My students have finished essay #2, the synthesis/idea exploration essay. It has been turned in and graded. I am pleased overall, as most of the grades were in the upper 80s, with a few in the low 90s, and one 78. The essay earning a 93 had several sources integrated throughout (you can read the writer's original proposal here, as the "very good" prompt), showcased the writer's opinion, offered some thoughtful analysis of stereotypes, and had varied structure. The essay earning a 78 was much more rudimentary, with awkward transitions, and a very methodical, step-by-step approach to writing.
Overall, I think this essay served as a good stepping stone between the looser first essay assignment, and the more structured plans I have for essays three and four.
We've started our student-led reading discussions too. I gave the students a handout, and put it up on Moodle, offering suggestions for leading class discussions, which I will put up as a separate post. So far, they have chosen to create questions for the class, following my basic approach of posing questions, breaking the class into small groups, and then coming back together for a larger discussion. I am pretty pleased with the questions thus far, and I can see that the students are gradually becoming more engaged and willing to speak up. When the semester started, few of them would willingly speak up, which I think is the result of their high school training. College is very different! I am getting more fluid discussion results these days though.
No comments:
Post a Comment