Gummy Bears & Spring Prep.

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In order to sort out the "chaos" in my head right now, regarding my different courses for spring... let's lay out everything in a few nice lists.

Firstly, I should probably decide the lineup of how to go about tying the various pieces altogether:

  • I'll wrap up the loose ends in the English 120 course first because that course is completely online; the students won't see me in-person at all. My other courses have some sort of in-person aspect, so I'd like to make sure that course is really, really ready to rock. 
  • Then the two hyflex courses will need my attention (English 211 Creative Writing and English 238 Children's Lit), 
  • Followed by the English 110 Hybrid and... 
  • Eventually I'll figure out the second 8-weeks English 110 but it's not on my radar right now.

Five classes. Yeah. Five preps, truly.

Okay, so what sets these courses apart for Spring 2023 (recognizing that they'll be tweaked each semester, and that that is okay)?

  • In ALL classes, I plan to use Tasks and a Checklist, integrated into the Schedule. This way, those with ADHD or who struggle a little with planning and see the Schedule and know, "Okay, Tasks 1 and 2 need to be done this week," and those same Tasks coordinate with the LMS so there is less confusion about what to complete, and the order somewhat scaffolds it all, too. Plus, I noticed on their phones that very little shows up in the header of the Ultra* modules, so Task #1 should show up immediately... instead of what I had originally: "Click here for Chapter 1 blahblahblah."
  • English 110 is focused on practicing writing within various genres, so this course is pretty much a choose-your-own-adventure in that students choose from many genres in each group (unit) of activities. There are quizzes that review the basics of the genres and check for understanding (with a link at the end for genre templates) and since they'll conduct peer review on the large projects, these genre practice activities can be Assignments in the LMS. I was having students upload them into Discussion Boards, but Ultra* is weird about redos in discussion boards, so until that is resolved, I'm moving them elsewhere.
  • English 120 will utilize Unit Notes instead of Declaration Quizzes this time around. The change is due to the massive scrolling of 12 quizzes students found themselves having to see in the LMS. {I'm positive that was overwhelming, and I apologize!} They'll upload these Unit Notes a few times - as an Assignment - and it'll be assessed purely on effort. This class is built around the Wheel of Power and Privilege, in case you've seen that pie chart around the interwebs. So, in addition to students creating three large projects revolving around argumentation, on a weekly basis, they will take in - visually, orally, textually - something related to the 12 topics of the Wheel, take notes, and eventually compose some very brief arguments (more practice) on those topics.
  • English 211 is my baby. Well, it's the course that I feel like I might have the most figured out. Students taste test many genres of creative writing in the first chunk of the semester - poetry, flash fiction, fiction, drama, nonfiction, and experimental lit - as well as subcategories (like humor, horror, romance, etc.) AND THEN they decide on a final project. The change in this course is the implementation of an Author's Note. With each project created, students will attach an Author's Note explaining what they did, where the elements are, etc.
  • English 238 is a newbie for me: Children's Literature. I just finished the OER** textbook for this course within the last few weeks. Since this course isn't necessarily a writing-intensive course like the others, we'll collaboratively annotate the chapters and play around with the elements of children's literature, add more to the history using a Canva timeline, create a Padlet of resources and genres, etc. 
I think it'll be an interesting semester; it's the first time I don't have a 3pm class, nor do I have anything super early. My schedule will be very different from the past, but perhaps that's a good thing with this many preps...

*Currently, I'm the only teacher piloting Blackboard Ultra on our campus, and I'm trying to figure out how to make it work for me and the students. I think everyone will utilize LMSs and online apps in ways that work for them; I try not to judge anyone who is heavily using any LMS, and I applaud those who've found ways to use the LMS minimally.

**All of my courses use an OER (open educational resource) textbook created/compiled by me. I love the flexibility they give me, and the students like they are digitally free.

For an overview of the courses, click here to view my teaching web site.





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