar handwriting styles. Students sometimes feel that Special Collections is reserved for special people, but I emphasize that the collection exists for all of us. Giving them permission to walk through the door is half the battle.
Bev--absolutely! We'll be going to Special Collections as part of the class, too. What you say is so right: they think that space is not for them, but it is!
I feel a bit vindicated. My department has gone off the deep end with many courses taught as flipped classroom and all electronic assessments, and students are using ChatGPT and hacking into the assessments. While I'd used electronic upload for years before it became mainstream, I never moved to anything other than in-class, paper exams. One colleague was gently mocking me for my stack of printed tests, but I will be the last to laugh. Paper exams FTW!
Btw, I'm not ready for the new semester to start. The summer has been anything but restful. I think retirement might be the only way for me to truly rest. Alas, I have another 15 years or so. 😫
Post a Comment