Hi All,
I am totally revamping my Health, Illness, and the Body course this term
as I want to try using monographs for the first time as opposed to a
reader. (Some sections will be based on journal articles.)
At this moment (and things can change), I plan to start with The Spirit
Catches You and You Fall Down and I’ll probably end with Mountains
Beyond Mountains (since it’s a real “hope giver”). In between, who
knows? I’ve read so many great books. I'm considering, among many:
Imagining Robert: My Brother, Madness and Survival: A Memoir
Mama Might Be Better Off Dead
Great Influenza
Pathologies of Power…among others)
The Body Silent
What books worked best for you?
Also, what do you find reasonable in terms of the amount of pages per
week for an upper division course? (Our majors are quite good and hard
workers.) We meet once a week for 2.5 hours. I would think I could ask
for 200-300 pgs a week.
Andi
--------------
Every object, every being,
Is a jar of delight.
Be a connoisseur.
~Rumi~
Life is raw material. We are artisans. We can sculpt our existence into
something beautiful, or debase it into ugliness. It's in our hands.
~Cathy Better~
Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which
matter least.
~Johann von Goethe~
Dr. Andi Stepnick
Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology
300-C Wheeler Humanities Building
Belmont University
Nashville TN 37212-3757
Direct Line: (615) 460-6249
Office Manager: (615) 460-5505
Sociology Fax: (615) 460-6997
----- Original Message -----
From: Del Thomas Ph D <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Monday, July 17, 2006 1:05 pm
Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: In-class discussion vs. WebCT?
> Andi,
>
> There seems to be a set of basic complaints about on line
> work......
> from many different quarters.
> Several lists have been swamped with complaints of too much
> email....
> also some students will reject
> or be offended by academia barging in on or taking over
> their place/medium..... it is not rational......I gave up trying
> to
> understand it.
> Then there is always the elephant stepped on my note book.... hard
> drive.... monitor......
>
> We are after all dealing with creative teens....
>
> You may want to consider the following collaborative learning model
>
> While most of the material/content in sociology is abstract random
> it
> is presented
> in linear form....single threaded so to speak...divide the class
> into
> groups...working simultaneously
> on different threads ......and sharing in class....and out of class
> via
> a list... this replicates the way the brain works
> and the way we need to think.........
>
> Each group can process a different and yet related topic....with
> individuals producing individual portfolios
> You may or may not want to tie it all together.... One class made
> a
> movie....frequent rewrites produced adaptive learning
> and abstract random thinking......
>
> Also the presence of a product...ownership was important..... be
> for
> warned other faculty may complain that
> students are spending too much time on your course....or even worse
> bring in connections from sociology to
> other courses. Life is risky. :-)
>
> Del
>
> Andi Stepnick wrote:
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > Over the last five years, in my Intro Soc classes, I’ve gotten
> rid of my
> > of my paper assignments (except one in my course linked with
> biology).
> > Instead, I’ve had students do online discussion posting in WebCT
> two> times a week. I like WebCT for many reasons (e.g., it
> requires some
> > constancy in working with the material, it allows students to
> apply Soc
> > ideas to real world situations, it provides an opportunity for
> them to
> > hear alternate points of view, provides me with a way to give
> feedback> for all to hear, can be fun).
> >
> > Although it seems that students are online (e.g., facebook, myspace)
> > **all the time,** twice weekly WebCT posts seems like too much
> for many
> > of them. (Or maybe that's just standard complaining about
> "work.) I
> > understand. It can be scary…coming up with ideas for all to see,
> > declaring an opinion, using sociological ideas, and whatnot.
> Similarly,> reading/responding to students posts requires constancy
> on my part that
> > reading a slew of papers at the end of the term does not. (I still
> > review their online portfolios at the end, but briefly.)
> >
> > But WebCT seems *so much better* for them than papers in many
> regards> (e.g., writing skills). So, I’ve kept with it. However, the
> > complaining is wearing me down and I’ve pondered getting rid of
> it this
> > term. (Not to cater to complainers but to be a better guardian
> of my
> > own time.)
> >
> > I may go back to papers (possibly group papers to encourage
> dialogue and
> > reduce grading time). I’m also considering using my online
> discussion> questions in class and adding a larger discussion
> component.
> >
> > Currently, I do some lecture/concept review along with some class
> > discussion (and films, activities, etc). Students say the
> amount of
> > lecture we do now is just right…it confirms if they do/don’t
> understand> concepts, etc. (Sometimes my cynical side wonders if
> they are just not
> > working with the concepts enough on their own.)
> >
> > Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions?
> >
> > Is adding more small group discussion worth cutting lecture? If
> so, how
> > do you ensure students work with concepts on their own time? Do
> you> give quizzes or homework? Would the time tradeoff be worth
> it? (That
> > is, giving up online discussion for grading HW, esp since I've
> already> got the WebCT stuff together.)
> >
> > If I do group discussion, would you suggest keeping discussion
> groups> the same throughout the semester or mixing them up? Should
> they have to
> > turn in a written response to help keep them on task? Should
> students> grade their own participation and that of their group
> members? Or,
> > should they simply get credit for doing it (which would
> certainly be
> > easier on me).
> >
> > Part of me hates the idea getting rid of WebCT but I think it
> might be
> > good to try something new.
> >
> > Thoughts? Ideas? Time saving tips?
> >
> > Thanks, everyone. :-)
> >
> > Andi
> >
> > PS: I would note that our online registration system notes that
> WebCT is
> > required and students certainly talk to one another. So, it’s
> not a big
> > surprise or anything.
> >
> >
> > Andi
> > --------------
> > Every object, every being,
> > Is a jar of delight.
> > Be a connoisseur.
> > ~Rumi~
> >
> > Life is raw material. We are artisans. We can sculpt our
> existence into
> > something beautiful, or debase it into ugliness. It's in our hands.
> > ~Cathy Better~
> >
> > Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things
> which> matter least.
> > ~Johann von Goethe~
> >
> >
> > Dr. Andi Stepnick
> > Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology
> > 300-C Wheeler Humanities Building
> > Belmont University
> > Nashville TN 37212-3757
> >
> > Direct Line: (615) 460-6249
> > Office Manager: (615) 460-5505
> > Sociology Fax: (615) 460-6997
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Marty Schwartz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Date: Sunday, July 16, 2006 9:25 pm
> > Subject: TEACHSOC: help, please
> >
> >
> >> Hi -- for reasons I don't completely understand (I thought you
> got
> >> immunity
> >> from new preps after 30 years!), I will be teaching a senior
> >> seminar next
> >> year on criminal justice and morality (in other words, should
> these
> >> things
> >> be against the law). We will be using a text that covers drugs,
> >> prostitution, abortion, pornography, homosexuality and gambling.
> I
> >> like to
> >> have students present at least two sides of issues, and then
> have a
> >> class
> >> debate. Probably I will direct the abortion debate to stem cell
> >> theory
> >> research, and use queer theory heavily to avoid the
> homosexuality
> >> and
> >> deviance quagmire. If anyone has seen any good articles, short
> >> cheap
> >> books, videos, class exercises, fuzzy dice or whatever, please
> let
> >> me know.
> >> Has anyone used the video Southern Comfort? Perhaps I could do
> sex
> >> trafficking, but I'd have to see who is in the class -- I did a
> >> lot on it
> >> in my violence against women class last year.
> >> I'm sure you could post any answers, but private
> >> suggestions to
> >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] would be just as appreciated. Thanks in advance.
> >>
> >> Marty
> >>
> >> Martin D. Schwartz
> >> Professor of Sociology
> >> Ohio University
> >> 119 Bentley Annex
> >> Athens, OH 45701
> >> 740.593.1366 (voice)
> >> 740.593.1365 (fax)
> >>
> >> >
> >
> >
>
>
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