Teaching Journal VIII

Week 8

The goals for this week were to continue working on Project 2 and for the students to have a second stab at peer reviewing. Some students voiced disappointment with the first round of peer reviews, so another goal was to have the students take this step of the revision process seriously.

       Monday and Wednesday both were computer lab days, and were essentially a continuation of Friday. All groups by Monday had arguments (or were very near having an argument) so these lab days focused on revising their storyboards and improving their visual designs. I didn't make them respond to the writing for the web handouts, but I asked that they read them. For their peer review, they were asked to provide significant feedback on the visual aspect, so they do need to be familiar with those readings.
       On Wednesday I had planned to spend some time determining how well each group was collaborating, but I changed that part of the lesson plan. Again I went around to each group and addressed their concerns. By Wednesday, they were a bit more worried about getting everything done in time, so I'm glad I didn't try to push in anything else. Also, because POTUS was in town, it sort of indirectly affected some of the groups. For instance, one group had planned on doing Court Street Interviews after our class on Wednesday, but couldn't because one needed to get in line and the other wanted to avoid the chaos. I thought Wednesday was a useful day, soI I'm grateful I didn't have to cancel class like some other TAs.
       Friday we were back in the classroom. I first had students do a free write that served as a reflection over project 2. It was here that I asked them how well they thought collaboration worked. Answers varied. I think next semester, I will emphasize that students need to be self-motivated if one of their group members isn't pulling their weight; they cannot just wait until the last minute and rely on me to fix the problem, they need to be proactive because it is a group "grade." Also for next time, I think I will stick to even smaller groups--as in mostly pairs and maybe 1 or two of three. I think this will solve some of the issues of meeting outside of class.
       I also spent a big chunk of time on Friday explaining the peer review process. I made it more complicated than I had originally intended by assigning each group member within a single group to a different project. I also made them fill out a detailed questionnaire as well as compose a response letter to their peer. They have a lot of homework due for Monday, but I they need to take the peer review process seriously. After I explained the peer reviews, we workshopped Daniel, Jennifer, Carrie Ann, and Renee's project. I showed them an example of a cover letter for this project, as well as my own peer review of this website. This workshop went really well, definitely better than the workshop for Project 1, which was logistically difficult and unsuccessful. I didn't get to introduce Project 3 so will do so first thing Monday.

All in all, this was a good week; no class period went badly or less than I expected. Project 2 went so fast, I can't believe it's over. Project 3 also has a short time frame. I also always struggle with introducing a new project while one is still ongoing. I fear they will become overwhelmed, but I guess our schedule requires that overlap.